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OP-ED: FINDING A NEW WAY OF REMEMBERING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
ianyan Magazine
April 28 2013
by Robert Fullam
On the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, some people were
putting together signs to hold outside of consulates or writing
letters or calling their state or Congressional leaders while some of
us congregated around monuments outside of churches to remember the
lives lost almost a century ago.
What is clear however is that Armenian Martyrs Day in the United
States has a distinct political aspect to it, most notably lobbying
the American government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The
protests in the Armenian Diaspora grew out of the 1965 demonstrations
in Yerevan on the 50th anniversary of the Genocide and gradually
became a staple of April 24th observances in Armenian communities
across the globe. Unfortunately I could not attend the commemoration
at the Massachusetts States House on Friday due to the lockdown of the
city while police closed in on the suspects in the Boston Marathon
bombings which got me thinking:
If we don't have these protests or commemorations, what do we have?
Last year while in Connecticut I didn't go to the State House in
Hartford, so without a frame of reference on my calendar it took me
until 5 p.m to realize it was the anniversary for the Genocide and
come to think of it I haven't down anything on April 24th the past
couple years. Let's just imagine a scenario where the U.S, Turkey and
other countries with sizeable Armenian populations properly recognize
what happened, this effectively takes out the protests and political
actions that recognition efforts entailed. If you're struggling to
find an answer as to what fills that void, you probably aren't alone.
We don't have any specific rituals or customs that we are suppose to
perform, sure we say a couple prayers but is that really it? It's not
like in Armenia where Genocide Remembrance Day is a public holiday
where it's normal for everyone to take time off to visit
Tsitsernakaberd. I understand that the ARF Western Region asked people
to take personal days or close their businesses - maybe that will work
in Glendale or other areas with heavy concentrations of Armenians but
it can't happen everywhere. We have jobs we need to go to, children
have to stay in school, not everyone can make the memorial services,
state house speeches or protests.
I applaud those who continue to speak out against denial but I don't
think observing April 24th should just be about protests and lobbying.
As a descendant of Genocide survivors, I personally feel the Genocide
itself has a huge presence in terms of how I identify myself and while
I cannot speak for all Armenians out there, it definitely provides a
link to the past that I worry might be severed once recognition
occurs. Wouldn't it be terribly ironic if political realization of
recognition ended remembrance altogether?
Political activities on April 24th should not take precedence over any
form of real reflection within the community. By real reflection I
mean maintaining an understanding of what happened almost a century
ago.
In 1915 a huge blow was dealt to the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire
and Western Armenian culture. Clothing, dances, songs, foods and
dialects unique to each village or region, collective histories and
individual memories were destroyed, a renaissance in the Armenian
literary tradition cut short and the cultural and historical legacy of
3,000 year-old civilization slowly erased from the land of it's
forebears. The homogenization of Anatolia stripped away the richness
brought to the table by not just Armenians but Assyrians and Greeks as
well. Can this all become easily digestible for the general public? I
don't think so, especially in the K-12 school systems since textbook
and curriculum committees haven't had the best track record.
It's been a couple years but if I remember correctly, World War I in
high school was basically Archduke Ferdinand's assassination,
entangling alliances, trench warfare then the Treaty of Versailles.
When I was younger I used to dutifully go through history textbooks
and see what each said about the Armenian Genocide and more often than
not, it was a side note that described it as a series of massacres in
the end days of the Ottoman Empire. Nothing substantial and not the
type of thing that will stick with somebody. This isn't an excuse to
stop funneling resources towards education efforts but it's not the
end all be all of recognition. More than anything, the onus is on us
to keep the victims from being relegated to the footnotes of history.
Given this, how do we honor the memories of those who perished? Some
suggestions could be to read Varoujan or Siamanto, listen to Komitas,
cook a traditional dish from Marash, Sivas or Bitlis and learn a
regional dance from Erzurum or Bursa. Even better, find out where your
family is from and learn about it. Maybe listen to relatives have to
say or stories they were told, read survivor testimony or that of
witnesses like Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Johannes Lepsius and the
like. You could do this with your family, members of your church and
even non-Armenian friends so they can learn as well. In a similar
vein, why not read up on contemporary Armenian figures? While it may
seem sometimes that we are stuck in 1915, our culture is very much
alive and it's important not to forget that. They are proof that
Armenian culture is still strong and flourishing, simply living
represents an active form of rebellion against the Young Turks'
intentions, even in the 21st century.
I choose to take away from April 24th is not only recognizing the
significance of those we lost but also the ones who lived and the
legacy we have inherited.
Author: Robert Fullam
Robert Fullam is a Political Science student at the University of
Connecticut-Storrs. He is interested in diaspora and identity
politics, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and anthropology. He enjoys
pumpkin pie, kalamata olives and ginger ale.
http://www.ianyanmag.com/2013/04/28/op-ed-finding-a-new-way-of-remembering-armenian-genocide/
From: Baghdasarian
ianyan Magazine
April 28 2013
by Robert Fullam
On the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, some people were
putting together signs to hold outside of consulates or writing
letters or calling their state or Congressional leaders while some of
us congregated around monuments outside of churches to remember the
lives lost almost a century ago.
