Journey to teach humanity

Dirty shoes with the wear and tear of 3,000 miles of use were on display at the Glendale Civic Center on Sunday.

Those shoes had crossed the country on a quest to educate the nation about genocides of the past and present.

From Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., for eight to 10 hours a day, for more than four months, six students from both sides of the country walked to protest acts of genocide and to promote knowledge about them as part of the Journey for Humanity project.

After finally making it back on Nov. 18, the young group of social activists and their supporters found six hours last weekend to celebrate, compose and educate.

"We are students, we educate ourselves . . . this is what we can do in our capacity," said Hasmig Tatiossian, 23, of Los Angeles.

"Really this is the beginning of a movement," added her fiance and fellow walker, Edward S. Majian, 22, of New Jersey.

It's a movement they hope will get around and gradually inspire people to get concerned about global genocides, recognize them and take those concerns to their political representatives.

"Denial is a part of genocide," Majian said. "Once we are aware we can press our elected officials to represent us."

Photos from the students' trip were shown off in the main hall of the Civic Center with facts about genocides from all over the world behind them.

The event also featured Armenian food and a silent auction of Armenian art.

Even though the turnout for Sunday's welcome-back event was less than a full house, the walkers and their compatriots remained hopeful.

"Really our aim is to educate the public," Majian said. "We can't just stand by idly as [genocide] keeps happening."

The day's program included professors and members of the Armenian community speaking about the Armenian genocide, speeches and a question-and-answer period from the walkers and music about genocide.

Armenian rapper R-mean took to the stage just after 3 p.m. After he finished his rap about genocide he spoke to the crowd.

"This song right here is not only for the Armenians, it's for any race that's ever experienced genocide," he said. "We need to get it recognized so history doesn't repeat itself."

Getting the media and United States government to recognize, categorize and face the issue of genocide has been a challenge for the Journey for Humanity members, Tatiossian said.

The group plans to continue their efforts to educate the U.S. on genocide.

"It's effective in a way that even if we reach one person we're effective," said Anna Menedjian, of Los Feliz, one of the organization's supporters. "You never know how that one person is going to react. They may get involved with the cause."

The Journey for Humanity members plan to stay involved by releasing a documentary of the students' trip in the coming months and Tatiossian and Majian are planning on penning a joint book about their experience on the road.