By Thora Giallouri

The Armenian presence on Hellenic ground dates back to antiquity. In fact, many villages and areas in Greece are named after the Armenian communities that lived there in ancient times. Until 1890 though, Armenians in Greece counted less than 1000 people. They only took the character and feeling of a Diaspora after 1921-1922 due to the Asia Minor Holocaust, when close to 80,000 Armenian refugees fled the area along with 1,000,000 Greeks.

Before their mass arrival in Greece, some Armenians, particularly those who had fled the 1894-1896 massacres, managed to establish the first Armenian church in 1905. Some years later, in 1921 Dikran Chayan became the first ambassador to represent the Republic of Armenia in Greece. During that same time, from 1921 to 1923, the two countries established proper diplomatic relations, with Armenia opening up two consulates in Athens and Thessaloniki.

A Refugee Community

By 1923, Athens had 26,000 Armenians refugees, with thousands more spread throughout the rest of Greece. But the number of Armenians on Greek territory began to shrink soon after, as more and more sought asylum in other parts of the world. By the end of the 1920s, the Armenian population in all of Greece totaled only about 42,000 Armenians. In the years that followed, the number of Armenians in Greece continued to decrease as they immigrated to Argentina, Canada, and the U.S. A large portion of the community also left in 1947 during the repatriation drive to Soviet Armenia. Ever since, their number has remained more or less steady; around 18,000-20,000 people, most of them residing in Athens, Thessaloniki and northern Greece.

Community Life

The Armenian Blue Cross, with financial help from their U.S. chapter, as well as members of the community, was able to establish Armenian kindergartens, elementary schools and high-schools throughout Greece. Until the Armenian community was able to stand on its feet, those charitable organizations undertook the task of feeding, lodging, clothing and offering health services to the refugees and orphans.

These organizations also dedicated themselves to maintaining strong cohesion within the community, encouraging the teaching of the Armenian language and history, and preserving the Armenian culture and tradition. The community was built in large part through the work of Armenian schools, financial support to Greek-Armenian press, the issuing of grants and scholarships to Greek-Armenian students, the establishing of a blood-bank, the hosting of camps for poor children and adolescents, as well as through cooperation with many other Greek-Armenian foundations.

As the years passed, the community found itself less and less in need of philanthropic contributions. The economic boom of the 80s and Greece’s membership in the European Economic Community- the precursor of the European Union- enabled Greek-Armenian businesses, along with the rest of the population, to flourish. The vast majority of Armenians own businesses that can be described from successful to very successful, while many occupy themselves in administrative positions within the community and artistic professions. Only recently, have Armenians begun to seek careers in academics, entering the social sciences to study fields such as political science, history, public administration, psychology and journalism.

A Cause to Rally Behind

Prosperity offered the community the opportunity to help Armenians elsewhere; funds were allocated to face the difficulties that tormented then Soviet Armenia and still torment the Republic of Armenia. On numerous occasions throughout the 90s, the Greek-Armenian community mobilized to assist the emergent Republic of Armenia, contributing greatly to relief efforts after the 1987 earthquake.

But it wasn not until the outbreak of the Karabakh conflict that humanitarian aid to Armenia became a systematic effort adopted by the Greek Armenian community. Greece was one of the first countries to offer asylum to Armenian refugees fleeing Azeri aggression. The community mobilized itself along with the Hellenic State to address the difficulties Armenia faced during its first years of independence, mobilizing aid to combat famine, the lack of fuel resources, the stranglehold caused by the Turkish-Azeri blockade. Two kindergarten schools were also established in Nagorno-Karabakh due to donations from the Armenians of Greece.

After 2000, financial aid to Armenia also took on the character of investments in Armenia’s economy from Greek corporations. Unfortunately, such ventures are still limited due to the difficulties investors face in Armenia’s market. There have, however, been examples of successful cooperation such as the launch of a Hellenic Aid Chapter. The chapter, managed in collaboration with the Greek ANC, is responsible for collecting fruit crops and pushing them in other European countries’ markets.

