13
that wish to erase our people from existence and from history. All valuables have been snatched, as have the clothing, while hand painted dishes are left in pieces along the floors. Some of the villages that we have come across are filled with the stench of decaying corpses, with our people left behind to die without a shred of dignity. On those days we pass by those villages, not a one of us daring to utter a word. Each of us trapped inside the confines of our minds, dissecting the details and events that likely took place.” Back here, in the sitting room now icy despite the blazing fire, sit teary-eyed boys and girls as they ponder their grandmother Mariam’s tale. She continues to explain the importance of today, “We were lucky by comparison to those that were left behind. Many of them were marched towards the desert, towards their death. We managed to escape, to avoid the continual turmoil that our people faced for years to come. A kind family smuggled us out of Turkey, while others helped us along the way into the U.S. All Armenians suffered in some form or another in this ethnic cleansing; many were raped, and an estimated 1.5 million were murdered, others, mainly women and girls were forced to abandon their culture and adopt another in hopes of survival.” “On April 24, we march in remembrance for all who were lost, and for all who have suffered.” Mariam somberly asserts, “Most unfortunately that is not the only reason we march. We do so to honor the lost and the broken, but also for justice. So few countries around the world recognize our suffering for what it was, an intentional ethnic cleansing meant to erase our people from existence; a genocide in the truest sense of the word.”