Yerevan /Mediamax/. In an interview with The New Times, businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan told about “100 LIVES” initiative launched in New York on March 10.

“The psychology of a victim is frightful. Stories on how the women, sisters and mothers of your nation are raped are hard to read, it’s impossible... And the story of Aurora Mardiganian about which we are talking about – the Turks did not just crucify these 16 girls, but first abused them and then made them sit on the pointed wood, through the vagina... A normal person can’t read this without going through all the horror... And of course you ask yourself – how could it happen? How come nobody protected, helped or saved them? Why did they let it happen?” said Ruben Vardanyan.

“Consolidation on the basis of tragedy is very dangerous. Yes, children should grow up understanding that it did happen to us. But we can and we should, at that, consciously, look at it from another angle too – despite what happened to us we still exist, we are the bearers of a nation, which is five thousand years old, and we got a second chance in various countries and became successful. Only a strong person can say “thank you” after enduring a trauma, and only a strong nation, looking back over these hundred years, can say to itself “we did not allow to annihilate us,” said the philanthropist.

“I would like to stress that our initiative has positive vector in the first place. The Rwanda genocide – how could it be committed in late 20th century? Or, how can the Kurds-Yazidis continue to face what they are undergoing in Iraq today – being destroyed by ISIL fanatics? Accordingly, our first and foremost task is not to let such events happen, our task number two is to help people who went through this nightmare, and our task number three is to help the survivors return to normal life – hence, our cooperation with George Clooney, founder of Not On Our Watch organization, which is involved in real struggle against Genocide, including in Darfur. They pay a visit to Darfur and work on a set of preventive measures. And so, we have now joined our efforts,” said Ruben Vardanyan.

The businessman also commented on why Israel does not recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“I am not an expert, and therefore I don’t want to make speculations on it. In my opinion, Israel does not recognize the Armenian Genocide not because they think it didn’t happen, but because they remember that Turkey was their only ally in the Middle East. Others say that the term “genocide” itself – that is the systematic and mass destruction of an ethnic, religious or national group – occurred after the massacres in 1915-1923, and therefore it cannot be applied retrospectively. But the main reason is politics, beyond doubt,” said Ruben Vardanyan.