The Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR), the only non-profit organization whose singular mission is to provide humanitarian assistance to orphaned Armenians worldwide, hosted its 10^th anniversary gala on Sat., March 14, at the Sheraton University City Hotel in Philadelphia. More than 370 attendees enjoyed the festivities, which included cocktails, dinner, a silent auction, and musical entertainment from the Hamazkayin Meghry Dance Group, the Artsakh Band, and international superstar Robert Chilingirian.

Sister Arousiag Sajonian

SOAR welcomed Sister Arousiag Sajonian, superior of the Our Lady of Armenia Center (Gyumri, Armenia) and the Our Lady of Armenia Summer Camp (Tsaghgadzor, Armenia). Keynote speaker Dr. Ronald Suny offered prescient words on the nexus between the orphan experience and genocide. SOAR then honored two long-time supporters, attorney Mark Geragos and artist Michael Aram.

Geragos cemented his national reputation as a trial lawyer by representing various renowned celebrities, including Whitewater figure Susan McDougal, Chris Brown, “James Bond” movie director Lee Tamahori, talk show host Rickie Lake, actress Gail O’Grady, Congressman Gary Condit, Academy Award-nominated actress Winona Ryder, pop star Michael Jackson, Nicole Ritchie, singer Chris Brown, hip hop stars Nathaniel “Nate Dogg” Hale and Sean “Diddy” Combs (a.k.a. Puff Daddy), international arms dealer Sarkis Soghanalian, and the family of Nataline Sarkisyan, whose 17-year-old daughter died when CIGNA Healthcare refused to authorize a liver transplant.

Michael Aram is an American-born artist who works primarily in metal. After studying fine art in New York in the

Michael Aram

late 1980’s, Aram took what would be a life-altering trip to India where he discovered rich metalworking traditions. Inspired to work with craftsmen whose skills, he felt, were greatly untapped, Aram turned his creative energies towards craft-based design, setting up a home and workshop in New Delhi. Aram’s work reflects humanity through the directness of the handmade process, as each piece is lovingly made using age-old techniques. This energy is further enhanced by the tension of line, form, and meaning that is characteristic of Aram’s work. This broad diversity embodies Aram’s versatility as an artist who is comfortable working on private commissions, one-of-a-kind pieces for gallery shows, or pieces that are affordable to a wider audience.

SOAR further honored three of its own family. Kohar Mardiros Pelter, SOAR-Ventura County Chapter president and regional director in the western U.S., was named the 2014 Chapter Volunteer of the Year. Ani and Aren Dardarian, students at the Armenian Sisters Academy in Radnor, Pa., were named the 2014 Junior Volunteers of the Year. Congratulations to all.

Today, SOAR provides assistance to approximately 2,000 orphaned Armenians across 31 institutions in Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk, Lebanon, and Syria. Headquartered in the suburbs of Philadelphia, SOAR has more than 400 volunteers in 80 chapters and junior groups around the world.

For more information about SOAR, visit www.soar-us.org or contact George S. Yacoubian, Jr., SOAR’s Executive Board chairman, by calling (610) 213-3452 or e-mailing gyacoubian@soar-us.org.

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RICHMOND, Va.—On Sat., April 18, at 11 a.m., the St. James Armenian Church in Richmond will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The church service will include participation by the Virginia Council of Churches’ general minister, Rev. Jonathan Barton, and several other visiting clergy and religious leaders. A luncheon will follow with guest speakers the Very Rev. Simeon Odabashian, vicar of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, and Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern United States.

St. James Armenian Church in Richmond

A majority of the 400 members of St. James are descendants of survivors of the genocide. Beginning in 1915, the Ottoman-Turkish government massacred 1.5 million Armenians, expelling thousands to die in a forced march through the Syrian desert. In spite of their tragic history, Armenian settlers re-built their lives, survived, and thrived in Richmond. The Commonwealth of Virginia assisted Armenians, Greeks, and other minorities of Ottoman Turkey by establishing the Near Eastern Relief Act in the 1920’s to assist with re-settlement.

All across the globe on April 24, 2015, Armenian will be praying for their families who perished, and hoping that the U.S. Congress and President Obama will finally join 22 other countries that have ratified the Armenian Genocide Resolution. The goal is to recognize the genocide and to hold Turkey accountable for its—and its predecessor’s—actions so that permissive denial does not allow history to repeat itself.

While the world has been waiting 100 years for Turkey to acknowledge its perpetration of the genocide, Rwanda, Sudan, Darfur, and the recent atrocities against Christian villagers in Syria are now 21^st-century examples of genocides. To allow denial perpetuates further genocides.

The Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Central Virginia was created in 2014 to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide for the families of the survivors. St. James Armenian Church is an Apostolic Orthodox Christian church established in 1956, and is located at 834 Pepper Ave. in Richmond. For more information, visit the committee’s Facebook page by searching “Armenian Genocide Committee of Central Virginia.”

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With almost all events, including the May 7 Ecumenical Service, the May 8 concert, and the May 9 banquet filling up and only wait lists available, final preparations for the Washington D.C. Genocide Centennial are progressing at top speed by the Genocide Centennial Committee.

Commemoration and celebration

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese

“This is a milestone,” said Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese, and a Genocide Centennial Committee member, in a phone conversation. “The momentum is with us. This monumental event in our nation’s capital is both a commemoration and a celebration of life and past commitments. These hundred years have demonstrated so forcefully that we refuse to die, and that the hearts and souls of our martyrs are with us.”

Taking a different approach to those whose aim is to raise awareness in the larger non-Armenian public, he believes that it is “wonderful to educate our people to learn the authenticity of the Armenian Genocide that we take for granted. It is more important that we pass on to future generations the knowledge so they can be educated and honor their history.”

Archbishop Derderian said that in Mexico City, one woman, Sonia Arakelian, fundraised for the Museum of Tolerance, with one room dedicated to educating the people of the Armenian Genocide. It is to be opened on April 16, and he will attend the opening “to honor her and the memory of the martyrs.”

Derderian predicted that the fight for justice and recompense will take longer than expected, but that “[i]t is most encouraging that all parts of the Armenian community are coming together for this inspiring event. It gives a very strong message to our children and the world that though our nation is small, it is strong in soul and spirit.”

Calling the genocide “a crime against God, a crime against humanity,” Derderian, who lost members of his grandfather’s family from Kharpert in the death march, noted that although America does not publicly acknowledge this tragedy, “in the hearts of the people, it is a fact.”

The world will be at the Ecumenical Service and “it will have an impact,” he said. “It will show the solidarity of our people. They will listen, and hopefully have a spiritual transformation, with electricity going to their body. This is not a show. If it inspires only one person, the responsibility of sharing will affect many.”

We remember and demand

Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy

“The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide should have a different expression and meaning in our lives, that of remembering our martyrs, and demanding our rights,” said Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy, and also a Genocide Centennial Committee member, in another telephone conversation.

“For centuries, we suffered tribulations and massacres, but we kept our national identity and faith. Today, we have 10 million Armenians in the world, and we have an independent Armenia. We also celebrate our survival, and our many contributions to the world. We are heirs of a resurrected nation.”

This year, he noted, it is important to thank all governments, churches, and individuals who have recognized the Armenian Genocide and supported our orphans, some of whom became our church leaders. Out of the massacres, our nation has been resurrected.”

He noted that though we are living in a global world, we are also members of the ecumenical world as Christians, and understand the feelings of other churches, and their expressions of love toward the Armenian people.

Archbishop Mardirossian, whose relatives from Adana were tortured and killed on his father’s side in the 1895-96 massacres, said, “We will live with the memory of all of our ancestors. When one part of a body suffers, the whole body suffers. We’re all one body, one family.”

