INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute)
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807
Fax: 416-512-1736
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
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The 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was commemorated in
Toronto on April 20 this year with a special program under the auspices
of the S.D. Hnchagian Party Paramaz Chapter, the A.R.F. Soghomon
Tehlirian Gomide, and the A.D.L. (Ramgavar) Yesayi Yaghoubian Chapter.
The program consisted of opening remarks by Master of Ceremonies Natalie
Macleod, a dramatization on freedom of expression by the Armenian Youth
Organization, and strong statements of affirmation and support from a
number of distinguished federal, provincial and municipal politicians.
The keynote speech was delivered by George Shirinian, Executive Director
of the Zoryan Institute. He spoke on the theme of Genocide Education and
Awareness. The speech was so well received, we wanted to share it with
you. The full text of the speech appears below, along with a brief
biographical statement.
Brief Introduction for George Shirinian
George Shirinian is the Executive Director of the International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the
Zoryan Institute), which is devoted to research, publication and
education in the fields of Genocide Studies, Diaspora Studies and
Armenia Studies.
He is the co-editor of Studies in Comparative Genocide, the author of
articles and reviews relating to Armenian Studies and the Armenian
Genocide, an official of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An
International Journal, and one of the organizers of the annual Genocide
and Human Rights University Program.
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Genocide Education and Awareness: Remarks on the 93rd Commemoration of
the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Community Centre, Toronto, April 20, 2008
Ladies and Gentleman,
For 93 years we have been gathering on this day to commemorate the
Genocide of 1915. This day is particularly emotional for us because we
not only remember those who were victimized then, but also the fact that
people are still being victimized today, by the ongoing denial of this
crime by the perpetrator and its allies, some of whom dare to call
themselves custodians of Human Rights. It has been said that of all the
aspects of genocide, denial is the last stage. Having said this, what I
want to focus on today is the phenomenon of genocide, promoting its
awareness and its prevention.
April, which ironically means "to live" in Armenian, is the month of
commemoration of some of the major genocides of our recent history. I
can not help but observe that Jews and Rwandans also commemorate their
own genocides this month. April 19 marks the day in 1943 when the Nazis
began to liquidate the Warsaw Ghetto. April 7 marks the day in 1994 when
extremist Hutus began the slaughter of their Tutsi and moderate Hutu
neighbours.
It would be only fitting, therefore, as we commemorate one horrendous
act of genocide, that we also reflect on the many genocidal acts that
have occurred during the past 100 years-starting with the Hereros in
Southwest Africa at the start of the 20th century, the Armenians,
Assyrians and Greeks during and after World War I, the forced famine in
the Ukraine in the 1930s, the Nazi destruction of the Jews, Roma, Poles
and others during World War II, the Aché of Paraguay beginning in the
1960s, the people of Bangladesh in 1971, the Cambodians in 1975, the
Maya of Guatemala from the 1960s, the Bosnians in 1991, the Kosovars and
East Timorese in 1999, and, as we speak, the people of Darfur today.
This is only a partial list of genocides in the past 100 years, a
political act that has caused the death of over 60 million people around
the world.
So, today we are commemorating something that is not just part of
history, and not just affecting one group, but is ongoing, and
monumental in its enormity. Raphael Lemkin, the man who coined the word
genocide based on the Armenian and Jewish experiences wrote, "The
function of memory is not to register past events but to simulate human
conscience." How can we begin to stimulate the human conscience; how do
we provoke it to action except by teaching history and learning from
our past?
The concept of the value of history is deeply ingrained in our thought.
As early as the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Thucydides wrote of
his conviction that historical events would, at some point in the
future, and in more or less the same ways, recur. The Spanish-American
Philosopher, George Santayana in 1905 made a now very famous statement,
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Jean
Bodin, the 16th century French jurist, said that "The study of history
is the beginning of political wisdom."
Bureaucrats, policy-makers and government officials shy away from
addressing genocide. They find it controversial, because it is a
political act, and politics between the perpetrator and the victim and
the perpetrator and themselves cloud the understanding of these events.
They remain ignorant of the lessons of history, and the result is
further chaos and repeated destruction.
Unfortunately, it is only after the loss of some 60 million lives that
the study of this kind of history, the study of human rights and their
gross violation, is barely beginning in our school systems. It is a
difficult and challenging subject at the best of times, with a lot of
sensitivities, as sometimes there are groups who do not want this
history taught. After all, it is difficult for certain people to accept
being collectively labeled as perpetrators of genocide.
