To commemorate this devastating anniversary, the president of the United States will likely find yet another euphemism for the word “genocide,” because heaven forbid America should risk antagonizing Turkey by describing accurately what happened and assigning the blame where it belongs. Trust me, some poor White House speechwriter’s thesaurus is looking pretty dogeared right about now.
I think for me as an Armenian, I feel it’s always important that people don’t just identify Armenians with genocide. Armenians are just not about the genocide. The genocide is a dark chapter of Armenian history, but this is the first Christian nation in the history of the world, there’s a rich culture, and even though you don’t have a lot of time to incorporate some of these elements into a two-hour film, we try to convey a sense of love, family, faith, kindness, and community in the context of the film.
President Trump won the White House promising to change the culture in Washington and promote an “America first” policy. What happens, however, when U.S. acknowledgment of historical fact is dictated by the whims of other nations? Up until now, Turkey has pressured the United States to circumvent formally acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, although President Obama promised to do so while in office. In fact, President Obama stated “as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
Lost evidence was recently recovered in a Jerusalem archive that researchers have dubbed as “smoking gun” proof of the Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Today, we remember and honor the memory of those who suffered during the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century. Beginning in 1915, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
“If we don’t move the history on the way of truth, we can repeat it. If we deny the history, it can be repeated itself,” she said, stating that by remembering the truth, it is necessary to concentrate on the present, one of the vivid examples of which is the strong ties between the capitals of France and Armenia.
Professor Garabed Antranikian is a world-famous and highly regarded microbiologist. He is a recipient of the most coveted European environmental award, the Environment Prize of the German Environment Foundation. Antranikian has achieved unprecedented success in developing environmentally friendly products, particularly in the production of new materials and fuels obtained from renewable resources.
I’ll never forget the “tears” the rain made on the tips of the 12 slabs, each representing the 12 Armenian provinces that perished during the Genocide. 102 years later and still we are fighting for recognition and justice.
“I am the product of that silence prevalent in Turkey,” he said. “I am part of this denial. (As a citizen of Turkey) I have that privilege to be in Turkey unlike Armenians or Greeks who were killed or deported from Turkey. That’s why I think I have to apologize.”
“Being Armenian means triumph to me. Every one of us who succeeds is a triumph in the face of Genocide – they failed to annihilate us, failed to silence us, and we will continue to thrive worldwide. It makes me very proud,” Alexis says.
