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Meet the Hero: Emma Darling Cushman : A Light in the Darkness https://www.lowellmilkencenter.org/programs/projects/view/a-light-in-the-darkness/hero In 1863 Emma Darling Cushman was born in New York during the Civil War in New York. At a time when few females attended school, Emma studied nursing in college and in 1900 joined the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions. She traveled to Central Turkey, where she helped run the American Hospital in Konya for several years. When WWI broke out in 1914, the Ottomans joined the Central Powers and ordered all foreigners to leave, but Emma refused. She continued operating the hospital and was granted the title “Acting Consul of the Allies and Neutral Nations.” Starting in 1915, the Ottoman government carried out the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians in what became known as the Armenian Genocide, leaving countless children orphaned. Emma began rescuing Armenian orphans off the streets and placing them in safe homes and basements. When she ran out of hiding places, she turned her hospital into an orphanage, which eventually held over 1,000 children who would have otherwise faced near-certain death. The war raged on for three more years and so did Emma’s tireless humanitarianism. In addition to managing the hospital and operating the orphanage, she oversaw prisoner exchanges and millions of dollars in relief funds. As the war came to a close, Emma’s efforts only expanded. She worked with the Near East Relief agency and newly formed League of Nations to reclaim orphans from Turkish homes. More than 60,000 children were rescued by Emma and others. Emma died in 1930 from Blackwater fever and was buried in Cairo, Egypt.

Latvia Officially Recognizes the Armenian Genocide RIGA — Latvia has officially recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide. The Seima (Parliament) voted 58 to 11 with 7 abstentions to adopt a relevant declaration, Armenia’s outgoing Ambassador to Latvia Tigran Mkrtchyan wrote on his Facebook page The resolution was drafted by the parliament’s foreign affairs committee. It says that the mass killings and deportations of Armenians, which began with the April 1915 mass arrests of Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople, constituted a genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman government. It notes that the European Parliament first recognized the genocide in 1987. Emphasizing that Latvia condemns all crimes against humanity, the declaration notes that the country sees it as a duty to recognize and remember these crimes in order to prevent their recurrence. Recognizing that a large number of Armenians were deported to other parts of the empire as a result of the actions of the Ottoman authorities, which resulted in many casualties caused by starvation, atrocities and massacres, the lawmakers condemn the crimes, massacres and forced deportations committed by the Ottoman authorities against the Armenian people. The declaration respects the memory of all the victims of the Armenian Genocide, pays tribute to all the survivors, affirms that open discussions on historical issues are inextricably linked to the development of a healthy, mature democracy. The Seima calls on the international community “to assess these historic events, to look to the future we want to build, without violence, intolerance, a future where human rights are respected, where everyone can be free, safe and secure.” Ambassador Mkrtchyan, hailed the development and thanked Latvian lawmakers for “addressing this issue extremely important for the Armenian people.” “What was hard to imagine years ago became a reality today,” Mkrtchyan wrote on his Facebook page. Predictably, the Latvian resolution was condemned by Turkey, which continues to strongly a deny a premeditated government effort to exterminate the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it is devoid of “any legal basis.” The vehement Turkish denials are dismissed by most scholars outside Turkey. The Armenian genocide has also been recognized by the parliaments and/or governments of three dozen other countries, including Latvia’s Baltic neighbor Lithuania as well as the United States, Russia, France, Germany and Italy. U.S. President Joe Biden used the word “genocide” in his April 24 statement on the 106th anniversary of the World War One-era slaughter of Ottoman Armenians.

