The Macomb Daily , Serving Macomb County
News
Book tells of Armenian struggle
Monday, January 4, 2010
By Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily Staff Writer
A former newspaper editor who spent many late nights working a second
shift pecking away at a manual typewriter in his basement has finally
seen all those pages come to life.
Mitch Kehetian, a longtime Macomb Daily editor, is releasing his first
book, "Giants of the Earth," which tells of the struggles and
persecution of the Armenian people. Kehetian, known equally as a
proud Armenian and sage journalist, said the book project began more
than three decades ago.
"Actually, the 13 chapters were written in the 1970s and early
’80s. And then I just let it sit. I figured I’d present it some day to
my grandchildren as a memoir," Kehetian said.
One of the book’s highlights is a description of the first of
Kehetian’s five trips to his homeland, an eight-day journey in 1969
that ended with a prayer at his aunt’s mountaintop gravesite
overlooking the Euphrates River.
Family members had long encouraged Kehetian to complete the book. The
finished product is dedicated to a cousin, Rev. Vartan Kassabian, a
priest in the Armenian Church, who died suddenly 18 months ago and
never saw the publication he had longed to read.
"Giants of the Earth" recounts Kehetian’s discovery of his heritage in
historical "Turkish-held" Armenia and his search for his father’s
sister, Parancim, who hadn’t been seen since 1947. On this literary
journey, the author shares antique snapshots of Armenia and explores
the country’s history from its early existence 2,000 years ago to the
death and devastation it suffered during the genocide of 1915-23 at
the hands of the Turkish-led OttomanEmpire.
"I want people to know there has been a race of people there for 2,000
years and the genocide was not based on religion. This was not a jihad
by Muslims. This was a systematic plan to eradicate the Armenians and
move them out of the interior area," said Kehetian, 79.
On Capitol Hill, efforts to recognize the genocide victims, estimated
at more than 1 million, have been the subject of contention in
numerous resolutions proposed by the House and Senate. Each time, the
Armenian-American community was overpowered by political pressures
from Turkey, which has consistently disputed the genocide label, and
concerns expressed by the State Department, which views Islamic Turkey
as a key, strategically located U.S. ally.
In Washington, the tensions were so high between the Armenian and
Turkish communities that Kehetian in 1969 stood little chance of
gaining a passport and approval to travel deep into the interior of
the barren, depopulated homeland of his ancestors in Turkish-held
Armenia. The trip was made possible by the behind-the-scenes efforts
of a powerful Polish-American congressman from Detroit’s East Side,
Lucien Nedzi, and Secretary of State William Rogers A copy of an
airgram from Rogers’ office to the American Embassy in Ankara
enlisting its assistance in helping Kehetian in his mission is
included in the memoir. The "limited official use" airgram refers to
"various cities in Eastern Turkey once heavily populated by Armenians"
– and a FYI alert that Kehetian has discovered that "a relative
survived Turkish massacres several decades ago." . The author said
the Armenian-American community, consisting of 1.5 million people, was
dismayed after they supported Barack Obama in 2008. On the observance
of Armenian Memorial Day last April.Obama’s presidential proclamation
referred to the 1915-23 slaughter as a "great calamity," not genocide.
While campaigning for president Obama said he would be a president who
recognizes the massacre of the Armenians as a genocide.
After his retirement in November 2005 after spending more than 50
years in journalism, Kehetian eventually returned to his transcript
and added a prologue and epilogue.
Kehetian wrote the book "newspaper style," not in scholarly
prose. "Giants of the Earth" is not targeted at first generation
Armenian-Americans who know the homeland’s history well, or the second
generation who earned their heritage through word of mouth. The
author’s audience, he hopes, will be the third generation.
"I want that third generation to know what really happened," he said,
"and I want them to understand why the Armenians still seek justice."
Kehetian, a native Detroiter, was president of the Detroit Press Club
and Society of Professional Journalists. He served for 13 years as a
governing board trustee at Central Michigan University. In 2006 Wayne
State University’s Journalism Department honored the former Macomb
Daily editor with its coveted "Lifetime Achievement Award" for
"championing the public’s right to know" for more than 50 years.
EDITOR’S NOTE: "Giants of the Earth," 160 pages, is published by
Publish America.
For information to order, log on to:
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