WE DO REMEMBER AND HONOR THE MEMORY OF THE 1.5 MILLION
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
The following is the text of the speech delivered by Nareg Khodanian
at the Pasadena’s Candlelight Vigil commemorating the Armenian Genocide
April 23, 2012.
On behalf of the Gaidz Youth Organization I would like to thank you
for joining us at this Genocide Commemorative Vigil.
We called this event a “March to Remember” not to imply that we, the
next generation of Armenian Americans, tend to forget the atrocities
committed by Ottoman Turkey against our own people in 1915 to 1923. On
the contrary, we are here today to emphasize the fact that we DO
remember and honor the memory of the 1.5 million of our ancestors
who were killed in this Genocide, a crime that remains unrecognized
and unpunished to date.
The walk that we just took from the City Hall to this sanctuary is a
symbol of the marches that the Armenian women, children and elderly
were made to take through the deserts while the young and strong
men, as well as the intellectuals were killed. The marchers were
raped, tortured, and starved to death. These were intended to be
death marches. Yes, many of them died, but some, against all odds,
survived, built new lives in new places, but most importantly they
kept and protected their Armenian identity. We are the descendents
of those survivors. And we are proud of our identity and heritage.
Here, we should also reflect on the decades of activism and hard work
those survivors and the following generations of diaspora Armenians
dedicated toward the Armenian Cause. Our presence here today is a
testament to the fact that the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide
did not succeed in their campaign to exterminate the Armenian race.
We, as young Armenian Americans, acknowledge our responsibility to
pursue our cause, and pledge to continue to fight for justice until
we receive recognition of the Armenian Genocide by all nations in
the world but most importantly by the Turkish government.
Each one of us can make a difference in our own way, whether it is by
contacting our government representatives or by teaching our classmates
and fellow community members of the Armenian Genocide. And why not,
by educating the Turkish people as well.
It is encouraging to see that in the past two decades there is more
awareness in Turkey about the Armenian issue than ever. This is
because Turkish historians and intellectuals began to do their own
research of their history. The young generation is much more curious
to know the reason of this historical burden on their shoulders than
any other time and we should satisfy their curiosity by urging them
to seek the truth and open up that chapter of their people’s history
the Turkish government tried to hide for so long.
We have a lot of work ahead of us but we are up to the task and
are prepared to fight against those who dishonor the memory of our
ancestors by denying the Genocide and rewriting history.
In the wise words of the beloved author Baruyr Sevak, “We are present,
we will continue to be present and we will continue to flourish.”