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The Armenian Weekly On-Line
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA 02472 USA
(617) 926-3974
[email protected]
http://www.a rmenianweekly.com
The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 22; June 7, 2008
Commentary and Analysis:
1. A Different 'High School Musical'
By Khatchig Mouradian
Comments by Liz Hamm and Megan Hanesian
***
1. A Different 'High School Musical'
By Khatchig Mouradian
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
-Arundhati Roy
I was invited to speak about the scourge of genocide at Tantasqua Regional
High School on April 18. I agreed to speak at the event, organized by the
school's Amnesty International (AI) chapter, because I considered it an
opportunity for me to share my thoughts on genocides old and new and
motivate the students to get involved in anti-genocide activism. Little did
I know that the high school students of Fiskdale, this remote town in
Massachusetts, would, in turn, motivate and inspire me.
It was a handful of students, all members of the AI club, who had managed to
put together an impressive genocide commemoration event, including a photo
exhibit at the entrance of the event hall depicting areas affected by
genocide in the 20th and 21st century.
Before going on the podium, I talked to a few students who helped put the
event together, while they were selling anti-genocide bracelets and
T-shirts, taking care of last-minute arrangements, and ushering their
classmates in. They noted that I had to meet Megan, the student who
conceived and helped organize the event.
Speaking in front of 300-plus students, which included students who had
arrived-with T-shirts that read "Save Darfur" from another high school in
the area-I told the students the story of two families, one that went
through the Armenian genocide and another that survived the Holocaust. I
thought it was important to put faces and names to crimes that are often
reduced to mere numbers of victims. With the help of my PowerPoint
presentation, I took the students on a journey to the dark side of
civilization, and then we arrived at my concluding remarks:
"As high school students, you have countless reasons not to get involved in
human rights activism and anti-genocide movements. You have to worry about
your classes, college, your dreams, and many other large and small issues
that you face every single day. Also, many of the people who are being
subjected to gross human rights violations and massacres today live on the
other side of the Atlantic, have a different skin color, language, and
religion. Some of you might live your entire lives without encountering
people from those societies. . There are countless reasons not to get
involved, to be busy with our own lives. But there is one good reason why we
need to, have to get involved. And that reason is simply that, just like you
and me, those people suffering from genocide also deserve to go to high
school and college, also deserve to dream and live. And we are all part of
the same humanity. So all of us need to find that one minute in our hour,
that one hour in our week, or one day in our month when we can get involved
and support efforts to recognize and prevent genocide and other crimes."
Throughout the presentation, the students were listening attentively. A
Ph.D. student from Clark University, spoke after me. When the event came to
an end, the students did not rush back to their classes. In just a few
minutes, all 200 anti-genocide bracelets were sold. Several students
approached the AI club members and expressed their interest in getting
involved.
But let's get back to Megan. After hearing from her classmates about the
great work she had done organizing the event, I finally met her, and as she
shook my hand, she introduced herself: "Megan Hanessian. I am Armenian."
In this small town in Massachusetts, among hundreds of students who, at
first sight, might appear very homogeneous, I was shaking hands with a
fellow Armenian, who was, in fact, the person without whom this
commemoration of genocides-all genocides, not just the Armenian case-would
not have been possible.
This is to all the Megans of the world. You are an inspiration to your
people and all peoples. This is also dedicated to the members of the AI club
of Tantasqua High School and all the students who, on April 18, 2008,
inspired me and assured me that another world is indeed possible.
***
Below, Tantasqua High School AI club members Megan Hanesian and Liz Hamm
talk about their club, and their impressions from the event.
Comments by Liz Hamm
Amnesty International is quite active in our school, although the projects
we work on vary. Our Amnesty is primarily student-run. Our adviser, Deborah
McKinstry, is extremely helpful in providing us with ideas and working with
us on events, but she makes it a point to let us do the majority of the
work. This set-up is both good and bad; it works well because it makes our
projects more meaningful, but it also means Amnesty is more successful some
years than others. For several years, Amnesty had a high involvement in
helping those in Haiti, following our reading Mountains Beyond Mountains.
This year was the first year we shifted our focus.
As I understand it, the idea for the event was proposed by fellow member
Megan Hanesian. Because of my busy schedule, I did not take part in the
initial planning of the event. Mid-year, Megan approached me with the idea
for a "Genocide Awareness Day," at which point I became active in the
Amnesty once again.
One of our main goals for the event was, as the title states, to increase
awareness of genocide. Everyone in our school knows about the Holocaust, but
few knew that genocides also took place before and after the Holocaust. I
overheard several students ask, "What's genocide?" as they entered the
auditorium. We weren't expecting students to immediately start working on
projects to stop genocide. While we certainly encouraged that, our goal was
more simple: All we wanted was for students to at least be aware of the
reality of genocide. We wanted students to know that genocide was not just
the Holocaust-it was Armenia, it was Bosnia, it was Guatemala, it was
Rwanda, etc. We also wanted to make students aware of the fact that genocide
isn't simply a thing of the past; it happens today and it is happening today
in Darfur. So many students read the book Night and ask, "How could anyone
let this happen?" in reference to the Holocaust. What many do not see is
that it is actually quite easy to let such horrors happen, and that we all
are capable of doing so. If we could make this point, the students in the
future might take a more active role in the recognition and prevention of
genocide.
