Note: The writer is a sophomore at Melrose High.
By PAIGE TRENOUTH
Bedros Bahadourian recalls, as a 12 year old boy, the sight of dead bloated bodies afloat in the river. Haig Baronian remembers the sight of his grandmother being stabbed in front of him. Sam Kadorian can still feel the weight of dead bodies on top of him. One after another, innocents were taken away from their homes and all of their belongings, tortured, and eventually killed. They marched across the deportation routes in hope that maybe they would survive. But the journey was endless and those who were not taken by starvation or dehydration were taken by the corrupt military officials or the ruthless concentration camps that were placed at the end of the marches in the Syrian Desert. This was the reality of the Armenian Genocide, a horrific mass killing that resulted from religious discrimination in the Ottoman Empire. Many are not aware of these events, though most know about the Holocaust, a similar event to the Armenian Genocide. April 24th marks Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day and the day the Genocide began, changing the course of history. This day is a chance for those who were not already aware of this significant historical event to become aware and learn about the loss that resulted from it.
The Armenian Genocide started in 1915 and ended in 1923. It began primarily due to war tensions and religious discrimination. During World War I, the loss of the battle of Sarikamish in January of 1915 quickly caused conflict. Editors John Merrimen and Jay Winter explain how the loss of this battle started a series of false accusations towards Armenians in which they were painted out to be “enemy agents.” These rumors were a way for the Ottoman empire to justify all of their crimes committed against Armenians. Religious discrimination was also a heavy factor in the escalation of the events and tied in with war tensions. The Ottoman empire was primarily Muslim, while the Armenians were a Christian minority. The editors of History.com describe how to some extent the Ottoman Empire allowed religious minorities to coincide with the majority but how Armenians were often an exception to this. They were particularly discriminated against with restrictions on their political and economic rights. Additionally, the Ottoman Empire was paranoid about Armenians giving up their loyalty to the Ottoman empire where they were a minority, to be in accordance with Christian governments, like the Russians in which they would be a part of the majority. These were the Ottoman government’s fear behind the rumors created of Armenians being enemy agents for the Russians. For these reasons, tensions spiraled into genocide. The starting point of this systematic killing was the deportation of Armenians. The government was most concerned about the fact that Armenians were located on the war fronts of the empire and they wanted to prevent them from allying with enemies by removing them from these areas. However, this deportation was carried out as death marches in which Armenians were systematically slaughtered along their journeys by foot to be relocated. The killings were not limited to the marches. Armenians were also executed in their home villages as well as in concentration camps. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, between 664,000 and 1.2 million Armenians died during the Genocide. The Genocide Education Project clarifies these large numbers as representing around half of the Armenian population at the time. Along with the heavy loss of life, the Genocide had other repercussions as well, many of which were not addressed until recently. Armenian culture and presence in Turkey was severely disrupted and therefore was dispersed elsewhere. Ronald Gregor Suny explains how after the extermination of Armenians, property in Eastern Anatolia was taken by Muslims while those who did survive the Genocide had to hide their identities by converting to Islam. Many Armenians also took the route of emigration in which they could better guarantee their physical security. Research published by FamilySearch Wiki describes how many Armenians migrated out of Armenia during what was known as the Armenian Diaspora. Forty years after the Genocide, around 450,000 Armenians were recorded living in the U.S. and Canada.
For many years the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide were not acknowledged. As time passed, many would know nothing of the massacres that occurred. Yet the events would not be forgotten because of those who passed down stories and knowledge through generations of art, literature, and activism. These forms of expression can be seen in literature like The Color of Pain: The Reflection of the Armenian Genocide in Armenian Painting by Shahen Khachaturian, as well as in the persistent protests that Armenian activists took in order for the U.S. to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide in 2019. Because of actions like these, the Genocide will never fully be forgotten, yet the denial of the Genocide is still an ongoing problem, specifically in Turkey, where the Genocide took place. Failing to acknowledge these events as genocide not only diminishes the severity of the crimes committed, but also undermines the recognition of all other genocides. It’s both unethical and hypocritical—especially when the Holocaust, which occurred just a decade later, is so widely taught and remembered. To understand the Holocaust, it is essential to know about the start of modern genocide and to fill the gap in history that was hidden for so long, that lead to inevitable continued violence the beginning of the 20th century. Knowledge of these events is the only way in which we can control what comes next, for “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905).