4/30/2016

The Armenian Genocide in the American Humanitarian Imagination | Armenian Weekly

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TheArmenianGenocideintheAmericanHumanitarian
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BookReview:BreadfromStones:TheMiddleEastandtheMakingof
ModernHumanitarianism
TheArmenianWeeklyMagazine
April2016
BreadfromStones:TheMiddleEastandtheMakingofModernHumanitarianism
ByKeithDavidWatenpaugh
Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2015
Paperback,272pages
ISBN:9780520279322
$34.95
AmongthewealthofrecentlypublishedArmenianGenocide
commemorativebooksisKeithWatenpaughstourdeforce
BreadfromStones:TheMiddleEastandtheMakingofModern
Humanitarianism.Withevidencegatheredfromahalfdozen
archives,WatenpaughsituatestheArmenianGenocide
seamlesslywithinthelargerhistoryofmodern
humanitarianism.Bytellingthesestoriestogether,
WatenpaughhaseffectivelywrittentheArmenianGenocide
backintotheAmericanhumanitarianimagination,aplaceit
onceheldbeforeitwasconvenientlyforgotten.
BreadfromStonesoffersanindepthlookatinternational
humanitarianeffortsontheeveofWorldWarI,aperiodwhen,
Watenpaughargues,missionarybasedhumanitarianrelief
transitionedtoamodernsecularhumanitarianapproach.He

CoverofWatenpaughs

supportsthisargumentwiththewritingsofphilanthropists

BreadfromStones

fromAmericaandEurope,amongthemAmericanphysician
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StanleyE.KerrwhostayedbehindinMarashtodocumenttheatrocitiescommittedbyTurkish
forcesastheyoverranFrenchforcesin1920andmassacredArmenians,manyofwhomwere
genocidevictimswhohadreturnedatwarsend.Kerrputhisownlifeatriskinorderto
documenttheatrocities,anditisthespecialcaretodetaileddocumentaryevidencegathering
thatsetsmodernhumanitarianismapartfromearlierphilanthropicmodels.Productionof
humanitarianknowledgeincludedcollectingeyewitnessdocumentaryevidenceand
photography,andthegradualsecularizationintoneinthewritingsofhumanitarianworkers.
ThisshifttodocumenthumanitariancrisescanalsobefoundduringtheHamidianMassacres
(189496)inthewritingsofAmericanRedCrossfounderClaraBarton,GermanProtestant
missionaryJohannesLepsius,andOttomanArmenianZabelYesayansdocumentationofthe
massacresinAdana(1909).
ThepersonalwritingsofreliefworkersfeatureprominentlyinWatenpaughshistorywriting
andbreathelifeintothishistoricmomentforhumanitarianism.Noteworthyistheinclusionof
writingsfromwomenreliefworkers,AmericanphysicianDr.MabelEvelynElliot(18811944)
ofNearEastRelief(NER)andZabelYesayan(18781943)oftheAmericanRedCross.The
storyoftheAmericanCommitteeforArmenianandSyrianRelief,whichlaterevolvedinto
NearEastRelief,istoldinawaythatincludesArmenianphilanthropicorganizationsandthe
ArmenianApostolicChurchwithinbroaderinternationalreliefefforts.Theinfluenceofthe
memoirsofArmenianorphanswhowerecaredforbyNERKarnigPanian,AsdghigAvakian,
andAntranikZaroukianhelpedshapetheoutlookontheArmenianGenocideaswellasnote
thesuccessoftheprogramonitsgraduates.So,whileNearEastReliefwasAmerican,
WatenpaughshowshowseveralinternationalplayersmergedtopublicizetheArmeniancause
inanefforttorecovernationalrights,whichwasemphasizedaboveindividualrights.
Watenpaughdocumentsthewaythathumanitarianworkers
andinternationalhumanrightsadvocatesunderstoodthe
unfoldingcrisisintheOttomanEmpireduringWorldWarI
throughthelensofwhathecallsahumanitarianimagination,
whichmarkedcertainindividualsasobjectsoforganized
compassion.Thiscompassion,however,didnotcomewithout
somebenefitsinceitwasinformedbywhatWatenpaughcalls
Americanhumanitarianexceptionalism,whichheldreliefefforts
tobeameanstoanendofthesocial,political,andmoral
reorderingoftheregion.Thepoliticalcalculationmadeby
internationalreliefagenciescanbeobservedinresponsesto
crisesresultingfromthefaminecausedbyacombinationof
locustinfestationandtheAlliedblockadeagainsttheOttoman
AposterbytheAmerican

