The Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada)
April 25, 2005 Monday
Final Edition
Genocide haunts Armenians: Calgarians mark 90th anniversary of
atrocities’ start
by Natasha Botha, Calgary Herald
Now almost 86 years old, Armen Shimoon is still haunted by horrifying
tales of her family’s torture during the Armenian genocide.
As a child, instead of hearing bedtime stories before going to sleep,
she learned about the cruelties endured by her relatives.
Even old age can’t erase those memories.
“I forget a lot of things,” says Shimoon, who now lives in Calgary.
“I can have something in my hand and not know where I put it, but
this story never goes. It plays like a movie in front of my eyes. It
is engraved in me.”
The Armenian genocide, which occurred between 1915 and 1923, saw an
estimated 1.5 million Armenian deaths through murder and starvation.
Sunday marked the 90th anniversary of the genocide’s beginning. On
April 24, 1915, Turkish Ottoman authorities arrested more than 200
Armenian leaders, launching what many say was an ethnic cleansing
campaign. Turkey, however, maintains it was a civil conflict that
erupted when Armenians sided with invading Russian forces.
Although Canada and other countries acknowledge the genocide, the
Republic of Turkey still refuses to do so.
“We want the Turkish government to recognize that these were not
standard war victims,” says Shimoon’s daughter, Anoush Newman. “We
demand an acknowledgement and an apology for these acts from the
perpetrators of this heinous act. To deny the genocide is a final
insult to us and we refuse to remain silent.”
Shimoon, who was born during the genocide, says there are many tragic
stories buried in her family’s past.
Her father, who was drafted into the Turkish army, once witnessed
Armenian children being put into a schoolhouse built out of wooden
logs. The doors were locked and the building was set on fire. He said
the Turkish soldiers joked about the children as they burned alive.
Another chilling story involves Shimoon’s grandmother committing
suicide by throwing herself into a river so as not to have to witness
the humiliation and torture of her daughters.
Because of stories like this, Shimoon, Newman and other Armenians are
determined to commemorate not only the genocide but the triumphs of
the Armenian people since then.
On Sunday, a memorial was held at St. Edmond’s Church in Bowness to
do just that.
“My family and several thousand other families are a testament to the
Armenian spirit,” says Newman. “The purpose was to eliminate the
Armenian nation from the face of the Earth. They did not succeed. I
am proof. Armenians still live and will continue to live for
eternity.”
GRAPHIC:
Photo: Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald; Armen Shimoon listens during
a ceremony, held at St. Edmond’s Church on Sunday, to mark the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.