Overall, we were pleased with the event. The time limit our school schedule
gave us was a bit unfortunate; however, I do believe we made an impact with
the students. We sold out all our "Recognize Genocide" bracelets following
the event, and received a lot of donations and support from both the
teachers and students. We would love to work on holding similar events in
the future.
***
Comments by Megan Hanesian
My school's (Tantasqua Regional High School) chapter of Amnesty
International decided to use genocide awareness as a theme this year because
it seemed very appropriate given the current situation in Darfur, Sudan, and
the lack of educations students seem to receive on genocide outside of the
Holocaust. I took a poll at the beginning of the year asking students if
they knew who Britney Spears' ex-husband was and if they knew what the
Armenian Genocide was; 117 students knew who Spears' ex-husband was, but
only 11 students knew what the Armenian Genocide was. Though the Armenian
Genocide was 93 years ago, there have been several other genocides since
then. There is no excuse for these terrible crimes to go unspoken-this was
millions of innocent people simply gone from this world.
Growing up, the events of the Armenian Genocide were taught to me very young
as something to never forget. Several members of my family perished in the
genocide, and to think that their deaths shall go unrecognized or even
unspoken of is extremely horrifying to me. Growing up, I just expected my
peers to know about the genocide because it was something that I always
knew. I figured that surely no one could be able to ignore 1.5 million
people. But I was wrong; my peers had never heard of the genocide, only that
Adolf Hitler once mentioned the "annihilation of the Armenians." I want
people to know our history just as 93 years ago my ancestors wanted people
to know theirs. Though the deaths may be over, the fight still goes on, 93
long years later. And it is for that reason that I choose to take matters
into my own hands, to spread the knowledge my generation-the hope of
recognition.
I thought the event went very well. We made over $300 in donations and
profits from the "Recognize Genocide" bracelets sold throughout the week.
Those profits will go toward charities promoting the end of the genocide in
Darfur. Many people approached me afterwards with tears in their eyes
telling me what a good thing we-Amnesty International-had done and that it
is people like us who will change the world. I hope more than anything that
students went home that day and told their family and friends what they
learned...because education brings the world one step closer to "Never
Again."
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA 02472 USA
(617) 926-3974
[email protected]
http://www.a rmenianweekly.com
The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 22; June 7, 2008
Commentary and Analysis:
1. A Different 'High School Musical'
By Khatchig Mouradian
Comments by Liz Hamm and Megan Hanesian
***
1. A Different 'High School Musical'
By Khatchig Mouradian
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
-Arundhati Roy
I was invited to speak about the scourge of genocide at Tantasqua Regional
High School on April 18. I agreed to speak at the event, organized by the
school's Amnesty International (AI) chapter, because I considered it an
opportunity for me to share my thoughts on genocides old and new and
motivate the students to get involved in anti-genocide activism. Little did
I know that the high school students of Fiskdale, this remote town in
Massachusetts, would, in turn, motivate and inspire me.
It was a handful of students, all members of the AI club, who had managed to
put together an impressive genocide commemoration event, including a photo
exhibit at the entrance of the event hall depicting areas affected by
genocide in the 20th and 21st century.
Before going on the podium, I talked to a few students who helped put the
event together, while they were selling anti-genocide bracelets and
T-shirts, taking care of last-minute arrangements, and ushering their
classmates in. They noted that I had to meet Megan, the student who
conceived and helped organize the event.
Speaking in front of 300-plus students, which included students who had
arrived-with T-shirts that read "Save Darfur" from another high school in
the area-I told the students the story of two families, one that went
through the Armenian genocide and another that survived the Holocaust. I
thought it was important to put faces and names to crimes that are often
reduced to mere numbers of victims. With the help of my PowerPoint
presentation, I took the students on a journey to the dark side of
civilization, and then we arrived at my concluding remarks:
"As high school students, you have countless reasons not to get involved in
human rights activism and anti-genocide movements. You have to worry about
your classes, college, your dreams, and many other large and small issues
that you face every single day. Also, many of the people who are being
subjected to gross human rights violations and massacres today live on the
other side of the Atlantic, have a different skin color, language, and
religion. Some of you might live your entire lives without encountering
people from those societies. . There are countless reasons not to get
involved, to be busy with our own lives. But there is one good reason why we
need to, have to get involved. And that reason is simply that, just like you
and me, those people suffering from genocide also deserve to go to high
school and college, also deserve to dream and live. And we are all part of
the same humanity. So all of us need to find that one minute in our hour,
that one hour in our week, or one day in our month when we can get involved
and support efforts to recognize and prevent genocide and other crimes."