The Ecumenical Service that will take place in Washington on May 7, he stated, will declare with special emphasis that “Never should any genocide ever happen again to any people, Christian or non-Christian. We must insist on justice and human rights for all.”

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By Kim A. Yacoubian

Under the auspices of the Armenian Inter-Communal Committee of Philadelphia, the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Philadelphia was formed to oversee Centennial activity in the greater Philadelphia area with broad representation from local Armenian churches, schools, and organizations. The greater Philadelphia Armenian community has been active hosting numerous educational and cultural events to commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Below is a list of both upcoming and past events.

Kicking off this month, the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church hosted the “We Not Only Survived, We Thrive” Armenian Genocide Symposium and Exhibit of Ottoman Era Artifacts with keynote speaker Dr. Richard Hovannisian during the weekend of April 10. The Armenian Students’ Cultural Association hosted a Genocide Awareness Program on Wed., April 15, in Philadelphia, with speakers Dr. Andrew Mathis and Dr. Ara Chalian. On Wed., April 22, the AGBU Young Professionals of Philadelphia arranged for a film screening of “1915 The Movie” in King of Prussia, Pa. On Thurs., April 23, the Armenian Sisters Academy will be hosting, on behalf of the Armenian Inter-Communal Committee of Philadelphia, a commemorative program in Radnor, Pa., which includes a khatchkar dedication and student performance.

A Centennial billboard is currently on display on I-76 at the Spring Garden exit eastbound in Philadelphia.

Several local events are also being organized and supported by non-Armenian institutions and communities, such as universities, churches, and ethnic groups who have also been subject to genocide. To reciprocate, representatives from the Philadelphia Armenian community walked in the Greek Independence Day Parade on Sun., March 22. Outreach efforts have also been made toward the Assyrian and Jewish communities.

On Mon., April 20, Rosemont College will host a commemorative event in Bryn Mawr, Pa., entitled “Building a New Armenian Identity,” with filmmaker Stephanie Ayanian and panelists M.J. Hannush and Adam Lusk. The Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Philadelphia and Stockton University’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies program will also be co-sponsoring “Worldwide Reading Day,” which is part of a global initiative on Tues., April 21.

To raise awareness about the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide to the general public, two free events have been planned, which will take place rain or shine: the 8th Annual Armenian Genocide Walk on Sat., April 18, and a “100 Minute Silent Sit-in” on Fri., April 24.

In addition, a Centennial billboard is currently on display on I-76 at the Spring Garden exit eastbound in Philadelphia, and a full page ad will appear in the “Local News” section of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sun., April 19, and Fri., April 24.

The 8th Annual Armenian Genocide Walk on Sat., April 18, will provide an opportunity for the entire Philadelphia community to gather to commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide at the Independence Visitor Center in historical Philadelphia. Beginning with the “They Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Relief” traveling exhibit and a Centennial social media campaign, hundreds will then walk through the streets of Philadelphia to rally and raise awareness for the cause. At the conclusion of the walk, a special program will take place with host Eva Pilgrim of the 6abc Action News team and keynote speaker Phil Holtje of the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center.

At noon on Fri., April 24, a “100 Minute Silent Sit-in” will take place in LOVE Park in Center City Philadelphia to commemorate the day marked as the beginning of the Armenian Genocide 100 years ago. Following the sit-in, educational packets will be distributed to the public. On the evening of April 24, the Armenian Inter-Communal Committee of Philadelphia will hold a Divine Liturgy and a
Candlelight Vigil at St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church in Wynnewood, Pa., with a program and reception to follow.

To support regional Centennial events as well, buses have been arranged for community members from Philadelphia to attend the Divine Liturgy and Times Square program in New York City on Sun., April 26, and the Divine Liturgy at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Sat., May 9.

To learn more about the Centennial events and initiatives in the greater Philadelphia area, visit www.recognitionnow.org or e-mail agcphiladelphia@gmail.com.

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The Genocide Centennial concert in Washington, D.C. on May 8 promises to be an inspiring musical event, headlined by leading Armenian artists who have performed on some of the most legendary international stages.

Levon Chilingirian

The renowned participants include the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hover Chamber Choir from Armenia; singers Isabel Bayrakdarian and Hasmik Papian; violinists Levon Chilingirian, Ara Gregorian, and Ida Kavafian; pianists Sahan Arzruni and Serouj Kradjian; cellist Alexander Chaushian; clarinetist Narek Aroutyunian; oudists Onnik Dinkjian and Ara Dinkjian,; and David Gevorkian on duduk.

This extraordinary musical presentation is “an expression of rebirth and renewal, and shows that Armenians after 1915 could stand up and create an abundance of culture which is simply astounding,” said acclaimed classical pianist Sahan Arzruni in a telephone conversation.

Triumph of survival

The concert will concentrate on the “Triumph of Survival,” Arzruni explained. ”It is special because it represents all sorts of musicians from all corners of the world, not only Armenian, but also from Europe and North America.”

The concert will focus on Komitas, “the fountainhead of Armenian music who has profiled the music of centuries to come,” and will include “our musical ambassador, Aram Khachaturian, who absorbed Komitas’ music and expressed it in his unique way, a universal way, making it palatable to all nations in the world,” added Arzruni. The program will also feature Alan Hovhaness, “the mystic of Armenian music aesthetically speaking.” Arzruni, who is a specialist on the music of Komitas, noted that Hovhaness was “a disciple of Komitas’, and in an iconic way, he fused Middle Eastern melodies with Western technique that created a language which spoke clearly to many people, a sort of new age music.”

Also featured on the concert program will be the “Requiem” of Tigan Mansurian, whom Arzruni called the “leading composer of Armenia.” The composition was written to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, Arzruni related, and “combine[s] the canonical Latin text with the spirit of Armenian music, thus creating a work of great lyricism.”

Sahan Arzruni

Arzruni was born in Istanbul, and until age 21 had never heard about the genocide. “It was never spoken about in our family because later, I learned, it was dangerous to do so.” When he came to New York in 1964, and was staying at International House while studying at the renowned Juilliard School of Music (from which he graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees), he met a Turkish student who “approached me and wanted to apologize for the genocide.” On a return trip to Istanbul, he questioned his mother and learned that his maternal grandfather’s family had been “obliterated.” He said, “I became very anti-Turkish, but many years later, have decided that communication is the way to understanding.”

Arzruni is not only a noted pianist, but also a composer, ethnomusicologist, lecturer, writer, and producer. As a Steinway artist, he has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the U.S. Library of Congress, the White House, and for many years with Victor Borge. He has appeared on several TV and radio specials, and records for New World Records, Composers Recordings, the Musical Heritage Society, and Philips, among others. In 2008, he was awarded an “Honorary Professorship” from Yerevan’s Komitas State Conservatory.

A united community and outstanding musicians

For celebrated violinist Levon Chilingirian, the Washington Centennial is significant for the unity of the Armenian-American community, and for the array of outstanding Armenian musicians from around the globe who will be performing at the concert.

Born in Nicosia, Cyprus, Chilingirian started playing the violin at age 5, and 7 years later came to Britain to study at the Royal College of Music. He won the first prize in both the BBC Beethoven and the Munich Duo competitions in 1969 and 1971, respectively

Chilingirian comes from a talented musical family. His grandfather, church choirmaster and composer Levon Chilingirian, had to abandon his native Constantinople after the Smyrna Massacres in 1922, and take on the post of “tbrabed” at St. James Monastery in Jerusalem. His mother’s family left Adana in 1909, and later for the duration of World War I, before finally settling in Cyprus in 1922. “They would have been exiled to Der Zor had it not been for the violin playing of my great uncle Vahan Bedelian who saved their lives by playing, ‘Alla Turka’ for the music-loving governor of Aleppo,” Chilingirian revealed.