https://allinnet.info/world/a-boy-from-van-in-buenos-aires/?fbclid=IwAR3796tGjM6jXNVXFv5bIOY5J_B9ApQt-zVPr2WwzUQZ5zjCrihWNxx-Z0U A Boy from Van in Buenos Aires – A Witness of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 From the story of a boy from Van who would build schools and churches in Buenos Aires. Told by his granddaughter Lara Vanian. My grandfather Gurgen was 11 years old when the Genocide raged through the village of Ardamed located near Van. Most of his family were massacred by the Turks, but his grandfather and sister managed to escape. Four of his brothers and sisters died. A few minutes before the massacre, he and his friends were playing outside when Turks armed with sabers suddenly attacked them. In a panic, the children tried to flee or hide. Grandpa managed to hide in a haystack. He saw his friends being killed and was sure that his turn would come next. A few hours later, when the night fell, he got out from under the haystack but noticed approaching Turks. This time, he had to hide under the bodies of his dead friends. The Turks began to strike the dead bodies with their sables to make sure that the children are dead. They had nearly approached my grandfather when they were recalled by the commander. The massacres have lasted for years. Grandfather was starving, was sent to an orphanage, and when the American charitable organization went bankrupt, he was sold into slavery in Greece. In the end, he managed to reunite with his father who was in America at the time of the massacres. His father sent him money so that he could buy his freedom from the Greek slaveholder and purchase a ticket to Argentina to go to a relative. Later, grandfather, together with others rescued, built Armenian schools, a church in Buenos Aires, and took part in the creation of a large Armenian community. My mother was born in Buenos Aires. I would have also been born there, hadn’t she one day go to Los Angeles and fall in love with my father. Over time, our entire family moved to Los Angeles. Grandfather passed away at the age of 95, having managed to convey his story, heritage, temperament, and dreams to his grandchildren. My mother, Alisa Kirakosian, wrote a book based on the memories of my grandfather. A year after my mother’s death, I published this book in Los Angeles.

An Incredible Armenian Who Retrieved Armenian Orphans from the Syrian Desert By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com Parnag Shishigyan is a heroic Zeytountsi who retrieved hundreds of Armenian orphans from Arab families in the Syrian desert after the Armenian Genocide. His name is not known to most Armenians. Therefore it is worthwhile to focus attention on his life and his good deeds. He is buried in the little town of Hovdashad, a few miles outside of Yerevan. Last month, Zarmik Sargsyan from Yerevan posted on her Facebook page a very moving tribute to Parnag Shishigyan after visiting his grave. The only reference to his unique accomplishment is a booklet published 30 years ago by Hagop Jghlyan whose family he had rescued. The book was aptly titled, “A Life Left in the Shadows.” Sargsyan attempted to take Shishigyan’s life out of the shadows and present him to the public at large. From April 10 to May 18, 1915, the heroic town of Zeytoun in Cilicia was depopulated. The men were herded into the infamous Ottoman Turkish “Labor Battalions.” On the road to Deir Zor, Syria, 14-year-old Parnag, ignoring the snakes and scorpions around him, spent days cuddling the corpse of his mother who was killed by the sword of a Turkish soldier. He was rescued by a Bedouin Arab from the Shammar tribe, who, after digging a grave in the sand for Parnag’s mother with his dagger, placed the young boy on his horse and took him to his home. Young Parnag who already knew Armenian, German and Turkish, soon also learned Arabic. Besides herding sheep and camels, Parnag, renamed Ahmet El Jezza, taught the tribesmen how to write in Arabic. He became very popular in the region because of his diligence, humility, and serious demeanor. Soon, in the course of herding sheep, Parnag came across in the desert many Armenian children adopted by local Arabs. He reminded them of their Armenian heritage and began to write down their names and places of residence in a notebook. In 1924, 23-year-old “Ahmet”, as a trusted and literate young man, was asked to deliver a herd of sheep bought by wealthy Arabs from Aleppo. Once in Aleppo, he was surprised to see Armenian signs on store fronts and people speaking in Armenian. He was offered a job and a place to stay by local Armenians, but he turned down the offers, saying he had a family in the desert and could not abandon them. He then showed to an Armenian shoemaker his notebook listing the names and places of Armenian children living in the desert with Arab families. He had promised himself to gather these Armenian children, help them marry each other and find their relatives, if still alive. It was a very difficult task. Most of the children, having lived with Arab families for several years, did not remember their heritage and did not know that there were other Armenians still in existence. But Parnag persisted despite the obstacles. The shoemaker Panos, President of the Rescue Committee of Armenian orphans from Arab and Kurdish tribes, was stunned. During the last few months, the Committee had barely rescued a couple of children, and now Panos was seeing an entire notebook full of Armenian names. After returning to his tribe, Parnag kept sending list after list of Armenian children to Aleppo. The Rescue Committee would then go to the desert, pay off the tribesmen and take the Armenian children to Aleppo or Beirut. Eventually, the Syrian government allocated two villages in the desert to Armenians. Parnag got married to an Armenian woman by the name of Wadha who later changed her name to Siranoush. Respecting their adoptive Arab parents, they agreed to have the marriage ceremony performed by a Muslim Sheikh. The couple planned to have an Armenian wedding later on. Parnag’s four Arab “brothers” were not happy that he was leaving them to go and settle in the new Armenian village of Tel El-Brak. They divided the family belongings into five. Parnag took with him 100 sheep, five camels, a horse, a rifle, and household items. Parnag brought the hundreds of Arabized Armenians to his village, gave them Armenian names and arranged their marriages. He organized the young men of the village to collect the bones of Armenian martyrs from Deir Zor, Raqqa, around the Euphrates and Khabour rivers and the tragic cave of Sheddedeh. Parnag held a memorial ceremony for the souls of the deceased. The two Armenian villages in the desert soon prospered. They formed a sports organization and a music band. In 1947, when Parnag became aware of the mass migration back to Soviet Armenia he decided to return to the homeland! He left all his possessions behind except for one thing, his Arabian horse, which he donated to a horse ranch after arriving in Armenia. Parnag’s family settled in Hovdashad, a village near Echmiadzin where he worked as a farmer. His wife, Siranoush, had five more children in Armenia. Even though Parnag had retrieved hundreds of Armenian children, he always thought of the hundreds of other children who were not, including his wife, Siranoush’s sister. In the Hovdashad cemetery, there is a statue of Parnag in Arabic attire. The house that Parnag built in 1956 in that village is now like a museum, where his clothes and his photos are displayed. Facebook writer Zarmik Sargsyan recalls that Parnag’s great-grandson Hagop was married in Los Angeles on April 17, 1997, in the presence of his seven siblings. It is ironic that the descendants of the man, who had sacrificed so much to rescue Armenians and moved to the homeland, now live far away from Armenia, in Los Angeles! Armenians both in Armenia and the Diaspora should visit the village of Hovdashad and Parnag’s grave to pay tribute to the man who retrieved hundreds of Armenian orphans and returned them to their heritage.

