Tweet
US Fed News
April 24, 2013 Wednesday 11:32 AM EST
REP. SCHIFF GIVES FULL SPEECH ON HOUSE FLOOR IN ARMENIAN
WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Adam Schiff issued the following news:
Today, 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 - the language they used to speak of their hopes, their
dreams, their lives and their loves in the years before 1915 ... I
speak to you in the language of sons who watched their fathers
murdered ... I speak to you in the language of the girls begging the
gendarmes for mercy ..."
Rep. Schiff's full speech follows:
"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 - 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 world... 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 - much of it from American diplomats and
journalists - 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 - 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 - 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."
Schiff's speech in Armenian can be read at
http://schiff.house.gov/uploads/SchiffArmenian4.24.13.docx
April 24, 2013 Wednesday 11:32 AM EST
REP. SCHIFF GIVES FULL SPEECH ON HOUSE FLOOR IN ARMENIAN
WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Adam Schiff issued the following news:
Today, 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 - the language they used to speak of their hopes, their
dreams, their lives and their loves in the years before 1915 ... I
speak to you in the language of sons who watched their fathers
murdered ... I speak to you in the language of the girls begging the
gendarmes for mercy ..."
Rep. Schiff's full speech follows:
"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 - 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 world... 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 - much of it from American diplomats and
journalists - 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 - 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 - 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."
Schiff's speech in Armenian can be read at
http://schiff.house.gov/uploads/SchiffArmenian4.24.13.docx