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APRIL 24th, 1915
WE SHALL NEVER FORGET
THE FIRST GENOCIDE OF XX CENTURY
AND THE 1.5 MILLION VICTIMS
WILLIAM SAROYAN
I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race,
this small tribe of unimportant people,
whose wars have all been fought and lost,
whose structures have crumbled,
literature is unread,
music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered.
Go ahead, destroy Armenia.
See if you can do it.
Send them into the desert without bread or water.
Burn their homes and churches.
Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again.
For when two of them meet anywhere in the world,
see if they will not create a New Armenia.
Few We May be, but We are Armenian...
by Baruyr Sevag
We may be few, but We are Armenian,
And We never place ouselves above others.
And yet, We should admit to ourselves
That only in Armenia could Ararat rise in full majesty
That only in our high-placed Lake Sevan,
May the sky reflect itself and find blue tranquility.
Only on this land fought David Sassountsi,
Only on this land wrote the poet Narekatsi.
That We simply enjoy building in stone,
Carve it to the shape of...fish,
Mold clay to the shape of..birds
And turn our men, eager to study, create and serve
Beauty,
Justice,
Dignity
And Humanity.
Yes, We may be few, but they call us Armenian
Never, never We place ourselves above others,
Certainly We admit, that our luck was tough,
Certainly We've shed, far too much blood.
Certainly, through some centuries of History,
When We were numerous, prosperous and strong,
And even when We stood, glorious and tall -
We never oppressed a neighboring nation
And nobody suffered from our sword's blow.
And if we dominated over hearts and minds,
That was only through our letters and finds...
And if we ever set down rules or standards
Competed with, and impressed all others,
That was only through our skills and talents.
Certainly by death, we were courted too often,
But never without a fight, did we face that challenge.
And when by circumstance, forced to leave our land
Whenever we reached, wherever we set up our home
We left permanent traces and ways for all to follow,
We mixed our labor and sweat to help fellow men,
By building bridges
Crowning arches
Cultivating barren land,
Getting crops out of...sand
In every land we set up home,
We left ideas, fables and song,
We protected all from spiritual cold
And to all we loved, we left -
a touch of our vision
A bit of our soul,
A piece of our heart.
We may be few indeed, but they call us Armenian,
We know how to suffer from yesterday's wounds,
Yet, we greet everything new, enthuse and be merry,
We know how to annoy, torture and exhaust are enemy.
We know how to greet friends and help,
Returning favors tenfold,
And in the name of human rights and fairness,
Ready We are to vote with blood - not just by lips or hand,
And if an enemy should seek to enslave us,
We shall fight to the end to extinguish all in his camp,
And if the dark night of ignorance, needs to be dispelled
We shall burn ourselves both ends, like candles, to help
And We may have a passion for all things Armenian,
But with respect, to all others, non-Armenian...
Yes, We do not place ourselves above others,
But We know ourselves, in weakness and strength
Yes,, they call us "Armenian",
But why not pride ourselves with that name?
We presently exist,
We shall always survive
We shall grow and multiply...
Translated by Garbis Armen
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