Challenges

Despite these accomplishments, the community finds itself facing some serious challenges. Years of prosperity have created an environment of political and cultural apathy among the community’s younger generation. A very serious generational gap also exists in the community. The older generation, in a sense, retired from cultural and political life after Greece recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1996. While the younger generation, born into assimilation, is largely apathetic to pan-Armenian issues outside their own community. Traditionally, the majority of the community had supported the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and thus, participated in the activities of the Greek ANC. But having grown up in a prosperous environment, the younger generation had very little incentive or encouragement to become active in Armenian issues. Although integration is very important for an ethnic community’s ability to thrive in a host country, the fact that Armenians did too well within Greek society, may eventually cost them their identity.

One could expect that residing in a more than friendly state would have led Armenians in Greece to fight harder for Armenian interests and set grander goals than simply providing humanitarian aid to Armenia in times of need. This not being the case, the outside observer is led to the conclusion that social success, as well as success in the genocide recognition issue, may have given reason for the community to rest on its laurels.

Even though political parties have expressed their support on Greek-Cypriot issues and have urged the Hellenic state to act in the case of Karabakh, there has not been much done other than verbal expression. Cooperation between the community and the Greek government in common areas of interest is nonexistent, while representation of Armenians in the Greek Parliament has been limited to one single occasion, once when Kevork Papazian was elected to the Parliament for the 1920-1924 session.

When observing the community one is presented with an image of older members idly watching the course of events, void of ideas that will rejuvenate the political will and movement of a younger generation. Despite the existence of an Armenian Youth Federation chapter, Greek-Armenian youth seems to mobilize itself only once a year in the month of April, with the organized events receiving minimal media coverage and the attendance of people decreasing each year.

It was only 20 years ago that the Greek-Armenian community presented a more vivid and militant image of Armenian activism, now the political element is steadily wearing off.

The community seems to be active only through holding cultural events; the quantity of cultural, athletic and educational associations shows the great tendency and talent of the community towards the arts and letters.

Each year, many dance, music and theater performances are held, usually organized by the Hamazkayin Association, while the Homenetmen Association has a soccer, basketball and volleyball team under its wings along with the Armenian Boy Scouts. In addition to that, the charity foundations mentioned above organize bazaars and camps, where children and youngsters from Armenia participate in cultural activities.

Since 2001, there has been an exchange of cultural groups between Greece and Armenia through the Sister Cities Association. The Halandri municipality in the greater Athens area is now sister-cities with Noyemberian. Through this relationship, the aforementioned municipality has been able to offer assistance for the renovation of Noyemberian’s main square, the set-up of a public computer and web classroom and the reconstruction of public streets. On a similar base, the Nea Smyrni municipality donated medical machinery and street-cleaning vehicles to Sissian while the city of Korinthos is now connected to Vanatsor.

Thanks to cultural events, the few Armenian schools left in Greece and the existence of two newspapers and a periodical, the majority of Greek-Armenians are still able to speak their mother language. Unfortunately, the importance of the written language has also been neglected by a large part of the community and gradually fewer and fewer people know how to write in Armenian.

Another matter of concern is the influx of economic immigrants from Armenia in the past years; their numbers are estimated around 20,000 people. That means that they count almost the same as the traditional diaspora in Greece, even though they find themselves in a significantly worse position. Most of them do not speak Greek and have a hard time integrating into Greek society. However, the community has exerted much effort to helping them in any way possible, offering work positions and providing for their education. It is of great interest whether newly arrived Armenians will trigger the inactive and indifferent community to take action in a more meaningful way, thus ensuring, for the new generation of Greek-Armenians, a more sustainable community.

Will the community be able to preserve its Armenian element in 20 years from now? Chances are gloomy. Being an active and informed citizen within one’s community is no easy task. It takes time, effort, knowledge and passion. And if there is no passion, then the community is bound to lose its character and motivation. The only solution would be for the younger generation to wake up, realize the favorable position in which it has evolved all these years and take advantage of it to pursue Armenian interests more effectively.

