|
"We cannot maintain
the moral force we need to take action against
the genocide going on in Darfur, if the
Administration continues to equivocate about the
genocide against the Armenians."
-Representative Adam
Schiff, March 2007
Representative Schiff's warning resonates
clearly in the minds of Armenian Americans. We
are born, live and die carrying the burden of
genocide in our souls. As the survivors pass,
those of us who knew and loved them remain. We
remain with their testimonies and we remain in a
country that denies our past. Year after year we
watch the political beast that is Washington,
D.C. ignore our request for affirmation. At the
same time, more genocides occur and people
around the world are plagued with the same fate
as us.
Today, over four hundred thousand civilians in
the Darfur region of Sudan have been massacred
in the first genocide of the 21st
Century. Not one government or the United
Nations has effectively attempted to stop the
genocide in Darfur. This is a historical reality
that Armenians know too well. The people of
Darfur are faced with the same political
impotency that led to the demise of 1.5 million
Armenians almost a century ago.
We must continue to demand the affirmation of
the Armenian Genocide. With the same breath that
we use to call for affirmation, we must also
call for the end of the genocide in Darfur. It
is a moral responsibility that cannot be
shirked. We know the consequences of hate too
intimately to turn our backs on our brothers and
sisters in Darfur. Each of us has a child, a
niece or nephew, or lives in a school district.
We all pay for the education of the youth of
this country and we need to demand that schools
are teaching about genocide.
We are often taught in school that history
repeats itself. This is one of the many
incomplete stories we learn at school. A history
ignored… repeats itself. When genocide is
denied, ignored, brushed into the closets of
history, it emerges again and again. The first
modern genocide in human history, the Armenian
case, is denied and it is therefore no
coincidence that genocide continues to plague
our world.
It is our moral responsibility to demand
affirmation both for our ancestors and for those
who suffer today. We can fight in Washington,
but we can also take this to the classrooms and
educate our youth about genocide.
Today, the U.S. government does not officially
acknowledge the genocide of the Armenians and it
may be years before it does. In the meantime,
the subject should still be taught in American
schools and it should be taught in a way that
not only conveys the history but challenges
students to take a stand against genocide today.
By studying the Armenian Genocide at the
secondary level, students are exposed to a
particular history that deserves remembrance and
that illuminates human rights issues facing the
world today.
Education initiatives must be ongoing and
comprehensive. They must continue to target all
levels of public education from policy making to
teacher training. The history of the Armenian
Genocide needs to find a place in state-mandated
education standards. Textbooks must begin to
carry a correct and responsible history of the
event. More supplemental materials should be
created to meet a broader range of teachers'
needs. Finally, adequate teacher training will
ultimately ensure this history will become a
standard component of every U.S. student's
education. Educational initiatives are an
integral aspect of genocide prevention.
Promoting genocide education is an activity in
which we can all participate and make
a difference. |
