Tampa Tribune, FL
April 24 2005
90 Years Later, Armenian Deaths An Open Wound
By JULIE PACE [email protected]
Published: Apr 25, 2005
TAMPA – Every April 24, Peter Zakarian pauses to remember a family he
never knew and a homeland he has never seen.
Zakarian spends the day commemorating the Armenian genocide, often
called the first Holocaust of the 20th century. Sunday marked the
90th anniversary of the genocide, an event still unknown to many
Americans and still unrecognized by the U.S. government.
The Armenian genocide was carried out by the “Young Turk”
government of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The Muslim Turks
killed 1.5 million Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Christians, more than
half the Christian population living in the Ottoman Empire.
Five of Zakarian’s great- grandparents were killed by Turkish
soldiers.
“They were rounded up, lined up and shot,” Zakarian said.
Those members of Zakarian’s family that did survive endured bullets
and torture. Zakarian recalled the story of a great-uncle who
survived an execution-style attack.
“He stayed under a pile of bodies and hid for three days,” Zakarian
said. “In the middle of the night, he got up and ran away.”
Zakarian’s uncle and three surviving great-grandparents escaped their
hometown of Diyarbakir with few belongings. They made it to Europe,
where they boarded ships bound for New York harbor.
Zakarian knows he owes his own life in the United States to the
struggles of his family.
“I say to myself I’m living in Carrollwood in a nice house, but it’s
sad my family had to go to hell and back for it,” he said.
While Zakarian mourns his family’s struggles, he is outraged that the
Armenian genocide receives little attention. The Turks have never
admitted to the killings, and even though several European nations
have recognized the genocide, the United States has not.
Bills seeking to recognize the Armenian genocide have been brought
before the U.S. Congress, the most recent in January 2004. Historians
argue the U.S. government’s $1 billion in foreign aid to Turkey
influences the decision not to recognize the genocide.
“It always seems to have a lot of momentum, but they never actually
pass it,” Zakarian said.
Although the U.S. government doesn’t recognize the genocide, Father
Nersess Jebejian does, holding a Mass each year at St. Hagop Armenian
Church in Pinellas Park.
“We still fight to be recognized,” Jebejian said.
About 120 people gathered for Sunday’s 90th anniversary Mass, a large
number considering Jebejian estimates fewer than 1,000 people of
Armenian decent live in the Bay area.
“We want to remember this terrible tragedy because it wasn’t just a
matter of killing people,” Father Jebejian said. “It was deporting
them, forcing them from their towns.”
Zakarian said he recalls his family’s stories of the Armenian
genocide when he reads about recent conflicts in Rwanda and Sudan.
“It really should come to an end,” Zakarian said. “But if you
don’t know your past, you’re going to keep repeating it.”
Researcher Christine Perry contributed to this story. Reporter Julie
Pace can be reached at (813) 865-1505.