The Hill, DC Oct 29 2019 House votes to recognize Armenian genocide By Juliegrace Brufke The House passed a resolution on Tuesday officially recognizing and rebuking the Ottoman Empire's genocide against the Armenian people and rejecting any efforts to enlist the U.S. government in denying that the genocide took place. Proponents of the long-delayed measure, which passed in a 405-11 vote, argue that it's a necessary and overdue step in providing justice for Armenians. Three lawmakers voted present. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffJudge schedules hearing for ex-Trump aide who refused to appear in inquiryTop Republicans say impeachment resolution is too little too lateEx-Trump official's refusal to testify escalates impeachment tensionsMORE (D-Calif.), a vice chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus. “Many American politicians, diplomats and institutions have rightly recognized these atrocities as a genocide, including America's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morgenthau, and Ronald Reagan," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot EngelEliot Lance EngelFormer White House official won't testify, lawyer saysThis week: House to vote on Turkey sanctions billHouse leaders threaten contempt if former White House official defies subpoenaMORE (D-N.Y.) said on the floor ahead of the vote. "Only by shining a light on the darkest parts of our history can we learn not to repeat them and properly acknowledging what occurred is a necessary step in achieving some measure of justice for the victims,” he added. The bill emphasizes the position of the House that U.S. policy will "(1) commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance; (2) reject efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide; and (3) encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the United States role in the humanitarian relief effort, and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity." “Genocides, whenever and wherever they occur, cannot be ignored, whether they took place in the 20th century by the Ottoman Turks or mid-20th century by the Third Reich and in Darfur," Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), a co-chair of the Armenian Caucus who helped lead the efforts on the measure, said on the House floor. The resolution comes amid U.S. tensions with Turkey following Ankara's military incursion into northern Syria after the Trump administration pulled troops from the area earlier this month. Turkey does not recognize the murder of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide. Bilirakis said it is time Congress address the injustices committed by the Ottoman Empire, saying he believes Turkey’s “current actions against our Kurdish allies is extremely concerning and we cannot stand by and let egregious human rights violations happen.” "Today we end a century of international silence that will not be another period of indifference or international ignorance to the lives lost to systematic murder,” he said. The House later passed a bill to place additional sanctions on Turkey on Tuesday in the wake of their incursion against U.S.-allied Kurdish troops. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/467975-house-votes-to-recognize-armenian-genocide

