Memorable words from the poem by Emma Lazarus, immortalized on the Statue of Liberty.

Words that have special meaning for Armenian immigrant George Magar Mardikian, who first gazed upon Liberty on his birthday.

George escaped the then-worst genocide in history, only to be surpassed by the Nazi extermination of the Jews in WWII. This was the extermination of the Armenian Christians by the Muslim government of Turkey in the final throes of the Caliphate-led Ottoman Empire. Estimates of the slaughter surpass the million mark.

George nearly starved to death in a Turkish prison camp after his father was killed. He later fled to America where he first experienced what it means to breathe free. His story is the epitome of the countless immigrants who have come here to build a better life – and to offer their special giftedness to their adopted country.

George recently became a naturalized citizen of the United States after a lifetime of faithful service to our country, a highlight of which was earning a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his service during WWII.

Following George’s swearing in, he uttered these poignant and inspiring words that each of us should heed: ”You who have been born in America, I wish I could make you understand what it is like not to be an American – not to have been an American all your life-and then suddenly with the words of a man in flowing robes [the judge who issued the oath of citizenship] to be one, for that moment and forever after. One moment you belong with your fathers to a million dead yesterdays – the next you belong with America to a million unborn tomorrows. [emphasis mine]”

Read more about the human tragedy of the Armenian genocide in the first-person account of Grigoris Balakian. His newly-released book is entitled Armenian Golgotha.

The above information about George Mardikian comes from a World Magazine article.

Blessings,
Liam

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