Montreal’s young Armenians carry history forward

Montreal’s young Armenians carry history forward –

 Montreal Gazette – In the brightly-coloured commemorative posters that adorn the walls, in the binders compiling history projects by students of all ages, in the very curriculum adopted by the school. There’s also a strong sense of cultural identity: students speak Armenian in the halls during recess, and maps and historical figures decorate classrooms.

Students carry with them the sombre knowledge of what befell their people, often their own relatives, 100 years ago; and alongside that knowledge is a sense of responsibility, a desire to know the past and keep their culture alive.

In Montreal, home to some 45,000 people of Armenian descent, with three Armenian cultural schools on its territory, this anniversary is keenly felt. The Gazette visited Sourp Hagop school and spoke to three teenage students about the significance of this anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWwtlm5guBQ

Lena Aroutunian, 16, grade 11 student at L’Ecole Arménienne Sourp Hagop, talks about the diary left behind by her great grandfather which talks about his father’s experience by the hands of Ottoman soldiers during the First World War. Video shot on April 16, 2015. (Dario Ayala / Montreal Gazette)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmTMo9J6gTY

Talia Jabrayan, 15, grade 9 student at L’Ecole Arménienne Sourp Hagop, talks about the importance of remembering the Armenian Genocide 100 years later. Video shot on April 16, 2015. (Dario Ayala / Montreal Gazette)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YImSSkeG_aI

Gabriana Terzian, 15, grade 9 student at L’Ecole Arménienne Sourp Hagop, talks about the resiliance of the Armenian people following their mass killing in 1915. Video shot on April 16, 2015. (Dario Ayala / Montreal Gazette)