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Markey Praises White House Display of Armenian Orphan Rug

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  • Markey Praises White House Display of Armenian Orphan Rug

    Markey Praises White House Display of Armenian Orphan Rug

    Contact: Giselle Barry (Markey) 202-224-2742


    Washington (April 30, 2014) ` Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today
    announced that the treasured `Armenian Orphan Rug' will be displayed
    later this year and praised President Obama and the White House for
    working to display this important symbol. The Armenian Orphan Rug was
    made by survivors of the Armenian Genocide and presented to
    then-President Calvin Coolidge in 1925 in appreciation of American
    assistance to the survivors of the genocide. It took Armenian girls in
    the Ghazir Orphanage of the Near East Relief Society ten months to
    weave. The rug could be displayed as early as late summer or early
    fall and a timeline for exhibition will be finalized but the White
    House soon. A venue for the display that is appropriate, sensitive and
    open to the public is currently being sought.

    `The Armenian Orphan Rug is an important symbol of the longstanding
    friendship between America and Armenia,' said Senator Markey.
    `Displaying this significant piece of history will serve as reminder
    that we will never forget the Armenian Genocide and highlight the
    continued need to work towards its proper recognition. I commend
    President Obama and the White House for working with me and my
    Congressional colleagues to ensure that this rug is given the historic
    exhibition is truly deserves.'

    `The display of this tangible expression of gratitude for America's
    humanitarian intervention to save the survivors of the Armenian
    Genocide is a positive development,' said Armenian Assembly Executive
    Director Bryan Ardouny.

    `We thank Senator Markey for his continuing efforts to seek the
    release and respectful display of the Armenian Orphan Rug, a powerful
    symbol of the American humanitarian spirit, woven by child survivors
    of the Armenian Genocide,' said Aram S. Hamparian, Executive Director
    of the Armenian National Committee of America. `The fact that we are,
    today, speaking about finally holding an event for a historic piece of
    art, that has been hidden away for decades, is a strong statement
    about the tireless leadership of our Congressional friends in finally
    securing the release of this iconic American artifact.'

    Senator Markey wrote to President Obama in December to urge him to
    make the rug available for display, consistent with the need to
    protect and preserve this precious reminder of a dark chapter in the
    history of Armenia and the world.

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