STUDENTS URGE THE WORLD TO STOP GENOCIDE
By Tony Kim
Star-Banner
Ocala.com, FL
Central Florida Community College
April 26 2007
Class learns firsthand from families touched by 1915 slaughter of
Armenians.
OCALA – On the 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
genocide, two words resonated through the minds of 150 sophomores at
Forest High School: Stop genocide.
Students in Lela Kerley’s 10th-grade world history class spent the
past five weeks studying various cases of genocide and prejudice in
the 20th and 21st centuries.
The section culminated Tuesday when students – many of them wearing
homemade "Stop Genocide" T-shirts – heard the testimonies of two
Armenian men whose parents escaped the massacre.
"They still have to learn from people like me to learn what went on
over there," said Azad Merian, one of the founders of the Armenian
American Cultural Society in Ocala. "When one brings one form of harm,
someone tries for better, and that’s how genocide starts."
The Turkish government still refuses to call the massacre an act of
genocide or issue an apology to the Armenians, he said.
"You shouldn’t go away with the impression that Turkish people are
bad," Merian told the students. "It’s the position of the government
that we are protesting."
Merian and Richard Balian, vice president of the Armenian American
Cultural Society, told the students about how their parents escaped
from Turkey to America, and how they continue to have nightmares of
the horrors they saw.
Merian praised the students for their T-shirts, with messages such
as, "Say Nay 2 Genocide," and encouraged them to be active against
prejudice and violence.
"You want freedom?" he asked. "Then you need to stop genocide."
Many students said that prior to the talk and their history class,
they did not know about the atrocities suffered by the Armenian people.
"I just heard about the Holocaust and Hitler," said Justin Larkin,
16. "I never knew about the Armenian genocide. I feel sorry for it."
In addition to discussions, reading materials and video presentations,
the students reflected on the prejudices they have experienced –
and have had – in their own lives, Kerley said.
"We’ve been writing in journals about times we’ve been stereotyped
or dealt with people that don’t think the same way we do," she said.
"They’ve also been watching video on the Armenian genocide, one of
the first genocidal acts in the 20th century."
Students also learned about crises that have occurred or are still
occurring in other parts of the world, such as Cambodia and Rwanda,
she said.
"We hear things on the media and sound bites, and [the students] know
that Brad Pitt is involved with Sudan, but they don’t know what’s
going on in Sudan," she said.
After studying genocide in class, student Brandy Juliana said she
feels she can help raise awareness about the crisis happening today
in Sudan’s Darfur region.
"We talked about it, and we learned about it," she said.
"Now we’re taking action," she added, referring to the T-shirts
calling attention to the issue. "It takes more than a person. It’s
an entire nation that needs to step up and do something about it."
Photo: Forest High School sophomores Heather Buss, left, 16, and
Chelsey Moore, 16, react Tuesday to a story of atrocities against
Armenians.
ERICA BROUGH/STAR-BANNER
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
