GENED PROJECT DELIVERS KEYNOTE AT HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE PROGRAM IN FLORIDA

asbarez
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

GenEd Education Director, Sara Cohan (left) and Holocaust Survivor,
Miriam Schezinger at Tallahassee Community College

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Sara Cohan, Education Director of The Genocide
Education Project, was the keynote speaker at the annual Holocaust
Remembrance Day program hosted by the Holocaust Education Resource
Council at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida.

Tallahassee City Commissioner Gil Ziffer and Jackie Pons,
Superintendent of Leon County School District were among the attendees,
and Holocaust survivor Miriam Schlezinger was one of the honored
guests.

“I was seated next to Ms. Schezinger and as I stood up, I noticed the
tattoo from Auschwitz on her arm” said Cohan. “She patted my hand and
smiled, and as I approached the podium, I was haunted by the tattoo, a
somber reminder of the trauma of genocide that persists decades later.”

The event’s theme was “Justice and Accountability in the Face of
Genocide: What have we learned?,” the official theme for the 2011
Days of Remembrance programs issued by the United States Holocaust
Museum and Memorial. The theme reflects the 60th anniversary of the
second part of the Nuremburg Trials and the 50th Anniversary of Nazi
war criminal Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Israel.

Cohan shared her own family’s story as survivors of the Armenian
Genocide. Her grandfather died without the perpetrators being held
accountable, nor any amount of justice being served. Cohan detailed the
history of the emergence of the term genocide, introduced by Raphael
Lemkin, in part as a result of his study of the Turkish atrocities
against Armenians, and she discussed the growth of international
courts to prosecute perpetrators of genocide. She emphasized the need
for United States’ support for the International Criminal Court. At
this time, the U.S. government does not acknowledge the authority of
the ICC.

The Tallahassee event included a candle lighting ceremony in honor
of those who perished in the Holocaust, and the presentation of
awards for teachers engaged in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Leon
County schools.

The Holocaust Remembrance Day event was the most recent of a series
of workshops, conferences, and presentations this spring given by The
Genocide Education Project in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Florida. Executive Director, Raffi
Momjian said, “We’re gratified that educators across the country
welcome us and are excited about the materials and training we
provide. Teachers are showing an increased interest in teaching about
justice and accountability regarding all genocides. Their desire to
teach about truth and justice, despite increasingly difficult work
conditions, is inspiring.”

The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
organization that assists educators in teaching about human rights
and genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and
distributing instructional materials, providing access to teaching
resources and organizing educational workshops.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress