Forgiveness

Peter Boyajian
Eng 101-28-5
4-20-09

"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"
-Adolf Hitler, 1939
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One of the most defining characteristics among all of us is our approach to the concept of forgiveness. Many people regrettably view forgiveness as insignificant. It is my opinion that we should always strive to forgive those who have wronged us. This opinion is entirely influenced by my religion. In Matthew 18:21-22 it says "Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. (NKJV)" Most people are exposed to teaching such as this at some point, even if it is not specifically from a religious point of view, forgiveness is generally looked upon as a positive character attribute. Collosians 3:13 reads "bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ died for our sins, so therefore we must follow his perfect example and likewise excersise forgiveness. Over the course of my life, there is one wrong that has been committed against me and my family that I have had a hard time forgiving.

Every time the topic of the Armenian Genocide is brought up or discussed, I find myself suppressing a burning rage inside of me against those who slaughtered my fellow Armenians of generations past. In order to understand this anger however, here is a brief factual overview of what exactly happened during the Turkish Genocide of the Armenians. Acts of substantial violence by the Turks against Armenians first started around 1894, with the Hamidian Massacres, although tensions had been high for some time before. In the span of merely seven months, from April to October of 1915, the Armenian population was nearly annihilated with the merciless killing of over 1.5 million men, women, and children.

This massacre is what brought my great grandmother to the United States, luckily before the Genocide was in full swing. However, her experiences prior to emigrating were so enraging that I still struggle with whether I can honestly forgive such atrocities or not. My great grandmother Anastasia's father was a minister. In 1908, he had a new suit made in preparation for a ministers conference. While he was at the conference, Turkish officers came into the conference room and said "If you embrace the Islamic religion you will all be saved. If you don't you will all be killed. " Her father asked for 15 minutes alone with the others at the conference, about 70 men and women. As he finished reading Matthew 25 to those around him, they were all mercilessly killed. After this, the bodies were tossed into a ravine, spared even a proper burial. The story doesn't end there however, in the words of my great grandma Anastasia, "that suit my father had made, somebody wore that suit and came and walked in front of our house, just to tease my stepmothe... ...this man walked in front of the house to show that he had father's suit and his watch, that's how cruel these people are." Over the next years, the Turks made my great grandmother's life, as well as countless other Armenian's a living hell. Unable to walk the streets for fear of being raped and murdered. Even while being educated on an American school property, Anasasia and other children had to be cautious of going outside because of the Turks that would climb nearby hills and shoot down into the school. Luckily, my grandmother was able to escape this violence and marry in Amerca.

When thinking about my great grandmother's story, and those of many others that are similar, or even far worse, it is hard to imagine being able to forgive such unthinkable atrocities. However, we must remember that we are commanded to follow the example of Jesus Christ. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins (Mark 11:25)"