HUFFINGTON POST URGES OBAMA TO SHARE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ORPHAN RUG WITH AMERICAN PEOPLE
15:45, 1 November, 2013
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The carpet is a symbol of the immense
generosity that the American people once demonstrated to the children
of the Middle East. It is a superb work of art and a poignant reminder
of a time when the relationship between America and the Middle East
was much different from today and built around education, humanitarian
relief and cooperation. As reports “Armenpress”, American Huffington
Post reflected upon the rug woven by the Armenian orphans.
The carpet itself is in storage at the White House and was reported
to have been slated to be shown at the Smithsonian sometime in
December. Notwithstanding, the U.S. Government decided not to allow
the public display of the Armenian Genocide orphan rug.
“Armenpress” News Agency introduces Huffington Post’s article in
its entirety:
“Black and white photographs from the 1920s reveal the beauty of
a carpet made by Armenian orphans at a refugee camp workshop in
Lebanon and presented to President Calvin Coolidge as a gift. But
unless President Barack Obama changes his mind, as a petition on
Whitehouse.gov asks him to, the American people won’t see the carpet
or learn the history of the children who made it.
The orphans who tied the millions of knots that transformed wool
thread into Edenic images of animals and plants were survivors of a
World War One-era genocide that had taken the lives of their families.
The room-sized carpet was a gesture of gratitude to the people of
the United States for their humanitarian assistance to thousands of
children and adults who had suffered terribly during the war.
Much of that help had come from Near East Relief, an organization
chartered by the US Congress, that at one time was feeding and caring
for 100,000s of orphans in the Middle East, Greece and Armenia. Help
from Americans had kept these orphans alive and had provided them
with education, health care and vocational training.
The carpet itself is in storage at the White House and was reported
to have been slated to be shown at the Smithsonian sometime in
December. However it seems to have been caught up in the contemporary
politics of the Middle East. The government of Turkey — contrary
to a broad consensus of historians — denies that the mass killings
and deportations that had made the child carpet makers orphans was
a genocide. Every year Ankara uses intense diplomatic pressure to
prevent the US recognition of that genocide. The fear of offending
Turkey may be why the White House pulled the rug out, as it were,
from under the proposed exhibit at the museum.
More than just evidence of genocide, the carpet is a symbol of the
immense generosity that the American people once demonstrated to
the children of the Middle East. It is a superb work of art and a
poignant reminder of a time when the relationship between America
and the Middle East was much different from today and built around
education, humanitarian relief and cooperation. Today, as millions
more children are suffering because of the war in Syria, we have
the right to remember that history and an obligation rekindle our
tradition of compassion.”
Previously, it was reported that Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) urged President Obama to reverse
an earlier decision and allow the display of the Armenian Genocide
orphan rug, noting that the Turkish Government should not be allowed
to dictate whether this cultural treasure is available to the public.
In a letter send to the White House, Rep. Pallone stated that “the
refusal of the White House’s to allow display of the rug without
explanation denies the American people access to a national treasure
and suggests that discussion of the events surrounding the Armenian
Genocide is unwelcome. The Armenian American community continues to
make valuable contributions to the United States and our government
should be committed to helping the community explore their history,
including the Armenian Genocide.”
“We want to thank Congressman Pallone for pressing the Obama
Administration to do the right thing,” said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. “It is a truly tragic testament to the depths of
our Administration’s deference to Ankara’s angry and irrational
genocide denial campaign that our White House – having been gagged
into silence by Turkey on the Armenian Genocide – is now allowing
this foreign government to dictate which works of art – U.S. property
and part of our American history – we are allowed to display at the
Smithsonian Institution.”
Congressman Pallone joins Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) in pressing
the White House to allow display of the Armenian Genocide Orphan rug
through individual letters. This week, Representatives David Valadao
(R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) launched a Congressional letter urging
their colleagues to band together in petitioning the White House to
release the rug for view. Both Representatives Pallone and Sherman
have cosigned the letter along with a growing bi-partisan list of
House Members.
The ANCA launched a grassroots campaign last week calling upon the
White House and Congress to secure a prominent and permanent public
display of the historic rug, woven by Armenian Genocide orphans
and presented to President Calvin Coolidge on December 4, 1925 in
appreciation for U.S. humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of
Turkey’s murder of over 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923.
The Armenian orphan rug measures 11’7″ x 18’5″ and is comprised of
4,404,206 individual knots. It took the Armenian girls in the Ghazir
Orphanage of the Near East Relief Society 10 months to weave. A
label on the back of the rug, in large hand-written letters, reads
“IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE.”
According to Missak Kelechian, an expert on this topic, the gift of
the Armenian Orphan rug was widely covered in U.S. media, including
in the New York Times in 1925 and the Washington Post in 1926.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/738604/huffington-post-urges-obama-to-share-armenian-genocide-orphan-rug-with-american-people.html