ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES IMPACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ON DESCENDANTS

Florida Atlantic University Libraries Host Month Long Armenian Genocide Exhibit & Events

Washington, DC – As part of the ongoing Armenian Genocide exhibition at the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Wimberly Library, last week two South Florida community activists discussed the impact of the Armenian Genocide on descendants of survivors, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). A capacity crowd attended the panel discussion which followed the screening of a 30-minute excerpt from the PBS documentary, “The Armenian Genocide.”

Marta Batmasian, a member of the Florida Department of Education Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education, shared her family’s experience in Turkey and the effects of the Armenian Genocide on her family. Assembly Grassroots Director Taniel Koushakjian, an FAU alumnus, discussed the formation of Armenian-American identity and the post-genocidal effects felt in the Armenian community in the United States.

“It was overwhelming to see the high level involvement of the South Florida Armenian community in support of Armenian and human rights issues,” stated Marta Batmasian.

“The Armenian Genocide” film and panel discussion was sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE) at FAU in conjunction with “The Greatest Crime of the War: Armenian Genocide During World War I,” an exhibition on display through Wednesday, April 27, at the FAU Wimberly Library.

Marta Batmasian, Taniel Koushakjian and Dr. Rose Gatens

The exhibition displays the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians in Anatolia during the middle of World War I, between 1915 and 1916. The story is told through 21 free-standing panels that showcase photographs, quotes from witnesses, and the history and legacy of the genocide. The events and the exhibition, which is on loan from the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, are being hosted by FAU Libraries as part of Genocide Awareness Month, an observance during April to increase awareness and prevention of genocides. The Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Bosnian, Rwandan and Darfur genocides occurred within the last 100 years and are all commemorated in the month of April.

“It is important for our community to learn about and memorialize the victims of the Armenian Genocide just as we memorialize and educate about the Holocaust,” said Rose Gatens, Ph.D., Director of the FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights on FAU’s Boca Raton campus. “Remembering strengthens our commitment actively to prevent and intervene against the continuing scourge of genocide today.”

The exhibit will close with a special guest lecture by Dr. Mary Johnson, Senior Historian with Facing History and Ourselves and curator of the Armenian Genocide exhibit, on Monday, April 25 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. Following the lecture the Armenian Genocide Commemoration and Memorial service to all genocide victims will be conducted by clergy from St. David’s Armenian Church of Boca Raton and St. Mary’s Armenian Church of Hollywood.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

Photo Caption (L-R): Marta Batmasian, Taniel Koushakjian and Dr. Rose Gatens

SOURCE: http://www.aaainc.org/index.php?id=895