Unfortunately, if you look what’s happening now in Syria, you will see it’s the same place and same stories as hundred years ago: Interview of Ruben Vardanyan and George Clooney
George Clooney, Co-Chair of Aurora Prize Selection Committee, and Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of the 100LIVES/Aurora Prize Initiative, recorded an interview with Artak Aleksanyan for Armenia TV and A1plus TV on April 22.
The interview was broadcasted on April 23 and 168.am presents some extracts from it.
A.Aleksanyan: The first question is your impression from Brandy Company, I know that you have a tequila factory.
George Clooney: You know, it was funny because one of the things I learned here is that much of the same process about age in the barrels are so significant and how good the product is. It’s incredible, it was just unbelievable. We are both drunk right now. [smiles pointing at Ruben Vardanyan]
A.Aleksanyan: You are involved in more than 30 initiatives, what made you take part in “Aurora” prize?
George Clooney:Well, I’ve been involved for a period of time and interested in Armenia for a number of reasons, obviously there is the question of identifying things like the Armenian Genocide and I thinks that’s something that has a lot of emotion in the US as well. But when I met Ruben [Vardanyan], he wanted to talk about finding a version of Armenian history where we can talk about the great things that have happened and looking forward. And I thought – what a great idea to be able to find people who risked their lives at times, certainly give up virtually everything in their life in the service and help of others, and to find a way to celebrate that in the name of Aurora, in the name of looking back in the way.
I thought this is such a perfect way to rather than deal with anger to deal with a form of kindness and generosity and love. I’ve never seen it done that way before, and I was very excited to be involved in it.
A.Aleksanyan: How can “Aurora”prize be part of the world assistant to the refugees, because we now see that the refugees are facing a new challenge in Europe and in the US?
George Clooney: It’s a difficult thing obviously. You know, there never been a time in history that the refugees haven’t been a difficult subject-matter. You know, it always has been. The reality is, that our responsibility is to never let their stories die. Right? Because, it’s very important that we continually talk about the idea that these people who just decided to leave Syria, for instance, because they don’t want to live there any more. As they’ve been murdered and their children are being murdered.
They’re willing to risk their lives, they know the dangers and they’re trying to leave. That’s how bad it is. So, our job, as public figures and a son of a newsman, my father was a newsman for 45 years. He’s finding ways, creative ways sometimes, to always keep this in the news and not forget it. We tend to lose sight of the big story, when the little ones come up, when in the middle of presidential election in the US, that takes over everything. You will never hear stories about refugees right now. They are very short pieces about the refugees, because we’re not dealing with them very much in the US quite obviously, which we should. So, the more you can talk about it, the more you can find creative ways of bringing up. I think it’s a good thing.
A.Aleksanyan: Mr. Vardanyan thinks “Aurora” being a part of the global assistance to the world challenge.
Ruben Vardanyan: You know, Unfortunately, if you look what’s happening now in Syria, you will see it’s the same place and same stories as hundred years ago. You’ll think “Jesus, it’s repeating, some sort of dejavu”. Now Yezidis, Christian minorities are facing the same challenges.
What’s happening? Why didn’t people learn the lesson? Why didn’t the world learn the lesson of what happened a hundred years ago? What about the raped Yezidi women who try to get back into society? What happens to the kids who lost their parents? We’re getting so many questions again and again.
With the Aurora Prize we are trying to check how people in different countries feel responsible, not only being heroes, but how we can become involved and support some of these activities. You can do something, you can support. George is raising his voice about what’s happening and trying to convince people that we can be a part of this process to influence the changes and not just be idle and say “It’s not my problem.”
George Clooney: Long after the Armenian Genocide, once they finally came up with the word “genocide”, which they hadn’t until the World War II, everyone said “Had we known something about it, if we just had known”. And then we had Cambodia, and then we had Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur. We know! And that’s the great sort of the great travesty. Every time we say “if we’d known we would have done something about it”, we do know, and we can see it happening in real time. It’s what do we do about that? That’s a question that we have to ask all of ourselves along the line.
A.Aleksanyan: You’re going to UWC Dilijan. How important is education for the small countries like Armenia, because it’s also being able and being lucky to have possibility an access to this type of education?
George Clooney:This is a very special place. It’s a very unique place. I wish it was everywhere in the world, because the one thing we learn is that prejudices and hatred has to be actually taught. Children don’t grow up in hate, they don’t hate each other as a race, they don’t hate each other as a religion, they have to be taught how to do that. So, to take young people from worrying nations and put them together, where they spend their days and nights, talking and eating together and looking up from one another is the way you stop people from fighting. I wish there was one of this school in every city in the world. And I just think it’s the best way of opening people’s eyes to other cultures. Particularly, the one they have war with.
