AYF Attends IUSY World Congress 2012
The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) recently participated in the three-day World Congress of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) in Asunción, Paraguay. IUSY is the biggest political youth organization in the world, representing about 150 member organizations from more than 100 countries.
The .2%
The 24th of April has come and gone for the 97th time since the Turkish government’s failed attempts to eradicate the Armenian race. That’s 1,164 months since the systematic murder, rape, and deportation of over a million and half Armenians began in the city of Constantinople.
St. Vartan and the Battle of Avarayr
Many of us are beginning to think that February is an empty month in the Armenian calendar. Or that Saint Valentine’s Day is the only significant holiday. However, the idea that this is traditionally an Armenian festival is incorrect. In fact, for those unaware, the Armenian equivalent for celebrating love and affection between companions takes place on February 4th, under the Saint Sarkis (Սուրբ Սարգիս) name. More to the focus of this article though, is the commemoration of the Battle of Avarayr (Ավարայրի ճակատամարտը) on February 16th
Perjuring the Past: On Criminalization of Armenian Genocide Denial
Last week, the French Senate approved a bill that, in effect, makes it a criminal offense to deny the genocide committed by Ottoman Turks against Armenians. While the law should be applauded as a milestone in punishing an ongoing genocide, some are misrepresenting it as a violation of a universal right.
Winter 2012
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Verba Volant, Scripta Manent: The Words of My Grandfather that Never Flew Away
I am the (un)fortunate grandchild of four individuals who all had their respective immediate experiences with the Genocide.
Understanding the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Process
May, 1994- As a result of the war over 11,500 sq. km are liberated. The Shahumian region remains under Azeri control. There is no international recognition of Karabakh.
Have and Have Not’s: Reflections on Shushi, Yerevan, and LA
I was in Sushi, a war torn city that was taken back a few years ago by a people that were determined to choose their own future and had made it happen. While I was buttering my toast, I was thinking, “Wow, everything I am eating here is purely organic” (I didn’t eat the hot dog). These organic products were what people in LA would easily pay top dollar for. I could already imagine it at Trader Moe’s, priced at $4 a jar, labeled “Organic Raspberry Jam” along with the butter and cheese.
Displaced Person Strengthening Communities; The Story of the Montebello DPs
In the 1940’s, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi army battled Russia for control of Eastern Europe in World War II. Consequently, tens of thousands of people who called these warn torn pieces of land home were reluctantly uprooted and shipped off to labor camps in Germany. Among the thousands of displaced persons, or DPs, were Armenians.
Their Generation, My Generation – Berj Parseghian
Growing up, he describes how the mood of anger in his family about the past was one that he didn’t fully understand until he matured. “You’re supposed to come to understand the past and move on, live life,” he says. “But some pasts are hard to move on from; some pasts won’t leave a family or a nation alone. Some pasts define who you are. “
