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I am the grandson of a Genocide survivor and I have a dream: JPost
11:40, 29 April, 2014
Making friends with the sea--These orphan children at Marathon,
Greece, were brought from the interior of Asia Minor by the Near East
Relief and never saw the sea before | Armenian and Greek orphans
standing in sea, Marathon, Greece. Photograph by Near East Relief.
George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress) Everybody who
has ever met an Armenian may have been told about the Armenian
genocide and the story about parents or grandparents who were killed
by Turks.
I am also an Armenian and my roots are from Western Armenia.
My grandfather's father Karapet twice survived from massacres. He was
forced to leave Adana during the massacres taking place there in April
of 1909 and moved to Constantinople. During the Armenian Genocide in
1915 he escaped to Greece and then with his wife Ester came to what is
now Armenia in 1931.
My grandmother's mother, Zaruhi was from Kharpert. Her father with his
brothers possessed a factory of silk production, which had a great
reputation not only in the Ottoman Turkey, but also in the European
markets. The Armenian genocide put an end to their peaceful
work. Zaruhi's father and uncles were killed in front of her eyes, and
the Turks took their property and houses. Since she was a beautiful
girl, her grandmother scraped mud on her face and dressed her in
shabby clothes so as to prevent her from catching the eye of any
covetous Turks. She hardly reached the American orphanage, from there
moving on to Beirut. She married Vahan from Karin (Erzurum) and came
to Armenia in 1947.
While she had a tattoo on her hand, `Armenian' so that she would not
forget about her roots when she is older, I was born with a `tattoo'
on my heart carrying the pain of my ancestors.
The mass slaughter of over one and half million Armenians was
something beyond human imagination. Shamefully, the political and
economic interests of the international community transcended
morality, never condemning Turkey for the Armenian genocide to prevent
other similar crimes against humanity.
This lead to the Nazi leader Hitler saying, `who, after all, speaks
today of the annihilation of the Armenians?' while implementing the
invasion of Poland, massacre of Poles and the Holocaust.
The `more speeches, than actions' behavior of the international
community brought other genocides and continuation of anti-Semitism
and persecutions against Christians in the Middle East and other parts
of the world.
Despite all this, the Armenians and Jews continue to live and Create
with their indomitable will to survive and having a strong faith in
the future.
Every year, on the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
April 24th, I feel this with a great conjugation to my ancestors.
And, just as the Jews walked through a difficult ladder of their
collective life, overcoming various sufferings, before reaching their
desired motherland, Armenians having a similar historical path, should
aspire to do the same.
This is what all Armenians in the world keep in their genes and this
is what my dream is about.
Vahan Dilanyan, Ph.D. is a recognized expert on regional security and
conflict resolution. He serves as the Chairman of the Political
Developments Research Center (PDRC), a think-tank based in Yerevan.
He is an author of numerous articles in professional publications and
popular media.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/760045/i-am-the-grandson-of-a-genocide-survivor-and-i-have-a-dream-jpost.html
11:40, 29 April, 2014
Making friends with the sea--These orphan children at Marathon,
Greece, were brought from the interior of Asia Minor by the Near East
Relief and never saw the sea before | Armenian and Greek orphans
standing in sea, Marathon, Greece. Photograph by Near East Relief.
George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress) Everybody who
has ever met an Armenian may have been told about the Armenian
genocide and the story about parents or grandparents who were killed
by Turks.
I am also an Armenian and my roots are from Western Armenia.
My grandfather's father Karapet twice survived from massacres. He was
forced to leave Adana during the massacres taking place there in April
of 1909 and moved to Constantinople. During the Armenian Genocide in
1915 he escaped to Greece and then with his wife Ester came to what is
now Armenia in 1931.
My grandmother's mother, Zaruhi was from Kharpert. Her father with his
brothers possessed a factory of silk production, which had a great
reputation not only in the Ottoman Turkey, but also in the European
markets. The Armenian genocide put an end to their peaceful
work. Zaruhi's father and uncles were killed in front of her eyes, and
the Turks took their property and houses. Since she was a beautiful
girl, her grandmother scraped mud on her face and dressed her in
shabby clothes so as to prevent her from catching the eye of any
covetous Turks. She hardly reached the American orphanage, from there
moving on to Beirut. She married Vahan from Karin (Erzurum) and came
to Armenia in 1947.
While she had a tattoo on her hand, `Armenian' so that she would not
forget about her roots when she is older, I was born with a `tattoo'
on my heart carrying the pain of my ancestors.
The mass slaughter of over one and half million Armenians was
something beyond human imagination. Shamefully, the political and
economic interests of the international community transcended
morality, never condemning Turkey for the Armenian genocide to prevent
other similar crimes against humanity.
This lead to the Nazi leader Hitler saying, `who, after all, speaks
today of the annihilation of the Armenians?' while implementing the
invasion of Poland, massacre of Poles and the Holocaust.
The `more speeches, than actions' behavior of the international
community brought other genocides and continuation of anti-Semitism
and persecutions against Christians in the Middle East and other parts
of the world.
Despite all this, the Armenians and Jews continue to live and Create
with their indomitable will to survive and having a strong faith in
the future.
Every year, on the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
April 24th, I feel this with a great conjugation to my ancestors.
And, just as the Jews walked through a difficult ladder of their
collective life, overcoming various sufferings, before reaching their
desired motherland, Armenians having a similar historical path, should
aspire to do the same.
This is what all Armenians in the world keep in their genes and this
is what my dream is about.
Vahan Dilanyan, Ph.D. is a recognized expert on regional security and
conflict resolution. He serves as the Chairman of the Political
Developments Research Center (PDRC), a think-tank based in Yerevan.
He is an author of numerous articles in professional publications and
popular media.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/760045/i-am-the-grandson-of-a-genocide-survivor-and-i-have-a-dream-jpost.html