https://mirrorspectator.com/2019/04/09/italy-parliament-debating-measure-on-recognition-of-armenian-genocide/ ROME (Armenpress) — A motion to recognize the Armenian Genocide is being debated in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, according to which the country’s government will be obliged to officially recognize it and give an international assessment, repubblica.it reported on April 9. According to the report, the measure has caused Massimo Gaiani, Ambassador of Italy to Ankara, to be summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The heads of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy expressed hope that the adoption of the Armenian Genocide recognition initiative will lead to peace between the Armenian and Turkish peoples. According to them, the purpose of the initiative is first of all to pay tribute to the victims of the crime. The website notes that on April 8 Italy’s Deputy PM Matteo Salvini made clear assessments over Turkey. “Turkey is not and will never be Europe. The membership process must be halted, it must be stopped completely. As far as I know, Turkey will never ever enter the EU,” said Salvini.

Texas Becomes 46th U.S. State to Recognize Armenian Genocide http://asbarez.com/163544/texas-becomes-46th-u-s-state-to-recognize-armenian-genocide/ AUSTIN, Texas—The Texas House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 191, titled “Recognizing the Armenian Genocide,” on Friday, thus making The Lone Star State the 46th state in the US to officially classify and commemorate the 1915-1923 annihilation of Ottoman Turkey’s indigenous Christian Armenian community as genocide. “We are grateful to the Texas House of Representatives for standing on the right side of history by making their dynamic state the latest member of our Union to unequivocally and vociferously honor the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide despite overwhelming Turkish opposition,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian. “This incredible victory, which achieves universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Western Region’s 19 states, was possible because of the outstanding unity and activism demonstrated by the diverse Armenian community of Texas, the unflinching leadership of State Representative Scott Sanford and his fellow lawmakers, as well as the dedication and persistent work of our grassroots – ANCA-Houston and ANCA-Dallas – and staff. While many Texan Armenians and community groups were instrumental in the passage of and building ground for HR191, I would like to specifically recognize the former ANCA-Dallas founding chair Lucia Nazarian for initiating Texas’ recognition of the Armenian Genocide, as well as Focused Advocacy President Brandon Todd Aghamalian and University of Texas Austin Professor and Armenian Church of Austin representative Mihran Aroian for their leadership in bringing the Armenian community together to make this important recognition a reality,” continued Hovsepian. The resolution, which had more than 50 original bipartisan cosponsors and passed unanimously, declares, in part, that “During World War I, the crumbling Ottoman Empire began a systematic campaign to eradicate its Armenian population, which then numbered more than two million; and… as many as 1.5 million Armenians perished and today, only 3 million live in Armenia, a country that covers no more than 10 percent of the ancient Armenian homeland, while the Armenian diaspora numbers 8 to 10 million in countries around the world, including the United States,” concluding with the resolved clause “That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas Legislature hereby recognize the Armenian genocide.” The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Texas follows renewed activism in The Lone Star State, including the 2015 defeat of anti-Armenian resolutions as well as adoption of HR 1541, which recognized Texans’ contributions to the Near East Relief that saved 132,000 orphans of the Armenian Genocide. The latter humanitarian effort was recognized by ANCA-Dallas during its April 2, 2016 ‘Texas We Thank You’ Gala, at which Rep. Sanford received the ANCA-Dallas Advocate of Justice award for his long-time support for Armenian Genocide awareness. HR 191 was introduced by Rep. Sanford on January 26, followed by a public hearing in the International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs committee on April 24, during which ANCA-WR Chief Legislative Consultant Haig Baghdassarian joined a large group of Armenian Americans as well as representatives from the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission and Houston’s Holocaust Museum in testifying in support of HR 191. Following the testimony, ANCA-WR called its online activists in Texas to action, as a result of which hundreds of letters were emailed to state legislators. Many more phone calls were made through joint efforts of the Armenian community in a strong demonstration of unity and grassroots activism. Texas’ passage of HR 191 follows the Wyoming Governor’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide in April 2017, thus completing universal recognition in the ANCA-Western Region, which consists of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. View an interactive map of all US states’ official record on the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Turkish Parliament passes the bill that bans the term “Armenian Genocide” (Armradio) – The Turkish parliament passed the bill that stipulates changes in the internal rules of procedure, Diken reports. According to it lawmakers are banned from mentioning the Armenian Genocide in the parliament. As could have been expected, the AK and the Nationalist Movement Party voted in favor of the bill, while the opposition voted against. As was reported earlier the bill stipulates a punishment for those lawmakers who break the rule by “insulting the history and common past of the Turkish people” that is using the term “Armenian Genocide” while speaking about the “events of 1915”. The ban also includes terms like “Kurdistan”, “Kurdish regions”. Those who refuse to take an oath in the Parliament after being elected will not be able to enjoy their rights. Lawmakers are banned from bringing any text posters or placards to the Parliament. Those Members of Parliament who break the law will temporarily be removed from the legislative body, as well as will pay a penalty in the amount of 1/3 of their salaries.