In 1971, Levon Chilingirian founded the famed Chilingirian Quartet, which has performed worldwide. He also serves as the music director of Camerata Nordica, a Swedish chamber orchestra, and is the artistic director of the Mendelssohn on Mull festival. In addition to playing and recording, he is a professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

For his service to music, Chilingirian was awarded the coveted “Order of the British Empire” in 2000.

“Music has been central to our church and in everyday life,” Chilingirian related. “From the wonderful ‘sharagans’ handed down to us through the centuries, to the unassuming folk songs which Komitas notated for posterity, we know that singing, dancing, and playing instruments nourished the souls of all Armenian communities. The therapeutic power of music is exemplified with the fact that one of the first things that Vahan Bedelian created with the newly arrived refugees in Cyprus was a choir.”

He hopes that the attendees of the Centennial concert “return to their communities strengthened by the unified nature of the commemoration. This unique gathering will, I am sure, deepen the resolve of Diasporan Armenians to nurture all aspects of music and the arts.”

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NEW HAVEN, Conn.—On April 23-24, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) will hold a series of public events to observe the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide through music and art.

“Southern’s commitment to social justice is very much animated by the recognition of man’s inhumanity to man,” said SCSU President Mary A. Papazian. “The Centenary of the Armenian Genocide gives us pause to recall the mass suffering that occurred at that time and at other periods throughout history. By remembering the past, we can work to build a better future for all.”

“Art and music are highly effective media to tell this heart-wrenching story and touch our emotions,” Papazian said. “I hope that people will come to Southern and experience these affecting presentations.”

On April 23 at 7:30 p.m., the SCSU Symphonic Band will present a concert entitled, “Music of Armenia,” featuring folk music by composers Hovhaness, Reed, Khachaturian, Komitas, and Strauss. Guest musician Anna Hayrapetyan will discuss the origins of the music presented and University Band Director Craig Hlavac will discuss the pieces’ arrangements. The concert will take place in the Charles Garner Recital Hall (Engleman C112).

On April 24 at 5 p.m., in the Buley Library Art Gallery, the university will hold an opening reception for “Ashfall,” an art installation by Robert Barsamian that tells the story of the victims of the genocide. The reception will include a talk by the artist, a musical presentation by the SCSU Symphonic Band, and a tour of the exhibit.

On April 24 at 7:30 p.m., guest musicians Anna Hayrapetyan and Tatev Amiryan will perform a recital in honor of the victims of the Armenia Genocide. Their performance, to be held in the Garner Recital Hall (Engleman C112), will feature pieces connected specifically with the genocide theme by Armenian composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Komitas, Mirzonyan, Kanachyan, Amiryan, and others.

Hayrapetyan has performed in multiple solo and joined concerts around Armenia, Australia, and the United Kingdom. She is the winner of the MacArthur Music Competition in Sydney, Australia, where she was awarded first and second places for sacred music and operatic aria sections, respectively.

Amiryan is a composer and pianist devoted to exploring the sounds of her native Armenian homeland. Her music has been performed extensively around the world and she has received multiple scholarships and awards. She is a doctor of musical arts candidate at the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance and her dissertation is a dedication to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

Artist Robert Barsamian grew up in Whitinsville, Mass., the son and grandson of survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. In the 1990’s, Barsamian recalled the stories his grandmother had told him of her survival of the genocide, and he became inspired to depict such atrocities in his art. He eventually began to create art installations to convey the feeling of inhumane acts perpetrated by man against man and began expressing the injustices of the genocide with his multimedia installations. “Ashfall” is one such installation.

“Ashfall” tells the story of the journey of survival that Barsamian’s mother, her mother, father and great-grandmother endured on their escape from Historic Armenia to America. A 16’x16’ structure erected within the Buley Library gallery space with the help of Southern art students, “Ashfall” contains its own lighting and sound system. Inside the structure are portraits on lace, framed by branches—elements from Armenian culture—along with a bench that allows visitors to pause and contemplate the exhibit, which has been called a “sacred space.” In addition to the structure, the gallery displays text panels that speak to the violence and loss the genocide engendered.

A smaller installation in the gallery space, called “Road to Aleppo,” is a boat with a figure lying on a funeral pier, representing the spirits of those who died on the death marches through the Syrian desert to Aleppo. Large drawings on silk are draped behind this piece.

Barsamian lives in Dallas, Texas, and is represented by the Conduit Gallery. He has exhibited “Ashfall” in various venues around the United States; the SCSU installation is the first time in New England. “Ashfall” will be open to the public from April 20 to July 9, and admission is free.

For more information on the events, call (203) 392-6589 or visit http://www.southernct.edu/armenian-genocide​.​

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The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) New Jersey “Dro” Gomideh and the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) New Jersey “Arsen” Chapter will host a graveside service and program honoring Arshavir Shiragian and the heroes of Operation Nemesis on Sat., April 25 at 3 p.m.

Shiragian, together with Aram Yerganian, located and shot dead Jemal Azmi Pasha, the governor-general of Trebizond, and Dr. Behaeddin Shakir Bey, one of the masterminds of the Armenian Genocide.

The program will feature remarks by Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy, author of Sacred Justice: the Voices & Legacy of the Armenian Operation Nemesis. MacCurdy is the granddaughter of Aaron Sachaklian, one of the masterminds of Operation Nemesis.

The service, which is also dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide,  will take place with the participation of the Homenetmen Scouts at Arshavir Shiragian’s grave at the Hackensack Cemetery in Hackensack, N.J.

For information, call Yervant Keshishian at (201) 417-2952.

Concludes 2^nd Edition with Tributes and Awards

NEW YORK, NY—After a successful weeklong festival that included issue-oriented film screenings and thought-provoking industry panels, the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival, which showcases socially relevant films with human interest stories, wrapped up its second year with great fanfare.

Taking place from March 16-22, 53 films from 33 countries were screened at Tribeca Cinemas, Maysles Cinema, and School of Visual Arts. The festival opened at CUNY Graduate Center’s Proshansky Auditorium with Hüseyin Karabey’s “Come to My Voice,” sponsored by the German Consulate General of New York and co-hosted by SR Film Festival and MEMEAC CUNY.

Question and Answer session with Kay Mouradian, Nora Armani, and Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss

A highlight of the festival were the four Armenian films that were showcased in commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, screening on Sat., March 21, at Tribeca Cinemas in a standing room-only event. The films included Kay Mouradian’s “My Mother’s Voice,” a 25-minute film revolving around the true story of a 14-year-old girl orphaned during the Armenian Genocide; followed by David Hovan’s “Born in Adana,” a 15-minute film centering around the surrender of Adana to Turkey by the French; then Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss’s and Edith Weil’s “Cyprus Summer 1974,” a 24-minute film revolving around a 13-year-old-girl writing in her diary about waking up to the sound of gunfire and war on a beautiful summer morning in July 1974; and finally Shahen Nazarenko’s “24/I Confess With Faith,” a 15-minute film that combines the two worlds of a monastery and city bustle in Artsakh (Karabagh).

Armani being interviewed on the opening night of the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival

“The sequence was specially designed to give a chronologic feel for the events of Armenian history starting with the genocide and ending with present-day Armenia and Artsakh, passing through Adana and Cyprus,” said Nora Armani, festival founder. “It is important to portray Armenian culture at international events and in perspective, thus throwing the spotlight on the genocide and related important historic events to enlighten the non-Armenians.”

Following the screenings, there was a well-received question and answer session with Mouradian, Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss and Edith Weil, conducted by Armani.