Unfortunately, the Greek-Armenian community has failed to do that partially because it did not entrust its organization and management to professionals. That is Armenians with a background in history, politics and the social sciences–people who would make the pursuit of Greek-Armenian interests a profession and not a once-a-week activity by people passionate, but nevertheless unable to thoroughly occupy themselves with the needs of the community and the Armenian state.

The community, as it grew, became too comfortable and did not make use of its prosperity the way it should have. It has also shown stubbornness in changing its ways when the need for evolution was evident. One can only hope that the new generation of Armenian scientists and students will aspire to bring about a much needed change.

Currently, estimates place the number of Armenians in Turkey between 55,000 and 75,000. While most of them belong to the Armenian Apostolic church, a small portion of these Armenians are Catholic or Protestant. The Armenian community is concentrated in several districts in Istanbul including Bakirkoy, Sisli, Kurtulus, and Samatya.

During Ottoman times, Armenians who obeyed the law got by as long as they accepted a legal and social code that was different than that which was applied to their Muslim countrymen. However, harsher methods–such as outright killings and deportations–were employed as the empire neared its end, especially during the Hamidian and later transition years (the Young Turk era) towards the new republic.

Things changed following the creation of the Turkish Republic. One can say that the government followed a certain “path,” rather than the institutionalized segregation reminiscent of Ottoman times. In other words, the Ottoman-style discrimination became much more discreet, yet was nevertheless still prevalent. This newer “path” can be described as an accumulation of methods, such as: indirect intimidation of the minorities; arbitrary laws that create and support legal uncertainty; and policies that aim to create weariness among the Armenian population to pass on its religion, culture and language to the next generation.

In 1942, along with the other non-Muslim minorities, Armenians in Turkey were forced to pay a wealth tax which was arbitrarily imposed to bring about the impoverishment of non-Muslim segments of Turkish society. As an open example of the impetus behind such discriminatory measures, the then Prime Minister Sukru Saracoglu delivered a speech on August 5, 1942, where he described the Turkish administration’s program and stated that his nation is, “Turkish, pro-Turkish, and will always remain pro-Turkish. As much as being a blood matter, Turkishness is also a matter of conscience and culture. We want the authority of neither monarchy nor capitalism, nor the authority of classes. We only want the dominion of the Turkish nation.”

Later, in the mid-1950s, Armenians and Greeks in Istanbul became the victims of Turkish mobs, inflamed by the issue of Cyprus, which rioted through their communities destroying personal property churches and cemeteries with the indirect help of the military.

Today, although Armenians do have a legal minority status in Turkey, their religious leadership organs are not recognized in the same way. For instance, the Armenian Patriarchate continues to this day to seek legal recognition of its status as patriarchates rather than foundations. This particular problem prevents it from having the right to own and transfer property and train religious clergy.

Outright killings of Armenian civilians do not occur anymore, as far as we know; however, the intensive anti-Christian (or, more broadly, anti-foreign) propaganda by the media outlets–which are heavily influenced by the government–do result in attacks by nationalists on Armenian individuals, churches and cemeteries. This is especially true since the Armenian community represents the largest non-Muslim element in Turkey. Even though it may not be appropriate to blame the entire Turkish government for these attacks or for the recent murder of journalist Hrant Dink, powerful elements within the government are certainly responsible for them.

Furthermore, the Armenian community in Turkey faces the burden of often being blamed for the country’s image problems abroad. International Genocide recognition efforts create resentment and public anger towards the Armenian community. This active anger is fueled by active propaganda which results in the creation of a society where the average Armenian living in Turkey feels like a stranger–despite the fact that he or she is born in that country, and is supposed to be a part of the fabric of Turkish society.

It is worth mentioning here that Hrant Dink’s murder, along with other developments, created a slight ripple of change in public opinion in Turkey during recent years. More and more intellectuals have publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide. Furthermore, a group of intellectuals started an apology campaign. However, it is too early to say that the Turkish government or the people are ready to do what is right. Apology campaigns and seminars that shed light on the Armenian Question are not taken seriously by the authorities, and are resented by the vast majority of the general public.

