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Homage to 1.5 million victims
RIDGEFIELD -- With a majestic sunset serving as a backdrop, some 150 Armenian-Americans prayed Tuesday for their 1.5 million ancestors who died at the hands of Ottoman Turks, and they vowed never to allow the genocide to be obscured by the passage of time.
But 86 years after the symbolic first day of the eight-year massacre, efforts to be recognized continue to be a struggle. Neither the Turkish nor the U.S. government has officially acknowledged that there was a genocide.
As survivors continue to die off, the life expectancy of their stories depends on the next generation, and generations that follow.
"Beyond commemorating, we must continue action," said Montvale resident Ken Sarajian, a New Jersey liaison for the Armenian National Committee.
Armenian-Americans from the region gathered at Saints Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church on Bergen Boulevard for prayers and songs before a political segment that featured Sarajian and Hilda Choboyan, executive director of ANC in Europe.
The event is held annually to raise awareness of the atrocities in Armenia between 1915 and 1923.
Several bills have come before Congress to create a resolution condemning the Armenian killings as genocide, but none has been passed. Anto Kasbarian, a member of the Ridgefield congregation, said acknowledging genocide is politically sensitive for elected officials in the United States, because Turkey is rich in oil and a NATO ally. Though 30 states have issued proclamations or passed resolutions in recognition of the Armenian genocide, similar action in Congress would send a strong message.
"As long as certain powerful governments refuse to acknowledge a genocide occurred, in a sense, the genocide continues," Kasbarian said.
During the ceremony, which started with a prayer service for the dead, Armenian and American flags flapped in the wind beside the church's Martyr Monument. Flowers were placed at the foot of the stone sculpture, which was erected in 1994 so that Armenian-Americans could honor family members who perished.
"All of the people in this church are in this country because of the
massacres," said Palisades Park resident Helen Mesropian, a trustee
of the church. "Nobody here is untouched."
Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News Archives