Chris Smith: “I rise to commemorate the Armenian genocide, which began 80 years ago, when the Ottoman Empire launched the first of…”

“I rise to commemorate the Armenian genocide, which began 80 years ago, when the Ottoman Empire launched the first of this century's campaigns against an entire people. It has become traditional for friends of Armenia to mark this awful April anniversary with them, to demonstrate our solidarity and to express the determination never again to allow such a horror to take place. Though April 24 is the date singled out to mark the catastrophe, the actual process of genocide took place over a period of years. During that nightmarish era, which lasted from 1915 to 1923, some 1.5 million Armenians were brutalized, tortured, massacred, starved, deported, and force-marched to death. But, the Armenian spirit survived intact this ruthless assault. Steeled by adversity, many of the survivors came to the United States, where they could nurse their physical and emotional wounds, and begin their lives anew. The community of new arrivals prospered in America, contributing to our cultural development, enhancing our diversity, and influencing our political process. American-Armenians never forgot their origins, or the horrific circumstances of the flight and exile from their native lands. The Armenian Apostolic Church has nurtured the spiritual growth and national consciousness of its flock. Armenian-Americans resolved to mark the atrocities and exile every year, to keep the memory of their relatives alive, not to let the world forget.”