For me, hope without memory is like memory without hope.
-Elie Wiesel
It was a grey day in November: not rainy but very cloudy. All the shades of grey were depicted on the sky. I had an appointment at the Genocide Museum and was walking around while waiting. My attention was attracted by the two doves sitting on the asphalt and talking in their bird language. I never saw any dove in the adjacent area of the Memorial. My inner voice suggested the following scenario. The heralds of Holy Trinity came to see how the Armenian people commemorate their ancestors, the victims of 1915. I observed the doves' duet for ten minutes.
Every year on the 24th of April thousands of people visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial to pay homage to those who were victimized in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. I was always joining the Armenians on the 24th of April, the Greeks on the 19th of May, the Assyrians on the 7th of August, the Jewish community - on the 27th of January. Perhaps I was the only person in Armenia who joined all the communities for the Remembrance Days during many years. I tried to catch moments through the lens of the photo camera.
Memory is a leading tool for any atrocity prevention. Only memory can't trigger such a prevention. Only collective memory can be considered in this context. Collective memory implies people's unity. Without collective memory, without unity there is no humanity. Once we understand and accept this, we can turn mountains. Memory is not a storage of different moments, it is not pointillism, it is not a static system. Can we enhance our memory, collective memory? What does it mean to enhance memory? It does not mean we have to increase storage in our brain system. We have to be more dedicated to human values and only in that case our memory will be socially stronger. Philosophy in these issues disappears under the influence of digital innovations. Where is a 'golden mean' when we can keep our human face and heart and try to prevent any atrocity.
Photo from my collection. Karaglukh, necropolis, Artsakh.
#humanrights #atrocity #worldwithoutgenocides #righttolive #russia #turkey #armenia #azerbaijan #southcaucasus #geopolitics