This year’s SR Socially Relevant Film Festival featured films from more than 30 countries, including Armenia, Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Haiti, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kurdistan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Palestine, Patagonia, Peru, Romania, Russia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tibet, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, and the United States.

The Closing Awards ceremony took place at the Fourth/Botequim Restaurant on Sun., March 22. Many awards were given out, including the Lifetime of Inspiration in Memoriam Award to Albert Maysles, the Justice and Peace Award to Guy Davidi (“5 Broken Cameras”), and the Vanya Exerjian–Empowering Women and Girls Award to Francesca Archibugi.

The competition winners were the German, French, Swedish, and Lebanese films. Read about the winners and the program by visiting www.ratedsrfilms.org.

Inaugurated in March 2014 by actor/filmmaker Armani to combat violent forms of storytelling, the successful first edition of the festival opened with a program of 55 films from 18 countries at the Quad Cinema.

“Most films today encourage misrepresentation, reinforce stereotypes, and create an escapist passive attitude in youth and adults towards major social issues. In reverse, simply by focusing more on socially relevant themes, positive social change can be promoted through the powerful medium of cinema,” said Armani.

The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New Jersey will host a program dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide on April 25, at the St. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church. Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy and Kristi Rendahl will deliver keynote addresses, followed by a film presentation by Talin Avakian.

MacCurdy, currently special assistant to the president at Hampshire College and visiting professor of writing at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, received her M.A. degree in British Literature and her Ph.D. in Humanities from Syracuse University. She is the granddaughter of Aaron Sachaklian—one of the three masterminds of Operation Nemesis. She recently published Sacred Justice: The Voices & Legacy of the Armenian Operation Nemesis—a book based on letters sent to her grandfather during the operation.

Originally from a family farm in North Dakota, Kristi Rendahl lived and worked in Armenia from 1997-2002; she visits the country regularly. She works with the Center for Victims of Torture as the organizational development advisor to ten torture treatment centers around the world, and is pursuinga doctorate in public administration. Rendahl writes a monthly column for The Armenian Weekly. She resides in St. Paul, Minn.

Talin Avakian on the set of Voltage, the 2011 MassArt Senior Fashion film.

Talin Avakian is a filmmaker and visual artist who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her film, “Demi Pointe,” won “Best Short” in the Boston International Film Festival. She is currently working on three documentary short films shot in Western Armenia. She will premier her new short film “Two Tales of a City” at this event. The film tells the story of Ekrem and Ayda Borekjian, and Sarkis and Baydzar Eken—two couples, born and raised in the lively historic city of Dikranagerd. Fast forward to 2015, and we find them on opposite sides of the globe, many years later, recalling their past in a place where they tried to practice their Armenian culture, as an oppressed minority.

The church service begins at 7 p.m., followed by the program at 8 p.m., with the participation of the AYF-YOARF of New Jersey “Arsen” Chapter, Hamazkayin New Jersey Arekag Chorus, and the Homenetmen Scouts.

The St. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church is located at 461 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, N.J. For more information, call Maral Sahagian at (845) 641-7187.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—When Zaven Tachdjian saw an opportunity to volunteer his expertise to St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, he jumped at the chance to join the construction team alongside St. Nersess Board members Kevork Toroyan and Michael Haratunian. Since 2013, when the site plan for the future seminary campus in Armonk was approved, Tachdjian has served as the project’s design and construction coordinator.

Zaven Tachdjian at the entrance of the new St. Nersess campus in Armonk, N.Y.

However, this isn’t the first time Tachdjian has helped St. Nersess. In fact, his history with the seminary dates back 33 years when he and his family moved to Westchester County from Beirut, and he joined the St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church in White Plains. There he met Rev. Fr. Karekin Kasparian, an ardent supporter of and faculty member at the seminary, who helped Tachdjian to form a relationship with St. Nersess, too. As chairman of the St. Gregory Parish Council in 2009, Tachdjian added a $5,000 line item in the church’s budget earmarked for an annual donation to St. Nersess, making St. Gregory Church one of the first to do so.

The support for St. Nersess has continued over the years, as Tachdjian believes in the seminary’s major role in the preservation and growth of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the United States. “Its impact on the Armenian community is enormous,” he said recently. “It has created an incubator from which not only bishops and priests have emerged, but also deacons, altar servers, and lay leaders who serve the Armenian Church today. And the young people who attend the summer conferences continue to feel the impact of their experience, and as a result serve their local parishes.”

As the design and construction coordinator for the new St. Nersess campus, Tachdjian has volunteered 10-20 hours per week for the last 2 years. Drawing on his personal experience as the retired owner of Stone & Powers, a construction and management company, as well as his engineering master’s degree, Tachdjian has much to offer to the project. Early on, he helped to secure the construction permits and reviewed all the documents with the architect and engineers for the building permit. Moving forward, he has led weekly site job meetings, helped to resolve any construction issues, negotiated and managed all invoices and payments, and followed the construction progress. During the selection process of the subcontractors for different trades, Tachdjian used his contacts to favorably negotiate, save appreciable amounts, and reduce the original construction budget. “His experience, knowledge, and time committed to the building of our new campus has been invaluable,” said Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean.

The expansion of the St. Nersess campus will be a state-of-the-art Armenian seminary complex. The new Karekin I Theological Center and Chapel, Single Students Residence, Married Students and Faculty Residences, Dining Hall, and Recreation Center will be fully completed upon the sale of the New Rochelle property. “I firmly believe that under the strong leadership of Fr. Mardiros, and the support of the St. Nersess Board and the Eastern and Western Dioceses, the newly expanded St. Nersess campus will give seminarians and priests improved learning and living facilities and more opportunities to expand the program,” Tachdjian said.

To learn more about St. Nersess, visit www.stnersess.edu.

NEW YORK—For the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the PEN/World Voices Festival will host an evening titled, “Armenian Genocide: A Dark Paradigm,” to commemorate the 82 Armenian writers killed by the Turkish government in 1915. The mass killing of Armenian cultural leaders became a paradigm for silencing writers in the ensuing decades of the 20th century: The purges of writers and intellectuals by the regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot, in various ways, have their origins in the Ottoman state’s use of bureaucracy in the killing of Armenian writers in 1915.

The program will feature Peter Balakian, Eric Bogosian, Maureen Freeley, Robert Jay Lifton, Nancy Kricorian, Ronald Suny, and Ragip Zarakolu. The panel will commemorate the Armenian writers by exploring issues surrounding genocide and political oppression, intellectual freedom, and cultural legacies. There will be readings from the Armenian writers who were killed, including Siamanto and Daniel Varoujan, and those who survived, such as Vahan Tekeyan and Zabelle Yessayan.

The program will feature Peter Balakian, Eric Bogosian, Maureen Freeley, Robert Jay Lifton, Nancy Kricorian, Ronald Suny, and Ragip Zarakolu.

Raphael Lemkin considered the destruction of culture and the killing of writers as a crucial dimension of genocide. “In terms of the larger issues involved, the losses in culture through the genocide of the Armenian people in Turkey were staggering,” he wrote. “The Armenians, as the intellectual core of Turkey, were in possession of valuable personal libraries, archives, and historical manuscripts, which were dispersed and lost. Churches, convents, and monuments of artistic and historical value were destroyed.”

In an interview, Peter Balakian, the organizer and moderator of the panel, noted, “this is the most distinguished literary festival in the English-speaking world, and it’s a great honor to have PEN giving such a forum to remember the writers of the Armenian Genocide and to ponder the issues of political oppression and intellectual freedom, and the value of writers to any culture.”

