AYF to Initiate ‘24 Days of Action’ on April 1

GLENDALE—The Armenian Youth Federation-Western United States has announced the launch of its 24 Days of Action, a campaign initiated to bring and spread awareness, justice, recognition, and reparations to the Armenian Genocide. The 24 Days of Action will be initiated on April 1 and will conclude on April 24.

The AYF will be hosting daily actions throughout the 24 days, which include weekly social media campaigns, boycotts, political lobbying, tactical demonstrations, cultural displays, and educational forums. The 24 Days of Action will culminate with a March for Justice beginning at the Pan Pacific Park and ending at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles on April 24.

Over the past century, the Republic of Turkey’s government, through denial and suppression, has led an assault against recognition and reparations for the crimes committed during the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was not a form of relocation nor a byproduct of war, rather a systematically planned effort by the Young Turk regime to annihilate and rid Anatolia of the Armenian people.

As Armenians, we have heard about the political strife and the forced hardships that were brought upon our ancestors. As Armenians, we have heard their cries of the atrocities committed, the atrocities that were committed in their own homes, in their indigenous and ancestral lands, the lands that they have lived peacefully for millennia. The lands of Van, Erzerum, Kharpert, Bitlis, Dikranagerd, Sepastia, Trebizond, Cilicia, the same lands that have stripped their native inhabitants by the Armenian Genocide. The lands that we, as Armenians demand back.

As Armenian-Americans, we have put our hope and faith in the hands of our American leaders who have left their promised unfulfilled.

As Armenians-Americans, we have put our hope and faith in the hands of our American leaders who have prioritized politics over humanity.

As Armenians, we are tired of waiting and we are done with asking. Recognition, reparations, and restitution is not an option, rather a moral and ethical obligation. Our struggle does not begin, nor does it end with recognition and moral justice, the Armenian people demand material justice in the form of reparations and restitution.

As Armenians, we have put our hope and faith in the idea that as long as there is struggle, there is hope. Our pursuit of justice has no timeline and we have fought, are currently fighting, will fight for until our cause, the sacred Armenian Cause has been answered and justice has been served.

As Armenians, we have not learned how to fight, but we have been forced to learn how to fight back, and this fight will go on, and will not be stopped.

Over the next 24 days, we are calling all Armenians in all communities to action. We will not wait for the figures of today, nor the figures of tomorrow to once again take advantage of the Armenian people for political gain with the use of empty promises of furthering the Armenian Cause. The Armenian struggle is a movement we can call our own and only through us and our will may we shape our destiny. Together, let’s make history and prove that our united call for justice did not end with the Centennial – it only just began!

Information about each day’s action will be available on ayfwest.org and across social media outlets (@ayfwest). Those who wish to participate can contact the AYF at (818)-507-1933 or ayf@ayfwest.org

Founded in 1933 with organizational structures in over 17 regions around the world and a legacy of over eighty years of community involvement, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the world, working to advance the social, political, educational, and cultural awareness of Armenian youth.