Celebrating a legacy of compassion and understanding: K.M. Greg Sarkissian invested into the Order of Canada

K.M. Greg Sarkissian, co-founder and President of the Zoryan Institute, was among the distinguished individuals invested into the Order of Canada, the nation’s second-highest honour for merit, in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on February 22, 2024. This prestigious recognition comes as a testament to Sarkissian's lifelong dedication to the study and advocacy of genocide and human rights, a commitment deeply rooted in his personal history and the collective memory of those who have suffered from such atrocities.

Appointed to the Order of Canada in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed Sarkissian's formal investiture until this year, allowing for a poignant gathering that highlighted his contributions to Canada and the global community. During the event, presided over by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, Sarkissian's impressive body of work was celebrated, underscoring his role as a community leader, activist, and patron of genocide and human rights studies. He was introduced with the following description:
“A Canadian of Armenian descent, Greg Sarkissian is a well-esteemed community leader and activist. He is the co-founder and main patron of the Zoryan Institute, which strives to promote historically accurate analyses of large-scale traumatic events through multidisciplinary research, publications, and curricula. By establishing a graduate-level university program, he has helped Canada become an international destination for studies in genocide and human rights. Deeply involved with various minority groups and ethnic communities across Canada, he fights against the us-versus-them mentality with a compassionate approach that fuels his international reputation.”

According to a press release issued by the Zoryan Institute, Sarkissian dedicated his recognition to the memory of a righteous Turk, Haji Khalil, and the tragic fate of 11 Jewish family members in the 1930s in Germany. These stories not only inspired him to co-found the Zoryan Institute but also fueled his passion for combating the "us-versus-them" mentality that often pervades societal conflicts. His personal connection to the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide, through the survival story of his grandmother and her children, sheltered by Khalil, has been a driving force in Sarkissian's life. This narrative of survival against the backdrop of genocide has propelled him to ensure that such histories are remembered and learned from.

During his university years, Sarkissian attended a lecture on genocide and media organized by the Jewish student association, Hilel. The lecturer displayed a major American newspaper from the 1930s, with a man’s picture and a front-page article featuring a headline about the man who had beaten his dog to death and his community’s uproar for the lack of punishment for such a crime. Several pages later, on page 26, underneath an advertisement about women’s swimwear, was a small caption, in a 1-inch square, about the murder of 11 people belonging to the same Jewish family. This was disturbing for Sarkissian, and he described how these two moments became pivotal motivations for his co-founding of Zoryan Institute.

His investiture into the Order of Canada by Governor General Mary Simon, herself an Indigenous Canadian and descendant of genocide survivors, symbolizes a shared journey towards healing and reconciliation. In his reflections, Sarkissian extended a hand to the people of Turkey, urging the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide as a step towards healing. "If Armenians and other victims of genocide do not do everything in their power to pursue the battle against genocide, they would have failed in their responsibility towards future generations," he stated, underscoring the importance of collective memory in preventing future atrocities. ֎

*( Zoryan President K.M. Greg Sarkissian and Her Excellency the Right Honourable
Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada; Photo: Office of Governor General)