WE CAN’T AFFORD TO SUPPRESS MEMORIES OF GENOCIDE
Baylor University , The Lariat Online, TX
Nov 1 2007
Last month, I heard an Armenian talk about how his family’s history
was violently shattered by the Armenian genocide.
It was a unique moment listening to him.
I’ll never forget the despair engraved in his face that had been passed
down through generations of an oppressed and forgotten Armenian people.
That moment spoke to my heart, and from that day on I felt like I was
missing something — some vital part of history that I had never known.
What was the Armenian genocide, and why had I never heard of this
dark secret of humanity?
Apparently Congress knows about it, since representatives proposed a
resolution to formally recognize the event in a symbolic, nonbinding
measure a couple weeks ago.
The Turks, who have denied the genocide for nearly a hundred years,
are threatening to withdraw their support in the war on terror should
the resolution pass.
After watching a short documentary, I learned a few facts about the
genocide, and they were enough to make me sick.
In 1915, the Ottoman Empire blamed its defeat in World War I on the
Christian Armenians for siding with Russia.
Legislation passed that allowed Ottoman authorities to confiscate
Armenian property, and the ruthless slaughter of the Armenian people
soon followed.
Within months, millions were deported on foot to concentration camps,
yet most didn’t survive the long journey through the desert.
The Ottomans didn’t provide the doomed Armenians with anything to
keep them alive during the perilous march, and often, they brutally
raped or killed them on the spot.
In the film, I saw photos of starved, brittle-boned children lying
dead in the streets and on barren trails. They were forced to walk
until their little bodies gave out.
I saw photos of mothers kneeling next to their dead children —
some looking lifelessly into the camera, others crying out in agony
as they cradled their child’s limp head in their laps.
I saw photos of hundreds of bodies littered and tossed along a field,
while other faceless corpses were aligned shoulder to shoulder in
endless mass graves.
It’s believed that in six months, 1 million people were murdered.
This number is greater than the combined death tolls for the 26 worst
tsunamis ever recorded.
Yet these Armenian lives were not taken by a natural disaster, or by
something out of our control. They were taken by our own kind.
No matter how hard I try, my mind cannot grasp this concept.
Perhaps this is why we never studied the Armenian genocide in school;
perhaps it seemed too impossible to even imagine. Or maybe some
don’t consider this calamity part of "Western" history, and thus deem
it unimportant.
This is despicable.
The Turks are not baboons or sea lions. They are part of the same
species as you and me, which means — whether you like it or not —
we all have the capability to embody pure, unimaginable evil.
It’s imperative that we study these atrocious scars on humanity.
Yes, it’s depressing, but it’s crucial that we examine what leads
people to the unexplainable mass murdering of mankind.
We must acknowledge this buried sin so that we never again let
ourselves get carried away with it.
So, Google the Armenian genocide. Learn as much as you can about how
humans have suffered at the hands of others.
There’s something beautiful about empathizing with the souls of the
past; it’s an indescribable, yet strangely fulfilling experience.
We at least owe it to the few hundred survivors and to the thousands
of men, women and children whose bones still lie in Armenian soil.
Ashley Killough is a junior international studies major from Plano.
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