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Armenian Genocide: New way to commemorate - The Economist
17:30 * 12.03.15
In the early 20th century, concern for the fate of the Armenians was
often presented in the Western world as a matter of inter-Christian
solidarity. If you were an American Protestant church-goer, you
probably heard sermons about the suffering endured by your
co-religionists in the Near and Middle East. American missionaries
were by that time well-established in the Ottoman lands, tending to
the education and welfare of Christian communities in far-flung
places.
American and other missionaries were crucial witnesses of the terrible
fate that was meted out to well over a million Armenians starting in
the spring of 1915: a mass "deportation" in which most did not
survive, whether they died of heat, hunger, exhaustion or were killed
outright. In places ranging from Syria to Transcaucasia, missionaries
succoured those whose did somehow live through the experience, and
made sure that orphans were fed, educated and given a new life. Money
for this cause was raised in American churches. In devout American
households, a child who ate poorly would be told to "think of the
hungry Armenians" and be more grateful.
In New York today, an initiative was launched to honour the dead and
celebrate survivors in ways that far transcend the bounds of any one
religion or ethnic group. Two businessmen of Armenian origin, one
Russian and one American, teamed up with a scholar and philanthropist,
Vartan Gregorian, head of the Carnegie Corporation, to come up with a
response to the dreadful events of 1915 that goes beyond lamenting the
victims of genocide or demanding recompense.
One aim of the 100 Lives project is to uncover stories of "survivors
and saviours", in other words cases where an individual or family
lived through the horrors thanks to courageous helpers. Ruben
Vardanyan, a co-founder who also built up the Russian investment bank
Troika Dialog, said his grandfather was saved and schooled by American
missionaries; his Armenian-American partner, Noubar Afeyan, a biotech
entrepreneur, recalls that his grandfather was spared from execution
thanks to the intervention of German officers who were building a
Berlin-Baghdad railway for their Turkish allies. But in some cases,
the "saviours" might turn out to be a Muslim Turkish or Kurdish family
who hid an Armenian family at risk to themselves.
A second part of the project will establish a prize for people in any
part of the world who take risks to help others survive, from health
workers braving an epidemic to human-rights campaigners in a zone of
war or oppression. An Aurora prize of $1m will will be awarded
annually to one individual, who will then be invited to pass the money
on to an organisation that is doing inspiring work. Selectors will
include Elie Wiesel, a Nobel prize laureate and Holocaust survivor,
Mary Robinson, a former Irish president and UN human-rights
commissioner, and George Clooney, an actor and human-rights
campaigner.
There are, of course, lots of initiatives that aim to investigate and
denounce genocide; and plenty of efforts to recognise those who have
courageously saved human lives, either recently or long ago. This is a
proposal to serve all those purposes, with no regard for the religion
or race of the saviour or the saved.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/03/12/genocide-review/1615498
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/03/armenian-genocide
17:30 * 12.03.15
In the early 20th century, concern for the fate of the Armenians was
often presented in the Western world as a matter of inter-Christian
solidarity. If you were an American Protestant church-goer, you
probably heard sermons about the suffering endured by your
co-religionists in the Near and Middle East. American missionaries
were by that time well-established in the Ottoman lands, tending to
the education and welfare of Christian communities in far-flung
places.
American and other missionaries were crucial witnesses of the terrible
fate that was meted out to well over a million Armenians starting in
the spring of 1915: a mass "deportation" in which most did not
survive, whether they died of heat, hunger, exhaustion or were killed
outright. In places ranging from Syria to Transcaucasia, missionaries
succoured those whose did somehow live through the experience, and
made sure that orphans were fed, educated and given a new life. Money
for this cause was raised in American churches. In devout American
households, a child who ate poorly would be told to "think of the
hungry Armenians" and be more grateful.
In New York today, an initiative was launched to honour the dead and
celebrate survivors in ways that far transcend the bounds of any one
religion or ethnic group. Two businessmen of Armenian origin, one
Russian and one American, teamed up with a scholar and philanthropist,
Vartan Gregorian, head of the Carnegie Corporation, to come up with a
response to the dreadful events of 1915 that goes beyond lamenting the
victims of genocide or demanding recompense.
One aim of the 100 Lives project is to uncover stories of "survivors
and saviours", in other words cases where an individual or family
lived through the horrors thanks to courageous helpers. Ruben
Vardanyan, a co-founder who also built up the Russian investment bank
Troika Dialog, said his grandfather was saved and schooled by American
missionaries; his Armenian-American partner, Noubar Afeyan, a biotech
entrepreneur, recalls that his grandfather was spared from execution
thanks to the intervention of German officers who were building a
Berlin-Baghdad railway for their Turkish allies. But in some cases,
the "saviours" might turn out to be a Muslim Turkish or Kurdish family
who hid an Armenian family at risk to themselves.
A second part of the project will establish a prize for people in any
part of the world who take risks to help others survive, from health
workers braving an epidemic to human-rights campaigners in a zone of
war or oppression. An Aurora prize of $1m will will be awarded
annually to one individual, who will then be invited to pass the money
on to an organisation that is doing inspiring work. Selectors will
include Elie Wiesel, a Nobel prize laureate and Holocaust survivor,
Mary Robinson, a former Irish president and UN human-rights
commissioner, and George Clooney, an actor and human-rights
campaigner.
There are, of course, lots of initiatives that aim to investigate and
denounce genocide; and plenty of efforts to recognise those who have
courageously saved human lives, either recently or long ago. This is a
proposal to serve all those purposes, with no regard for the religion
or race of the saviour or the saved.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/03/12/genocide-review/1615498
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/03/armenian-genocide