ARMENIAN BILLBOARDS PUT TOUCHY TOPIC ON THE ROAD – SUN SENTINEL
14:10 ~U 22.04.13
By Diane C. Lade
Four striking billboards, crowded in among beer and cosmetic surgery
ads along two South Florida highways, contain one sentence starkly
lettered in white on a black background: “Thank you for officially
recognizing the Armenian Genocide – April 24, 1915.”
It’s a bold move to bring public attention to an almost century-old
tragedy that Armenian Americans say takes a back seat to other
large-scale human rights violations: the killing of 1.5 million of
their ancestors during World War I in what is now Turkey.
But until now, the identity of those behind the signs was a mystery.
Small wording at the bottom of the 672-square-foot billboards states
only that they were “paid for by individuals concerned about the
plight of Armenians.” They list no names.
That’s because it’s not about publicity, it’s about bringing larger
awareness to the issue, said George Pagoumian, 70, a Fort Lauderdale
businessman and philanthropist who came forward only after the Sun
Sentinel began researching the signs.
The four billboards are located at Florida’s Turnpike-Interstate 595
interchange; and on Interstate 95 at Southern Boulevard in West Palm
Beach, at Atlantic Boulevard inPompano Beach and at Northwest 79th
Avenue in Miami. And the campaign was organized and financed through
Armenian community members, said Pagoumian, declining to list the
other contributors or how much was donated.
“We don’t want money to dictate this,” said Pagoumian, whose parents
were Armenian and who lost his grandmother and other relatives to
the killings. “Our grandmothers, our family who died are paying. They
are sending checks from heaven.”
Twenty countries have officially recognized the killings as genocide,
and those nations’ flags are on the South Florida billboard, under
the words “thank you.” The United States is not among them – something
Armenian Americans have fought passionately to change for years. They
are pressuring President Obama to make an executive declaration.
But calling what happened in Armenia almost 100 years ago a “genocide”
is a very touchy subject – especially in South Florida. About 4,000
people of Armenian descent live in Broward and Palm Beach counties,
according to the Census, alongside about 5,000 of Turkish descent.
Turkey denies that Armenians were targeted because of race or
ethnicity.
Fuat Ornarli, past president of the Florida Turkish American
Association, has not seen the billboards but dislikes what he considers
a politicization of the issue.
“I would like to express my deep sorrow to see such billboards around
us, since this subject is so politicized, and so biased,” said Ornarli,
of Miami.
Genocide declarations should be made by scholars, not politicians,
Ornarli said, adding that not all historians agree the Armenian deaths
should be labeled genocide. Like the leaders of his native country,
he said the deaths were casualties of war, exacerbated when the
Armenians aligned themselves with Russia, Turkey’s enemy.
Rosanna Gatens, director for the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights
Education at Florida Atlantic University, said the removal and killing
of Armenians by the Turks is taught along with the Holocaust and other
modern genocides in the state-mandated human rights education program.
Each year, a few teachers get complaints from upset Turkish parents
“who think their children are being taught that Turkey is a terrible
place,” she said.
“It’s really important for people in our area to understand what
happened in Armenia. All scholarly definitions say it was a genocide
and we need to quit playing politics,” she said.
Marta Batmasian, a Boca Raton real estate investor and Armenian
community leader, agreed.
“This is a human rights issue, not an Armenian issue. We are not going
to let history be buried,” said Batmasian, a former educator who sits
on the state task force for Holocaust and human rights education.
The South Florida signs are very similar to an effort run by Peace
of Art Inc., a nonprofit founded by Armenian American artist Daniel
Varoujan Hejinian. Since 1996, Hejinian has created and installed
dramatic billboards each April in suburban Boston, his hometown,
calling on the United States to recognize the killings as genocide.
Rosario Teixeira, Peace of Art’s executive director, said the
organization was not involved in South Florida’s efforts. “I am sure
their efforts are well intended and we wish them good luck,” she said.
Armenian churches and peace activists in South Florida every year
host prayer or commemoration services on April 24, the day when the
Ottoman government arrested 250 Armenian intellectuals and leaders,
and began deporting them.
St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Hollywood will have a public
service and commemoration Wednesday; St. Mary and St. David Armenian
Apostolic Orthodox Church in Boca Raton trade off hosting the event
annually
This year, the billboards created a buzz when the signs appeared but
no one claimed the credit. Speculation ran wild among South Florida’s
Armenians for weeks. “The emails I’m getting! They are saying something
like this has never happened,” Batmasian said.
The Rev. Vartan Joulfayan said his St. Mary’s parishioners last week
were peppering him with questions about who the anonymous billboard
contributors might be. The pastor told them it didn’t matter – that
he assumed the donors wanted to stay out of the spotlight.
“So their message can come through,” he said. “A message that is
strong and true.”