Current Event/Media Connection: Forgotten Fire

Photo of French photographer Remi Ochlik, killed in Syrian shelling

Washington Post Article

 The audience of the article would be the U.S. citizens, and, more specifically, the concerned citizens. Te purpose of the article is to inform the reader about the Red Cross, what it does, and how it helps with world conflicts. The claim that it makes is that the Red Cross is working to help the people injured in Syria. The author provides the following evidence to strengthen their claim: "The Geneva-based aid group 'is attempting to reach all persons affected by the ongoing violence including the wounded journalists in Homs,' International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman Hicham Hassan said." As well, the author has shown the dedication of the Red Cross because they have "appealed to Syria’s government and opposition groups to allow daily two-hour cease-fires so it can deliver relief supplies and evacuate the wounded and sick."

          I am connecting this article with Forgotten Fire, and, more specifically, when Vahan is taken in by Mrs. Altoonian. Vahan is represented by the people needing help, because his life had fallen apart, and he physically needed food, shelter, and clean water. The people that need help are injured as well, and need to be taken care of. Mrs. Altoonian is represented by the Red Cross. She is a very caring person, and wants to help whoever she can, and even though she understands that there are risks, she knows that she has to fight to help the people she loves and cares for. The Red Cross is very personal, caring, and they help whoever needs it no matter what. They understand there are risks to helping everyone, but they fight for the people that they need to protect. The two-hour cease fire represents Vahan's period of staying with the Altoonians. Vahan, when he was staying there, felt safe and cared for, and was taken out of the conflict for just a little bit, though he still felt the stress of it bearing down on him. With the two-hour cease fire, the people being rescued feel the same way, they felt safe and were cared fore, and were able to be helped. With the cease fire over, though, the people that were left out there were left "to the wolves." Vahan after being kicked out represents the people left outside. He feels like he is in danger constantly, but he has the intense will to stay alive until the next time he can feel safe. In conclusion, both events can easily be related to each other.

Letter to Vahan

Dear Vahan,

                I believe that the choice you made regarding joining the Turkish refugees was a good move to keep yourself alive. I feel that this may be rather risky though, because you might be caught if you utter even one word or acknowledge someone that speaks to you, without trying to get your attention using visual gestures. To "say" that you were a deaf-mute was a good idea, but I believe that acknowledging them and setting yourself up as a mute would have been a better choice, because then you could react to them in more ways, and would only have to be cautious regarding your voice..

                This was a very dangerous move, and if you are found out, any number of things could happen to you. I hope this all works out for you.

                Sincerely,

                        Trent

       

English Genocide Essay

          The stage of genocide that our group focused on in Forgotten Fire was extermination. Extermination is when the genocide has gotten far enough that the victims are just killed left an right.There is an event on page 27 that shows this. On this page, two of the older males in the family, Tavel and Darin were led to a wall and shot. They were killed without reason, except to cease the continuation of the Armenians. Another example is on page 48. On this page, Vahan and what was left of his family stopped near a river, and were told to drink. It was a trap though. He did not realize that it was, "Only when [the soldier] raised his hand over his head did [Vahan] see the rock, and then it was too late."(Bagdasarian, 2000, p. 27.) About fifty people, including Vahan's grandmother were killed. The Turkish soldiers killed the people who drank because they were just following survival instincts. In conclusion, extermination seems to be a rampant theme in this book, and will probably be the main focus.