The event will take place on Wed., May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the SVA Theatre at 333 West 23^rd St. in New York. Tickets can be bought by visiting penworldvoices.org or by calling (866) 811-4111. Sponsors include the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of America, PEN America, and SVA Theatre.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The Armenian Church of Rochester invites the Rochester community to a special commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The event is scheduled for Sun., April 26 at 2 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, 1957 Five Mile Line Rd. in Penfield, N.Y.

The keynote speaker will be Vincent Lima of Pittsford, N.Y. Lima lived in Yerevan, Armenia, for four years, where he edited the Armenian Reporter newspaper. He is the former director of Gomidas Institute, an organization that disseminates research, scholarship, and analysis on the modern Armenian experience. Lima will join a core group from the Gomidas Institute travelling to Bitlis, Mutki, and Diyarbakir, April 18-24, to observe the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The Rochester commemoration will include a performance by Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Tigran Vardanyan and pianist Suren Barry. Also performing will be vocalists Liliana Natalie Buickians and Varduhi Pchakchyan. The event will also include poetry readings, personal reflections, and a reading of a letter from a child in Armenia.

Admission is free and open to the public.

LIVONIA, Mich.—Leaders of metro Detroit’s four Armenian churches and those from other faiths are uniting in Livonia on April 24 for a special Ecumenical Service to honor and remember the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The worship service will be held at St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Basilica, itself home to a large contingent of oppressed people with Middle Eastern roots. April 24 is Martyrs Day, the day that honors the 1.5-million Armenians killed by the Ottoman government.

St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Basilica

“This is an unprecedented event at a critical time,” said Manouk Derovakimian, co-chairman of the Armenian Churches of Greater Detroit Genocide Committee, the group responsible for the service. “1.5 million Armenians didn’t have the chance to live a normal life in this world, and we cannot forget them.”

The committee represents St. John Armenian Apostolic Church in Southfield, St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in Dearborn, St. Vartan Armenian Catholic Church in Detroit, and Armenian Congregational Church in Southfield. The evening’s principal homilist will be the Most Reverend Allen Vigneron, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

An outdoor digital art display will also be held on the church’s buildings and bell tower. Projections of iconic Armenian churches and religious symbols telling the story of the genocide and the Armenian nation’s rich religious influence will be produced by well-known Detroit-area photojournalist Michelle Andonian and visual artist Gabriel Hall of New D Media Arts.

The service begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s, located at 18100 Merriman Rd., north of Six Mile Rd., in Livonia. A reception with religious and government leaders will follow. All are welcome to attend.

For more information, contact Fr. Garabed Kochakian, pastor of St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, by calling (248) 569-3405.

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Yerevan premiere for 1915 the Movie set for April 25

New York—After spectacular premieres in Los Angeles and Moscow, which garnered wide media attention and critical praise, 1915 The Movie opened theatrically in New York and digitally on iTunes—launching the highly anticipated psychological thriller on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Theatrical poster for ‘1915 The Movie’

“As it grapples with the Armenian Genocide, 1915 plays out like a pensive, high-minded version of Birdman,” the Los Angeles Times reviewed, calling the movie a “creative way to do justice to such a monumental topic.” Opening weekend numbers, according to per screen averages, made 1915 a top debut in the U.S., securing its extension to the April 24 weekend, when millions of Armenians across the world will commemorate the centennial of 1915.

The Yerevan, Armenia, premiere is set for April 25, when the film’s co-director Garin Hovannisian, composer Serj Tankian (System of a Down), and lead actress Angela Sarafyan (Twilight) will unveil the film in both the English and Armenian languages for a high-profile crowd of international dignitaries, press, and government officials.

With its hashtag #EndYourDenial, the film is not only an artistic vision, but also a political challenge—one which has angered Genocide deniers. As of this writing, the Turkish-Azerbaijani hacking ring “Turkey Cyber Army” has disabled the landing page of the film’s online ad campaign. But the movie’s trailer, with more than half of a million views, is still available at the official website—1915themovie.com—along with information about the theaters showing 1915 during this historic anniversary.

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WASHINGTON—On April 26, hundreds will gather in Washington, D.C. for the first annual family friendly Walk to End Genocide hosted by Darfur Interfaith Network (DIN) and Jewish World Watch (JWW). The walk will be part of the largest annual anti-genocide rallies held in the United States during the Genocide Awareness month of April.

A wide-ranging, multi-faith coalition of policymakers, religious leaders, schools, and activists will join for a month of action and walking together to highlight the power of local communities to fight genocides and mass atrocities around the world. The April 26 event in Washington, D.C., will remember and honor Holocaust and genocide survivors and victims, raise funds for anti-genocide educational and advocacy efforts in the U.S., and support on-the ground projects that aid refugees and survivors of the conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, and Congo.

This year’s walk coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Both tragedies will be commemorated during walks across the country, including in Los Angeles; Sioux City, Iowa; East Meadow, N.Y.; Santa Rosa, Calif.; and Conejo Valley, Calif.

“In commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we must confront the sad truth that too many in the international community continue to stand idly by as genocides and mass atrocities plague our planet,” said Janice Kamenir-Reznik, the co-founder and president of Jewish World Watch. “These walks provides an important opportunity for people of conscience across the United States from different backgrounds and faiths to join with our elected leaders—and turn the words ‘Never Again’ into action.”

This is the first annual Walk to End Genocide in Washington, D.C., and will reflect the unique diversity of the nation’s capital. Local activists will join with interfaith groups to bring attention to the plight of communities now faced with genocide and mass atrocities in Sudan, South Sudan, and Congo. With the goal of inspiring and educating a new generation of local anti-genocide activists, the day’s activities will include arts and crafts projects for children, advocacy booths, and music, all to help nourish empathy and build compassion for the most vulnerable in our world.

The Walk to End Genocide will start behind the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, and will run from 1:30-4 p.m. For more information, visit www.dc.walktoendgenocide.org.

Darfur Interfaith Network

DIN is a network of people from different faiths, races, ages, and backgrounds rooted in many local congregations in the D.C. area, both large and small. They have held a monthly vigil at the Embassy of Sudan in D.C. each month, for the past eight years. DIN has sponsored walks to raise money to build a kitchen for a school in South Sudan and other on-the-ground projects to help the suffering. They believe we are all God’s children, no matter what religion a person is, and that people should care for one another and speak up for those who do not have a voice. DIN feels it is up to all of us to do God’s work to help the suffering.

About Jewish World Watch

JWW is a leading organization in the fight against genocide and mass atrocities, representing hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. Since its founding in 2004, JWW has grown from a collection of Southern California synagogues into a national coalition that includes schools, churches, individuals, communities, and partner organizations that share a vision of a world without genocide. JWW has raised millions of dollars to advocate against genocide and atrocities around the globe, and to support programs and on-the-ground projects that improve the lives of survivors.

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A fascinating exhibition entitled, “They Shall Not Perish: The Story of the Near East Relief,” at the Marriott Marquis Hotel will be one of the not-to-miss events taking place during the three-day Genocide Centennial in Washington, D.C., from May 7-9.

This traveling exhibition with 27 panels has already been displayed in Los Angeles and Boston, and will feature the origins and dedicated work of the Near East Relief in aiding 1 million refugees during and after World War I, 80 percent of which were Armenians, with the rest being Greeks, Assyrians, and other minorities.

(L-R) NEF Chairman Shant Mardirossian, Vice Chairman Johnson Garrett, and President Charles Benjamin

This remarkable endeavor, explained Shant Mardirossian, the dedicated chairman (a volunteer position) of the Near East Foundation Board, began on July 16, 1915, when the American ambassador in Constantinople, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., sent a cable to the U.S. State Department: “Deportations and excesses against peaceful Armenians are increasing, and from harrowing reports of eye witnesses, it appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress under the pretext of reprisal against rebellion,” he wrote.

