NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WORDS
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, EDITORIAL | MARCH 9, 2015 10:55 AM
By Harry N. Mazadoorian
As the solemn commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide approaches, we witness a torrent of powerful and thoughtful
rhetoric about the importance of recognizing and commemorating this
shameful event. Newspaper articles, public commemoration programs and
communications with elected officials permeate the Armenian-American
community: thousands of words are expended in pursuit of the elusive
recognition of one of the darkest chapters in human history and to
gain support for the Armenian cause.
But some question the effectiveness of so much effort to achieve this
quest. What good do all these words do, they ask. We talk ourselves
blue in the face and yet does anyone listen? Are any of our words
heard? Do they have any impact? After all, the Genocide was in 1915
and the denial continues. Turkey refuses to acknowledge the atrocities
and even the President of the United States adroitly side-steps any
reference to the word Genocide.
Have the thousands of words expended lost all their power? Can
anything be accomplished with more words? Mere words?
Those committed to keeping the memory of the Genocide burning brightly
— in order to honor the martyred victims, to achieve justice and to
insure that such atrocities will be averted in the future — should
never lose sight of what can be achieved by continuing to rely on the
spoken or written word. Indeed, the story must be told and retold,
especially as the 100thCommemoration draws near, for surely the
significance of the Genocide will be heard at that critical moment and
by that one person who will adopt the cause and make all the
difference. And make no mistake — one single person who might be moved
into action by the Genocide story can have a major impact.
One inspiring example of the power of the word in assisting and
advancing the Armenian cause involves the case of a young Danish
humanitarian — with no apparent previous connections with Armenians-
who once heard the word of brutality suffered by Armenians, was
transformed by it and then devoted her lifetime to serving Armenian
victims.
Early in the 20th century, a remarkable young Danish woman, Karen
Jeppe, was moved by writings about the plight and suffering of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as well as by a lecture she attended
in Copenhagen. The lecture, given by an intellectual and humanitarian,
stressed the inhumanities suffered by Armenians in Urfa years before
the Genocide.
Jeppe was 26 at the time, in the prime of her life. She was extremely
troubled by the accounts of the atrocities described in the words she
had heard and read. But even more importantly, she was moved and
inspired by these words. They had a profound impact on her, and
subsequently on the lives of countless Armenian victims of the
Genocide.
A poignant Danish television documentary on Karen Jeppe titled “A Call
So Loud” describes her conversations with a clergyman about whether
she should go to Turkey to provide humanitarian assistance. What she
was reportedly told was that there was no reason for her to get
involved — unless the call to her was “so loud” that she could not
resist.
Indeed, the call of the words she had heard and read were so loud that
she left her homeland in 1903 to provide assistance.
Years later, following the Genocide, she continued her humanitarian
efforts and ultimately established a children’s home and orphanage in
Aleppo where so many of the survivors of the Genocide had found their
way. Her work touched thousands and thousands of lives, including that
of my late father, Nigoghos, a young boy to whom she provided refuge
and personally offered support.
The countless good deeds accomplished by Karen Jeppe would exceed the
space of this entire newspaper and cannot be told in this small
article. Suffice it to say that she learned the Armenian language,
considered the plight of the Armenians to be her plight and then went
on to serve as a, teacher, vocational trainer and ultimately founder
of a critically needed orphanage and training school where countless
Armenian children were sheltered, protected, fed and trained,
preparing them for a new life.
But what must be remembered is that she was inspired by the words
which she had heard and read, words which were so poignant and
compelling — and which called to her so loudly — that they propelled
her into a heroic life of action. She was someone with no previous
exposure to Armenian issues but whose life was transformed by the
words she read and heard.
Jeppe’s story is but one example of why we must never forget the
potential and persuasive power of words. Her life and heroic actions
remind us that the story in this charred chapter of history cannot be
told too often. The words of our history — this call so loud — must be
sown widely, to Armenians and non Armenians alike, to statesmen,
legislators, even to Presidents.
We must never underestimate the power of words which speak the truth
and call for action.
Jeppe’s example demonstrates that we can never imagine when or where
or how the seeds spread by the telling of our story may take root in
the hearts and minds of good people who will make our cause their
cause. If just one such person is touched, the positive consequences
can be enormous.
Words can be powerful. And they can achieve powerful results.
Karen Jeppe’s selfless commitment to Armenians certainly proved that.
( Harry N. Mazadoorian of Kensington, Connecticut is the son of
survivors of the Armenian Genocide, both of whom were relocated to
orphanages in the Near East, before coming to America. He is an
attorney and a mediator and is the Distinguished Senior Fellow at the
Quinnipiac University Law School Center on Dispute Resolution.)