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Remembering genocide least we can do

Friday, April 24 was the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of April 1915. Perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks, 1.5 million Armenians, all Christians, were massacred to “solve the Armenian problem in Turkey.” They did not succeed. Today, there is an independent Armenia, albeit missing chunks of its land, most importantly Mount Ararat, under whose shadow the first nation to embrace Christianity has thrived for centuries. There are also many in the diaspora keeping their culture and religion alive.

This was the first genocide of the 20th century, and the world did nothing. The second was the Jewish Holocaust during World War II. Hitler, who famously said, “Who remembers the poor Armenians?” went ahead and annihilated 7 million Jews and others. Again, the world did nothing until it was too late. And now it is happening again. In the Middle East, Africa and in other places, Christians and, yes, some Muslims are being persecuted and brutally murdered.

And again the world is doing nothing. How many more millions have to die for us to stand up and shout with one voice, “This is not acceptable!” The motto of the survivors of the Armenian genocide is: Never forget. That’s the least we can do.

Ani Gannone

Durango



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