Lessons from a tragic past

[MosJan]

Lessons from a tragic past

Glendale-based groups hope handbook will make Armenian Genocide part of high school curriculum for all students.

 

 

By CLAUDIA PESCHIUTTA

 

http://www.latimes.com/communities/news/bu...tgn0013085.html

 

 

GLENDALE -- Mehmet Talaat *****, Ismail Enver *****, Kharpert, Der el-Zor.

These names and places would inspire little more than curiosity in many people. For others, they are are as integral a part of heritage as the names and birthplaces of ancestors.

In an effort to ensure the Armenian Genocide is not forgotten, two Glendale-based groups have worked together to produce a book on the issue for high-school teachers and students.

The 118-page book, titled "The Armenian Genocide 1915-1923," includes everything from portraits of central figures to newspaper and eyewitness accounts of atrocities in places such as Kharpert and Der el-Zor.

An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed after being exiled by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.

The Western Region of the Armenian National Committee and the Armenian Cultural Foundation hope to get the book into classrooms in Glendale and other cities.

Jim Brown, superintendent of the Glendale Unified School District, said he wants to get copies of the book for local teachers and campus libraries.

"It's a timely and important work for us to have access to in the school district," he said. "This is going to be a valuable resource to us."

Not all history textbooks include information on the genocide, said Alex Sardar, executive director of the Armenian National Committee's local chapter.

"Excluding a historical truth creates a vacuum of ignorance on the issues," he said. "We hope that by educating world citizens at a very young age we are able to stop such violence and crimes against humanity from occurring in the future."

The Turkish government denies allegations of a genocide and the U.S. does not officially recognize it.

Most of the first 2,000 copies printed of the book, written by Simon Payaslian, have been given out or sold, Sardar said.

Money raised by selling the books, which are $20 each, will be used to print more copies, he said.

Many copies have been given to local education officials, including Glendale Board of Education members.

There is "big interest" in getting the book into local schools, said board member Pam Ellis.

The large population of Armenian students in the area and the inclusion of the genocide in state-mandated curriculum are reasons to teach the subject in Glendale classrooms, she said.

"The harder it is to find the material, the less likely the teacher is to teach it," Ellis said. "This book just makes the material readily accessible."

Sardar sees a connection between the genocide and more recent atrocities, such as school shootings.

"There are some underlying issues that are dealt with in this book that are relevant to today's stuff ... issues of tolerance, issues of respect for human life," he said.