Blog Archives
Gulf Coast Armenian American Community Announces Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemorations
PINELLAS PARK, FL – On Friday, April 24, 2015, Gulf Coast Armenians centered in Tampa/St. Petersburg will join Armenians around the world in solemnly commemorating the Armenian Genocide.
Beginning in 1915, the Ottoman Turkish government launched a premeditated campaign of genocide against their Armenian citizens. Approximately 1.5 million Armenians—75% of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire—were killed. This was the first modern example of genocide in the 20th century. Indeed, the very word genocide (denoting the destruction of an entire people) was originally coined in 1944 to describe the policy of systematic extermination used by the Young Turks regime against the Armenian people, and that the Nazis subsequently waged on European Jews.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of this dark chapter in world history and a series of specially orchestrated events are taking place around the world. On the Gulf Coast of Florida Armenian Americans have planed a diverse program of religious, academic, and physical activities to commemorate the lives of those lost a century ago. Below is the listing of events in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area on and around April 24th:
“Stop Genocide” 5K Commemorative Walk/Run
Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 8:30AM
Ft. Desoto Park
3500 Pinellas Bayway South, St. Petersburg, FL 33715
All walkers and runners are invited to participate in Tampa’s first-ever 5K dedicated to the Armenian Genocide and towards raising awareness about all genocides. Interested participants can register on Active.com. Guests can also connect with other runners on the Stop Genocide 5K Facebook event page.
Orphans of the Genocide Screening & Director Q&A
Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 7:00PM
The Florida Holocaust Museum
55 5th Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Hear from South Florida film director Bared Maronian as he presents his documentary on the orphanages that housed the many orphans who lost parents and were separated from siblings during the Armenian Genocide.
Orphans of the Genocide & The Armenian Genocide Airing on WEDU+
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 8:00PM, and 9:30PM on WEDU+
Orphans of the Genocide is a documentary by South Florida film director Bared Maronian showing the orphanages that housed thousands of orphans who lost their parents and were separated from siblings during the Armenian Genocide. Film starts at 8:00 PM (90 minutes).
The Armenian Genocide is the complete story of the first Genocide of the 20th century. It features interviews with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power, and best-selling author Peter Balakian, and contains historical footage of the events.
Narrated by Julianna Margulies, it also includes narrations by Ed Harris, Natalie Portman and Laura Linney, among others. Film starts at 9:30PM (60 minutes).
“Rising from the Ashes of Tragedy” Lecture and Student Panel Discussion
Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 2:00PM
University of South Florida (USF)
Tampa, Main Library
4th Floor Grace Allen Room
The USF Libraries Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center host Armenian scholar Dr. Garabet Moumdjian for a presentation entitled “Rising from the Ashes of Tragedy – Armenia’s Triumph Over Its Genocide.” A panel discussion by USF students will follow the presentation.
FEATURED EVENT: An Evening of Remembrance
Friday, April 24, 2015 at 7:00PM
St. Hagop Armenian Church
7020 90th Avenue, Pinellas Park, FL 33782
Armenian heritage comes to life in gifted performances of song and prayer to remember those lost in the Armenian Genocide and to celebrate their ongoing legacy.
“Rising from the Ashes of Tragedy” Lecture and Q&A
Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 7:00PM
St. Hagop Armenian Church
7020 90th Avenue, Pinellas Park, FL 33782
Armenian scholar Dr. Garabet Moumdjian presents “Rising from the Ashes of Tragedy – Armenia’s Triumph Over Its Genocide,” followed by Q&A.
For a full listing of Armenian Genocide 100th anniversary commemorative events in Florida, please visit our Florida Armenians 2015 Page.
Florida Atlantic University Conducts First Public Teacher Workshop on the Armenian Genocide in South Florida
Workshop is Part of a Series of Events in South Florida Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
By Taniel Koushakjian
FLArmenians Managing Editor
As part of the South Florida commemorations of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) will conduct a two-part series of events. On January 20th, Dr. Rosanna Gatens, Director of the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE) at FAU and Reverend Fr. Paren Galstyan, Pastor of St. David Armenian Church in Boca Raton, Florida, held a workshop at the Alex and Marie Manoogian School. The workshop featured lectures, exhibits, and thought-provoking information and dialogue on the Armenian Genocide. Facilitated by Dr. Mary Johnson, Facing History and Ourselves, the workshop explored the role of World War I in the execution of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
Fifteen teachers from Broward and Palm Beach County participated in the FAU workshop. “St. David’s Armenian school was the perfect setting for teachers, not only to learn about the Armenian genocide and how to teach it, but also to begin to understand Armenian identity,” stated Dr. Gatens. “All of us were fascinated by the richness of Armenian culture, but even more by the ancientness of Armenian Christianity,” Dr. Gatens said.
During the workshop instructors examined the exhibit “Witness to the Armenian Genocide: Photographs by the Perpetrators’ German and Austro-Hungarian Allies,” produced by the Armenian National Institute (ANI), the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), and the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). The ten-poster set includes an introductory page, a detailed timeline, a color-coded map geographically matching the photographs with their location, and seven pages displaying 34 captioned historic photographs. The color-coded map in the exhibit is based on the previously-published ANI map of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkish Empire illustrating the three prevailing aspects of the Genocide: the deportations, the massacres, and the concentration camps.
FAU’s second lecture commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will take place on Sunday, April 19, 2015, as part of the Martin and Edith Stein Community Lecture Series. Dr. Tamar Akçam will discuss his book, “The Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire.” Dr. Akçam is the Robert Aram, Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Florida Atlantic University Events Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide:
January 20, 2015
Teacher Workshop: The Role of World War I in the Execution of the Armenian Genocide, facilitated by Dr. Mary Johnson, Facing History and Ourselves, FAU, Boca Raton Campus, 8.30-a.m.3.30 p.m. at St. David’s Armenian Church, Boca Raton. Substitute reimbursements available. April 2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This program is part of local commemoration of the first genocide of the Twentieth Century.
April 19, 2015
Martin and Edith Stein Community Lecture Series: Dr. Tamar Akçam will discuss his book, “The Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire,” Dr. Akçam is Robert Aram, Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University. This program is part of south Florida’s commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. FAU, Boca Campus, 7-9 p.m., location TBA.
Miami Herald Publishes Op-Ed on the Passing of Harry Pilafian, South Florida’s Last Armenian Genocide Survivor
On Christmas Day, the Miami Herald published an op-ed by Harout Jack Samra, a Miami-based attorney of Armenian heritage. His article calls attention to the recent passing of Harry Pilafian (1921-2014), a grandfather, father, husband, veteran, and genocide survivor.
Below is an excerpt from Samra’s article and a link to the full story.
Annually, Armenians around the world gather on April 24 to commemorate the Armenian Genocide. Survivors of this national calamity stand at the front of each assembly as symbols of a people’s capacity to survive.
With each passing year in South Florida, with the commemoration reaching its centennial, survivors have grown fewer. Two weeks before Christmas, South Florida’s last known Armenian genocide survivor died.
Harry Pilafian was born in Tekirdag, in Thrace, during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. His mother and father had fled their home to Damascus in 1918. Their first son, James, was born in that ancient city.
During a period of calm, the family, like so many others, tried to return home. This is when Pilafian was born.
You can read the article in full by clicking here.
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