The problem seems to be that the Turkish government is still extremely worried about the Armenian Question; even an insignificant minority population that has no right of association is recognized as a “potential threat to the national security” by this government. This fright leads the government to create an environment in which the average Armenian will feel so uncomfortable that eventually they will end up emigrating or losing their identity and assimilate.

The Genocide and the events that led up to it caused the disappearance of a significant portion of Armenian existence. In addition, after the World War I, the political, cultural and financial harassment led to the present situation of Armenians in Turkey. The Armenian community will not have much left to recover if Armenians abroad do not act to do something to protect their compatriots from this new way of oppression.

For countless centuries Armenia’s have migrated to various parts of the world, seeking a safer environment to conduct business and live their lives in relative peace. Especially after the collapse of the last Armenian kingdom in Greater Armenia, Armenia’s were left defenseless against barbaric hordes that ravaged our country and forced thousands to seek refuge in foreign lands. The 20th century in particular was unmerciful for the Armenians, when one million and a half million Armenians were massacred by the Turks and the rest left to wander to distant corners of the world.

We are all aware of the Diaspora communities that formed as a result of the Genocide, as most of us can trace our roots back to Western Armenia along with the migration of our surviving relatives to countries like Iran, Lebanon, France, Argentina, etc. These communities have since flourished, and many Armenians have rooted themselves in all aspects of life in those countries. Many have preserved their culture, language and family name, by interacting with fellow Armenians through community and social organizations.

Although these developments tend to be associated with the ‘traditional’ Armenian Diaspora communities, my interest here is to focus on the newer generation of migrants from Armenia.

Armenians from Soviet Armenia began immigrating to the West as early as the 70’s. Larger waves of migrants followed soon after in the 80s and 90s. For example, between 1980 and 1988 it is estimated that 112,000 people emigrated out of Armenia. From 1991 to 1996, another 667,000 Armenians, 18 percent of the population, left the homeland. A large number found themselves in places such as the United States, one of the traditional Armenian Diaspora communities.1

For the older communities, Armenians from Armenia seemed different, speaking a different dialect and having mannerisms almost alien to them. As wave after wave moved to various parts of Europe, and the Americas, we witnessed some resistance from the traditional communities towards the recent immigrants. Communication was the major barrier, as the older communities adapted words from the host country whereas the Armenians from Armenia, under Russian influence, frequently utilized Russian words. For instance, the word tomato for an Armenian from Armenia is a “pamidor”-Russian, and for a western Armenian, a cart is an “araba”- Arabic. Unfortunately, a host of minute problems such as these created rifts among the community, especially in the Los Angeles area.

While some may choose to focus on these trivial differences and seek to exacerbate stereotypes, it is important for us as a people to rise beyond these minor obstacles and take a practical look at the very serious challenges facing our nation. It is a fact that the majority of Armenias currently live abroad, making the imperative for us to unite in the Diaspora even more critical. We should acknowledge our commonalities and common interests as a people exiled to foreign lands. Given our situation, we simply cannot afford to be divided.

Furthermore, we should seek to utilize the advantages our position presents for our nation. Unlike other ethnicities, Armenians speak countless languages and have a keen understanding of the mindset of various cultures worldwide. These skills can help us build Armenia’s economy and political ambitions in today’s increasingly globalized community.

Let us look beyond the differences and realize that one type of Armenian is not superior to the other. We must embrace our differences and utilize all available resources to further our interests.

Speaking from my experience as an Armenian who moved from Armenia to Los Angeles in the early, I have accepted all Armenians as my equals and actively cooperated with all organizations–traditional Diasporan and the ‘new’ Armenians from Armenia–to push our cause forward. I would like to see all of us work more cooperatively in the future and pool our collective resources for our nation’s common interests.

The days of division and alienation within our community must come to an end if we want to see a strong and prosperous Armenia. We have several challenges to overcome as a nation and we cannot be hampered by petty, antiquated differences. We must embrace our commonalities and organize together, around our points of unity. This is the only way our people can move forward.

