DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 5 2008
US CONGRESSMEN AGAIN REMINDED OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, 04.04.08. DE FACTO. On March 31, 2008, Congressman Frank
Pallone (D-NJ-6) paid tribute on the House floor in memory of
Armenian Genocide survivor Askouhy Jallyan-Vassilian who passed away
on February 27th, 2008, shortly after celebrating her 94th birthday,
Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern region (ANCA-ER)
reports. To note, Vassilian, who was present during the House Foreign
Affairs Committee markup of H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide
Resolution, on October 10, 2007, lived in Cong. Pallone’s district,
and was one of the remaining survivors of the genocide.
Following Cong. Pallone’s remarks, her son, Dr. Asbed Vassilian, a
professor of chemistry and director of the Armenian Studies Program
at Rutgers University in New Jersey, reflected on Cong. Pallone’s
statement with the following:
`’Regarding my mother, she just wanted justice to prevail and that
all those who perished in 1915 and who did not have any descendents
as she did as a survivor, should be recognized and their memories
should eternally be kept alive… Having seen and experienced the good,
the bad and the ugly, my mother had a calming effect on the new
generation whenever they came and complained about the problems they
were having in their lives. She would tell them to be happy with what
they have, and not sad or angry with what they lack; mainly, count
your blessings and thank God. She would tell them to look at the
problems with the microscope inverted: rather than seeing small
things big, try to see the big things small. She was a happy,
energetic, sharp minded, and most importantly, content, reconciled
with her life, with its ups and downs. She was thankful to the St.
Stepanos Church community for giving her the spiritual nourishment
and to her new host country, the United States, for taking care of
her over so many years. I will always miss her”.
In his speech Frank Pallone mentioned, in part, `Mrs.
Jallyan-Vassilian was a survivor of the genocide inflicted upon the
Armenian people. She was the embodiment of the enduring human spirit.
Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian was born Askouhy Jallyan on February 12, 1914,
in Orfa, Turkey. Her mother, Khanem, had married in 1913 and was 18
years old when she gave birth to her only daughter. Khanem was
widowed in 1915 when her husband, Nazaret, was murdered. Mrs.
Jallyan-Vassilian was able to flee the horrors of genocide when she
escaped with her mother to neighboring Syria’.
`On October 10, 2007, Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian attended a markup
session of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
as it worked on a resolution recognizing the deplorable deprivation
of human rights that had occurred during the Armenian genocide. She
had waited 92 years for the United States Congress to recognize the
genocide and suffering that her people had endured at the hands of
hate and intolerance.
Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian passed away on February 27, 2008. She will be
remembered for her devotion to her Armenian heritage and her
commitment to the cause of those Armenians who suffered wanton
violence and cruelty’, he concluded.