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Armenian Youth Federation-YOARF Eastern US
80 Bigelow Ave
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel. (617) 923-1933
Fax (617) 924-1933
www.ayf.org
Armenian National Committee of America - Eastern Region
PO Box 1066
New York, NY 10040
Tel: (917) 428-1918
Fax: (718) 478-4073
[email protected]
www.anca.org
PRESS RELEASE
October 10, 2005
Contact: Sossi Essajanian
(617) 923-1933
[email protected]
AYF, ANC Members Say 'Never Again' at Rally to Save Darfur
WATERTOWN, Mass.?On October 16, the Greater Boston chapter of the
Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) joined the Armenian National Committee
(ANC) of Eastern Massachusetts, and local Armenian community members
at Boston's City Hall Plaza, in calling for an end to the genocide in
Darfur, Sudan.
The two organizations are part of the coalition organizing the
rally?the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur (MCSD), a
collaboration of humanitarian organizations and concerned individuals
working to raise awareness of the atrocities occurring in Darfur. This
month's rally was also co-sponsored by the Students Taking Action Now:
Darfur (STAND) for Boston area universities.
As members of the MCSD, the AYF and ANC took an active role in the
preparations and execution of the rally. Flyers were prepared and
distributed throughout the local Armenian community, highlighting the
reasons for attending the rally. "As you read this, there is an active
genocide occurring in Darfur, a western region of Sudan. Over 400,000
men, women, and children have died as a result of this strife. The
ongoing murder and rape have displaced over 2.5 million people. As
descendents of survivors of the Armenian genocide, it is incumbent on
us to take action to end this cycle of genocide and move us to finally
realize the call?'Never again,'" read a portion of the flyer.
The Armenian representatives to the coalition also invited Worcester
State professor Henry Theriault as one of event's keynote
speakers. Theriault, an active member of the ANC of Worcester,
coordinates the Center for the Study of Human Rights at the college.
Theriault spoke on the connection between the first genocide of the
20th century, the Armenian genocide, and today's genocide in
Darfur. "Ninety years ago, the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire
looked very much like Darfur today, with deportations, squalid
encampments of victims wracked by epidemics of diseases and
governmentally-imposed starvation, roving death squads, rampant rape
and enslavement, and corpses. Ninety years ago, the world community
stood by as the Ottoman Turkish government systematically killed more
than 1 million Armenians and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians and
Greeks. It is standing by once again as the carefully organized
butchers in Sudan kill hundreds of thousands in Darfur," said
Theriault.
Other speakers at the rally included Susannah Sirkin of the Physicians
for Human Rights who discussed the daily life of refugees in Sudan;
and Rebecca Hamilton of the Harvard Darfur Action Group who spoke on
steps that can be taken to encourage companies to divest in Sudan.
The current situation of genocide in Darfur, and what can be done
today to help end the atrocities were also discussed, as well as the
role played by the Sudanese government, the United States, the African
Peacekeeping Union, in the genocide.
The event also included musical selections by the Tufts University
student band Moksha and Farah Siraj from the Berklee School of
Music. A poem was later read by Brandeis University Dean of Diversity
Jamile Adams, highlighting the severity of the atrocities and the
effects of apathy towards the situation.
Later, attendees were asked by rally leaders to hold up their cellular
phones, call the White House and the State Department and urge them
through legislation and policy, to help end the genocide in Darfur.
"We need Armenians and non-Armenians to unite to stop genocide all
around the world," said Greater Boston AYF member Jirair Barsoumian,
who attended the event. "By being at this rally, we (Armenians) are
contributing to the effort to bring international attention to the
plight of the Sudanese people who are being massacred today in
Darfur. By supporting similar struggles, we support our own. All the
people that saw Armenians at the rally will now have a clearer
understanding of why the Armenian genocide is an international human
rights issue. We, as Armenians need to show that we are willing and
able to help fight any crime against humanity, not just the Armenian
genocide."
