Katrina Villena: U.S. should call it genocide and insist on reparation for survivors

As my college career has progressed, I have found myself becoming incredibly committed to acknowledging and educating others about the severe human rights violations and genocides our world has faced. One of these genocides has truly struck me: The Armenian Genocide of 1915 is one of the most atrocious acts ever committed against a peaceful people for purely arbitrary reasons.

This genocide resulted in the slaughter of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. While this genocide is horrendous, equally distasteful is the U.S. government and Turkish government response in refusing to acknowledge it. Former President Obama promised during his campaign to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide while in office but broke this promise seven times. I was equally disappointed to hear that current President Donald Trump also refused to use the word “genocide” during the annual commemoration ceremony on April 24. According to George Santayana, “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.”

This foreshadows how the denial of the Armenian Genocide has led to the denial of other genocides, including the Holocaust. A society that refuses to accept its mistakes – and refuses to make reparations – is a doomed society. Reparations must be made for all survivors of genocide, both past and present.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Katrina Villena: U.S. should call it genocide and insist on reparation for survivors."