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FORGET-ME-NOT: A SYMBOL OF GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL MAKING ITS WAY INTO ARMENIANS' LIFE
GENOCIDE | 20.02.15 | 11:45
Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow intern
Forget-me-nots, a chosen symbol of commemoration of the Centennial of
the Armenian Genocide, in colors symbolizing the past, the present
and the future, the light and the eternity, have increasingly been
taking a more prominent place in the life of Armenians in Armenia
and around the world in recent days and weeks.
The massacres of Armenians that began in the Ottoman Empire still
in the 19th century peaked in 1915 turning into a state genocidal
campaign, with 1.5 million Armenians slaughtered in the subsequent
few years. In 2015, Armenians in different parts of the world as well
as in Armenia itself will be holding many events to commemorate the
victims of the Genocide on its 100th anniversary.
Under a decision of the State Committee coordinating these events,
the forget-me-not flower has been selected as the official symbol of
the commemorations, while "I Remember and Demand" was chosen as the
motto for the anniversary, because the flower represents the graphic
image of 12 stone slabs of the memorial to the Armenian Genocide
victims at Tsitsernakaberd (Swallow Fortress).
The five petals of the flower symbolize five parts of the world
where Armenians were scattered after the Genocide and created the
Armenian Diaspora.
The flower has four colors - black in the center, symbolizing the
Armenian past, then it is surrounded by yellow which pictures the
light and the eternity in the form of 12 pillars standing in a circle
symbolizing the memorial of Tsitsernakaberd. Light purple is the
present and the prevailing purple - the future.
The small flower that contains much notion in it has already managed
to become widely popular among Armenians. Reporters of many TV stations
appear on screens with a Forget-Me-Not badge.
The idea of the forget-me-not seems to have appealed to the ruling
party as well, as both President Serzh Sargsyan and other senior
Republican Party members appear in public wearing Forget-Me-Not badges.
Schools will not stay apart from the "Forget-me-nots"; among other
events devoted to the Centennial of the Genocide the Armenian Ministry
of Education and Science will organize an event in all public
educational institutions on March 24, when all schoolchildren of
5-12 grades will prepare the symbol of forget-me-nots - 1.5 million
pieces, which later, on April 24, will be handed to visitors of
Tsitsernakaberd.
And although the official website of the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide says that already in April Forget-Me-Not badges will be
provided for free, it did not avoid "business interests", and those
willing to purchase forget-me-nots earlier are offered a bunch of
Forget-me-nots - not only badges, but also earrings, key-holders, etc.
According to some media reports, a local businessman has produced fake
badges, selling them in his stores for 200 AMD (about 40 cent) a piece.
However, as a symbol the forget-me-not has not unanimously been
accepted and has been criticized by some as well.
According to filmmaker Tigran Khzmlyan, who is also a former member
of the Pre-parliament civil initiative, the forget-me-not is not a
proper symbol for the Genocide Centennial, because according to him,
Armenians have long had their symbolic flower.
"The forget-me-not is understandable in an abstract sense, however,
it is not now that we are searching for cultural symbols for us, and
in our poetry and folklore, in our image system a completely different
flower symbolizes the Armenian pain, it is the poppy. In the image of
the previous generation a poppy symbolized the blood of the diseased,
meaning the beauty of the poor nature of our mountains, it is red,
but has black in its heart," Khzmlyan said.
As for the slogan of the flower - "I Remember and Demand", according
to the film director, it might create a misunderstanding in Turkey.
"If we take a forget-me-not, as a symbol of memory, we appear in a
quite ambiguous situation. The thing is we have nothing to remember,
we are not looking at it from aside and thus we seem to appear in the
Turkish trap. Besides, there is also another unpleasant peculiarity -
the forget-me-not, as it turns out, has numerously been used, it is a
banal and discredited symbol, which we see in many political parties,
religious units and most ridiculously, it is the logo of many trading
companies," Khzmlyan said.
Nevertheless, the symbolic "Forget-me-not" will at least this year be
in the center of Armenian attention, and Europe's biggest pop music
contest, Eurovision, will be no exception.
Armenia has decided to unite around Eurovision 2015 the new generation
of all Armenians who were scattered around the five continents
(Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Australia) in 1915 and five
singers of Armenian origin are associated with five petals of the
flower. They will be joined by one singer from Armenia who will unite
the petals. The group that will be formed for the contest will be
called The Genealogy - 6 artists, 6 destinies, one story, and the
title of the song is - "Don't Deny".
http://armenianow.com/genocide/60808/armenia_forgetmenot_symbol_genocide_centennial
GENOCIDE | 20.02.15 | 11:45
Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow intern
Forget-me-nots, a chosen symbol of commemoration of the Centennial of
the Armenian Genocide, in colors symbolizing the past, the present
and the future, the light and the eternity, have increasingly been
taking a more prominent place in the life of Armenians in Armenia
and around the world in recent days and weeks.