For more information, visit www.savedarfurma.org.
80 Bigelow Ave
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel. (617) 923-1933
Fax (617) 924-1933
www.ayf.org
Armenian National Committee of America - Eastern Region
PO Box 1066
New York, NY 10040
Tel: (917) 428-1918
Fax: (718) 478-4073
[email protected]
www.anca.org
PRESS RELEASE
October 10, 2005
Contact: Sossi Essajanian
(617) 923-1933
[email protected]
AYF, ANC Members Say 'Never Again' at Rally to Save Darfur
WATERTOWN, Mass.?On October 16, the Greater Boston chapter of the
Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) joined the Armenian National Committee
(ANC) of Eastern Massachusetts, and local Armenian community members
at Boston's City Hall Plaza, in calling for an end to the genocide in
Darfur, Sudan.
The two organizations are part of the coalition organizing the
rally?the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur (MCSD), a
collaboration of humanitarian organizations and concerned individuals
working to raise awareness of the atrocities occurring in Darfur. This
month's rally was also co-sponsored by the Students Taking Action Now:
Darfur (STAND) for Boston area universities.
As members of the MCSD, the AYF and ANC took an active role in the
preparations and execution of the rally. Flyers were prepared and
distributed throughout the local Armenian community, highlighting the
reasons for attending the rally. "As you read this, there is an active
genocide occurring in Darfur, a western region of Sudan. Over 400,000
men, women, and children have died as a result of this strife. The
ongoing murder and rape have displaced over 2.5 million people. As
descendents of survivors of the Armenian genocide, it is incumbent on
us to take action to end this cycle of genocide and move us to finally
realize the call?'Never again,'" read a portion of the flyer.
The Armenian representatives to the coalition also invited Worcester
State professor Henry Theriault as one of event's keynote
speakers. Theriault, an active member of the ANC of Worcester,
coordinates the Center for the Study of Human Rights at the college.
Theriault spoke on the connection between the first genocide of the
20th century, the Armenian genocide, and today's genocide in
Darfur. "Ninety years ago, the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire
looked very much like Darfur today, with deportations, squalid
encampments of victims wracked by epidemics of diseases and
governmentally-imposed starvation, roving death squads, rampant rape
and enslavement, and corpses. Ninety years ago, the world community
stood by as the Ottoman Turkish government systematically killed more
than 1 million Armenians and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians and
Greeks. It is standing by once again as the carefully organized
butchers in Sudan kill hundreds of thousands in Darfur," said
Theriault.
Other speakers at the rally included Susannah Sirkin of the Physicians
for Human Rights who discussed the daily life of refugees in Sudan;
and Rebecca Hamilton of the Harvard Darfur Action Group who spoke on
steps that can be taken to encourage companies to divest in Sudan.
The current situation of genocide in Darfur, and what can be done
today to help end the atrocities were also discussed, as well as the
role played by the Sudanese government, the United States, the African
Peacekeeping Union, in the genocide.
The event also included musical selections by the Tufts University
student band Moksha and Farah Siraj from the Berklee School of
Music. A poem was later read by Brandeis University Dean of Diversity
Jamile Adams, highlighting the severity of the atrocities and the
effects of apathy towards the situation.
Later, attendees were asked by rally leaders to hold up their cellular
phones, call the White House and the State Department and urge them
through legislation and policy, to help end the genocide in Darfur.
"We need Armenians and non-Armenians to unite to stop genocide all
around the world," said Greater Boston AYF member Jirair Barsoumian,
who attended the event. "By being at this rally, we (Armenians) are
contributing to the effort to bring international attention to the
plight of the Sudanese people who are being massacred today in
Darfur. By supporting similar struggles, we support our own. All the
people that saw Armenians at the rally will now have a clearer
understanding of why the Armenian genocide is an international human
rights issue. We, as Armenians need to show that we are willing and
able to help fight any crime against humanity, not just the Armenian
genocide."
For more information, visit www.savedarfurma.org.