Empire.ThewarpromptedtheOttomangovernmenttoshift
theflowofsuppliestothefront,leavingmanyoftheempires

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CommitteeforReliefinthe

poorwithoutfood.DiscussionofthefamineinBeirut,thefloods

NearEast

inBaghdad,andfoodshortagesinJerusalemsetsupacontext
forhumanitarianismintheMiddleEastatthebeginningofthe

war.OrganizationsliketheAmericanRedCrosswerealreadyonthegroundinBeirut
distributingfoodyet,humanitarianismwasmorecomplexinareaslikePalestine,where
Zionistrelieforganizationsframeddeservingnessalongsectarianlines.Thistrackisfollowed
upinthecoverageoftheArmenianGenocidewhenhumanitarianworkersunderstoodthe
genocideinlargelycivilizationaltermsandofferedtargetedassistancetogroupsconsidered
protgsofaspirationalempires.
TherichnessofdocumentationofferedbyWatenpaughpullsthereaderintohowinternational
bodiestriedtomakesenseofthesenselessactthatwastheArmenianGenocide.Accountsof
traffickingofwomenandchildrenresonatedwith19thcenturyslaveryabolitionandfedinto
civilizationalnarratives.RescuingArmenianswasanextensionofthewhitemansburdenand
civilizingmission,bothsituatedwithintheemergingconceptofhumanitarianintervention.In
thisway,asproductsoftheirtime,manyoftheseemerginghumanitarianagencies
embracedmodesofcolonialismmostimportantlyacivilizingmissionwithoutpossessinga
colony,andconsequentlywithouttheattendantbrutality.
Deservingnesswasformulatedthroughunstrangeringtheobjectofhumanitarianassistance.
Thiswasachievedthroughanumberofrhetoricaldevices,visualandlinguistic,toeffectively
portrayArmeniansascivilizationallysimilartoAmericans,therebyunstrangeredandlegible
forhumanitarianrelief.InsteadofmakingnewNearEasterners,NERhadhelpedmakenew
AmericansintheMiddleEast,oratleastArmenianswhowerebothmodernbutstilloutof
placeinthesocietieswheretheyfoundrefuge.Theissueofdeservingnessraisesanumber
ofinterestingquestionsforthetreatmentofsubsequentrefugeeflowsthroughoutthe20th
centurytothepresent.
WhilewearecurrentlylivingthroughthelargestrefugeecrisissinceWorldWarII,
Watenpaughgivesusfoodforthoughtaswethinkhistoricallyandcriticallyabouttheproblem
forhumanity.
Aproblemforhumanitybecauseitwasaproblemofhumanity,theArmenianGenocidewasa
stagingpointforthemobilizationofcontemporaryhumanrightsthinking.Reading
WatenpaughsworkonthefifthanniversaryoftheSyrianUprisingturnedproxywarisa
potentreminderofhowregressivetheAmericanandtoagreaterdegreetheworlds
approachtorefugeesiscomparedtoahundredyearsago.TheArmenianGenocidemobilized
humanitarianrelieftothepointwhereNearEastReliefaloneraised$110milliondollarsby
1921andfed300,000peopledailysuchmassivehumanitarianassistanceliesinstark
contrasttothedecayingethicalstandardssurroundingtheproblemofhumanitytoday.Bythe
signingoftheTreatyofLausanne(1923),theworldhadabandoneditscommitmentto
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nationalrecoverypreviouslyofferedtoArmenianrefugees.Importantly,Watenpaugh
suggeststhismayhavemodeledtheapproachtofuturerefugeecrises,includingthe
Palestinianrefugeecrisisof1948.Asaninternationalcommunity,wearenolongertroubled
bystatelessness.WhilewearecurrentlylivingthroughthelargestrefugeecrisissinceWorld
WarII,Watenpaughgivesusfoodforthoughtaswethinkhistoricallyandcriticallyaboutthe
problemforhumanity.Theturntowardpopularvilificationandcriminalizationofrefugees
overthelastyearprovidesuswithexamplesofstrangeringthatunravelsthehumanitarian
imaginationWatenpaughsocarefullyconstructsinhiswork.Whileweareunlikelytoseeany
endtothissuffering,wecanconsiderhowWatenpaughsbroaderquestionofdeservingness
bearsoncontemporaryrealitiesandask,Whatitisthatmakessomecommunitiesless
deservingthanothersofhumanitarianassistance?

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