Sources:
1. Stephan H. Astourian, “Armenian Demography, the Homeland, and the Diaspora: Trends and Consequences,” in Bruneau Michel, Ioannis Hassiotis, Martine Hovanessian, and Claire Mouradian, eds. Arm?niens et Grecs en diaspora: approaches comparatives. Athens: ?cole fran?aise d’Ath?nes, 2007. p. 191-210.

By Sossi Essajanian

“There once was, and there once was not…” This sentence has served as the beginning to many Armenian fairytales as they weave stories about the handsome prince, the peasant girl, or the poor beggar who sings beautiful songs to lour the animals to feast with him. With such a standard commencement, the listener is left wondering if the entire world just described really existed or not. Unlike “Once upon a time…” that assumes a moment once did exist, the Armenian version leaves one in doubt if such a place existed. These questions are familiar to Armenians in the Eastern USA in cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Providence as we think about where we live and how much we consider “home” as tied with our identity.

Three generations removed from their ancestral lands and living in the Eastern USA, Armenian youth still learn about the ancient city of Ani and the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island as great cites of Armenian history as well as places of trauma and death. They also use names of cities and villages employed during Ottoman and pre-Ottoman times to refer to these locations even though today many are not used in Turkey as the actual city names. Frequently when asked “Where is your family from?” many use these old city names to establish relations creating the sense that they still exist. But establishing a historic connection to these places is not merely an end it itself.

Anthropologist Susan Pattie discusses the various conceptualizations of diaspora that might be applied to the Armenian case. She refers to William Safran’s understanding of diaspora as an eventual return to the homeland, as well as Robin Cohen’s counter argument against the concept of homeland that there may be positives for living in the diaspora. However, in the Armenian case Pattie concludes that “this tangled mass of approaches to the question of ethnic identity and diaspora/homeland relations is highly appropriate.”[i] Adding to this complexity for the recent generation is the opportunity to visit the Republic of Armenia. Through the help of various internship and volunteer programs Diasporans from the East Coast have joined others around the world in visiting Armenia and returning to the homeland. But how many consider moving there for good?

Thus for many Armenian-Americans living in the Eastern USA the idea of home and homeland seem to differ making the diaspora here so grounded. Pattie notes that “with each generation in place, diaspora becomes more comfortable and a home itself.”[ii] In conversations with diasporan Armenians about culture Pattie writes that for them homeland is implicit; it is a group of behaviors and traditions that when changed, “the culture is lost or in danger of being lost.”[iii]

In the Eastern USA Armenian youth grow up with the option to be Armenian or not. It seems as though the Armenian culture of community directly collides with the American mentality of individualism. Thus, many cities’ Armenian “areas” do not exist where one can find all Armenian churches, stores, and businesses within walking distance of each other; one has to commute via car, bus or train in order to reach either an Armenian Center, club, or church. Thus Armenian identity seems to be one of choice; it is not imposed and one has to seek out those places to find things that will make them Armenian.

In her recent essay “Learning to be Armenian: Understanding the Process of Ethnic Identity Development for Armenian Adolescents” Ani Yezedjian echoes these sentiments when she says that “Although the existence of cultural markers can provide tools for individuals and institutions to manipulate, their existence alone will not ensure the persistence of the ethnic group.”[iv]

So let us no longer say “there once was and was not;” let us make our home and homeland one and flower Armenia with our talents, passion, and humanity.

Sossi Essajanian is an AYF Alumnus from the New York “Hayortik” Chapter

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[i] Pattie, Susan, “Longing and Belonging: Issues of Homeland in the Armenian Diaspora,” Department of Anthropology, University College London, p.3.

[ii] Ibid., p.10.

[iii] Ibid., p.9.

[iv] Yezedjian, Ani. (2008). “Learning to be Armenian: Understanding the Process of Ethnic Identity Development for Armenian Adolescents,” Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies 17: (165-187).