Sam Farr: “this is a solemn day in the history of the modern world. Eighty-one years ago today began a period of systematic…”

“this is a solemn day in the history of the modern world. Eighty-one years ago today began a period of systematic persecution of the Armenian people--what would become one of the more terrible cases of state-sponsored terrorism against an ethnic group. Beginning with the execution of some 200 leaders from the Armenian community on April 24, 1915, Armenians in Turkey were subjected to cruel and brutal treatment. Those of Armenian descent serving in the Ottoman army were subjected to forced labor and later executed. Women were raped or forced into prostitution. Thousands of men, women, and children were forced to leave their villages and either killed outright or sent on death marches through the desert, where they suffered horribly from disease and starvation. When it was all over, nearly 10 years later, 1 million Armenians were dead--victims of torture, executions, and forced labor--and hundreds of thousands of others were refugees. The terrible results of this systematic persecution can still be seen today: where once over 2 million Armenians lived in Ottoman Turkey, less than 80,000 live in the region today. Many years have passed since the Armenian genocide, but we must never forget what happened to the Armenians of Ottoman Turkey solely because of their ethnicity. We must make sure that our children, and their children, learn about the genocide and understand the circumstances which led to such a horrific event in history.”