Chicago Armenians Mark Genocide

CHICAGO, Ill.—From April 23-25, Chicago Armenians commemorated the 95^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with a series of activities, including a demonstration, commemorative programs, blood drive, and special requiem service.

On Saturday evening, April 24, a special commemorative program, also organized by the ANC-IL, was held in Shanasarian Hall at the Armenian Community Center in Glenview. The theme of the program was “I Am a Genocide Survivor.” Each member of the audience received a name tag; on it, they wrote the name of their family’s village. A large map of Armenia was also made available for individuals to mark the location of their villages.

In keeping with the theme, the speakers also informed the audience of their family’s home village.

The program opened with the presentation of the colors by the Chicago Homenetmen Scouts drum corps and the singing of the United States and Armenian national anthems by Natalie Papazian and Mimi Zakarian. Following the anthems, the crowd paused for 95 seconds in silent reflection to honor the memory of the 1.5 million martyrs who died during the Armenian Genocide.

Local ANC representative Hrag Arakelian, whose family was from Sassoun, welcomed the crowd of over 300 people and provided opening remarks. In his comments, Arakelian recalled that Hai Tahd had suffered numerous setbacks during the previous year, beginning with the April 22, 2009 announcement of the Armenian-Turkish roadmap, and continuing through the announcement and subsequent signing of the protocols last fall. He observed that although the Armenian government had not heeded the strong warnings of the Armenians in the diaspora and in Armenia prior to signing the protocols, it seemed to have realized its mistake and has taken steps to pull back from the agreements. He went on to emphasize that there can be no normalization between Armenia and Turkey until Turkey recognizes the genocide and returned Armenian lands.

Concluding his remarks, Arakelian invited Aline Der Alexanian-Barsoumian to the podium to present a proclamation by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn marking the 95^th anniversary of the genocide. ARF CC representative Ari Killian then presented the statement of U.S. President Barack Obama to the gathering, expressing the community’s profound disappointment in the president’s failure to keep his promise for a second time. Chicago Hamazkayin member Lusine Torian then took the stage and delivered a stirring rendition of Hovhanes Shiraz’s “Vercherkank.”

ANC of Illinois chairperson Nairee Hagopian, whose family was from Zeitun, provided her remarks. Hagopian reviewed some of the many activities of the ANC-IL in the previous year, describing how the ANC was working to bring pressure on the Obama Administration through a series of local meetings with Democratic Party organizers. She updated the community on the April 10 protest organized by the ANC against a denialist event at Northwestern University, where several Armenians were ejected because of their ethnicity, and announced the letter-writing campaign directed at Northwestern University president Morton Shapiro.

Master of ceremonies Hrag Arakelian introduced the guest speaker of the evening, renowned lawyer Mark Geragos from Los Angeles. Geragos, whose family was from Adana, addressed the topic “The Armenian Genocide: Reparations Beyond Recognition.” Geragos recounted the process by which he and others pursued litigation against the New York Life and AXA insurance companies for the undistributed life insurance proceeds of victims of the genocide. He noted that based on the life insurance premium payment records, it was clear to see where and when each village was depopulated during the genocide. Despite a worldwide search for beneficiaries and widespread advertising, over 40 percent of the policies, he said, never had anyone petition for a claim, indicating how completely families were destroyed during the genocide. Geragos himself discovered that his own great uncle Boghos had been a policy holder, and that his beneficiaries had never received payment after his death during the genocide.

Geragos then discussed the need for the Armenian community to become more aggressive in its pursuit of Hai Tahd. He described some of the information about the Turkish lobby that came to light during his recent work in defending former ANC of Ohio chair David Krikorian, who ran for Congress in 2008 and was being sued by his pro-Turkish opponent. Geragos stated that, in his view, it was time for the community and Armenian advocacy organizations like the ANC to move beyond demands for simple recognition of the Armenian Genocide and to demands for the return of our occupied territories, beginning with Mt. Ararat. Geragos also offered some suggestions on how the community might become more effective in presenting its demands and in defending its interests. Geragos’ presentation was followed by a short question and answer period, and the program was closed with a benediction offered by Archpriest Zareh Sahakian of All Saints Church.

On Sun., April 25, over 300 community members gathered at All Saints Church in Glenview to attend the badarak and special requiem service dedicated to the memory of the martyrs. Following the requiem, the clergy and parishioners were led out of the church by members of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), Homenetmen Scouts, and the Union of Marash, bearing wreaths that were placed at the foot of the Armenian Martyrs Monument. Despite a steady rain, community members solemnly filed past the monument, placing flowers on the base and paying their respects.

Following the wreath-laying ceremony, the crowd again gathered in Shanasarian Hall for a brief commemorative program. The program was opened by ANC-IL representative Maral Vartanian-Abrahamian, who offered her remarks and invited to the podium Taniel Varoujan Armenian School students Vahe Kalayjian and Natalie Hardy, who recited “Mer Baberi Kerezmaner” by Anoush Krikorian.

After the recitation, Illinois 10^th Congressional District Republican nominee Bob Dold took the podium and offered his thoughts on the importance of marking events such as the Armenian Genocide. In his comments, Dold pledged to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, Congressmen and Armenian Caucus co-chairmen John Porter and Mark Kirk, in being a strong advocate for Armenian issues such as genocide recognition and self-determination for Nagorno-Karabagh while in Congress.

Dold was followed by Ara Talarian, also from the Taniel Varoujan Armenian School, who recited “Anmah Haiastan” by Hovhanes Shiraz. Vasken Aivazian then took the podium and delivered a rousing speech in Armenian and English, urging Armenians to continue to fight for Hai Tahd. The program was closed with a prayer from Archpriest Sahakian, who then blessed the traditional madagh memorial dinner that was offered by the All Saints Church Ladies Guild.

Also on Sunday, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) “Zabelle” Chapter held its annual memorial blood drive in Hudaverdian Hall in Glenview. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., community members donated their blood in memory of the 1.5 million martyrs to help Chicago area blood banks provide “the gift of life” to those in need. The ARS has been conducting this annual April 24^th blood drive for over a decade.