The Collegian

Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Collegian

No one remembers genocide.

Early in the twentieth century hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed in a genocide perpetrated by the Turks. In remembrance of that tragic event and other genocides, April 24 is Genocide Remembrance Day.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died during their ordeal, millions of Jews died at the hands of the Germans. Even in our lifetime, we have overlooked the genocide Saddam Hussein committed against the Kurds and the other people of Iraq.

Today, let's remember these events and their victims.

But we should also learn from what happened and look to the future to see if we can avoid it from happening again.

Walid Shoebat, a former Palestinian terrorist who is now a converted Christian recently spoke in the Bay Area and what he said is particularly applicable on Genocide Remembrance Day. He said, referring to Israel, that "the Holocaust never ended but the victims have decided to defend themselves."

The descendants of those evil forces that massacred Armenians and gassed the Jews are in the world striving for our destruction right now. Today they are known as radical Muslims. They seek not the destruction of just one people, but of many.

These certain Muslims seek, and have on numerous occasions not just killed Jews, but Christians, Americans, Europeans, Asians, Africans, even their fellow Muslims who do not ascribe to their particular cult of death. Radical Islam seeks to commit genocide on freedom.

The President of Iran today clearly says that he wants "Israel wiped off the map" just as clearly as Hitler wrote about his hatred of Jews during the 1920s in Mein Kampf. When Hitler spoke honestly about his intentions the world did not listen and did not act, but appeased.

Today Iran speaks honestly, but the world appeases. Over six million Jews died, along with millions of others, when the world appeased in the 1930s.

How many more people will die if we refuse to act and face the danger this time?

The events on September 11, 2001 showed America what a few guys with small knives could do; imagine what an entire country with nuclear weapons is capable of.

On Genocide Remembrance Day think back to mass crimes from the past, but also think about preventing genocide.

The Nazis were defeated 60 years ago, but their mentality still exists today.

We must fight and defeat this threat to stop the next genocide.

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