Western Diocese

According to Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, the crisis in Durfur mounts to the “humanity’s darkest moments,” in a speech offered during the promotional event for ‘Darfur Now,’ on Wednesday, October 31, 2007. ‘Darfur Now’ is an effort to raise awareness about the human crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

The American Jewish Committee of Los Angeles had organized the promotional event, where many distinguished religious, political and community leaders participated and lauded their voice to end the genocide in Darfur.

City Council Member Bill Rosenthal, in his speech lauded the need for recognition of the Armenian Genocide as well as other distinguished speakers who stressed the importance of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in order to end the cycle of genocides at anytime and anywhere on this earth.

His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, despite his tight schedule, kindly accepted the last minute invitation extended to him by the American Jewish Committee of Los Angeles and attended the meeting. The Primate in his special message prepared on the occasion calls for prompt action to end the horrendous massacres: “The dark history in Darfur calls on all nations to take the collective effort to be stripped from the sense of indifference. In an age when technological and scientific progress and advancements enrich the life of the world, humanity fails to recognize God’s gracious gift of life adhered to all nations. This undertaking by the American Jewish Community of launching ‘Darfur Now’ in the life of community implies in our spiritual lives an important role to play. It alerts us all to see and live God’s presence in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters. Genocide continue to take place in the world’s life, when people tend to stay blind and deaf in witnessing torture and massive killings and massacres. Those who take part in this mission of distributing ‘Darfur Now’ pursue a noble goal namely to raise awareness in the life of all nations to bring justice and hope to their God-given life. To take away life of a human being or to exterminate the lives of innocent people is a crime against humanity. Let us all join together as religious, political and community leaders to call on all people with a special message to see ‘Darfur Now’ and to purify our hearts of the sin of indifference and to be ambassadors of justice and peace in the lives of the people of Darfur who suffer genocide. I as a great-son of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide—the 1^st genocide of the 20^th Century—can certainly adhere to the pain and suffering of the people of Darfur.”