The last twenty-four hours have been somewhat interesting in this part of the world. Not just because the price of cooking oil just doubled, and because watermelon is almost out of season, but just by looking at the headlines you can probably figure it out:
“House Pens Resolution on Armenian Genocide”
“Turkey Recalls Ambassador After US Armenian Vote”
“President Bush ‘Disappointed’ by Passage of Armenia Genocide”
“Turkey mulls cutting military ties with US over genocide vote”
To summarize, “The House of Representatives foreign affairs committee has approved a non-binding resolution calling the massacre of Armenians nearly a century ago a genocide. The vote was 27 to 21.” The Executive branch is angry, Turkey is livid, the democrats are giddy, the Armenians thrilled, and the average American – probably just confused.
Because of my rather unique job title as a Peace Corps Volunteer, the government can keep us on a tight leash. We are not officially employees, so we don’t get any of the real perks (I guarantee I get paid lower than minimum wage 😉 ), but because we still “represent” the Peace Corps, they have every right to tell us what our “official” positions are on political issues such as this. So, please, Peace Corps-Washington censor, know this is about scholarship, not the politics.
Most Americans only hear about the Armenian _________ on April 24th, when it is officially mourned around the world, including by our own President Bush. Living here, it’s one of the questions I’m asked about on a near daily basis (along with why I’m not married): “Have you heard about the Armenian Genocide?” and “Why does the US Government not recognize it?” Because of the connection I have with it just by living here, it’s a much more emotional issue for me, and one that goes beyond the strategic military importance of American-Turkish relations. To the people I live with on a daily basis, it deals with the possibility of the extermination of their entire race, their language, their culture – that’s pretty heavy stuff.
I hope people come to this blog to be educated about this lil’ Christian country and what role it has in the world. This is a perfect example. If we really want to use the freedoms we’ve been given, fight the axis of evil, whatever, we need to educate ourselves. So please read up on the issue, and make your own decisions about where you stand. I will gladly sit with and discuss it ad nauseum when I come home. But whatever you do, please don’t remain ignorant about this world issue, because as the Dalai Lama says, “Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.” So please, read up:
- Google News coverage – links to 600+ news articles about the resolution
- WikiPedia article on the Genocide – probably the closest thing you’ll find to an unbiased read on the Internet
- Burning Tigris – a great book about it all
Happy scholarship! 😉
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