American Armenian runners to commemorate Genocide

March 17, 2015 - 12:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian community activists from Pasadena, Sona Donoyan Arabian and Sako Defterian will once again run the Los Angeles Marathon this Sunday, March 22, except this year they will carrying the message of “We Demand. We Remember” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, according to Asbarez.

With more than 25,000 runners covering the 26.2-mile course and an anticipated one million total spectators on the marathon router, Donoyan Arabian and Defterian thought to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide by having Armenian tri-color pins on their t-shirts with special messaging to mark the Centennial of the Genocide.

This definitely is not an individual effort as their marathon run has generated quite a lot of interest in the community, which has rallied behind the cause, Asbarez says.

On Sunday, members of the Armenian Youth Federation Pasadena Nigol Touman chapter will be joined by the athletes and scouts of the Pasadena Homenetmen Chapter to support the runner by supply water and ice along the route.

The AYF and Homenetmen volunteers are also anticipating to set up an aid station on the nine-mile mark of the route, which is in Little Armenia, as well as other points along the run.

Donoyan Arabian and Defterian plan to run the Paris Marathon on April 12 and have enlisted the help of the AYF Nor Serount of France to advance Genocide awareness.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.