What is clear however is that Armenian Martyrs Day in the United
States has a distinct political aspect to it, most notably lobbying
the American government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The
protests in the Armenian Diaspora grew out of the 1965 demonstrations
in Yerevan on the 50th anniversary of the Genocide and gradually
became a staple of April 24th observances in Armenian communities
across the globe. Unfortunately I could not attend the commemoration
at the Massachusetts States House on Friday due to the lockdown of the
city while police closed in on the suspects in the Boston Marathon
bombings which got me thinking:
If we don't have these protests or commemorations, what do we have?
Last year while in Connecticut I didn't go to the State House in
Hartford, so without a frame of reference on my calendar it took me
until 5 p.m to realize it was the anniversary for the Genocide and
come to think of it I haven't down anything on April 24th the past
couple years. Let's just imagine a scenario where the U.S, Turkey and
other countries with sizeable Armenian populations properly recognize
what happened, this effectively takes out the protests and political
actions that recognition efforts entailed. If you're struggling to
find an answer as to what fills that void, you probably aren't alone.
We don't have any specific rituals or customs that we are suppose to
perform, sure we say a couple prayers but is that really it? It's not
like in Armenia where Genocide Remembrance Day is a public holiday
where it's normal for everyone to take time off to visit
Tsitsernakaberd. I understand that the ARF Western Region asked people
to take personal days or close their businesses - maybe that will work
in Glendale or other areas with heavy concentrations of Armenians but
it can't happen everywhere. We have jobs we need to go to, children
have to stay in school, not everyone can make the memorial services,
state house speeches or protests.
I applaud those who continue to speak out against denial but I don't
think observing April 24th should just be about protests and lobbying.
As a descendant of Genocide survivors, I personally feel the Genocide
itself has a huge presence in terms of how I identify myself and while
I cannot speak for all Armenians out there, it definitely provides a
link to the past that I worry might be severed once recognition
occurs. Wouldn't it be terribly ironic if political realization of
recognition ended remembrance altogether?
Political activities on April 24th should not take precedence over any
form of real reflection within the community. By real reflection I
mean maintaining an understanding of what happened almost a century
ago.
In 1915 a huge blow was dealt to the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire
and Western Armenian culture. Clothing, dances, songs, foods and
dialects unique to each village or region, collective histories and
individual memories were destroyed, a renaissance in the Armenian
literary tradition cut short and the cultural and historical legacy of
3,000 year-old civilization slowly erased from the land of it's
forebears. The homogenization of Anatolia stripped away the richness
brought to the table by not just Armenians but Assyrians and Greeks as
well. Can this all become easily digestible for the general public? I
don't think so, especially in the K-12 school systems since textbook
and curriculum committees haven't had the best track record.
It's been a couple years but if I remember correctly, World War I in
high school was basically Archduke Ferdinand's assassination,
entangling alliances, trench warfare then the Treaty of Versailles.
When I was younger I used to dutifully go through history textbooks
and see what each said about the Armenian Genocide and more often than
not, it was a side note that described it as a series of massacres in
the end days of the Ottoman Empire. Nothing substantial and not the
type of thing that will stick with somebody. This isn't an excuse to
stop funneling resources towards education efforts but it's not the
end all be all of recognition. More than anything, the onus is on us
to keep the victims from being relegated to the footnotes of history.
Given this, how do we honor the memories of those who perished? Some
suggestions could be to read Varoujan or Siamanto, listen to Komitas,
cook a traditional dish from Marash, Sivas or Bitlis and learn a
regional dance from Erzurum or Bursa. Even better, find out where your
family is from and learn about it. Maybe listen to relatives have to
say or stories they were told, read survivor testimony or that of
witnesses like Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Johannes Lepsius and the
like. You could do this with your family, members of your church and
even non-Armenian friends so they can learn as well. In a similar
vein, why not read up on contemporary Armenian figures? While it may
seem sometimes that we are stuck in 1915, our culture is very much
alive and it's important not to forget that. They are proof that
Armenian culture is still strong and flourishing, simply living
represents an active form of rebellion against the Young Turks'
intentions, even in the 21st century.
I choose to take away from April 24th is not only recognizing the
significance of those we lost but also the ones who lived and the
legacy we have inherited.
Author: Robert Fullam
Robert Fullam is a Political Science student at the University of
Connecticut-Storrs. He is interested in diaspora and identity
politics, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and anthropology. He enjoys
pumpkin pie, kalamata olives and ginger ale.
http://www.ianyanmag.com/2013/04/28/op-ed-finding-a-new-way-of-remembering-armenian-genocide/
From: Baghdasarian