On the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a cross-country cycling and running athletic event began to raise awareness of past mass atrocities and to raise our voices to Stop Future Genocides by Recognizing Past Genocides
From April 24-May 7 runners and cyclists, led by Rep. Adam Schiff, have been part of a relay athletic event to raise awareness of past and present genocides.
LOS ANGELES, May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LA2DC is a cross-country running and cycling event that is pushing participants' physical limitations in an act of remembrance and tribute to all those communities that have suffered genocides.
100 years ago, 1.5 million Armenians were systematically targeted and killed during the Armenian Genocide, along with hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Assyrians. In the past 100 years, 100 million people have died in genocides including: the Holocaust, and atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Korea and Wounded Knee. At this moment, genocides are underway or being threatened in several parts of the world.
By shining a bright light on the deliberate killing of a group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation, millions of silent survivors and their descendants will gain a voice.
Since April 24, 2015, more than 100 marathoners and cyclers (ages 18 – 83) have been running and cycling from Los Angeles to Washington DC, carrying a baton containing a special message to the American people and organizations that do the difficult work of genocide detection and prevention. It is a message of gratitude that will be delivered to Congress on May 7, 2015. Rep. Schiff is scheduled to read the message on the House floor and enter it into the Congressional record during the week of May 11, 2015.
Athletes are completing 26 marathon/centurion legs in 15 states across the country, with each leg commemorating an atrocity location in the Ottoman Empire and elsewhere: Auschwitz, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, etc. As we run/ride across the country, we will stop and publicly thank those people/churches/leaders/legislators who saved genocide victims and are doing the difficult work of genocide detection and prevention.
LA2DC has received support from celebrities such as Fergie, Josh Duhamel, Lance Bass, Dr. Drew, System of a Down, Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden, plus International Justice Mission, American Jewish Committee, Partners Asia, Facing History and Ourselves, and Armenia Fund. LA2DC invites you to join us on a campaign of awareness on facebook.com/supportLA2DC, instagram.com/LA2DC, and twitter.com/LA2DC.
LA2DC is organized and supported by Americans of all backgrounds and faiths and Armenian-Americans who believe that it's time to eliminate genocide as a war tactic. On the centennial of the first large-scale genocide of the 20th century, LA2DC demands recognition and prevention of such atrocities and calls on world leaders to help stop future genocides.
Join us at LA2DC to stay informed, sign up to race, or sign up to volunteer: www.la2dc.org
SOURCE LA2DC
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