LOS ANGELES–The All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA) is hosting “From Armenia to Rwanda: All-ASA Comparative Genocide Panel” on Wednesday April 20th at 6 p.m. The inter-sectional panel and discussion on genocides, hosted by the Armenian Students’ Association at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA ASA), will take place at UCLA’s Moore Hall 100, and will involve participation from all ASAs in the greater Los Angeles area.
The panel, specifically organized by the All-ASA’s genocide recognition committee, hosts a variety of internationally-recognized professors who are all descendants of various 20th Century genocide survivors. In light of the demand for post-Centennial recognition and reparations for the Armenian Genocide of 1915, the event’s organizers aim to highlight inter-sectionalities between communities that have experienced genocide, and furthermore, the need for greater solidarity and coalition-building.
In its entirety, the panel is organized to educate those who are not aware about the details of the Armenian Genocide, highlight the experiences of those targeted in the Assyrian, Rwandan, and Bosnian Genocides and Holocaust, and engage attendees in discussions on how to engage in meaningful ally-ship in the collective demand for recognition and reparations for crimes against humanity.
“It was absolutely important for us to have academia come and educate us about the different experiences of genocide felt by different communities around the world”, said Morris Sarafian, current fourth-year undergraduate at UCLA and activism chair of the ASA there. Sarafian added that “in learning how other communities have face similar struggles of oppression, we can also learn more about how we as Armenians try to move forward. In our fight for justice and reparations, we must be firm and resolute in our support for others, and have that support from other communities as well. Such bonds of solidarity can only be created through education and the sharing of experiences; this event was organized with that goal in mind.”
The panel will feature the following professors and respective presentation topics:
– Dr. Levon Marashlian – Professor of History, Glendale Community College: speaking on the loss of intellectual property during the Armenian Genocide and the issue of reparations
– Dr. Nicholas Al-Jeloo – Professor of Syriac Studies, University of Melbourne: speaking on The Assyrian Genocide, and why it has been consistently forgotten
– Paul Von Blum, J.D. – Professor of African-American Studies/Communication Studies, UCLA: speaking on his family story during the Holocaust, and how it motivated him to fight for human rights
– Dr. Donald Miller – Professor of Religion, University of Southern California: speaking on his experience with the Rwandan Genocide, and his research of Armenian Studies
– Jessica Peake, S.J.D. – UCLA School of Law: speaking about legal aspects of the crime of Genocide, and international prosecution of criminals
Given the Armenian Genocide Committee (AGC)’s recent addition of the All-ASA as a coalition partner, representatives from the AGC will be present at the event with informational materials about the upcoming Rally for Justice on April 24th, along with representatives from the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR)’s HyeVotes campaign.
The event will be live-streamed online for those unavailable to attend in-person: a link will be posted on the Facebook event, which is accessible from www.tinyurl.com/AllASApanel. All students and community members are encouraged to participate.
The graphic advertisement for the event is an illustration of the 1909 Adana massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, created by Achille Beltrame. It was featured on the front page of “La Domenica del Corriere”, an Italian weekly newspaper, during the week of May 16th-23rd, 1909.
The All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA) works to unite various Armenian-American college student organizations and serve the greater Armenian-American community through cultural, social, educational, and activist programming. As the largest confederation of ASAs in the nation, All-ASA is dedicated to collaboration among its constituent organizations, leadership development of its members, and community service.
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