A Hope Inspiring Genocide Commemoration
at
University of California at Irvine
Irvine, California - The 1915 Genocide was commemorated in a very inspiring and memorable manner on the evening of April 24, 2007, at University of California at Irvine. The commemoration was organized by UCI’s Armenian Students’ Association, headed this year by Silva Galstyan. It was held in front of UCI’s Administration building, with around 300 Armenian and non-Armenian students, parents, and supporters present.
The opening prayer was conducted by keynote speaker of the day, Rev. Dr. Fr. Stépanos Dingilian representing the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, on behalf of the Primate, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian. Silva Galstyan made the introductions and guided the evening’s event. In her opening remarks, she thanked all students, staff, and parents who were present for their support. She noted the attendance of students from twelve non-Armenian heritages as a sign of their solidarity with Armenian students in commemorating the tragic event of killing of 1.5 million Armenians during the Genocide that began in the 1890’s and concluded in the 1920’s.
The commemoration was filled with music, songs, recitations, and reflections on the meaning, consequences, and the future implications of the Genocide. Shant Derderian and Avgine Sulemanian presented a film in which they emphasized the need for Armenians to educate the community about “who we are, why the Armenian Genocide is important to everyone, and the responsibility of all educated people to learn about and recognize the 1915 Genocide.” Aram Pirjanian spoke in Armenian of the need for Armenians to overcome apathy and take a more active role to upholding the Armenian sense of identity, and especially as it relates to the Genocide. Garo Ohanian presented a musical piece he composed entitled “Sardarabad.” In order to compose this piece, Garo said he visualized the Armenian people gathering from all walks of life, and with very little guns and ammunition, clashing with and defeating the enemy. “I could visualize how the Armenians gathered, gradually became organized, picked up momentum, then passionately moved forward and overwhelmed the enemy. My piece represents this passionate determined unstoppable movement of the Armenian people,” stated Garo. He added, “We need to awaken this passion today too!”
Ani Keledjian recited poetry, sang from Sayat Nova, and spoke of the life of Komidas Vartabed. “Even though some people see sadness and mourning in these pieces, I see a sense of passion,” pointed out Ani. These pieces convey the passion for life that Armenians have demonstrated through their values, and that is why she enjoys sharing these traditional and spiritually moving pieces. Ani said that for her all these affirm life, the victory over death. Haig Lafian spoke of the need for Armenians to look beyond the Genocide and see how we will organize and progress towards a unified brighter vision of life. “The assassination of Hrant Dink is proof that the enemy is still present, the issues are still the same, and that we should learn from and not be caught without a strategy to deal with life’s challenges, even if we think that another 1915 Genocide cannot happen to us today,” stressed Haig.
Rev. Dr. Fr. Stépanos Dingilian in his speech emphasized that the reason we have the sense of anger today is because the Genocide has affected us spiritually, and this proves that we are the descendents of these heroic people. Fr. Stépanos whose grandparents were massacred during the Genocide, drew the parallel between Jesus Christ and the Armenian people. “Just as Christ showed his wounds after His resurrection to prove that He was the same person who was killed but resurrected, we also show our physical and spiritual wounds today to show that we are the same Armenian people who were massacred and yet were resurrected,” he explained. Rev. Dr. Dingilian also spoke of the special place that Armenians have in the history of humanity: “God has given the Armenian people a special calling to bring hope to all people who strive for the freedom of religion, speech, a progressive culture, and the opportunity to grow and progress.” Those perpetrating and committing the atrocities of the 1915 Genocide tried to take this God bestowed hope not just from Armenians, but from all humanity, he stressed. “For this reason,” Rev. Dr. Fr. Stépanos explained, “the struggle to recognize the reality of the 1915 Genocide is unstoppable since it is the struggle of all humanity to overcome ignorance, decadence, and decline by striving for hope, compassion, and progress.” “Triumph of the Armenians over the tragedy of the 1915 Genocide is the historical proof that all humanity is searching for to affirm that life overcomes death, that civility overcomes cruelty, and that the spirit bestowed by God in humanity is truly eternal and cannot be extinguished by any human force or power. We are the triumphant Armenians, the nation that represents this struggle and victory for God and all civilized nations,” asserted Rev. Dr. Fr. Stépanos.
In addition to the presentations, the ASA students of UCI had set-up 300 white wooden crosses on the University lawn, each cross representing 50,000 Armenians who were massacred. As night fell, all the lights were turned off for a requiem service and a moment of silence. The only illumination came from the lighted candle each person held, and the replica of the Genocide Memorial in Armenia, Dseedsernagaperd, that was lit with candles in the formation of “1915.”
Silva Galstyan, the UCI ASA president thanked all the students for helping to bring about the vision of a meaningful 1915 Genocide commemoration. She also thanked the University administrators and all in attendance for their wholehearted support. The event was closed with a prayer. Students stated afterwards that the commemoration gave them a sense of hope and empowerment, “knowing that we are alive and free to be who we are as Armenians.” They said this event inspired them to stop taking for granted being an Armenian, and work actively to strengthen the hopeful and progressive identity of the Armenian people.
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Replica
of the Genocide Memorial at University of California at Irvine
300
crosses, each representing 50,000 Armenians killed during the Genocide
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