Saturday, April 24, 2010

Coming together to commemorate a human tragedy

In this melting pot known as the United States of America, we are


always eager to celebrate the victories of our neighbors and the

memories of international icons.

Take, for example, the widely celebrated Cinco de Mayo

festivities, marking the victory of the Mexican Army against Spain,

or the popular St. Patrick's Day festivities in honor of the 5th

century patron saint of Ireland. Regardless of race, creed or

religion, people are more than willing to pick up a beer and toast to

the fallen heroes of the past.

Unfortunately, we rarely show the same solidarity when

commemorating the tragedies of our past. Seldom do we as Americans

recognize the tragedies within our own history, including the

wide-scale loss of life among African Americans and Native Americans

during the founding days of our nation. Instead, we compartmentalize

that section of history and leave it to those who were most

immediately affected to honor the memories of the victims.

Jewish organizations and individuals are often left responsible

for Holocaust commemoration -- they host events, workshops, memorial

services, vigils -- all in an effort to educate, raise awareness and

honor the memories of those who lost their lives in the Holocaust.

And Armenians are equally responsible for reminding the world of

their own tragic past -- the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians

between 1915 and 1923.

Yet, genocides are not unfortunate events for one group or

another. The negative impact of these horrific atrocities is not

limited to one country or one region. The loss of life on such a

large scale is a loss for all mankind. A tragedy of that magnitude

tears families apart, destroys countries, erases cultures and

traditions and mars the history of humankind. And, even more tragic

than the loss of life itself is the unwillingness to commemorate the

victims, honor the heroes and recognize the culprits in an effort to

prevent future atrocities. The propaganda put forth by Turkish

lobbying agencies disputing the facts of the Armenian Genocide, as

well as our own acquiescent federal government, highlight this

unfortunate setback in our fight against injustice. As a survivor

once said, "Not recognizing the past is killing [the victims] twice."

In the face of such massive crimes and injustices to humanity, it

is important for us to show solidarity as humans. As Armenians, we

join in solidarity with our fellow Jews, Cambodians, Rwandans,

Sudanese and all other victims of man's inhumanity to man.

On April 24, we ask you -- our neighbors, friends, co-workers,

teachers, students, colleagues and peers -- to join us in

commemorating the loss of 1.5 million lives. Let us stand together in

honoring those who died and who fight together for those lives that

can still be saved.