A HISTORY IGNORED… REPEATS ITSELF
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By Sara Cohan
Education Director, The Genocide Education Project
"We cannot maintain the moral force we need to take action against the
genocide going on in Darfur, if the Administration continues to
equivocate about the genocide against the Armenians."
-Representative Adam Schiff, March 2007
Representative Schiff’s warning resonates clearly in the minds of
Armenian Americans. We are born, live and die carrying the burden of
genocide in our souls. As the survivors pass, those of us who knew and
loved them remain. We remain with their testimonies and we remain in a
country that denies our past. Year after year we watch the political
beast that is Washington, D.C. ignore our request for affirmation. At
the same time, more genocides occur and people around the world are
plagued with the same fate as us.
Today, over four hundred thousand civilians in the Darfur region of
Sudan have been massacred in the first genocide of the 21st Century. Not
one government or the United Nations has effectively attempted to stop
the genocide in Darfur. This is a historical reality that Armenians know
too well. The people of Darfur are faced with the same political
impotency that led to the demise of 1.5 million Armenians almost a
century ago.
We must continue to demand the affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.
With the same breath that we use to call for affirmation, we must also
call for the end of the genocide in Darfur. It is a moral responsibility
that cannot be shirked. We know the consequences of hate too intimately
to turn our backs on our brothers and sisters in Darfur. Each of us has
a child, a niece or nephew, or lives in a school district. We all pay
for the education of the youth of this country and we need to demand
that schools are teaching about genocide.
We are often taught in school that history repeats itself. This is one
of the many incomplete stories we learn at school. A history ignored…
repeats itself. When genocide is denied, ignored, brushed into the
closets of history, it emerges again and again. The first modern
genocide in human history, the Armenian case, is denied and it is
therefore no coincidence that genocide continues to plague our world.
It is our moral responsibility to demand affirmation both for our
ancestors and for those who suffer today. We can fight in Washington,
but we can also take this to the classrooms and educate our youth about
genocide.
Today, the U.S. government does not officially acknowledge the genocide
of the Armenians and it may be years before it does. In the meantime,
the subject should still be taught in American schools and it should be
taught in a way that not only conveys the history but challenges
students to take a stand against genocide today. By studying the
Armenian Genocide at the secondary level, students are exposed to a
particular history that deserves remembrance and that illuminates human
rights issues facing the world today.
Education initiatives must be ongoing and comprehensive. They must
continue to target all levels of public education from policy making to
teacher training. The history of the Armenian Genocide needs to find a
place in state-mandated education standards. Textbooks must begin to
carry a correct and responsible history of the event. More supplemental
materials should be created to meet a broader range of teachers’ needs.
Finally, adequate teacher training will ultimately ensure this history
will become a standard component of every U.S. student’s education.
Educational initiatives are an integral aspect of genocide prevention.
Promoting genocide education is an activity in which we can all
participate and make a difference.
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The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
organization that assists educators in teaching about human rights and
genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and
distributing instructional materials, providing access to teaching
resources and organizing educational workshops. For more information
about The Genocide Education Project, go to
The Genocide Education Project
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 264-4203
www.TeachGenoci de.com