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A THREATENING SILENCE
The Daily Pennsylvanian
April 22 2013
Guest Column
By Nicole Sadaniantz · April 22, 2013, 9:26 pm
I am half-Armenian by heritage. My father emigrated from Istanbul
to the United States at the age of 17. But I was on the fence about
writing this letter. I don~Rt like to disturb the peace. Politics
overwhelms me. Then I searched through The Daily Pennsylvanian~Rs
online archives for ~SArmenian genocide.~T The most recent article
related to the subject was from February 15, 2001. Apparently it~Rs
been 12 years since this issue was covered by our newspaper. I decided
it was due time to put it back on the table.
April 24 commemorates the day in 1915 when over 200 Armenian
intellectuals and leaders were arrested, imprisoned and promptly
executed. This was the culminating and revealing moment of the
discrimination that had built through the latter part of the 19th
century into the 20th century. But it would be only the beginning
for the 1.5 million Armenians who would die over the next eight years.
Mass deportations, forced marches through the desert, starvation,
torture and the conscription of young boys into the army ~E The
Ottoman government, namely the Young Turks, concealed the horrors
under the chaos of World War I.
But there are reports and photographs from British and American
ambassadors testifying to the truth of the experience. There are
government documents suggesting that the massacres were systematically
planned. And there are the words of Hitler that have, paradoxically,
come to serve as evidence of the genocide: ~SAfter all,~T he asked,
~Swho remembers the Armenians?~T
His question begs the question, ~SWhy should we remember the
Armenians?~T Why do we need to talk about events that occurred now
nearly 100 years ago? What would the purpose be? I~Rll admit it~Rs
a question I have frequently asked myself. I have no interest in
casting a shadow upon the Turkish people of today. I have no interest
in vengeance. So why bother?
Because Hitler did follow through with his plans for genocide. Because
my father and his family emigrated to escape the oppressive environment
in Turkey. Because contemporary Turkish writers including Hrant
Dink and Orhan Pamuk have been persecuted for attempting to raise
awareness of the genocide. Because innocent souls have been dying in
Darfur since 2003. Because our nation has witnessed brutal acts of
violence over the past year, from Aurora to Newtown to Boston.
Because no death is trivial. No death should be invisible.
I can understand the Turkish desire to deny or justify the annihilation
in order to protect the honor of great-grandfathers. No one wants to
admit that his or her family was involved in controversial acts. No
one wants to feel guilt and shame running through his or her own
veins. And I can understand our president~Rs desire to not explicitly
name these acts ~Sgenocide.~T He fears the decay of crucial alliances
in precarious times.
But what about the honor of Armenian great-grandfathers? What about
the memory of Armenian great-grandmothers? The children who should have
become great-grandparents. The great minds. The great artists. We are
still in mourning. We hear their cries and feel their thirst. And
our grief cannot find closure until these traumas and deaths are
recognized for what they were.
There is a way forward, a way that will prevent genocide from occurring
again. This I believe. I believe that I do not want Turks, 19-year-olds
like myself, to feel guilt and shame running through their veins. What
happened 98 years ago is not their fault, and it should not be their
burden. I believe that we should gather. I believe that we should lay
out the cards for all to see. I believe that we should talk. I believe
that we should work together to find peace, person-to-person. Then,
perhaps, our governments will follow suit.
It~Rs an unfortunate legacy we~Rve inherited. But no good can come of
it so long as we continue to hide, continue to push this conversation
aside. So as we meet each other today, I ask that we do so in peace and
in earnest. I ask that we consider the tragedies that surround us and
vow to not condone them with silence ~E To not condemn them to silence.
Nicole Sadaniantz is a College sophomore.
http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/04/guest-column-a-threatening-silence
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
The Daily Pennsylvanian
April 22 2013
Guest Column
By Nicole Sadaniantz · April 22, 2013, 9:26 pm
I am half-Armenian by heritage. My father emigrated from Istanbul
to the United States at the age of 17. But I was on the fence about
writing this letter. I don~Rt like to disturb the peace. Politics
overwhelms me. Then I searched through The Daily Pennsylvanian~Rs
online archives for ~SArmenian genocide.~T The most recent article
related to the subject was from February 15, 2001. Apparently it~Rs
been 12 years since this issue was covered by our newspaper. I decided
it was due time to put it back on the table.
April 24 commemorates the day in 1915 when over 200 Armenian
intellectuals and leaders were arrested, imprisoned and promptly
executed. This was the culminating and revealing moment of the
discrimination that had built through the latter part of the 19th
century into the 20th century. But it would be only the beginning
for the 1.5 million Armenians who would die over the next eight years.
Mass deportations, forced marches through the desert, starvation,
torture and the conscription of young boys into the army ~E The
Ottoman government, namely the Young Turks, concealed the horrors
under the chaos of World War I.
But there are reports and photographs from British and American
ambassadors testifying to the truth of the experience. There are
government documents suggesting that the massacres were systematically
planned. And there are the words of Hitler that have, paradoxically,
come to serve as evidence of the genocide: ~SAfter all,~T he asked,
~Swho remembers the Armenians?~T
His question begs the question, ~SWhy should we remember the
Armenians?~T Why do we need to talk about events that occurred now
nearly 100 years ago? What would the purpose be? I~Rll admit it~Rs
a question I have frequently asked myself. I have no interest in
casting a shadow upon the Turkish people of today. I have no interest
in vengeance. So why bother?
Because Hitler did follow through with his plans for genocide. Because
my father and his family emigrated to escape the oppressive environment
in Turkey. Because contemporary Turkish writers including Hrant
Dink and Orhan Pamuk have been persecuted for attempting to raise
awareness of the genocide. Because innocent souls have been dying in
Darfur since 2003. Because our nation has witnessed brutal acts of
violence over the past year, from Aurora to Newtown to Boston.
Because no death is trivial. No death should be invisible.
I can understand the Turkish desire to deny or justify the annihilation
in order to protect the honor of great-grandfathers. No one wants to
admit that his or her family was involved in controversial acts. No
one wants to feel guilt and shame running through his or her own
veins. And I can understand our president~Rs desire to not explicitly
name these acts ~Sgenocide.~T He fears the decay of crucial alliances
in precarious times.
But what about the honor of Armenian great-grandfathers? What about
the memory of Armenian great-grandmothers? The children who should have
become great-grandparents. The great minds. The great artists. We are
still in mourning. We hear their cries and feel their thirst. And
our grief cannot find closure until these traumas and deaths are
recognized for what they were.
There is a way forward, a way that will prevent genocide from occurring
again. This I believe. I believe that I do not want Turks, 19-year-olds
like myself, to feel guilt and shame running through their veins. What
happened 98 years ago is not their fault, and it should not be their
burden. I believe that we should gather. I believe that we should lay
out the cards for all to see. I believe that we should talk. I believe
that we should work together to find peace, person-to-person. Then,
perhaps, our governments will follow suit.
It~Rs an unfortunate legacy we~Rve inherited. But no good can come of
it so long as we continue to hide, continue to push this conversation
aside. So as we meet each other today, I ask that we do so in peace and
in earnest. I ask that we consider the tragedies that surround us and
vow to not condone them with silence ~E To not condemn them to silence.
Nicole Sadaniantz is a College sophomore.
http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/04/guest-column-a-threatening-silence
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress