Some five or six hundred years ago, the Shah of Persia (now known as Iran), crossed the border between his country and another tiny neighbor and abducted several hundred families, some say forcibly but of this I am not sure, brought them into central Persia.  They were not slaves.  They were artisans, rug makers, Jewelers, poets and musicians, fine painters and spinners of silk and wool.  And they were Armenian Christians. 

There, in Persia they formed their own communities, built their churches, practiced their religion, farmed the land and pursued their arts.  The towns of New Julfa, named after their original home and Shiraz still remain home to these people.  While subsequent rulers were not as benign as the original, their customs, language and religion are not subject to persecution, for all intents and purposes, today they are Iranians of Armenian descent. 

Iran therefore, is not a sectarian torn Iraq, nor is it a tribal rifted Afghanistan.  Although controlled now by overzealous religious factions, years of subjugation to a selfish royal family that plundered the land in striking similarity to the Tsars of Russia, can be attributed as the main cause of the country’s upheaval.  That the Western nations supported their royalty is undoubtedly the reason for the enmity that exists in the present time.  Perhaps other incendiary actions also triggered this present attitude towards the west, it is not in my expertise to speculate nor to offer solutions. 

But today with an impending treaty that took many months and even years to reach, a treaty that means peace, not war, it is especially important to understand that in the event of war we will be dealing with a very different foe.  And that is the reason for my appeal to the American people.

I have faith in the people of America.  And somehow or another, in spite of all the loud and sustained rhetoric, in spite of the warmongers, in spite of Netahyahu of Israel trying to force us to fall into his trap, in spite of the weapons industry salivating over the prospect of another lengthy war, the American People will prevail. 

No more wars that cannot be won.  No more broken bodies coming home.  No more parentless children growing up with only a photograph of their father or their mother.  Our State Department headed by hardworking John Kerry has done a yeoman’s job, reaching an agreement almost unattainable less than a year ago. 

Now let us do our part and prove that faith in the negotiations that have resulted in the proposed treaty. 

LET US HAVE PEACE. 

Lucille Apcar
Mariposa, CA