In another cable a few weeks later, Ambassador Morgenthau declared that “the destruction of the Armenian race in Turkey is rapidly progressing,” and urged Secretary of State Robert Lansing to form a committee “to raise funds and provide means to save some of the Armenians and assist the poorer ones to emigrate.”

Birth of ‘citizen philanthropy’

The heroes called upon in this pioneering endeavor included industrialists and philanthropists Cleveland H. Dodge; Charles Crane; YMCA head John R. Mott; the Armenian-speaking and long-time missionary in Harpoot, James L. Barton, who was the Foreign Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Boston; and the head of the Reformed Zionist Movement in New York, Rabbi Stephen Wise.

Within two weeks of Morgenthau’s telegram, Cleveland Dodge, who was a Princeton University classmate and friend of President Woodrow Wilson, convened a meeting in his office, and the Committee on Armenian Atrocities was born.

In 1919, the organization named the Near East Relief was incorporated by an act of Congress. “The initial objective was to raise $100,000 which would be sent to Morgenthau to help some of the refugees to come to the United States,” related Mardirossian. Almost immediately, the Rockefeller Foundation funded half the amount, while the committee members provided the rest.

“It was the birth of Citizen Philanthropy, with citizens coming to the aid of the victims,” said Mardirossian. “A sophisticated national fundraising campaign was implemented across hundreds of communities in America. An unprecedented $117 million in funds and supplies were raised during the 1915-30 period, which in today’s standards would represent over $2 billion.”

Countless Armenians Saved

A 1922 New York Times article cited a Near East Relief report to Congress that at least 1 million lives had been saved, with 132,000 orphaned children rescued, fed, clothed, and housed throughout the organization’s vast network of schools, orphanages, and vocational training centers across the Middle East.

In 1925, 400 girls from the Ghazir Orphanage in Lebanon wove a thank you carpet that was presented as a Christmas gift to President Calvin Coolidge, which was recently put on view at the White House for a brief period.

“Countless Armenians can trace their lives or those of their parents and grandparents back to Near East Relief orphanages and camps,” said Mardirossian, who lost immediate family members on both his mother’s and father’s sides to the genocide. His paternal grandmother and her siblings, however, were saved in one of the Near East Relief orphanages, where they lived for four years.

“The Near East Relief, believing that its relief work ended in 1930, changed its name and mission to the Near East Foundation, and since then has worked in more than 40 countries, assisting millions of people in the Middle East and Africa,” Mardirossian reported. Today, it has projects in nine countries, including Armenia.

Shant Mardirossian also revealed that the Near East Foundation is about to launch the NearEastMuseum.org website, which will contain digital images from the archives at the Rockefeller Archive Center in Tarrytown, N.Y.

“Part of the reason that the Near East Relief is so important to me,” he declared, “is because it reflects an American tradition of humanitarianism which we as Armenians benefitted from during the darkest time of our history. We of all people should reflect on this and consider the suffering of others today, and how we might alleviate it. This is the essence of the mission of the Near East Foundation.”

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Virtually unknown are two documented and compelling events that are a significant part of the genocide story. Even Armenians are not aware of them. These will be displayed together for the first time since they were issued digitally, and will be exhibited during the Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration to be held in Washington, D.C., from May 7 through May 9. They are being released by the Armenian National Institute (ANI), the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), and the Armenian Assembly of America.

Dr. Rouben Adalian, director of the Armenian National Institute, in a telephone conversation explained the important role of the exhibit entitled, “The First Refuge and the Last Defense: The Armenian Church, Etchmiadzin, and the Armenian Genocide.” This undertaking started 25 years ago through an investigation of the U.S. National Archives. “We began to collect together this photographic evidence to tell the story,” he related.

With 20 panels and over 150 historic photographs, the exhibit details the role of Etchmiadzin during the Armenian Genocide, especially that of Catholicos of All Armenians Gevorg Sureniants who alerted world leaders in an “early warning” of the coming Catastrophe.

First humanitarian response to Armenian Genocide

In the Van province, after 55,000 Armenians had been slaughtered in April 1915 alone, the more than 100,000 survivors in Van city attempted to flee after Russian forces, who had crossed the border to rescue them, retreated, Dr. Adalian explained. With Turkish and Kurdish killer bands pursuing and killing a number of these helpless Armenians over mountains, rivers, and gorges, many of the thousands that finally reached Etchmiadzin died of exhaustion, fear, starvation, and disease. One third to one half perished, he revealed.

The diminished resources in Eastern Armenia, which became a huge, reeking refugee camp, were speedily overcome with this onslaught of human desperation. Helping to galvanize the relief work were the courageous Armenians across the Russian-Turkish border who welcomed these thousands of refugees into their homes, schools, and hospitals, and fed, housed, and cared for them.

These Armenian volunteers were the first to aid their people. With the Sovietization of Armenia, the story was virtually closed and forgotten, said the scholar.

The exhibit highlights the crucial role of Catholicoses of All Armenians Mkrtich I Khrimian, Gevorg V Sureniantz, Khoren I Muratbekian—all three of Etchmiadzin—and Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Garegin I Hovsepiants. Also playing an important role in assisting Etchmiadzin during this pivotal time were Eastern Armenian intellectuals, including legendary writer Hovhannes Tumanian and acclaimed artist Mardiros Sarian.

New digital exhibit: the first deportation

Dr. Adalian revealed that a new exhibit, “The First Deportation: The German Railroad, the American Hospital, and the Armenian Genocide,” has also been released by ANI, AGMA, and the Armenian Assembly. Based on U.S. National Archives photographs, with 128 images, 24 panels, and 7 maps, it focuses on the localities of the self-sustaining Armenian city of Zeytun in the Taurus Mountains, and Konya, a central Anatolian Turkish city.

Zeytun, the Armenian scholar noted, was the “first Armenian community in Ottoman Turkey to be deported en masse in April 1915. To deprive the Zeytun Armenians of any capacity to defy the deportation edicts, the Young Turk government divided its population, sending one part east toward the Syrian desert, and another part west to the barren flats of the Konya Plain.”

Forced out of their mountain homes, the Zeytun Armenians, famed for their resistance, and who were the first Armenians to be deported almost a month before April 24, were sent west to Konya, while a short time later, Armenians from western Anatolia were shipped by train east to Konya, the main terminus. Women, children, the crippled, blind, and elderly were then made to walk down mountain passes.

An American hospital and school in Konya soon were surrounded and became witness to the desperate plight of hundreds of thousands of Armenian deportees, and became the nucleus of a huge concentration camp, Dr. Adalian related. “Konya was never intended to exist as a destination camp and was evacuated within a short time. It has been forgotten as a major site in the trail of deportation.”

Dr. Wilfred Post became aware of both groups because they converged in the Konya Plain. The Armenians were all subsequently deported to the Syrian desert. Dr. Post, along with German railroad engineers, documented this horrific reality with archival photographs. These courageous missionaries also included Dr. William Dodd and Emma Cushman, who gave testimony about the rail line’s deteriorating conditions and the “start of the process of extinguishing Armenian life across the region.”

A noted scholar with a stellar record, Dr. Rouben Adalian received his Ph.D. in Armenian history from UCLA, and has taught at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, and at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of many scientific works and articles, was editor of the Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh Facebook, and associate editor of the award-winning Encyclopedia of Genocide.

The nation’s capital, he said, is the appropriate venue for the genocide commemoration, and for the world to recognize this crime against humanity. “Though the Armenian community is small, it has galvanized and pulled together for this unique anniversary. It speaks volumes about a people who did not want to die. We survived, endured, and flourished. We must speak on behalf of humanity to see that its repetition is prevented.”

