Tweet
COMMUNITY GATHERS TO BREAK GROUND ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT
The Collegian (CSU), California
Nov 3 2014
By Nadia Pearl
Leaders from the local Armenian community and the university broke
ground on the Armenian Genocide Monument on Sunday, a project that
hopes to commemorate and educate the public when it opens next April.
The monument will be located in Fresno State's Maple Mall and will be
christened on April 24, 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide's beginning.
The genocide was a systematic extermination of the minority Armenians
from their homeland during 1915 to 1923 at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire government. Historians believe as many as 1.5 million Armenians
were killed by executions and mass death marches.
The main structure of the monument, which will be composed of bèton
brut and tufa stones, will feature nine pillars that represent the
six provinces of historic Armenia, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia,
the diaspora of Armenians throughout the world and the Republic of
Armenia as it is known today.
The monument's leading architect, Paul Halajian, said the design
would convey respect for the generation that experienced the genocide,
as well as today's generation that has "thrived" both as immigrants
and in the Republic of Armenia.
Rather than focusing purely on the "negative aspects," Halajian said
the monument would also be a celebration. Above the pillars will be an
incomplete halo, representing both the fracture left by the genocide
and the unity of the Armenian people.
Halajian has been working on the design for a year with a subcommittee
of the organization Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee - Fresno.
The committee is comprised of local leaders in the Armenian
community, including Fresno State Armenian studies professor Barlow
Der Mugrdechian.
"To do this project on our campus, it was my dream that that would
happen," said Der Mugrdechian, whose grandparents survived the Armenian
Genocide before immigrating to Fresno.
"This is very moving for me," he said.
Also present at the ceremony, which drew a crowd of several hundred,
was Levon Minasyan, a representative from the Consulate General of
the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles. He said the international
recognition and condemnation of the genocide has been at the forefront
of Armenia's foreign policy priorities for almost two decades.
"The criminal must be punished. This is the only right way to go," he
said. "Having this in mind, the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian
people stand as a strong advocate of peace and justice.
"The distortion of historical facts and the realities by Turkey cannot
continue. We believe and hope that guilty consciousness will prevail
in Turkey and the Turkish government will reconcile the reality
of the Armenian Genocide. Crimes against Armenians and humanity,
committed by its ancestors."
The United States federal government has yet to formally recognize
the Armenian Genocide, something Congressman Jim Costa, D-Fresno,
said he hopes to change.
"I will always be the strongest advocate I can be on your behalf in
our nation's Congress, a member of the House of Representatives,
to some day ensure, sooner rather than later, that the House of
Representatives goes on record as recognizing the Armenian Genocide
for all the right reasons," Costa said at the ceremony.
As expressed by several speakers at the ceremony, the monument will
serve as a way to educate the current and future community about
this history.
"We are committed to education, That's our primary mission, which
is also at the core of the Armenian Genocide Monument," Fresno State
President Joseph Castro said. "This monument will inform and educate
people about the Armenian Genocide and bring awareness to the problem
of genocide throughout history."
While other locations in the U.S. have Armenian Genocide monuments,
Castro said this would be the first on any college or university
campus in the country.
"We want this to be not only a symbol to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide, but as a symbol of showing how Fresno State supports the
recognition of the genocide and condemns genocides around the world,"
said Marine Vardanyan, president of the Armenian Students Organization.
"Students are going to be passing by all the time. So they're going to
ask questions, they're going to be curious," she said. "So this will
be a great way to stir up those discussions and get people talking
about genocide as a global issue."
The monument will be located in the most heavily-trafficked corridor
on the university, said Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Fresno State vice
president for administration and chief financial officer.
Soil from various historic locations in Armenia was traditionally
blessed during the ceremony before being placed in a cylinder that
would act as the center of the future monument.
"Our monument is intended to symbolize Armenians throughout the world,"
Der Mugrdechian said.
In Fresno particularly, Armenians have "many roots," said Vardanyan,
who immigrated to Fresno with her family in 1999.
"That's what I love about Fresno. We have those who actually came
during the genocide, those that came earlier, those that came after
and also then those that are coming now," she said. "We have a mixture
of all the different immigrants."
