Fethiye Cetin Speaks in New Jersey and Michigan

DETROIT, Mich.—The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) honored renowned lawyer, writer, and human rights activist Fethiye Cetin with its highest honor, the ANCA Freedom Award, at the 9th Annual ANCA-ER Banquet on Sat., Nov. 14. As part of her United States trip to accept the prestigious award, Cetin had meetings and public talks in New Jersey and Michigan.

Fethiye Cetin recieving the prestigious ANCA-ER Freedom Award

On Nov. 12, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Ramapo College and the Armenian National Committee of New Jersey (ANC of NJ) hosted her in Mahwah, N.J. at a talk titled, “Hidden No More: Challenges Facing Islamized Armenians in Turkey.” Her words were translated by Nurhan Becidyan, a member of the board of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

Cetin also addressed the youth on Nov. 14 as part of the ANCA-ER Advocacy Workshop hosted by the St. Sarkis Church in Dearborn, Mich. The aim of the workshop was to educate, motivate, and activate the community and offer the necessary knowledge and tools to undertake a more effective grassroots advocacy.

In her remarks Cetin described Turkey as a country where individuals do not feel free, where every demand for freedom is repressed with blood and violence, where violence has become commonplace and is legitimized, and where the lives of journalists are made unbearable. She described the Armenian Genocide as the root cause of the brutal and authoritarian face of contemporary Turkey.

Fethiye Cetin addresses the community in Michigan

“The Republic of Turkey, which bases its foundation on the atrocity and violence of the genocide, sustains itself by producing fear and threats and by creating expendable and disposable lives,” she said, noting the current treatment of Kurds, women, LGBT people, and members of the opposition.

Cetin is a Turkish-Armenian lawyer, writer, and human rights activist. She has authored stories about the impact of her ancestral roots, including her memoir My Grandmother. Cetin’s grandmother, Seher, was an Armenian Christian taken during the genocide and adopted by a Turkish military official. The impact of her grandmother’s roots has inspired Cetin’s memoir and her overall work as lawyer and human rights activist.

There is still time to make a donation to the ANCA Eastern Region 9^th annual banquet to support the organization’s mission and current projects: www.ancaef.org/banquet.

The ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that supports the ANCA Eastern Region in outreach to Armenian-American communities.