Vartabedian: Genocide Centennial a Reason to Ponder

Hayg Boyadjian made a valid point.

The Lexington-based composer suggested a universal concert as a way of properly commemorating the Armenian Genocide centennial in 2015.

His idea bears scrutiny. A hands-across-the-universe concept on April 24 underscoring music, arts, and the humanities.

“Let’s demonstrate to the world our progress in these mediums,” he said. “Because they speak a universal language, people will get the message, no matter where they live and what their church or political affiliations may be.”

Boyadjian went on to suggest the recruitment of our professional singers, poets, artists, writers, and theater stalwarts all coming together to make an artistic point. Give the world an overture, then the libretto. Let them know that Armenia is alive and well, despite a genocide that wiped out half our nation a century ago.

It seems that music calms the savage beast. Perhaps this is just the right note to get our point across.

However, if a centennial of this nature is to be observed, planning and preparation must have begun as early as yesterday. A thousand days will come and go quickly before a proper acknowledgement is rendered. For what it’s worth, Boyadjian’s suggestion, however grandiose, is not absurd.

A concert like what we have in Boston each year with “Armenian Night at the Pops” could be extended to every major city across America. Much as we have a noted musician or singer at this venue, I’m sure there are other divas in places like Detroit and Los Angeles. Get them involved.

Bring out our works of art. Get our thespians on stage. Show a film that day. Keep the kids out of school with the promise that they will worship their heritage. Let April 24th become an international day of recognition where tricolors are flown from every municipality, proclamations are signed into effect, and newspapers and TV cameras document the cause.

Let that week become a mecca for schools to welcome Armenians telling their story. Inform every dubious legislator that 100 years of silence and denial is about to erupt like a volcano.

If there are five million Armenians in a diaspora, let each of them throw a dollar into the pot and send the money to Armenia. Collectively, April 24th would be a time to ease the plight and bolster the economy in places like Javakhk.

It would behoove all Armenian churches that day—Apostolic, Catholic, and Protestant—to hold hands spiritually. Let us gather in Washington, much like we did 30 years prior for “A Gathering of Survivors,” which culminated with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

If memory recalls, the arts were well represented at this conclave as Armenians gathered from across the country, spanning generations.

Let the smaller commemorations be joined by larger ones for greater impact. Make every effort to get the inactive aroused. Apathy would be negated on this day. Erect a martyrs’ memorial in every municipality where there is none.

Find your way to a community high school during this week and address a student assembly. Tell them about something they may not know already—our genocide—but inform them of the contributions we have made to world civilization after having overcome such adversity.

Let 2015 be the year you finally make that trip to Armenia or Historic Armenia, and adopt an orphan along the way. Support a charity.

What we don’t need is another speech rapping the Turks or another chicken dinner ensemble with a mundane program. We do not need to hear the same words as our ancestors.

A fresh approach to a monumental milestone begins with one individual. If any survivors are still alive, they should be placed upon a pedestal and revered with homage. Keep in mind that the genocide lingered through 1923 so the search should go on to find all surviving members.

I recently visited a literature class in Melrose. The students were each holding a copy of David Kherdian’s The Road to Home about his mother’s story. In conjunction with the centennial, let’s then outfit our local schools with books about Armenian literature and history. You will be amazed at how few there are.

Mobilize the outside student population to join our cause on this centennial. Pressure the postal authorities into minting a stamp commemorating man’s inhumanity toward man. A centennial would be an ideal time for Hollywood to do justice to Franz Werfel’s Forty Days of Musa Dagh. There must be someone in the industry to take an initiative.

As the days and months approach 2015, let us examine our protocol, emerge with a plan, and forge ahead now, not later.

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Tom Vartabedian

Tom Vartabedian is a retired journalist with the Haverhill Gazette, where he spent 40 years as an award-winning writer and photographer. He has volunteered his services for the past 46 years as a columnist and correspondent with the Armenian Weekly, where his pet project was the publication of a special issue of the AYF Olympics each September.

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