"We're Armenian-Americans, and we want to contribute to our own
community," Vardanyan added.
http://collegian.csufresno.edu/2014/11/02/community-gathers-to-break-ground-on-the-armenian-genocide-monument/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
The Collegian (CSU), California
Nov 3 2014
By Nadia Pearl
Leaders from the local Armenian community and the university broke
ground on the Armenian Genocide Monument on Sunday, a project that
hopes to commemorate and educate the public when it opens next April.
The monument will be located in Fresno State's Maple Mall and will be
christened on April 24, 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide's beginning.
The genocide was a systematic extermination of the minority Armenians
from their homeland during 1915 to 1923 at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire government. Historians believe as many as 1.5 million Armenians
were killed by executions and mass death marches.
The main structure of the monument, which will be composed of bèton
brut and tufa stones, will feature nine pillars that represent the
six provinces of historic Armenia, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia,
the diaspora of Armenians throughout the world and the Republic of
Armenia as it is known today.
The monument's leading architect, Paul Halajian, said the design
would convey respect for the generation that experienced the genocide,
as well as today's generation that has "thrived" both as immigrants
and in the Republic of Armenia.
Rather than focusing purely on the "negative aspects," Halajian said
the monument would also be a celebration. Above the pillars will be an
incomplete halo, representing both the fracture left by the genocide
and the unity of the Armenian people.
Halajian has been working on the design for a year with a subcommittee
of the organization Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee - Fresno.
The committee is comprised of local leaders in the Armenian
community, including Fresno State Armenian studies professor Barlow
Der Mugrdechian.
"To do this project on our campus, it was my dream that that would
happen," said Der Mugrdechian, whose grandparents survived the Armenian
Genocide before immigrating to Fresno.
"This is very moving for me," he said.
Also present at the ceremony, which drew a crowd of several hundred,
was Levon Minasyan, a representative from the Consulate General of
the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles. He said the international
recognition and condemnation of the genocide has been at the forefront
of Armenia's foreign policy priorities for almost two decades.
"The criminal must be punished. This is the only right way to go," he
said. "Having this in mind, the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian
people stand as a strong advocate of peace and justice.
"The distortion of historical facts and the realities by Turkey cannot
continue. We believe and hope that guilty consciousness will prevail
in Turkey and the Turkish government will reconcile the reality
of the Armenian Genocide. Crimes against Armenians and humanity,
committed by its ancestors."
The United States federal government has yet to formally recognize
the Armenian Genocide, something Congressman Jim Costa, D-Fresno,
said he hopes to change.
"I will always be the strongest advocate I can be on your behalf in
our nation's Congress, a member of the House of Representatives,
to some day ensure, sooner rather than later, that the House of
Representatives goes on record as recognizing the Armenian Genocide
for all the right reasons," Costa said at the ceremony.
As expressed by several speakers at the ceremony, the monument will
serve as a way to educate the current and future community about
this history.
"We are committed to education, That's our primary mission, which
is also at the core of the Armenian Genocide Monument," Fresno State
President Joseph Castro said. "This monument will inform and educate
people about the Armenian Genocide and bring awareness to the problem
of genocide throughout history."
While other locations in the U.S. have Armenian Genocide monuments,
Castro said this would be the first on any college or university
campus in the country.
"We want this to be not only a symbol to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide, but as a symbol of showing how Fresno State supports the
recognition of the genocide and condemns genocides around the world,"
said Marine Vardanyan, president of the Armenian Students Organization.
"Students are going to be passing by all the time. So they're going to
ask questions, they're going to be curious," she said. "So this will
be a great way to stir up those discussions and get people talking
about genocide as a global issue."
The monument will be located in the most heavily-trafficked corridor
on the university, said Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Fresno State vice
president for administration and chief financial officer.
Soil from various historic locations in Armenia was traditionally
blessed during the ceremony before being placed in a cylinder that
would act as the center of the future monument.
"Our monument is intended to symbolize Armenians throughout the world,"
Der Mugrdechian said.
In Fresno particularly, Armenians have "many roots," said Vardanyan,
who immigrated to Fresno with her family in 1999.
"That's what I love about Fresno. We have those who actually came
during the genocide, those that came earlier, those that came after
and also then those that are coming now," she said. "We have a mixture
of all the different immigrants."
"We're Armenian-Americans, and we want to contribute to our own
community," Vardanyan added.
http://collegian.csufresno.edu/2014/11/02/community-gathers-to-break-ground-on-the-armenian-genocide-monument/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress