The Armenian Genocide
in 1915
in the midst of the first world war the
systematic annihilation and mass
deportation of armenians began
at the hands of the turks of the ottoman
empire in both armenia
and turkey during these times from 1915
to 1922
an estimated 1.5 million armenians were
killed
and hundreds of thousands more were
deported
being one of the largest atrocities in
history the armenian genocide bore a
sickening resemblance to the holocaust
and has affected millions of lives over
the last hundred years
as early as the 15th century armenia as
well as much the middle east
was absorbed into the ottoman empire
most of the leaders of the ottoman
empire during this time were muslim
was armenians were christians being a
religious minority
they few political and legal rights and
were subjected to unfair and unjust
treatment
despite this armenians thrived which
angered the turkish abdul hamid ii
the 34th sultan of the ottoman empire
spearheaded the first attacks on
armenians from 1894
to 1896. notorious for challenging the
armenian fight for civil rights
hamid ordered turkish military officials
soldiers
and citizens to begin the massacre of
armenians
while armenian cities and towns were
defenseless due to a lack of preparation
turkish military was ordered to come
ransack small armenian towns
kill civilians and destroy property
these attacks were the beginning of
nearly 30 years
of violence hatred and oppression of the
armenian people
in 1908 a new power rose in the middle
east
the young turks after overthrowing
abdulhamid
they began a new modernized
constitution-based government
which gave the armenians hope this hope
was short-lived however when world war 1
began
and the turkish and armenians joined on
opposite sides
the turkish government began to see
armenians as traitors
which eventually led to them carrying
out their goal of removing
the armenians
what is today known as the beginning of
the armenian genocide
began as a massacre of armenians on
april 24 1915.
over the next few weeks turkish
government arrested and captured
hundreds of armenians and then brutally
executed them
this day marked the beginning of a
renewed attempt to eliminate an entire
race
and the only thing that followed was
more violence
death marches were held across the
mesopotamian desert in which people were
forced to strip naked
and walk until they dropped dead or were
shot without access to food
or water the young turks appointed
killing squads or butcher battalions
which are comprised of turkish men
criminals and trained soldiers ordered
to take out entire
villages of armenians by throwing
villages off of cliffs
drowning them or burning them alive
armenians were taken from their homes in
two groups
a group of able-bodied men and a group
of women
children elderly and disabled if they
weren’t immediately slaughtered they
were turned into slaves
who were subjected to horrendous amounts
of torture
similarly to the holocaust there were
selections in which women
children elderly and others were split
up
families were torn apart children were
left alone and stranded
and millions were killed
the systematic persecution and murder
lasted over seven years
but the genocide didn’t end with
immediate relief
90 of the armenian population had been
eliminated
90 and the remaining women and children
were forced to convert to islam and give
up their armenian identities
fast forward 61 years to 1983.
the tyrosines of lebanese armenian
family migrated from beirut lebanon to
los angeles california
my mother only aged for at the time grew
up in california and had me
now although i’ve lived in california my
whole life i’ve never let that get in
the way of embracing my heritage
i’ve always loved learning and embracing
my armenian culture through the language
food music and my own family which has
led me to have a deep and meaningful
connection with that side of myself
as i’ve grown up my desire to learn more
about where i’m from has blossomed
as well as my understanding of the
seriousness of the history of the
armenian people
outside of my family i never really
heard much about armenia
lebanon or the armenian people as i grew
up just because there isn’t a large
population of them in the united states
my father even though he is an armenian
encouraged my sister and i
to become immersed in the culture
however even though we were encouraged
to do so it was always a bit difficult
because of a censored history and a
general lack of representation
culturally
i never had the same connection with my
roots that i saw other kids my age
having
for the most part i got my information
from personal history projects and
distant family
which i was satisfied with for a while
as i grew up though
i started to recognize that armenia had
a deep history that shouldn’t be ignored
by america
i was about 10 when i began to learn
about what the armenian genocide was
through an occasional mention of it for
my family
at the time i had no idea what it truly
meant
or the people that it still affects
today
looking back on what i was taught about
the armenian genocide is always a little
bit difficult
because there was never a time in school
i was explicitly taught about it
the only recollection i have about
learning about the armenian genocide
was in seventh grade when it was
mentioned in one
paragraph of our history books
it was seemingly used as filler and gave
nearly no
[Music]
information about the actual events of
the genocide
because of its lack of importance in our
american education
few students my age knew about this
massive event that has shaped the
history of the entire middle east
especially when we’re young our idea of
importance
comes from the people we hold in the
highest respect and what we’re taught in
school
when we’re not taught about the armenian
genocide in school people don’t hold the
respect that it requires
as you probably know during the
holocaust an estimated 6
million jews were killed and millions
more were affected
in the armenian genocide 1.5 million
armenians were killed
and millions more were affected
throughout school
we spent years learning about the
holocaust because of its size
its atrocities and the amount of people
it still affects today
in my personal experience i began
learning about the holocaust when i was
in sixth grade
and you spent every single year since
learning in depth about it
we’ve spent entire years in history and
literature
learning about the holocaust we will
continue to do so
through high school and even into
college
despite this we spend less than one
class period
learning about the armenian genocide
why even though it was approximately a
quarter of the size of the holocaust
do we not dedicate even a quarter of the
time to learning about it
the answer to this question is many
different parts beginning with the fact
that the genocide is a bit controversial
in many parts of the world
although the science and history is
there to show proof of the acts
most countries refuse to officially
recognize it as a genocide
some countries even ones with large
armenian populations
refuse to recognize it in fear of
causing controversy with turkey
in fact only 32 out of 195 countries
officially recognize the armenian
genocide
this is because if a country has a good
relationship with turkey
recognizing something that could seem
negative or faulty on their part
could really damage their relationship
it was only in december of 2019 that the
united states
recognized the armenian genocide but
only after
dozens of years of political figures
promising the armenian community that it
would happen
with no actual intent to do so
this year in 2020 we commemorate the
105th anniversary of the beginning of
the armenian genocide
105 years later armenians especially in
schools are still in danger
of violent acts against them on july
25th
2020 cruising zakarian vesporgum
an armenian elementary school in san
francisco was vandalized by azerbaijis
or aziris who are a turkish ethnic group
living in azerbaijan
tensions between armenians and azires
have been high for decades
but conflict peaked in early july of
2020
attacks for both militaries have put
armenia and azerbaijan in a state of
danger
but attacks haven’t stayed in the middle
east
attacks on both groups have been
reported worldwide
including many in the united states
despite its relevance to those living in
the united states
this is still not getting any news
coverage
a lack of recognition of relevant middle
eastern news and history
leads to a lack of recognition in
politics and education
which is where we learn about the
importance that history had in the past
and the dangers that it poses in the
future
armenia and american education is very
limited
growing up in california i noticed that
few students my age knew where or what
our media was
had it not had one of the largest
atrocities in history this would be a
little bit more understandable
but given the historical significance of
the people and of the country
this is shameful on the part of american
public education
kids grow up not knowing about this
massive event that has shaped the
history of the world
we know the importance of teaching kids
about these events because of the
extensive knowledge to give into us
about the holocaust by learning about
these events
we learn about the causes and effects
and can prevent them from reoccurring in
the future
history gives us the power to learn and
understand
by sharing the stories of the past we
can work towards a future that’s
untouched by historical oppression
share the stories of your past and use
your voice to teach others
don’t be afraid to teach about your
culture and your heritage but always be
open to listening about others
thank you