Name: Noushig Siran Karpanian

Age: 23

City: San Bruno

School: Currently applying to MA/PhD programs – Undergrad: Santa Clara University

Occupation: Public Relations Executive; Designer’s Brass, Inc.

How many days will you be marching?
Full-time April 2-21

Why did you decide to participate as a marcher?
From the moment I heard about the march, I knew I wanted to be a participant. I didn’t think that I would actually commit to it full time, but the fact that I’m not in school is a big factor as to why I can devote the time for it. Leaving work for three weeks will have financial repercussions, but that is something I am willing to sacrifice. Had I been in school working towards a degree, it might have been a little more difficult to make the commitment. Those are the logistical factors which influenced my decision, as for the reason I am marching, I can only ask myself, how can I not do this? The Armenians, in their pursuit for Recognition have resorted to arms, diplomacy, and everything in between. Ninety years after the fact we are still clamoring to the world, and now I am ready to participate in yet another just cause demanding nothing other than deserved justice.

What do you hope to achieve by participating in this march?
Prior to the march, I think I have already achieved a great deal. Being exposed to the planning of the entire process has been a major learning lesson, and I am proud that I have been able to contribute to it in the subtle yet hopefully integral ways. As for the actual march itself, I think all participants who complete the entire 215 mile walk will be achieving the most basic yet very important element of empathy with our victims and survivors. We will be getting the tiniest glimpse of their struggle-the walk. Although there is NO comparison to their tortures or fears (and no one would dare reenact or wish that upon anyone) I think the miles we will walk will allow us to at least reflect on what they may have been going through. With respect to what I hope to achieve by participating in this march in the bigger picture is obviously to be a step closer to Recognition—to awaken the media, the politicians, the activists, the denialists, that our cause is one that deserves attention, and that we are doing it in the name of humanity, that our cause is ultimately the human cause, and if anything, I hope that it will provide people with a sense of inquiry as to who are these Armenians? What is the Armenian Genocide? Are such heinous acts still being committed around the world? What can I do to help?

What are you doing to prepare for the march?
I work out 5-6 times a week at the gym for 1-11/2 hours of cardio and do strength training 2-3 times a week. This is a regimen I have stuck to for a while and one I intend on maintaining after the walk. I think my regimen will serve as an asset, although one can never know exactly what to anticipate with 10-15 miles of walking day after day for three weeks. I eat small portions every 3 hours so as to keep my metabolism active and provide nutrients to my body all day. I stay hydrated during the day so as not to get parched while working out like many people do. If you’re properly hydrated you don’t even feel the need for more than a few sips while working out.

Do you have any relatives who were Genocide survivors?
Yes. Both sets of grandparents were/are genocide survivors.

If so, can you talk a little about their experience?
My maternal grandmother was born in 1918, hence does not remember the events leading up to 1923, but has heard the stories first hand. She currently lives in Lebanon and I had the opportunity of being with her last summer and writing/recording her stories. My maternal grandfather was orphaned during the genocide and was taken in by a Kurdish household until he was taken to an Armenian orphanage. My paternal grandmother’s family survived the genocide. Unfortunately, she passed away at the age of 33, so the stories I have heard from her family have not been as clear. My paternal grandfather was a Genocide survivor and actually recorded his years of hiding and escape in great detail. He lived to be 91 years old and his life’s memoirs exceed 700 pages. I have been reading and re-reading these pages since I was in the 8th grade. I have also been working on translating them to English with the hopes of one day publishing them. We have published many of his articles in Asbarez since his death. His memoirs are exceptional in the fact that not only do they chronicle in detail the situation of Marash during the Genocide, but his prose is phenomenal. His memoirs are my daily inspiration, especially when I read the lines that express the fact that he wrote down his experiences, regardless of the constant pain it brought him, for his children and his then unborn grandchildren to read and re-read and to demand the justice that has been wrongfully denied for so many years.

Why do you think it is important for the US to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide?
This great country which prides itself on being a guarantor of human rights, unfortunately seldom lives out the words it so effortlessly chimes. American foreign policy is guided by self-interest, and those not blinded by cuddly gimmicks who see through it, cannot fathom the lies and the cover-ups. I am one of those doubtful individuals, and although I cannot overstate the importance Genocide Recognition is for America, I am doubtful how the US can recognize it and thus expect Turkey to do the same because the US has its own skeletons in the closet to deal with. The US has not dealt with its own human rights injustices beginning from what occurred during the formation of this country with respect to the injustices towards the Native Americans, and to the factor which actually allowed for the economic growth of the US allowing it to become the superpower that it is today—slavery. But, nonetheless, the US should lead by example and at least for this once shelve political expediency in the name of “justice and liberty for all.”

What significance does this year being the 90th anniversary of the Genocide have for you?
My immediate thought about the fact that it has been 90 years since the crimes perpetrated by the Ottoman government is the fact that our Survivors have almost all passed on. This worries me. Until now subsequent generations have had an immediacy with Survivors that has been integral in our fight and demands for justice. We so often cite “1.5 million dead” but we forget about the individual plight and pain, sorrow and suffering experienced not once but 1.5 million times over and over again. I sincerely hope that there is at least one Survivor living when a cataclysmic acceptance comes either in the form of the US recognizing the Genocide, or Turkey at least offering an apology or some sort of remorse. Either we have not done enough in the last 90 years, or this perpetual denial has been a blessing in disguise for our people, as we all know that a lie can never sustain itself, and that for every lie a new one must be told. I think the Turkish government is running out of lies, and in its denial has actually emboldened an entire Armenian population. I know that we are at a point where US political officials are aware of the events and they are holding off Recognition for their own self-interest. This is actually worse I think than them really believing that the Genocide did not happen, but at least now it is a matter of time, whereas before it seemed that they were believing the denialist-fed lies. We are definitely at a crossroads with this, the 90th anniversary of the Genocide, and it is an exciting time to be working towards the advancement of Hai Tahd. As referenced by Roxanne Makasdjian at the San Francisco ANC Hai Tahd 2005 evening, the Hai Tahd is sometimes a noose, looming over our heads, choking us, burdening us, other times it manifests into a lasso where we are in control dominating the beast. I truly believe that we are all now hurling the lasso. Hopefully we will not be afraid to toss and reel in what we deserve.