Survivors of the Armenian Genocide became the heroes of a video shot by San Antonio News, ksat.com reported.

Marc Cross, David Akopian and Haig Panoyan, are proud Armenian-Americans.

“Being an Armenian means you are a survivor,” Panoyan said.

“They’re Armenian-Americans haunted and inspired by what their grandparents went through to survive. Forces of the Ottoman Empire killed 1.5 million Armenians. Christian Armenians were declared traitors. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters were slaughtered,” the report says.

Three Armenian Genocide survivors presented say making peace with the past is important, for the Turks as well as for the Armenians.

“It's about what we are today, not what happened in the past,” David Akopian said.

“The fact itself, that we exist, is a victory for us. And we are very proud and happy for that,” Panoyan said.