“The Armenian Genocide” documentary to be screened at FAU

PanARMENIAN.Net - As part of the ongoing Armenian Genocide exhibition at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Wimberly Library in Boca Raton, FL, two high-profile South Florida community activists will lead a discussion following the screening of a 30-minute excerpt from the PBS documentary, "The Armenian Genocide."

The film and panel discussion will take place on April 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm on the 5th floor of the FAU Wimberly Library and is free and open to the public, reported the Armenian Assembly of America.

Marta Batmasian, a member of the Florida Department of Education Commissioner's Task Force on Holocaust Education, will share her family's experience in Turkey and the effects of the Armenian Genocide on her family. Armenian Assembly of America Grassroots Director Taniel Koushakjian, an FAU alumnus, will discuss the Armenian-American identity and the post-genocidal effects on the Armenian community in the United States.

"We live in a community in which there are thousands of survivors of modern genocides and their descendants. Our community has played an active role in attempts to intervene against genocide in Darfur. St. David's Armenian Church, Congregation B'Nai Israel and the FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education have been at the forefront of the these community efforts. It is important for our community to learn about and memorialize the Armenian victims just as we memorialize and educate about the Shoah. Remembering both strengthens our commitment to prevent and intervene against genocide," said Dr. Rose Gatens, Director of the FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE).

"The Armenian Genocide" film and panel discussion is being sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida Atlantic University in conjunction with "The Greatest Crime of the War: Armenian Genocide During World War I," an exhibition on display through Wednesday, April 27, at the Wimberly Library.

The exhibit will close with a special guest lecture by Dr. Mary Johnson, Senior Historian with Facing History and Ourselves and curator of the Armenian Genocide exhibit, on April 25 from 7:00 - 8:00 pm. Following the lecture will be the Armenian Genocide Commemoration and Memorial service to the victims conducted by clergy from St. David's Armenian Church of Boca Raton and St. Mary's Armenian Church in Cooper City.