Throughout the presentation, the students were listening attentively. A
Ph.D. student from Clark University, spoke after me. When the event came to
an end, the students did not rush back to their classes. In just a few
minutes, all 200 anti-genocide bracelets were sold. Several students
approached the AI club members and expressed their interest in getting
involved.
But let's get back to Megan. After hearing from her classmates about the
great work she had done organizing the event, I finally met her, and as she
shook my hand, she introduced herself: "Megan Hanessian. I am Armenian."
In this small town in Massachusetts, among hundreds of students who, at
first sight, might appear very homogeneous, I was shaking hands with a
fellow Armenian, who was, in fact, the person without whom this
commemoration of genocides-all genocides, not just the Armenian case-would
not have been possible.
This is to all the Megans of the world. You are an inspiration to your
people and all peoples. This is also dedicated to the members of the AI club
of Tantasqua High School and all the students who, on April 18, 2008,
inspired me and assured me that another world is indeed possible.
***
Below, Tantasqua High School AI club members Megan Hanesian and Liz Hamm
talk about their club, and their impressions from the event.
Comments by Liz Hamm
Amnesty International is quite active in our school, although the projects
we work on vary. Our Amnesty is primarily student-run. Our adviser, Deborah
McKinstry, is extremely helpful in providing us with ideas and working with
us on events, but she makes it a point to let us do the majority of the
work. This set-up is both good and bad; it works well because it makes our
projects more meaningful, but it also means Amnesty is more successful some
years than others. For several years, Amnesty had a high involvement in
helping those in Haiti, following our reading Mountains Beyond Mountains.
This year was the first year we shifted our focus.
As I understand it, the idea for the event was proposed by fellow member
Megan Hanesian. Because of my busy schedule, I did not take part in the
initial planning of the event. Mid-year, Megan approached me with the idea
for a "Genocide Awareness Day," at which point I became active in the
Amnesty once again.
One of our main goals for the event was, as the title states, to increase
awareness of genocide. Everyone in our school knows about the Holocaust, but
few knew that genocides also took place before and after the Holocaust. I
overheard several students ask, "What's genocide?" as they entered the
auditorium. We weren't expecting students to immediately start working on
projects to stop genocide. While we certainly encouraged that, our goal was
more simple: All we wanted was for students to at least be aware of the
reality of genocide. We wanted students to know that genocide was not just
the Holocaust-it was Armenia, it was Bosnia, it was Guatemala, it was
Rwanda, etc. We also wanted to make students aware of the fact that genocide
isn't simply a thing of the past; it happens today and it is happening today
in Darfur. So many students read the book Night and ask, "How could anyone
let this happen?" in reference to the Holocaust. What many do not see is
that it is actually quite easy to let such horrors happen, and that we all
are capable of doing so. If we could make this point, the students in the
future might take a more active role in the recognition and prevention of
genocide.
Overall, we were pleased with the event. The time limit our school schedule
gave us was a bit unfortunate; however, I do believe we made an impact with
the students. We sold out all our "Recognize Genocide" bracelets following
the event, and received a lot of donations and support from both the
teachers and students. We would love to work on holding similar events in
the future.
***
Comments by Megan Hanesian
My school's (Tantasqua Regional High School) chapter of Amnesty
International decided to use genocide awareness as a theme this year because
it seemed very appropriate given the current situation in Darfur, Sudan, and
the lack of educations students seem to receive on genocide outside of the
Holocaust. I took a poll at the beginning of the year asking students if
they knew who Britney Spears' ex-husband was and if they knew what the
Armenian Genocide was; 117 students knew who Spears' ex-husband was, but
only 11 students knew what the Armenian Genocide was. Though the Armenian
Genocide was 93 years ago, there have been several other genocides since
then. There is no excuse for these terrible crimes to go unspoken-this was
millions of innocent people simply gone from this world.
Growing up, the events of the Armenian Genocide were taught to me very young
as something to never forget. Several members of my family perished in the
genocide, and to think that their deaths shall go unrecognized or even
unspoken of is extremely horrifying to me. Growing up, I just expected my
peers to know about the genocide because it was something that I always
knew. I figured that surely no one could be able to ignore 1.5 million
people. But I was wrong; my peers had never heard of the genocide, only that
Adolf Hitler once mentioned the "annihilation of the Armenians." I want
people to know our history just as 93 years ago my ancestors wanted people
to know theirs. Though the deaths may be over, the fight still goes on, 93
long years later. And it is for that reason that I choose to take matters
into my own hands, to spread the knowledge my generation-the hope of
recognition.
I thought the event went very well. We made over $300 in donations and
profits from the "Recognize Genocide" bracelets sold throughout the week.
Those profits will go toward charities promoting the end of the genocide in
Darfur. Many people approached me afterwards with tears in their eyes
telling me what a good thing we-Amnesty International-had done and that it
is people like us who will change the world. I hope more than anything that
students went home that day and told their family and friends what they
learned...because education brings the world one step closer to "Never
Again."