Why recognition proved so elusive

Sadly, recognition of human atrocities on the magnitude of the Armenian Genocide is a privilege reserved for relative peacetime, which proved elusive during much of the 20th century. For Armenians specifically, ongoing episodic pogroms occurred pre-1915 and continued until 1923, at which time the world unwittingly hurtled toward its most volatile and deadly period in recorded human history. Given the chaos, Genocide survivors had scant opportunity to process the unfathomable events perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

Practicality displaced emotion, as Armenians had to determine their most pragmatic option going forward: where to go in the world, how to get there and how to become economically relevant in a foreign land. They needed to escape the unbearable pain and grief of the past and the possibility of more uncertainty and misfortune going forward. No concerted effort to campaign for Genocide recognition could be mounted while our ancestors were preoccupied with where to resettle and how to build a prosperous future.