Tweet
SOULS IN UNREST
By Jackie Hong
http://ryersonfolio.com/souls-in-unrest
April 23, 2012
Recognizing different perspectives about the Armenian Genocide for
its 97th anniversary.
Almost a century and three generations separate Sevan Hajinian from
the Armenian genocide, but that doesn't make what happened any easier
to comprehend. The upcoming anniversary of the Armenian genocide on
April 24 only makes it more difficult.
"When the month of April comes, it's really a sad month for us,"
Hajinian says. Not only has Hajinian studied the genocide since she
was a teenager, but her family was also directly impacted by it - her
great-grandmother saw six of her seven children killed before she fled
the Ottoman Empire to Syria with her only son, Hajinian's grandfather.
"He was always telling us he remembers walking through the desert
and getting to Syria, how tough it was for them to start all over,"
Hajinian says of her grandfather, who died in 1982.
Hajinian's story is not an isolated one. From 1915 to 1923,
around 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were killed by
government forces, the first action being the deportation of 250
Armenian intellectuals on April 24, 1915. Many of the deaths were
the result of deportations, where Armenians were marched out of the
country and left in the Syrian desert. Along the way, thousands died
from starvation, exhaustion, and attacks on the convoys.
By 1923, the worldwide population of Armenians had dropped from 4
million to 2.5 million. The Armenians that fled were dispersed around
the Middle East, and many eventually moved to North America. Today,
it is estimated that around 70,000 Armenians are living in Canada,
with Toronto having the largest Armenian community in the country.
The genocide label, although widely accepted, still stirs up
controversy 97 years after the fact.
Armenians have long been advocating for the events to be recognized
as genocide, and April 24 is a national day of remembrance in Armenia.
Over 20 countries, including Canada, have acknowledged the genocide, as
well as 43 states in the United States and two provinces in Australia,
even though the federal governments have not.
Genocide scholars and many historians support the label, deeming it
"the first genocide of the 20th century." Scholars say that the
systematic approach the Ottoman Empire used to kill Armenians and
decimate Armenian culture are in line with the UN Genocide Convention,
a resolution enacted in 1951 that legally defines genocide.
The genocide resonates with younger generation of Armenian-Canadians
as well.
"It still continues to affect us just because the people who are
descendents of the genocide [survivors] have had to go through so many
things," says Daron Mardirossian, president of the Armenian Students'
Association at Ryerson University.
"A lot of people were traumatized, weren't able to have children,
weren't able to lead normal lives afterwards," he says. Like
Hajinian, Mardirossian has personal ties with the genocide - his
great-grandparents on his father's side were business owners and
mayors in the Ottoman Empire, and were forced to leave everything
behind when escaping the violence.
However the Turkish community has a very different view on what
happened.
"There's no genocide to revoke," says Demir Delen, former president
of the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations. His view is
shared by most Turkish scholars and some historians. Delen has spent
over four decades researching the history of the Ottoman Empire and
Armenian community.
"In order to understand the events of 1915, you have to really look
at the historical context," says Delen. "It's in the middle of the
First World War."
At the time, Turkey was facing attacks from British and Russian
forces. There were Armenians enlisted in Russian and Turkish armies,
and it was believed that Armenians in Turkey were aiding the Russians.
"It was a purely military decision... to move the Armenians that
lived in the eastern Anatolia [where the Russians were attacking]
out of the way so they couldn't assist the enemy," says Delen.
Delen notes that over a million Turks and Muslims were killed during
the time of the genocide. He cites scholars' lack of willingness to
look at Turkish accounts of what happened as the reason the Turkish
perspective is under-represented.
Delen also dismisses the governments who have recognized the genocide.
"These are not historians, they are politicians," Delen says. "How
many of them even know the area or what happened?"
Along with academics, the genocide is a hot topic in the political
world.
Turkey strongly rejects the notion that a genocide happened. It has
arrested journalists who acknowledge the genocide under Article 301
of the Penal Code, which makes insulting Turkey and "Turkish-ness"
illegal.
There have also been deadly consequences. Hrant Dink, a Turkish-born
Armenian journalist who wrote about Armenian identity and the genocide,
was assassinated outside his Istanbul office in 2007 by a Turkish
nationalist.
As well, Turkish and French relations were strained earlier this year
when France passed a bill, later revoked by Senate, that would have
made denying the Armenian genocide illegal. The Turkish government
froze military, economic, and political ties with France and accused
French president Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to grab the votes of
France's Armenians population, estimated to be around 500,000.
Turkey's resistance to the genocide label has only strengthened
Armenians' resolve to have it recognized.
"It gives us more reason to commemorate the events," says Daniel
Ohanian, president of Armen Karo Student Association. The association
is a national body offers resources to Armenian university-student
groups.
Ohanian points out initiatives that spread awareness of the genocide
in Toronto. The Toronto District School Board has included a section
on the Armenian genocide in its Grade 11 genocide course, and every
year near the end of April, a vigil commemorating the genocide is
held at Queen's Park.
Sevan Hajinian though, will not be in the city come April 24. Along
with hundreds of Armenians from across the country, Hajinian will be
heading to Ottawa.
"It's a thank-you rally in front of Parliament [for recognizing the
genocide], and then we walk to the Turkish embassy," she says of the
annual event. "We don't have any problem with the Turkish people,
the problem is the government, who is denying the genocide."
"Our souls will not rest 'til the perpetrators are brought to justice."
