LOCAL ARMENIANS PUT FACE ON POLITICAL DEBATE IN CONGRESS
Sharon Strauss
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID
Oct 18 2007
NAMPA – Local residents of Armenian descent can clearly retell their
family’s stories of survival and draw upon those memories to offer
support to a congressional resolution that would label Turkish-led
mass killings of Armenians as genocide.
Most states, including Idaho, have already passed similar
resolutions. Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne issued a proclamation in 2004
commemorating April 24 as "Idaho Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915-1923."
A congressional resolution labeling the killings of 1.5 million
Armenians as genocide faces an uncertain fate because many members
of Congress, and President Bush, fear it will worsen tensions with
Turkey. Turkey’s top general has warned of irreversible damage to
U.S. ties if the genocide resolution passes. Turkey is a major cargo
hub for U.S. and allied military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. A
conflict could disrupt supply lines to U.S. soldiers fighting abroad.
The U.S. House has previously adopted a number of resolutions
condemning or commemorating a number of global genocides, including
the Holocaust as well as the Cambodian, Darfur, Ukrainian and Bosnian
atrocities.
Jo-Ann Kachigian describes herself as a "proud Armenian" and believes
both governments need to acknowledge the systematic killings that
took so many lives.
Her knowledge of her own ancestry is limited to the horror stories
she heard from her mother, an orphaned survivor of the genocide.
"My mother never spoke of her childhood or her escape and survival.
When I was 41 years old I forced her to share her story on tape. It
was very hard for her. I promised I would share her story with whoever
I met," Kachigian said. "It’s been my cause to educate people about
the genocide because so many people don’t know about it."
Kuna resident John Kazian said he is amazed at how far-reaching the
Armenian genocide was, and added that for Congress not to recognize
it would be "absurd." Kazian’s father survived the massacres and
arrived in the U.S. in 1911, the only surviving member of his family.
"What we look for now is closure," Kazian said. "At least our people
didn’t die for nothing."
Mark Abajian’s aunt was also a survivor of the genocide.
"She eyewitnessed the slaughter of her family," said Abajian, of Boise,
who supports the resolution because of the impact it will have on
the Armenian communities that populate the United States.
"You’ve got to have that closure to satisfy the heart and soul,"
he said. "We are no different from any other ethnic community out
there that has been persecuted. Our job as survivors is to remember
the past and honor our history."
Photo: John Kazian, right, and Jo-Ann Kachigian recall memories of
their family’s struggles during the Armenian genocide.
Greg Kreller/IPT
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