On Sun., October 21, author Shahkeh Setian will discuss her book, Humanity in the Midst of Inhumanity, at the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) as part of her New England book tour, the Armenian weekly reported.
Humanity examines the 1915 Armenian Genocide with special emphasis on Turkish Muslims who saved Armenian lives at the risk of their own and that of their families. Included in the book are 16 stories submitted by descendants of Armenians who were saved by Turkish Muslims, as told by the survivors.
Setian’s message to those of Armenian descent is that they have a moral imperative to publicly honor such noble heroes. She cautions that it is overdue and is very much in danger of being lost in the fog of history and in the passage of time. The long-held anger towards Turks who were responsible for the genocide is difficult for some to separate from the brave Turkish Muslims who saved Armenian lives, and must not serve as a barrier to preserve that part of Armenian history, she says.
During the talk, Setian will ask for anyone in the audience who has similar stories to submit them to her—not to include in a book, but rather to include in a list of remembrance to be displayed at an appropriate location at a later date.
Setian earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She’s taught at Springfield College and Artsakh University, and designed and taught a class at Cape Cod Community College entitled, “The History of Genocide: Using the Armenian Genocide as a Case Study.”
The daughter of genocide survivors, Setian lived for a year in post-war Artsakh (Karabagh) as an independent volunteer, to help with Armenians’ post-war recovery. She now lives on Cape Cod, inMassachusetts, and is the mother of three, and grandmother to five.