By Jackie Hong
http://ryersonfolio.com/souls-in-unrest
April 23, 2012
Recognizing different perspectives about the Armenian Genocide for
its 97th anniversary.
Almost a century and three generations separate Sevan Hajinian from
the Armenian genocide, but that doesn't make what happened any easier
to comprehend. The upcoming anniversary of the Armenian genocide on
April 24 only makes it more difficult.
"When the month of April comes, it's really a sad month for us,"
Hajinian says. Not only has Hajinian studied the genocide since she
was a teenager, but her family was also directly impacted by it - her
great-grandmother saw six of her seven children killed before she fled
the Ottoman Empire to Syria with her only son, Hajinian's grandfather.
"He was always telling us he remembers walking through the desert
and getting to Syria, how tough it was for them to start all over,"
Hajinian says of her grandfather, who died in 1982.
Hajinian's story is not an isolated one. From 1915 to 1923,
around 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were killed by
government forces, the first action being the deportation of 250
Armenian intellectuals on April 24, 1915. Many of the deaths were
the result of deportations, where Armenians were marched out of the
country and left in the Syrian desert. Along the way, thousands died
from starvation, exhaustion, and attacks on the convoys.
By 1923, the worldwide population of Armenians had dropped from 4
million to 2.5 million. The Armenians that fled were dispersed around
the Middle East, and many eventually moved to North America. Today,
it is estimated that around 70,000 Armenians are living in Canada,
with Toronto having the largest Armenian community in the country.
The genocide label, although widely accepted, still stirs up
controversy 97 years after the fact.
Armenians have long been advocating for the events to be recognized
as genocide, and April 24 is a national day of remembrance in Armenia.
Over 20 countries, including Canada, have acknowledged the genocide, as
well as 43 states in the United States and two provinces in Australia,
even though the federal governments have not.
Genocide scholars and many historians support the label, deeming it
"the first genocide of the 20th century." Scholars say that the
systematic approach the Ottoman Empire used to kill Armenians and
decimate Armenian culture are in line with the UN Genocide Convention,
a resolution enacted in 1951 that legally defines genocide.
The genocide resonates with younger generation of Armenian-Canadians
as well.
"It still continues to affect us just because the people who are
descendents of the genocide [survivors] have had to go through so many
things," says Daron Mardirossian, president of the Armenian Students'
Association at Ryerson University.
"A lot of people were traumatized, weren't able to have children,
weren't able to lead normal lives afterwards," he says. Like
Hajinian, Mardirossian has personal ties with the genocide - his
great-grandparents on his father's side were business owners and
mayors in the Ottoman Empire, and were forced to leave everything
behind when escaping the violence.
However the Turkish community has a very different view on what
happened.
"There's no genocide to revoke," says Demir Delen, former president
of the Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations. His view is
shared by most Turkish scholars and some historians. Delen has spent
over four decades researching the history of the Ottoman Empire and
Armenian community.
"In order to understand the events of 1915, you have to really look
at the historical context," says Delen. "It's in the middle of the
First World War."
At the time, Turkey was facing attacks from British and Russian
forces. There were Armenians enlisted in Russian and Turkish armies,
and it was believed that Armenians in Turkey were aiding the Russians.
"It was a purely military decision... to move the Armenians that
lived in the eastern Anatolia [where the Russians were attacking]
out of the way so they couldn't assist the enemy," says Delen.
Delen notes that over a million Turks and Muslims were killed during
the time of the genocide. He cites scholars' lack of willingness to
look at Turkish accounts of what happened as the reason the Turkish
perspective is under-represented.
Delen also dismisses the governments who have recognized the genocide.
"These are not historians, they are politicians," Delen says. "How
many of them even know the area or what happened?"
Along with academics, the genocide is a hot topic in the political
world.
Turkey strongly rejects the notion that a genocide happened. It has
arrested journalists who acknowledge the genocide under Article 301
of the Penal Code, which makes insulting Turkey and "Turkish-ness"
illegal.
There have also been deadly consequences. Hrant Dink, a Turkish-born
Armenian journalist who wrote about Armenian identity and the genocide,
was assassinated outside his Istanbul office in 2007 by a Turkish
nationalist.
As well, Turkish and French relations were strained earlier this year
when France passed a bill, later revoked by Senate, that would have
made denying the Armenian genocide illegal. The Turkish government
froze military, economic, and political ties with France and accused
French president Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to grab the votes of
France's Armenians population, estimated to be around 500,000.
Turkey's resistance to the genocide label has only strengthened
Armenians' resolve to have it recognized.
"It gives us more reason to commemorate the events," says Daniel
Ohanian, president of Armen Karo Student Association. The association
is a national body offers resources to Armenian university-student
groups.
Ohanian points out initiatives that spread awareness of the genocide
in Toronto. The Toronto District School Board has included a section
on the Armenian genocide in its Grade 11 genocide course, and every
year near the end of April, a vigil commemorating the genocide is
held at Queen's Park.
Sevan Hajinian though, will not be in the city come April 24. Along
with hundreds of Armenians from across the country, Hajinian will be
heading to Ottawa.
"It's a thank-you rally in front of Parliament [for recognizing the
genocide], and then we walk to the Turkish embassy," she says of the
annual event. "We don't have any problem with the Turkish people,
the problem is the government, who is denying the genocide."
"Our souls will not rest 'til the perpetrators are brought to justice."