Reflecting on Anais Salibian's Presentation

Today our class was privileged to meet Anais Salibian, an Armenian woman whose parents survived the Armenian Genocide. Anais shared many of the horror stories she was told as a child, reflecting on the tortures and cruelties her relatives faced. Her presentation brought things to life for me- it put a face to the victims, and gave me insight into other people's worlds. Although I will probably never fully know or understand what victims of genocide have gone through, and continue to go through, hearing stories like Anais's and taking this class will surely move me closer to full awareness, and teach me how I can be an ally.
There were two things Anais said today that will stick with me for a very long time. The first thing she said was "it's not over when it's over." Just because the torturing and murdering of the Armenian people is over, doesn't mean their suffering is. Once one has experienced something has awful and gruesome as genocide, his life can never be the same again. The second thing Anais said was, "Don't look at everything in black and white." She used this quote with the story of an Armenian woman who was married to a Turk but eventually divorced him and moved to the United States where she married an alcoholic and abusive Armenian man. Anais reminded us not to see all Turks as bad, and not all Armenians as good. The same goes for any situation. This really gave me something to think about.
All in all, I think it took a lot of courage for Anais to get up and speak to our class today. This woman has clearly been through a lot, even though she wasn't a direct victim of genocide herself. It was a pleasure to listen to her speak, and I'm sure her article will be wonderful when I read it as well.

"The things seen are beyond describing. When you actually see them for yourself, you know what you're fighting for here." (pbs.org)

This quote is a very powerful quote, and certainly hits home for me. As I said in my last post, its so easy to forget about the bad things that are happening across the world when they don't directly affect us. Today I volunteered at Saints Place in Rochester for Nazareth's MLK Day of Service. Let me tell you, it was quite the eye opener for me. While at Saint's Place, I got to help refugee families "shop" for clothes. I witnessed adults and children alike wearing old, tattered sandals in the middle of winter, kids without coats, two-year-olds without pants or underwear on (in winter yet!), and so much more. Besides getting to meet new people and have a really great time, volunteering at Saint's Place really got me thinking. I was nearly in tears at the thought of these innocent people having to flee their homes, being seaprated from their families, and having a shortage of food, water, clothing, and other life necessities. I found myself asking "why?"- "why are people doing these things to eachother?", "why aren't there enough clothes for these refugee families when they come to the United States?", "why is it that Americans have soooooo much money, beautiful homes, closets packed with clothing, and blow money on going out to eat every day, yet, we allow others to get by with justthe clothes on their backs?" and "what can I do to help these people?". Seeing the faces of the people who suffer from genocides really makes me want to fight for them. Obviously I haven't got a clue as to how much people have suffered and continue to suffer- I've never witnessed a genocide, but I've met some of its victims and it bothers me a whole lot.

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to my blog! Today was the first class of LST 217, Accounting for Genocide. Dr. Nowak and Dr. Schaff started off class with a powerpoint filled with photos and a video about genocide, accompanied by the song. "Civil War" by Guns and Roses. After their introduction, they asked us to write down how we felt about what we had just seen and heard. It's sad, but it took that presentation to remind me of the oppression that once occurred in our world, and it reminded me that brutalities like this are still going on today.
It seems like it's so easy to forget about the bad things that are happening in the world when they don't directly affect us. We feel bad for the people that are being targeted, but then we just forget about them and move on with our lives. Does anyone else feel this way too? I hope LST 217 with change all of this for me. I don't want to be ignorant anymore.