By David Boyajian
Assyrians and Armenians have lived near each other for thousands of years and shared similar trials and tribulations.
So as an Armenian American in an audience of about sixteen Assyrian Americans, I knew I was among compatriots.
The occasion was a talk by Prof. Hannibal Travis, titled “The Plight of Refugees and the Law of Genocide: Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks, and Yezidis,” on a rainy, blustery Saturday afternoon on October 27, at the Watertown Public Library.
The event was sponsored by the Assyrian American Association of Massachusetts (AAAM; Facebook.com/AssyrianAmericanAssociationOfMassachusetts).
The talk’s primary topic was the World War I era genocides — and previous massacres — of Christian Assyrians/Armenians/Greeks, as well as Yezidis, committed by Ottoman Turkey and allied Kurds.