As Canadians, especially since our current government has officially
acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, we need a comprehensive educational
program devoted to the study of genocidal acts of the past and present,
the prevention of genocide, and the promotion of human rights. Such a
program should begin in high school and continue through university,
with courses that would create awareness, engage students, and allow
them to study genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in a
systematic and thoughtful way. Given the multi-cultural and ethnic
diversity of Canadians, it is essential that students born within and
outside Canada have the opportunity to explore in depth the causes and
consequences of genocide and the lived realities of the aggressors, the
victims, the bystanders, and the resisters to these horrific acts of
violence. A study of these experiences would help foster a sense of
empathy for the targets of these violent acts and hopefully encourage
students to understand the connections they have to their fellow human
beings. As a result, students would begin to think critically about the
world they have inherited and in which they currently live. They would
have the opportunity to understand their rights and responsibilities as
global citizens, and be challenged to take action, to ensure that human
rights are protected and that genocide is confronted. Democracy,
justice, and the rule of law must be understood, claimed, and defended
by each generation of citizens, if we are to confront this scourge, this
manifestation of human evil.
The need for advanced genocide education is equally crucial. We need to
provide the opportunity for the next generation of genocide scholars,
activists, policy-makers, and civil society at large to become
motivated, inspired, and trained in why genocide occurs, how it takes
place, and how it can be prevented. This is why, at the Zoryan
Institute, where research and analysis are ongoing processes, we have
put emphasis on running university courses and seminars in human rights
and comparative genocide, with the involvement of some of the most
renowned experts, attracting hundreds of international students from
some 15 countries. This is also why we produce Genocide Studies and
Prevention: An International Journal. This publication is co-founded and
managed by the distinguished International Association of Genocide
Scholars and the International Institute of Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) with the collaboration of
the University of Toronto Press as the publisher. Our mission is to
understand the phenomenon of genocide, create an awareness of it as an
ongoing scourge, and promote the idea of the necessity of preventing it.
Why should we make such an effort? Why should we strive to stimulate
conscience through an understanding of history? Well, because we all
want to have a safer future. And the only way to have it for ourselves,
and for our children, is to make it possible for every national, racial,
social, and religious group to have it. As the philosopher George E.
Moore said, "After all, there is but one race, humanity."
So, education is the key to creating awareness. But what can awareness
do? Awareness is the mobilizing force that can lead civil society to put
pressure on government to act and not stand idly by. It is our view at
the Zoryan Institute that one of the most effective means to end the
slaughter of so many millions is for governments to expand their concept
of national interest to include the prevention of genocide. This can
happen only through the pressure of civil society. The arguments for
this are both humanitarian and pragmatic. In addition to preventing
human suffering, from a purely financial point of view, genocide leads
to destruction of life and property, the outflow of huge numbers of
refugees, and economic disruption. These costs, which are often
subsidized by the free world, are far greater than the costs of early
intervention. Human rights, therefore, are everybody’s business, and we
must all do our part.
So it is not only the Armenian Genocide, not only the Jewish Holocaust,
not only the Rwandan Genocide we are dealing with; it is the human
genocide; it is crime against all of humanity. Therefore it is the
responsibility of you, me, and everyone, not only to commemorate such
acts of violence, but to actively prevent these crimes.
As the son of two orphans of the Armenian Genocide, who were both part
of the Georgetown Boys group brought to Canada, and whose personal
experiences have always had a strong influence on my thinking, my
identity, my relationship to my fellow man, and, above all, the meaning
of life, I ask, as you leave this hall today, to take away with you not
only a sense of sorrow for the victims of genocides past, but more
importantly, a sense of responsibility-be that civic, religious,
political, or whatever-to fight with everything we’ve got for human
rights, and to prevent this heinous crime from ever happening again,
anywhere in the world, to any people.
Remember: humanity is our shared value. Human rights for all is our
shared benefit, manifested in a free, democratic and just world for
ourselves and others. Standing up and speaking out and doing all we can
do to protect it is our shared responsibility. Yes, we can make a
difference. We can help stop genocide through education and by raising
awareness. Nelson Mandela has said "Education is the most powerful
weapon you can use to change the world." Yes, we can change the world!
Therefore, as we commemorate the Armenian Genocide today, let us
remember the words of the writer James Thurber, "Let us not look back in
anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."
Thank you.
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