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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION TO FOSTER GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE <br />WHEREAS, throughout history genocide has been a tragic part of humanity's existence; and <br />3 <br />WHEREAS it is important to acknowledge that we are all partners in justice with a shared legacy <br />of intolerance; and <br />WHEREAS, Americans have contributed to historical acts of genocide, including the 10-20 <br />million black Africans who died during the 200 years of the international slave trade and the <br />decimation of nearly 12 million Native American Indians in North America between 1600 and <br />1850; and <br />WHEREAS, the country of Armenia recognizes April 24 as Genocide Remembrance Day in <br />recognition of the government-ordered deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915; and <br />WHEREAS, April 21, 2009 was recognized as Holocaust Remembrance Day in honor of the <br />victims of Nazi genocide, including more than 6 million Jews and approximately 5.5 million other <br />targeted groups including Gypsies, Poles, gays and lesbians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others; and <br />WHEREAS, other major acts of genocide have taken place during the past century, including but <br />not limited to Stalin's Forced famine: (1932 -1933: 7,000,000 Ukrainian deaths); Rape of <br />Nanking (1937 - 1938: 300,000 Chinese deaths and more than 20,000 rapes); Pol Pot Cambodia <br />(1975-1979: 1.7 million deaths); Rwanda (1994; 800,000 Tutsis deaths); Bosnia-Herzegovina <br />(1992-1995: 200,000 Muslim deaths); and most recently Darfur, Sudan (2003-present; 200,000 <br />deaths); and <br />WHEREAS, it is important to remember history so that mistakes of the past are not repeated for <br />future generations; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County finds it equally important to remember the atrocities committed <br />against all peoples in the name of religious, racial and ethnic cleansing so that we may recognize <br />the inevitable outcomes of our daily intolerance; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby adopt this <br />Resolution to Foster Genocide Remembrance and encourage Orange County residents to reflect <br />upon all acts of genocide and intolerance. <br />THIS THE 19th DAY OF MAY, 2009. <br />Valerie P. Foushee, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />