Armenians Gather at FAU for 110th Remembrance
by By Marci Shatzman | Tuesday, Apr 29, 2025
Article by Marci Shatzman, The Boca Raton Tribune, 04/26/2025
Local Armenians of all ages gathered by the hundreds to hear a “never forget” message, soulful music and watch a haunting video on the 110th commemoration of the genocide of 1.5 million descendants by the Ottoman Turks during WWI.
“Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide” drew congregants from St. David Armenian Church in Boca Raton and St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in nearby Hollywood. Priests from both churches led opening and closing prayers.
“We are the third and fourth generation sharing our family history. Let’s go to work as one united front. We are here today to remember and continue to fight for justice,” said keynote speaker Dr. Asya Darbinyan, executive director of Chhange, Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey.
Citing comparisons to the Holocaust during WWII and the Rwanda massacre in 1994, “discrimination and dehumanizing these groups” started before the massacres. “Propaganda helped mobilize ordinary people to see their neighbors as threats,” she said, adding “education is key.”
Florida Atlantic University has hosted this event before and needed a larger venue this year, College of Arts and Letters’ Dean Michael Horswell said before the presentation he emceed. FAU’s Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education co-hosted the event held in the Barry and Florence Friedberg Lifelong Learning Center auditorium.
Horswell called philanthropists and proud Armenians Marta and Jim Batmasian to the stage for a surprise announcement. The couple had just donated $500,000 to name the Marta and Jim Batmasian Memorial Pavilion that will be next to the Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies building under construction. “The purpose of the donors in making this gift is to provide unrestricted funding to meet the current and future needs of the Wallach Holocaust, Jewish Studies, and Human Rights Building and programs operating therein,” according to a statement by FAU. Horswell presented a framed design of the pavilion to the Batmasians.
After the keynote speech, three sopranos, two pianists and Jivan Gasparyan playing the duduk, described as a double-reed woodwind instrument and the Armenian oboe, performed on stage before a large screen showing victims of the genocide, the Ottoman armies and scenes of destruction, particularly of the churches. A yellow daisy ended the video. The musicians and singers got a standing ovation, and the audience stayed to meet and greet.
“My grandfather was a survivor, and as a descendent I want to make sure they are not forgotten,” Darbinyan said in her speech.