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MAHWAH, N.J.—In commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will host a conversation between Ragip Zarakolu and Nanore Barsoumian on “The Denial Industry in Turkey.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at Ramapo College of New Jersey (Trustees Pavilion, PAV1&2) in Mahwah on May 7 at 7:30 p.m.

The discussion will explore the web of deception, distortion, and intimidation that has characterized official and unofficial perennial Turkish efforts to discredit the truth about how the Ottoman Empire’s “Young Turk” regime in the years 1915-17 engaged in a systematic and organized campaign to eliminate the Armenian population of Turkey.

Ragip Zarakolu

The director and owner of Belge Publishing House, Ragip Zarakolu, has been subjected to a lifetime of harassment from Turkish authorities. After graduating college in 1968, Zarakolu began writing for magazines such as “Ant” and “Yeni Ufuklar,” both of which focused on issues of social justice in Turkey. In 1971, a military government assumed power in Turkey and instituted a crackdown on writers it deemed subversive. Following a conviction and a three-year prison sentence, Zarakolu steadfastly refused to abandon his campaign for freedom of thought, striving for an “attitude of respect for different thoughts and cultures to become widespread in Turkey.”

Eventually, Zarakolu turned his attention to Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, beginning in 2004 with his publication of the Turkish translation of British author George Jerjian’s book, The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled. He was immediately prosecuted under Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code, which made it illegal to “insult or belittle” various state institutions. That article was replaced in March 2005 with the now-infamous Article 301, a new version of the insult law that conservative prosecutors have since used against dozens of writers, journalists, and publishers in Turkey.

Having been acquitted for the publication of several similar titles, in June 2008 Zarakolu was convicted of “insulting the state” under Article 301 for publishing Jerjian’s book. He was sentenced to a five-month prison term, which was subsequently commuted to a fine. He is appealing the conviction.

Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian is the editor of the Armenian Weekly. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk, and Turkey.

For more information, visit the Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at www.ramapo.edu/holocaust or call (201) 684.7409 to reserve a seat for the event.

***

Ramapo College of New Jersey is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as sixth in the Best Regional Universities North category for public institutions. It is sometimes viewed as a private college. This is, in part, due to its unique interdisciplinary academic structure, its size of approximately 6,000 students, and its pastoral setting in the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains on the New Jersey/New York border.

Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include nursing and social work. In addition, Ramapo College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels. The college also offers eight graduate programs as well as articulated programs with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New York Chiropractic College, New York University College of Dentistry, SUNY State College of Optometry, and New York College of Podiatric Medicine.

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Award-Winning Artists, Distinguished Politicians, and Acclaimed Scholars Participate in Impressive Centennial Commemoration

The view could be seen from high above: the bright and shining tricolors of the Armenian flag held proudly by Armenian youth. The traditional music of the Armenian people could be heard reverberating around Times Square: Armenian dancers performing the kochari as 100 white doves glided the air in honor of the Armenian martyrs.

In the face of ongoing denial, the response was loud and clear not only to Turkey but to the world: In the wake of obliteration, the Armenians have only grown stronger, buoyed by a passionate youth, as an unprecedented number of supporters flocked to the heart of Times Square to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on Sun., April 26, 2015.

A scene from the commemoration (photo: Tom Vartabedian)

More than 15,000 people, including Jews, Greeks, Turks, Assyrians, Cypriots, and Kurds, stood side by side with Armenians to honor the 1.5 million lives lost and to demand justice from the Turkish government for their crimes against humanity.

Although the visible reminder of the Armenian Genocide—the brave survivors—were no longer present in the audience, descendants took their place and carried on their memory through a significant presence and a procession that spanned miles, traveling from St. Vartan Cathedral at 34th St. and 2nd Ave. all the way to Times Square. The exceptional and well-executed event, organized by the Knights and Daughters of Vartan for the past 30 years, once again drew the East Coast to the crossroads of the world and showed the heart and devotion of the Armenian people.

Staunch supporters of Armenian Genocide recognition in the U.S., who appear loyally on stage every April and work behind the scenes throughout the year to bolster the Armenian Republic and diaspora, were in attendance, including Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who called the Armenian Genocide “one of the darkest events in human history.” He called upon President Barack Obama to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide and said he was disappointed the president had lost his “moral compass.”

Grammy-nominated artist Sebu Simonian performing in Times Square. (Photo: Anahid Kaprielian)

“We must not make it the policy of the United States to turn our backs on anywhere genocide occurs,” said Menendez, who as chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee worked tirelessly to pass Resolution 410, demanding that the U.S. acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. “When we do so, we empower those who use genocide as a weapon of war.”

Traveling straight from Armenia where he attended Armenian Genocide commemorations in Yerevan, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) praised Diasporan Armenians for their accomplishments regarding genocide recognition.

“You have made great progress,” said Pallone, counting the many countries as well as U.S states that have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Pallone reiterated that Turkey must acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and pay reparations. He also noted his support of an independent Nagorno-Karabagh.

“We in the Armenian Caucus will not rest until Congress and the president declare the Armenian Genocide as a genocide.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation, which is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, said he stood alongside everyone in the name of memory, peace, humanity, justice, and truth in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

“It was no accident of history,” said Smith. “It was designed, it was planned, and it was ordered.”

Smith stated that no one has the power to deny the truth and to control the past. He vowed that the perpetrators will not get away with murder.

“Fact always prevails over falsehood,” said Smith. “If you deny the past, you’re powerless in the present.”

Noting the strength and collective spirit of the Armenian community, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “Empires have risen and fallen, but you’re still here.”

Schumer recalled the founder of the Armenian Genocide Times Square Commemoration, Sam Azadian, who introduced him to the history of the Armenian Genocide when he was a newly elected assemblyman. “In his memory, I am here to fight this fight with you,” said Schumer. “I stand here with you in labeling the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as what it was: genocide. No denier can take that away from you.”

Senator Chuck Schumer speaking in support of Armenian Genocide recognition. (Photo: Taleen Babayan)

As he took the podium, New York City Council Member Paul Vallone (D-N.Y.) encouraged everyone to chant “Armenia!” Delivering on his promise in previous years to make sure the Armenian Genocide is recognized in the State of New York, the councilman proudly presented the proclamation to the audience and read it aloud for all to hear.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) restated her support of the Armenians and refused to let anyone forget the Armenian Genocide.

“The Armenian tragedy is our tragedy,” said Maloney. “We will be with you until it’s in the textbooks of Turkey.

Esteemed Turkish historian and academic Taner Akcam, a trailblazer in openly acknowledging and discussing the Armenian Genocide, said he was representing “another” Turkey, consisting of people who are ready to rediscover their past and to erase the “black stain” on their history.

Esteemed Turkish historian and academic Taner Akcam addresses the crowd (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

“I speak for many when I say to the Armenian people my sincere apologies for the past crimes and a century of denial,” said Akcam, to thunderous applause. “I promise in this name of ‘other’ Turkey to put an end to these denials.”

Akcam noted that there is not enough external pressure on Turkey from the international community and it’s troubling that the U.S. continues its denialist policy. He said the Armenian people will receive closure only when the truth is acknowledged.

“Without truth, there cannot be peace,” said Akcam. “On behalf of this other Turkey, we are determined to continue to struggle until truth prevails.”

Academy Award winner and playwright Alex Dinelaris artfully spoke of his grandmother Rose and the influence she had in imbuing his Armenian roots into his life.

“The Armenian culture was in my blood and it nourished me like the food, and it made me realize something I wasn’t before—strong,” said Dinelaris. “I will never forget my grandmother Rose, my ancestors, and the important journeys they made.”

