Is Needham still No Place For Hate?

By Steven Ryan
GateHouse News Service
Thu Aug 30, 2007, 12:00 AM EDT

Needham –

Remembering the past

Gulnar Sahagian, who grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, remembered her
grandmother’s stories of the Armenian Genocide, which saw the mass
deportation and murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire
during the World War I era.

"She cried every single night in prayer," the Hunting Road resident
said, with her son, Luder Tavit Sahagian, by her side. "Her eyes
witnessed so much horror. The way she described the stories every
night, I was there."

Gulnar Sahagian, who came to the United States in 1979, said her
grandmother, Arusiak Hajinian, was on the cusp of adulthood when
tragedy changed her life. At the time, she was married with a child,
while pregnant with a second. Arusiak Hajinian died at 110.

Gulnar Sahagian said Turkish forces came to her grandmother’s home
"collecting soldiers" and took away her husband, whom she never saw
again. Her brothers-in-law were killed, and her sister-in-law was
raped and brutalized, dying shortly thereafter.

In the chaos, her grandmother took the family’s gold and put as much
as possible in a pillowcase before hiding the coins in the wall of a
chicken coop. Hajinian, with others, was eventually captured and taken
into the desert, where she had little food or water for her young
child.

"She told me, ‘The baby is getting nothing from me,’" Gulnar Sahagian
said. "The baby finally died, and she buried it. She did not even put
a stone on top [of the grave], so nobody disturb it."

Gulnar Sahagian said Hajinian also lost the unborn child when a
Turkish soldier put a bayonet into her stomach. After the traumatic
event, she woke up in a Turkish soldier’s house. She was recovering
there before becoming a prisoner when she refused to become the man’s
new wife. She was chained to the basement.

One day, the chains were improperly placed, and Hajinian was able to
break free, climbing through a small window wrapped with metal wire.
Years later, she returned to her home and found the gold she hid in
the chicken coop. There, she connected with the man who became her
second husband, Gulnar Sahagian’s grandfather.

"We’re here because my grandmother escaped through that window," she said.
Seeking acknowledgement

The Anti-Defamation League’s stance on the Armenian Genocide, which
some said was the outright denial of the tragedy, created a furor in
nearby Watertown. The Watertown Town Council severed ties with the ADL
and the No Place for Hate program – which was created through a
partnership of the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the ADL –
after a letter highlighting the ADL’s controversial stance was
published in the Watertown TAB and Press. The government of Turkey
rejects the characterization of events as genocide.

"My personal view is it needs to be identified as a genocide clearly,"
Selectman Jerry Wasserman said, noting he is speaking for himself, not
the board. "To do otherwise would be wrong."

In Newton, members of the Human Rights Commission have postponed their
decision to withdraw from the long-standing program in the city. The
Arlington "No Place for Hate" program steering committee decided
Monday night, in an emergency meeting, to suspend its involvement.
Needham’s Human Rights Committee is holding a meeting Thursday, Aug.
30, to discuss the fallout.

"We’re having a special meeting to talk about the incidents of the
past couple of weeks," said Debbie Watters, chairwoman of the Needham
Human Rights Committee.
Gulnar Sahagian plans to be at the Needham meeting.

"It would only be right for the Needham Human Rights Committee to do
the right thing and cut ties with the ADL," said Luder Tavit Sahagian,
27.

Needham’s main involvement with No Place for Hate revolves around
student-led activities during the month of March. Superintendent Dan
Gutekanst declined to comment on the controversy, saying he didn’t
know enough about it. He did speak positively of the No Place for Hate
event at the high school.

"At the high school level, it was very well done, well thought-out,"
Gutekanst said. "It brought a new awareness of bigotry. It served its
purpose."

Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick believes the status of No Place for Hate
in Needham "warrants thoughtful conversation."

"No Place For Hate was founded … as a resource to address hate crimes
and discrimination," Fitzpatrick said. "It’s something Needham hopes
to do whether with No Place for Hate or not."

There is legislation before the U.S. Congress which would formally
recognize the deaths as genocide, but the ADL currently doesn’t
support the legislation. Over the past two weeks, the ADL fired
Regional Director Andrew Tarsey after he publicly acknowledged the
Armenian Genocide. He was rehired on Monday, Aug. 27. In between the
firing and rehiring, the ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman,
issued a statement that the tragic events of more than 90 years ago
were "tantamount to genocide."

Describing Foxman’s statement as "wishy washy," Gulnar Sahagian
believes the ADL needs to take more significant steps.

"Apologize for the Armenian Genocide and support us in Washington,
D.C.," Gulnar Sahagian said. "Why can’t we go back on the right track?
It’s the only way to have authentic human rights activists."

Steven Ryan can be reached at sryan@cnc.com.

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