This is a powerful video in commemoration of the 100th year of the Armenian Genocide. It truly captures the damage and bloodshed caused by the genocide, and honors the victims of this horrific event. It's worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96JL0dloX30 Lianna Manukyan

TALK WITH RENOWNED JOURNALIST ROBERT FISK Friday, March 21, 2014 8:00pm �Nearly a century after the Armenian Genocide, these people are still being slaughtered in Syria�. And now, almost unmentioned in the media, their holy places are also being desecrated� these ghastly killing fields have become the killing fields of a new war. Upon the bones of the dead Armenians, the Syrian conflict is being fought. And the descendants of the Armenian Christian survivors who found sanctuary in the old Syrian lands have been forced to flee again.� (The Independent) Robert Fisk: A British writer and journalist. He has been Middle East correspondent of The Independent for more than twenty years, primarily based in Beirut Lebanon. Fisk holds more British and international journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent. He has also been voted International Journalist of the Year seven times. He has published a number of books and reported on several wars and armed conflicts. - See more at: http://www.armeniancalendar.com/events/2014/March/7722.html#sthash.vU2crKc3.dpuf

Trutube TV’s 60 Minutes program focuses on Armenian Genocide June 13, 2013 - 13:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Trutube TV’s 60 Minutes program aired a segment on the Armenian Genocide, with an American writer and historian Peter Balakian and the daughter of a killed Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrank Dink invited as guests. The program host and Balakian travelled the desert of Deir-ez-Zor, the scene of tragedy. The program further dwelled on the history of the Genocide and the U.S. response to the atrocities, detailing a diplomatic correspondence between the consuls and ambassador Morgentau. U.S. leader Barack Obama’s pledge to recognize the Genocide, only to go back on his words after assuming presidency was also discussed along with Armenian-Turkish Protocols, Incirlik Air Base and demands of American Armenians to recognize the Genocide.

Public figure: Armenian Genocide recognition important for whole world http://media.pn.am/media/issue/154/991/photo/154991.jpg April 19, 2013 - 20:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The first genocide of the 20th century was organized and masterminded by the Young Turks, Ukraine public figure said. “No doubt, Azeri-led mass killings, beatings and rape of Armenians in Sumgait and Baku are termed as acts of genocide. For this reason, organizers and perpetrators of these acts must be kept accountable as international criminals. The recognition of the Armenian Genocide plays a significant role not only for Armenians, but also for the whole world as to the prevention of the reoccurrence of the crime,” Irina Skazina said.