The massacres of Armenians that began in the Ottoman Empire still
in the 19th century peaked in 1915 turning into a state genocidal
campaign, with 1.5 million Armenians slaughtered in the subsequent
few years. In 2015, Armenians in different parts of the world as well
as in Armenia itself will be holding many events to commemorate the
victims of the Genocide on its 100th anniversary.
Under a decision of the State Committee coordinating these events,
the forget-me-not flower has been selected as the official symbol of
the commemorations, while "I Remember and Demand" was chosen as the
motto for the anniversary, because the flower represents the graphic
image of 12 stone slabs of the memorial to the Armenian Genocide
victims at Tsitsernakaberd (Swallow Fortress).
The five petals of the flower symbolize five parts of the world
where Armenians were scattered after the Genocide and created the
Armenian Diaspora.
The flower has four colors - black in the center, symbolizing the
Armenian past, then it is surrounded by yellow which pictures the
light and the eternity in the form of 12 pillars standing in a circle
symbolizing the memorial of Tsitsernakaberd. Light purple is the
present and the prevailing purple - the future.
The small flower that contains much notion in it has already managed
to become widely popular among Armenians. Reporters of many TV stations
appear on screens with a Forget-Me-Not badge.
The idea of the forget-me-not seems to have appealed to the ruling
party as well, as both President Serzh Sargsyan and other senior
Republican Party members appear in public wearing Forget-Me-Not badges.
Schools will not stay apart from the "Forget-me-nots"; among other
events devoted to the Centennial of the Genocide the Armenian Ministry
of Education and Science will organize an event in all public
educational institutions on March 24, when all schoolchildren of
5-12 grades will prepare the symbol of forget-me-nots - 1.5 million
pieces, which later, on April 24, will be handed to visitors of
Tsitsernakaberd.
And although the official website of the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide says that already in April Forget-Me-Not badges will be
provided for free, it did not avoid "business interests", and those
willing to purchase forget-me-nots earlier are offered a bunch of
Forget-me-nots - not only badges, but also earrings, key-holders, etc.
According to some media reports, a local businessman has produced fake
badges, selling them in his stores for 200 AMD (about 40 cent) a piece.
However, as a symbol the forget-me-not has not unanimously been
accepted and has been criticized by some as well.
According to filmmaker Tigran Khzmlyan, who is also a former member
of the Pre-parliament civil initiative, the forget-me-not is not a
proper symbol for the Genocide Centennial, because according to him,
Armenians have long had their symbolic flower.
"The forget-me-not is understandable in an abstract sense, however,
it is not now that we are searching for cultural symbols for us, and
in our poetry and folklore, in our image system a completely different
flower symbolizes the Armenian pain, it is the poppy. In the image of
the previous generation a poppy symbolized the blood of the diseased,
meaning the beauty of the poor nature of our mountains, it is red,
but has black in its heart," Khzmlyan said.
As for the slogan of the flower - "I Remember and Demand", according
to the film director, it might create a misunderstanding in Turkey.
"If we take a forget-me-not, as a symbol of memory, we appear in a
quite ambiguous situation. The thing is we have nothing to remember,
we are not looking at it from aside and thus we seem to appear in the
Turkish trap. Besides, there is also another unpleasant peculiarity -
the forget-me-not, as it turns out, has numerously been used, it is a
banal and discredited symbol, which we see in many political parties,
religious units and most ridiculously, it is the logo of many trading
companies," Khzmlyan said.
Nevertheless, the symbolic "Forget-me-not" will at least this year be
in the center of Armenian attention, and Europe's biggest pop music
contest, Eurovision, will be no exception.
Armenia has decided to unite around Eurovision 2015 the new generation
of all Armenians who were scattered around the five continents
(Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Australia) in 1915 and five
singers of Armenian origin are associated with five petals of the
flower. They will be joined by one singer from Armenia who will unite
the petals. The group that will be formed for the contest will be
called The Genealogy - 6 artists, 6 destinies, one story, and the
title of the song is - "Don't Deny".
http://armenianow.com/genocide/60808/armenia_forgetmenot_symbol_genocide_centennial