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WE REMEMBER THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Duke Chronicle
March 2 2015
By Stephen Ghazikhanian on March 2, 2015
"One day the gendarmes [Ottoman military police] came, and chased
us out of our house. They didn't tell us where we were going, just
to get out of the house," recounted Yeranouhi Kazanjian Najarian,
an Armenian Genocide survivor, in a recorded testimonial from the
early 1980s. She and her two sisters were the sole survivors from her
entire family--both her grandmothers were buried alive, her father
imprisoned and never seen again. Her mother, brother, and sister were
herded into the mountains with thousands of other Armenians and forced
to walk hundreds of miles south towards concentration camps. During
the deportation, her mother was left in the mountains to die and her
brother beheaded. While it has been over thirty years since Yeranouhi
recorded this testimonial, and only months short of a century since
these events took place, Yeranouhi's words will always be remembered.
The atrocities Yeranouhi described were part of a systematic
extermination campaign by the Ottoman government against the
Armenians. Up to 1.5 million Armenians perished as a result of
outright killings or death marches through the Syrian Desert to
concentration camps in Deir ez-Zor. The Armenian Genocide marked the
first genocide of the 20th century. Ottoman success in eradicating
the Armenians from their historic homeland and the lack of sufficient
international outrage about these acts against humanity perpetuated
genocide throughout the 20th century and 21st century in WWII Europe,
Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia and Darfur. As means of justifying his
horrific actions, Hitler asked "Who, after all, speaks today of the
annihilation of the Armenians?"
It is our duty to tell the story of the Armenians. It is our duty
to remember each victim of genocide and to honor each survivor, for
these acts of commemoration are crucial in preventing future acts of
genocide and mass atrocities. The Coalition for Preserving Memory, an
organization founded by Duke students, is dedicated to memorializing
genocide victims from the 20th and 21st centuries in a way that will
be meaningful and relevant to future generations. CPM unites our
diverse Duke community to remember those who have unjustly perished.
It is our responsibility to make the promise of "Never Again"
a reality.
We invite you to join us in observing the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide and commemorating its victims with an event entitled
"Stories of Survival". It will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd, at
6:30pm in Sanford School of Public Policy Room 05. At the event, we
will hear panelists from the Duke and Triangle communities, including
Yeranouhi's grandson, Jeff Essen T'74, share their family narratives
about the Armenian Genocide. With these harrowing descriptions of
destruction and moving stories of survival, we will honor the memory
of the genocide's victims and survivors, remembering humanity at its
worst to inspire humanity at its best.
Stephen Ghazikhanian is a Trinity junior.
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/03/02/we-remember-armenian-genocide
Duke Chronicle
March 2 2015
By Stephen Ghazikhanian on March 2, 2015
"One day the gendarmes [Ottoman military police] came, and chased
us out of our house. They didn't tell us where we were going, just
to get out of the house," recounted Yeranouhi Kazanjian Najarian,
an Armenian Genocide survivor, in a recorded testimonial from the
early 1980s. She and her two sisters were the sole survivors from her
entire family--both her grandmothers were buried alive, her father
imprisoned and never seen again. Her mother, brother, and sister were
herded into the mountains with thousands of other Armenians and forced
to walk hundreds of miles south towards concentration camps. During
the deportation, her mother was left in the mountains to die and her
brother beheaded. While it has been over thirty years since Yeranouhi
recorded this testimonial, and only months short of a century since
these events took place, Yeranouhi's words will always be remembered.
The atrocities Yeranouhi described were part of a systematic
extermination campaign by the Ottoman government against the
Armenians. Up to 1.5 million Armenians perished as a result of
outright killings or death marches through the Syrian Desert to
concentration camps in Deir ez-Zor. The Armenian Genocide marked the
first genocide of the 20th century. Ottoman success in eradicating
the Armenians from their historic homeland and the lack of sufficient
international outrage about these acts against humanity perpetuated
genocide throughout the 20th century and 21st century in WWII Europe,
Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia and Darfur. As means of justifying his
horrific actions, Hitler asked "Who, after all, speaks today of the
annihilation of the Armenians?"
It is our duty to tell the story of the Armenians. It is our duty
to remember each victim of genocide and to honor each survivor, for
these acts of commemoration are crucial in preventing future acts of
genocide and mass atrocities. The Coalition for Preserving Memory, an
organization founded by Duke students, is dedicated to memorializing
genocide victims from the 20th and 21st centuries in a way that will
be meaningful and relevant to future generations. CPM unites our
diverse Duke community to remember those who have unjustly perished.
It is our responsibility to make the promise of "Never Again"
a reality.
We invite you to join us in observing the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide and commemorating its victims with an event entitled
"Stories of Survival". It will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd, at
6:30pm in Sanford School of Public Policy Room 05. At the event, we
will hear panelists from the Duke and Triangle communities, including
Yeranouhi's grandson, Jeff Essen T'74, share their family narratives
about the Armenian Genocide. With these harrowing descriptions of
destruction and moving stories of survival, we will honor the memory
of the genocide's victims and survivors, remembering humanity at its
worst to inspire humanity at its best.
Stephen Ghazikhanian is a Trinity junior.
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/03/02/we-remember-armenian-genocide