Against All Odds
The spirit of Musa Dagh keeps the last Armenian village in Turkey standing
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March 31, 2011
Young Professionals of Los Angeles and Armenian Assembly of America Hold Talk on Genocide
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AGBU YPLA Chair Yeghig L. Keshishian, Tolerance Education Center Director Melisse Banwer, and Armenian Assembly of America Regional Council Member Margaret Mgrublian.
On March 27, 2011, the AGBU Young Professionals of Los Angeles (YPLA) -- in a joint effort with the Armenian Assembly of America -- embarked on a public campaign to educate the mainstream community on the first holocaust of the 20th century. This event came in anticipation of the upcoming 96th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which will be on April 24, 2011. A talk took place with residents of the Coachella Valley, fostering a discussion on the present U.S. government's policy of complacency in recognizing the Armenian Genocide and in debunking the Turkish government's continued denial of one of the greatest crimes in human history against the Armenian people.
YPLA chair Yeghig Keshishian led a discussion on the Armenian Genocide, held at the Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage. The two-hour event included excerpts from the movie Screamers, featuring the band System of the Down. The Tolerance Education Center Director of Operations, Melisse Banwer, invited Keshishian and Assembly Southern California Regional Council Member Margaret Mgrublian to educate the audience of high school students and concerned citizens alike on history's forgotten, if not often ignored, genocide of the 20th century. Present in the audience was Joyce Stein, a member of the Assembly Board of Trustees. Banwer commented, "This was our most successful event to date! It was successful in terms of favorable comments from attendees, the lively and poignant audience participation, as well as the number of people who walked away from the event with a new understanding and knowledge of the Armenian Genocide."
Keshishian also stated, "For Americans of Armenian descent, April is a time we – as a nation – commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide and share our human experience with all victims of genocides past in anticipation of Genocide Awareness Month. Only through our shared human experiences can we impart upon the youth the lessons we have learned from our own personal history and survival as told by our ancestors."
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