Rep. Carolyn Maloney honors Sano Halo and Not Even My Name
April 24, 2001 Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day




Mrs. MALONEY of New York on the ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Remembrance Day

Excerpt –
…Today we remember the tragedy where more than 1.5 million Armenians were murdered at the hands of the Turks and more than 500,000 others were deported.
…Unfortunately, there were others included in this massacre, including Assyrians and Pontic Greeks, bringing the number to well over 3.5 million lost lives.

…Today, we pay tribute to the courage and strength of people who would not know defeat. I was privileged to meet with many of these people this past weekend on Sunday in my district where Sam Azadian along with Archbishop Barsamian and many others held a meeting where we remembered the massacres. One of the survivors, Sano Halo, was there. Her daughter has written a book about her life entitled "Not Even My Name." It tells the story of Ms. Halo who, at the age of 10, was uprooted with her family with thousands of Pontic Greeks and forced by the Turks on a brutal death march. Ms. Halo saw her entire family die of starvation and disease in front of her eyes, or assault and murder by the Turks. Through circumstances, she was able to survive and has come to the United States and now lives in my district.

Unfortunately, even with the truthful, thoughtful accounts from people who experienced the genocide such as Ms. Halo, there are those who question the reality of the Armenian slaughter. That is why it is so important that in this Congress we must finally pass the resolution documenting the Armenian genocide. We must follow the moral leadership of France and Italy whose national assemblies unanimously passed a bill that officially recognizes the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey during and after World War I. And we must follow the leadership of many of our State legislatures. Over 27 legislatures have passed proclamations, resolutions, bills recognizing the genocide.

…As the great philosopher George Santayana once said, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Let us learn our lesson and never forget the Armenians.


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