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WATCH: SCHIFF MAKES REMARKS IN ARMENIAN MARKING GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY
http://asbarez.com/109601/schiff-makes-remarks-in-armenian-marking-genocide-anniversary/
WASHINGTON "On Wednesday Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of
the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress, delivered his remarks
in Armenian on the House Floor to honor the more than one and a half
million Armenian men, women and children who were murdered by the
Ottoman government.
In a historic first in the Congress, Representative Schiff said in
his Armenian address, "I speak to you from the floor of the House of
Representatives in the language of your grandparents and your great
grandparents â?" the language they used to speak of their hopes,
their dreams, their lives and their loves in the years before 1915
â?¦ I speak to you in the language of sons who watched their fathers
murdered â?¦ I speak to you in the language of the girls begging
the gendarmes for mercy â?¦" "My Armenian friends, here and around
the world, today on the 98th anniversary of the [genocide day],
I speak to you from the floor of the House of Representatives in
the language of your grandparents and your great grandparents â?"
the language they used to speak of their hopes, their dreams, their
lives and their loves in the years before 1915.
"Throughout the Ottoman Empire, tens of thousands were to be killed
outright.
"I speak to you in the language of the sons who watched their fathers'
murdered.
"Women were raped by the thousands.
"I speak to you in the language of the girls begging the gendarmes
for mercy.
"Families were force marched through desert heat as the Ottoman
government sought to destroy a people.
"I speak you in the language of the children begging for a drop
of water.
"By the time it was over in 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenian men,
women and children were dead. It was the first genocide of the 20th
Century.
"I speak to you in the language of the mothers who died with their
babies in their arms.
"A nation was scattered around the worldâ?¦ To the Middle East,
to Europe and to America.
"I speak to you in the language of the survivors who came to America
for freedom and made a new life "For almost a century, Turkey has
denied the genocide. In the face of overwhelming evidence â?" much
of it from American diplomats and journalists â?" Ankara has denied
that the genocide ever happened. They want the world to forget.
"I speak to you in the language of those who were lost. Their voices
drift across the decades â?" begging us to remember.
"I am not a descendant of the fallen, but I speak to you in their
beautiful language because on this day, we are all Armenian. And
not just on this day. Whenever we speak out against mass murder,
whenever we refuse to be cowed into silence, we are all Armenian.
"For many years I have sat with you and listened â?" to the stories
of those who were lost in the genocide and those who survived.
"I speak to you in their language to thank you for sharing your
history with me. And I speak to you from this place, this House,
because Americans have always shown the courage to look horror in
the eye and speak its name, and I look forward to the day when its
leaders will do the same.
"And because I know that day will come. May it come soon, so the last
of the survivors may hear its awesome sound.
"May God hear our voices.
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back."
http://asbarez.com/109601/schiff-makes-remarks-in-armenian-marking-genocide-anniversary/
WASHINGTON "On Wednesday Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of
the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress, delivered his remarks
in Armenian on the House Floor to honor the more than one and a half
million Armenian men, women and children who were murdered by the
Ottoman government.
In a historic first in the Congress, Representative Schiff said in
his Armenian address, "I speak to you from the floor of the House of
Representatives in the language of your grandparents and your great
grandparents â?" the language they used to speak of their hopes,
their dreams, their lives and their loves in the years before 1915
â?¦ I speak to you in the language of sons who watched their fathers
murdered â?¦ I speak to you in the language of the girls begging
the gendarmes for mercy â?¦" "My Armenian friends, here and around
the world, today on the 98th anniversary of the [genocide day],
I speak to you from the floor of the House of Representatives in
the language of your grandparents and your great grandparents â?"
the language they used to speak of their hopes, their dreams, their
lives and their loves in the years before 1915.
"Throughout the Ottoman Empire, tens of thousands were to be killed
outright.
"I speak to you in the language of the sons who watched their fathers'
murdered.
"Women were raped by the thousands.
"I speak to you in the language of the girls begging the gendarmes
for mercy.
"Families were force marched through desert heat as the Ottoman
government sought to destroy a people.
"I speak you in the language of the children begging for a drop
of water.
"By the time it was over in 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenian men,
women and children were dead. It was the first genocide of the 20th
Century.
"I speak to you in the language of the mothers who died with their
babies in their arms.
"A nation was scattered around the worldâ?¦ To the Middle East,
to Europe and to America.
"I speak to you in the language of the survivors who came to America
for freedom and made a new life "For almost a century, Turkey has
denied the genocide. In the face of overwhelming evidence â?" much
of it from American diplomats and journalists â?" Ankara has denied
that the genocide ever happened. They want the world to forget.
"I speak to you in the language of those who were lost. Their voices
drift across the decades â?" begging us to remember.
"I am not a descendant of the fallen, but I speak to you in their
beautiful language because on this day, we are all Armenian. And
not just on this day. Whenever we speak out against mass murder,
whenever we refuse to be cowed into silence, we are all Armenian.
"For many years I have sat with you and listened â?" to the stories
of those who were lost in the genocide and those who survived.
"I speak to you in their language to thank you for sharing your
history with me. And I speak to you from this place, this House,
because Americans have always shown the courage to look horror in
the eye and speak its name, and I look forward to the day when its
leaders will do the same.
"And because I know that day will come. May it come soon, so the last
of the survivors may hear its awesome sound.
"May God hear our voices.
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back."