April 24th, 2007

April 24th is a national holiday in Armenia. We saw several businesses that were closed. Our plan was to visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial and then go to the last Yerevan screening of the movie "Screamers" that features the System of a Down band.

We woke up in the morning to a very unexpected snow storm. It was the first time in almost 30 years that it snowed in April (let alone April 24th). We waited until mid day and seeing no break in sight, we left for the Memorial. We drove down the hill and parked at AUA, then took the subway closer to the Memorial and walked the rest of the way. We were cold and wet by the time we arrived. That combined with the fact that my stupid video camera would not work (eventhough it was working fine that morning) led to the angry look on my face during the photos...

Hearing that despite the powerful (he said sarcastically) ANCA and feared Armenian Assembly (he said bitterly) the US Congress was going to postpone consideration of the Genocide Resolution until after April 24th, we figured we should try to send a message to Speaker Pelosi. The girls and I made the banner and they proudly carried to the memorial. The visit to the Memorial was pretty incredible. I have been there now more times than I can count, but seeing people treking through the rain and snow was powerful. Being there with my family was even more powerful.

On Saturday, the girl's history teacher at school is going to take them to the Genocide Museum for a tour. They are looking forward to it. This morning on the way to school, they told me that despite the rain, snow and cold, they really enjoyed the trek to the monument.

In the evening, we went to the last screening of "Screamers" here in Yerevan. The movie was in English with Armenian subtitles. The theater was full and the movie was great. Personally I find the System's music horrific, but they have done a damn good job spreading the word and educating masses of young people about the horrors of Genocide.

I am not hopeful that the Genocide resolution currently before the House and Senate will be voted on. I do not think that the Armenian community at the moment has the political capital to make it happen. Having lobbied on this issue for most of my professional career, I am torn. Passing this particular resolution will change nothing. But, the US must go on record affirming the Armenian Genocide. It would simply be nice if it were a more meaningful resolution that did something positive.

Around 10 or so p.m. Houry and I were watching TV and we saw something really interesting. An Armenian TV crew visited Eastern Turkey searching for pieces of our history. They visited several cities and toured the audience through was is left of our churches and homes. All in all it was a day to remember.Publish