Best-selling author Chris Bohjalian addresses the crowd (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

Best-selling author Chris Bohjalian stressed that the genocide matters both morally and politically. He pointed out the direct link between the Armenian Genocide and the ones that followed in the past century, urging the world to “put righteousness before realpolitik.”

“Thanks to our activism we are winning and the denialists are losing,” said Bohjalian. “Let them come again because we will build a new Armenia!”

The musical highlight of the program was a touching performance by popular musician Sebu Simonian of the Grammy-nominated indie pop duo, “Capital Cities.” Traveling from Los Angeles to perform for the Times Square commemoration, Simonian shared his family’s story of escape from the Armenian Genocide before playing his set, which included the poignant Armenian lullaby “Koon Yeghir Balas” (Cradle Song), his personally penned “Cilicia,” and his number one hit, “Safe and Sound.”

Rabbi Steven Burg of the Simon Weisenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance, urged the next generation to continue the fight and stop crimes against humanity. Genocide survivors, including Honore Gatera, Kigali Genocide Memorial Center (Rwanda), and Angelo Maker and Benjamin Machar, the Sudanese Lost Boys Survivors, encouraged everyone to stand hand in hand to build a peaceful world.

Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of Armenian Church of America (Eastern), gave the invocation and Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), delivered the benediction. Other clergy in attendance included Very Reverend Thomas Garabedian of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of the United States and Canada.

Knights of Vartan Grand Commander Steve Kradjian and Daughters of Vartan Grand Matron Lisa Kradjian delivered remarks.

Hayg Oshagan, chair of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern Region Central Committee [Editor’s Note: See the full text of Oshagan’s powerful speech here] offered his remarks, as did Van Krikorian, on behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America.

ARF Eastern Region Central Committee Chair Hayg Oshagan addresses the crowd (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

The winners of this year’s Knights of Vartan high school essay contest were announced at the program: Davit Hovhannisyan, 1st place, Nicole Ani Issagholian, 2nd place, and Nareg Balian, 3rd place.

The Areni Choir of the Armenian Society of Little Neck, under the direction of Dr. Armine Vardanian, sang the national anthems of the United States and Armenia, as well as “God Bless America.”

The Armenian Radio Hour of New Jersey, led by director Vartan Abdo, streamed the event live in video format worldwide, reaching more than 50,000 people, with the assistance of his dedicated volunteer staff.

Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of Armenian Church of America (Eastern) and Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

The 100th Armenian Genocide Commemoration in Times Square was organized by the Mid-Atlantic chapters of the Knights and Daughters of Vartan and the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee (Eastern Region). Co-sponsors included the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian National Committee of America, the ADL-Ramgavars, and the Armenian Council of America. Participating organizations included the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), Prelacy of the Armenian Church, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Presbyterian Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church, the Armenian Catholic Eparchy for U.S. and Canada and numerous Armenian youth organizations, including the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America, the Armenian Network of America, the Armenian Youth Federation, Homenetmen Scouts, Hamazkayin Cultural Association, Tekeyan Cultural Association, Noyan Tapan of Brooklyn, the Columbia University Armenian Club, the Armenian Students Association, and the People’s Democratic Party Kurdish Delegation, Circassian Society of Greater New York, Greek Hellenic, Pan-Cypriot Group and Assyrian and Syriac Orthodox Groups. Dance groups included Akh’tamar Dance Ensemble NJ, AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble NY, Aradzani Dance Group NY, Hye Bar Dance Group NY, Vanoush Khanamiryan Dance Academy NY/CT, Hamazkayin Nayiri Dance Ensemble NJ, Hamazkayin Meghry Dance Ensemble, and Yeraz Dance Ensemble NY.

Dr. Mary Papazian, president of Southern Connecticut State University, and Armen McOmber, New Jersey attorney, served as MCs.

The Homenetmen Scouts taking part in the commemoration (photo: Tom Vartabedian)

Members of the clergy take part in the march (photo: Tom Vartabedian)

A scene from the march (photo: Tom Vartabedian)

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“We Not Only Survived, We Thrive,” a one-of-a-kind exhibit and symposium that took place in Philadelphia from April 10-12 in commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, was a resounding success. Each component of the weekend offered substantive, engaging content with standing-room only crowds and nearly 800 in attendance. On Saturday alone, nearly 300 people walked away with a deeper appreciation of the accomplishments of our people in the context of how we endured and grew out of genocide.

Symposium co-chairs Prof. Alfred G. Mueller II and Prof. Lusine K. Hambardzumyan-Mueller

The exhibit of Ottoman-era artifacts and documents was opened on Friday evening, April 10. As guests viewed the items on display, musicians Mher Ajemian, Ryan Demirjian, and Saro Koujakian—collectively known as “Armenian Public Radio”—shared their renditions of beloved Armenian folk songs. The exhibit showcased the Armenian immigration experience from pre-American Civil War to the present with documents and artifacts from the Hamidian Massacres in the late 1800’s to the Adana Massacres in 1909 to the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and its aftermath, celebrating the achievements of our people over the last 100 years.

Hosted by St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Church, the exhibit focused on the sacrifices of those who perished and paid tribute to the thousands of survivors and their offspring, who came to their new homes throughout the world and thrived. The evening included a short program with an official welcome by exhibit co-chairs, Mark and Melineh Momjian, and remarks by local dignitaries.

Complementing the exhibit was a separate theater set up for viewing a short documentary commissioned by the local executive committee, led by Lisa Manookian and Margo Silk. “From Horror to Hope” featured the children of survivors with video footage from an actual survivor, along with historical commentary from Prof. Richard D. Hovannisian, the world’s foremost scholar on modern Armenian history.

The symposium featured an expert panel of speakers covering topics that ranged from the religious and symbolic

Very Rev. Oshagan Gulgulian, pastor of St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Church; Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian; Mark Momjian, Esq.; and the Rev. Fr. Hakob Gevorgyan, pastor of Holy Trinity Armenian Church

meanings of khatchkars, to the dispersion and transition of Armenians following the darkest periods of our history, to the current state of our churches in Armenia and the continual genocide resulting from Turkey’s ongoing negation. Hovannisian, the keynote speaker, pointed out that despite the tragic history of turmoil and oppression, the Armenians, with the generosity and support of people throughout the world, have remarkably made numerous, positive contributions to society. There is still work to do with respect to acknowledgment of the genocide, but we have so much to celebrate; we are grateful for the opportunities provided to us and proud of our accomplishments.

During Sunday’s closing luncheon, the community honored Hovannisian and presented him with a Near East Relief medal, which was manufactured by the Gorham Silver Company of New York in the early 1920’s. The medal was awarded to relief workers who had traveled to Armenia and other parts of the Near East, for their service in aiding the orphans and other survivors of the Great War. The medal’s crest is divided into quadrants, with the Turkish crescent, Greek cross, Persian lion, and the cedar of Lebanon. The escutcheon in the middle of the crest depicts the twin peaks of Mount Ararat and symbolizes the Armenian homeland. The medal was gifted to Hovannisian by Mark and Melineh Momjian, the co-chairs of the centennial exhibit, on behalf of the five Armenian churches in the Greater Philadelphia area, which sponsored the event: the Armenian Martyrs Congregational Church, Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, St. Mark’s Armenian Catholic Church, and St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church.

The event was one of many Philadelphia Armenian community events organized in cooperation with the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Philadelphia. For more information on local Philadelphia commemoration activities, visit armeniangenocide100philly.com. To purchase a DVD of the documentary commissioned by “We Not Only Survived, We Thrive,” e-mail wesurvivewethrive@gmail.com.

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