As Armenian Martyrs’ Day approaches for the 96th time, let’s not be complacent. Instead, let us use the occasion to become vigilant. For what it’s worth, let us use the anniversary to branch out and promote awareness in each of our communities across America and other places.
At a time when apathy replaces sympathy, let’s make it a point to tell our genocide story to those who remain ignorant by it.
Ask any casual Armenian why they do not get involved with April 24th and the answer is usually rehearsed.
“Same old story,” they’ll tell you. “I’ve heard it a hundred times. Why do we keep mourning? Instead, let’s focus on the future.”
I may tend to agree. Preaching to the choir doesn’t necessarily get us anywhere. It becomes an exercise in futility. But show me a youngster delivering a recitation on where we’ve come since the genocide and I’m listening.
All the human rights scholars in the world cannot compensate for the insight of a child articulating our history and culture.
A world history student in one of my neighboring high schools threw up a hand when I asked for questions following a genocide presentation. He posed a rather rhetorical question.
“Did any good come out of the Armenian Genocide?” he wondered.
Is there anything positive to say about the loss of 1.5 million martyrs that left our nation bruised, battered and bewildered in 1915? Well, every dark cloud has a silver lining, I told him.
“On the contrary, yes,” I replied. “It made us more resilient as a people. The genocide instilled in us the principles of democracy and patriotism. No other nation in history bled white by deportation, famine and massacre, only to create an independent republic three years later. Out of tragedy has come triumph.”
“But what about the lives lost and the trauma these survivors faced over their lives?” the student wondered.
“A scar is permanent,” I told him. “We are still a nation in transition. If the genocide taught us anything, it is the ability to speak out against intolerance and demand an end to man’s inhumanity toward mankind.”
The presentation was part of a mission we’ve taken in my community with the Merrimack Valley Armenian Genocide Curriculum Committee, chaired by Dro Kanayan, a grandson to the famous freedom-fighting general by the same name.
Three years ago when we began our approach to area high schools, all were receptive. We wound up addressing a half dozen schools. Now, they’re calling us to return.
Our list is growing annually with newer schools being added. We’ve approached the parochial and private sector. In some cases, a public forum on human rights will follow a classroom presentation on Armenia.
Working through “Facing History and Ourselves,” representations from other beleaguered nations have joined the Armenians, from the Jewish Holocaust, Bosnia, Darfur, Cambodia, and Rwanda. Together. And we tell our stories, not only to educate but instill peace and equality among all.
So, on this April 24th, I invite others to take a similar approach. Call your local school and ask for an appearance. Get a small group of local Armenians together and arrange for a genocide appearance. Most teachers know very little or nothing about this moment in history. Very little is written in the history books about it.
If that doesn’t work—and even if it does—try making a pitch to the service clubs in your community, be it Kiwanis, Rotary, Exchange, or Lions. All of them meet weekly and line up speakers at the hint of an offer.
Most will allow a 20-minute program with questions. Bring along some placards and posters, even hand-out material. It’s the best educational tool we can initiate. Trust me, the passion toward Armenia will become mutual.
In each case, we show some form of gratitude for our achievements rather than mourn the setback. Through our respective professions and intellectual efforts, we have perpetuated the ideals of our ancestors, educated our young, inspired the non-Armenian population, and kept the promise of future generations intact.
It all makes me wonder where our race would be today had it not been for the massacre. Would we have been as resilient? As energized? Would the pendulum have tilted toward obscurity?
Sure, we’ve grown assimilated, but we’ve remained Armenian. Our story remains a tale of generations, bent on common identity and unified practice.
We observe this anniversary, not because it will bring back the dead and restore our desecrated churches. Not because our people were dehumanized and violated. But because we cling to the hope that maybe through education and understanding, similar atrocities can be avoided.
Tom Vartabedian
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Next time a student asks why we should look at the past and not the future, we should respond by having them read the novel “1984” and “Animal Farm.” Those who control the past control the future. [“1984”] They should also look up the name Ernest H. Dervishian.
Currently, their are people who call themselves Americans disparaging the “Armenian Martyrs” sign in Los Angeles. The reason for this small recognition is because a lot of Armenian Americans died fighting extremism in WWI, WWII and Korea for the United States. As a matter of fact, they had a few Marines that should have been awarded the Medal of Honor, but, for political reasons, were awarded the Navy Cross. Think about how many lives would have been saved if these Genocides were recognized long before the Holocaust, the Cambodian killing fields, Darfur, Rwanda, etc….
It is short sightedness to forget and crazy. The definition of crazy is repeating the same mistake over and over again despite knowing the consequences.
Moreover, martyrdom for Christian Armenians is equivalent to following the footsteps of Jesus Christ. In WWII, the Marine Corps knew this and that is why they actively recruited them for the bloody Pacific campaigns.
Indeed, when Jesus Christ said “This is my blood….” he was talking about Armenians who through Devine intervention created it. He wasn’t talking about Joseph Stalin’s Georgia. Think about that the next time you get your communion.
Those who control the past control the future. [“1984”]
One of the reasons why Ira Hayes (Marine of Pima Native American heritage, Sands of Iwo Jima) cried so much and drank himself to death was because of his fellow Armenian American Marines who died on those beaches. Ira never forget about their martyrdom