[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 21, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    MANY ARMENIAN SURVIVORS CAME TO THE UNITED STATES SEEKING A NEW 
                               BEGINNING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise before 
the House today, taking this opportunity to speak out about one of the 
20th century's earliest atrocities and worst atrocities. I do so 
because this subject is close to my heart.
  Mr. Speaker, I am the son of a second generation Armenian American. 
My own grandfather, a native Armenian, witnessed the bloodshed 
firsthand when on April 24, 1915, 254 Armenian intellectuals were 
arrested in Istanbul and taken to the provinces in the interior of 
Turkey, where many of them were later massacred.
  My grandfather often told my sisters and I how he had witnessed the 
execution of his own uncle and his teacher in a one room classroom as a 
child. In total, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a 
28-year period. This does not include the half a million or more who 
were forced to leave their homes and flee to foreign countries like our 
own.
  Together with Armenians all over the world and people of conscience, 
I would like to honor those that lost their homes, their freedom and 
their lives. Many Armenian survivors came to the United States seeking 
a new beginning, among them my grandfather, who was a recipient of the 
Russian Medal of Honor during World War II as a demolition specialist. 
He was awarded this honor for his incredible valor in the midst of this 
premeditated genocide. In fact, my grandfather went back to his own 
country to fight the Turks, to fight the Turks to stop the massacres of 
his family and his friends.
  It is important that we do not forget about these atrocities. Mr. 
Speaker, I am very proud of my Armenian heritage, and I believe my 
Armenian grandfather, if he were still alive today, would be proud to 
know that he has such strong defenders of Armenians in the United 
States Congress, and I thank my colleagues who have risen today to 
support this recognition.

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