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  • Finding A New Way Of Remembering Armenian Genocide Posted

    OP-ED: FINDING A NEW WAY OF REMEMBERING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    ianyan Magazine
    April 28 2013

    by Robert Fullam

    On the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, some people were
    putting together signs to hold outside of consulates or writing
    letters or calling their state or Congressional leaders while some of
    us congregated around monuments outside of churches to remember the
    lives lost almost a century ago.

    What is clear however is that Armenian Martyrs Day in the United
    States has a distinct political aspect to it, most notably lobbying
    the American government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The
    protests in the Armenian Diaspora grew out of the 1965 demonstrations
    in Yerevan on the 50th anniversary of the Genocide and gradually
    became a staple of April 24th observances in Armenian communities
    across the globe. Unfortunately I could not attend the commemoration
    at the Massachusetts States House on Friday due to the lockdown of the
    city while police closed in on the suspects in the Boston Marathon
    bombings which got me thinking:

    If we don't have these protests or commemorations, what do we have?

    Last year while in Connecticut I didn't go to the State House in
    Hartford, so without a frame of reference on my calendar it took me
    until 5 p.m to realize it was the anniversary for the Genocide and
    come to think of it I haven't down anything on April 24th the past
    couple years. Let's just imagine a scenario where the U.S, Turkey and
    other countries with sizeable Armenian populations properly recognize
    what happened, this effectively takes out the protests and political
    actions that recognition efforts entailed. If you're struggling to
    find an answer as to what fills that void, you probably aren't alone.

    We don't have any specific rituals or customs that we are suppose to
    perform, sure we say a couple prayers but is that really it? It's not
    like in Armenia where Genocide Remembrance Day is a public holiday
    where it's normal for everyone to take time off to visit
    Tsitsernakaberd. I understand that the ARF Western Region asked people
    to take personal days or close their businesses - maybe that will work
    in Glendale or other areas with heavy concentrations of Armenians but
    it can't happen everywhere. We have jobs we need to go to, children
    have to stay in school, not everyone can make the memorial services,
    state house speeches or protests.

    I applaud those who continue to speak out against denial but I don't
    think observing April 24th should just be about protests and lobbying.

    As a descendant of Genocide survivors, I personally feel the Genocide
    itself has a huge presence in terms of how I identify myself and while
    I cannot speak for all Armenians out there, it definitely provides a
    link to the past that I worry might be severed once recognition
    occurs. Wouldn't it be terribly ironic if political realization of
    recognition ended remembrance altogether?

    Political activities on April 24th should not take precedence over any
    form of real reflection within the community. By real reflection I
    mean maintaining an understanding of what happened almost a century
    ago.

    In 1915 a huge blow was dealt to the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire
    and Western Armenian culture. Clothing, dances, songs, foods and
    dialects unique to each village or region, collective histories and
    individual memories were destroyed, a renaissance in the Armenian
    literary tradition cut short and the cultural and historical legacy of
    3,000 year-old civilization slowly erased from the land of it's
    forebears. The homogenization of Anatolia stripped away the richness
    brought to the table by not just Armenians but Assyrians and Greeks as
    well. Can this all become easily digestible for the general public? I
    don't think so, especially in the K-12 school systems since textbook
    and curriculum committees haven't had the best track record.

    It's been a couple years but if I remember correctly, World War I in
    high school was basically Archduke Ferdinand's assassination,
    entangling alliances, trench warfare then the Treaty of Versailles.

    When I was younger I used to dutifully go through history textbooks
    and see what each said about the Armenian Genocide and more often than
    not, it was a side note that described it as a series of massacres in
    the end days of the Ottoman Empire. Nothing substantial and not the
    type of thing that will stick with somebody. This isn't an excuse to
    stop funneling resources towards education efforts but it's not the
    end all be all of recognition. More than anything, the onus is on us
    to keep the victims from being relegated to the footnotes of history.

    Given this, how do we honor the memories of those who perished? Some
    suggestions could be to read Varoujan or Siamanto, listen to Komitas,
    cook a traditional dish from Marash, Sivas or Bitlis and learn a
    regional dance from Erzurum or Bursa. Even better, find out where your
    family is from and learn about it. Maybe listen to relatives have to
    say or stories they were told, read survivor testimony or that of
    witnesses like Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Johannes Lepsius and the
    like. You could do this with your family, members of your church and
    even non-Armenian friends so they can learn as well. In a similar
    vein, why not read up on contemporary Armenian figures? While it may
    seem sometimes that we are stuck in 1915, our culture is very much
    alive and it's important not to forget that. They are proof that
    Armenian culture is still strong and flourishing, simply living
    represents an active form of rebellion against the Young Turks'
    intentions, even in the 21st century.

    I choose to take away from April 24th is not only recognizing the
    significance of those we lost but also the ones who lived and the
    legacy we have inherited.

    Author: Robert Fullam
    Robert Fullam is a Political Science student at the University of
    Connecticut-Storrs. He is interested in diaspora and identity
    politics, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and anthropology. He enjoys
    pumpkin pie, kalamata olives and ginger ale.

    http://www.ianyanmag.com/2013/04/28/op-ed-finding-a-new-way-of-remembering-armenian-genocide/


    From: Baghdasarian
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