One and a half million Armenians were systematically massacred as they were evicted from their homes onto the merciless deserts of eastern turkey and into the darkness of the Black Sea.
Writers, lawyers, journalists, doctors, politicians and clergymen were deliberately rounded up so as to break the backbone of the Armenian community. Without leaders and organization, the rest could be easily killed and the younger children forced into ottoman families.
The Armenian community had attained a prestigious position in the Empire and the central authorities had become apprehensive of their power and their desire for a homeland. The only solution to such fears was deportation and extermination. The plan succeeded because the world was not paying attention. WWI embroiled all countries that could have protected Armenians in their hour of need.
Tremendous damage was done to the material and spiritual culture of Armenians. The intellectual potential of the community suffered irrecoverable loss. Famous authors and poets Grigor Zaohrab, Varoujan, Siamanto, Rouben Sevak and others, many columnists, painters, actors, scholars fell victim to the atrocities. Hundreds of historical and architectural monuments, and thousands of manuscripts were destroyed; sanctuaries desecrated.
The war was later used as a cover up for the genocide. The authorities claimed that Armenians were simply casualties of war, and they were not the only ones who died in 1915. A machine of denial was set in place to. Propaganda prevailed because Armenians were voiceless against their executioners.
Today, we cringe at the horrors in Sudan and yet hesitate to act because of semantics. Thousands upon thousands are dying everyday there, but the international community evades the issue by questioning the appropriateness of the word genocide. Because if we all agree that it is truly genocide, we would actually have to do something about it.
So we go on hiding behind words and legalities while people die by the droves. Sudan has an eerie precedent in the Armenian Genocide whose recognition was hoped to prevent all future atrocities. History has proven otherwise. Even after the legal term “genocide” was created in 1945, did we not have Rwanda or Burundi or former Yugoslavia? They all took place and with the feigned indifference of the international community. They are all examples of lessons left unlearned.
Let us remember the victims of the Armenian Genocide and praise those individuals and organizations that are fighting for recognition. This cruel chapter in human history has shown that truth is hijacked when voices are silenced, and that denial prevails when it is not opposed.