By Lori Najarian

The horrendous crimes of genocide committed by the Ottoman Government against the Armenians in 1915 will forever be a bitter truth in Armenian history, but it does not identify us as a people.

We have much to celebrate in our few thousand years of existence and, most importantly, we must feel proud to have survived through what I hope was the worst of it. However, our existence today does not mean that our fight for survival is unnecessary; on the contrary, every day we are fighting for the survival of our language, our faith, our homeland, and especially the survival of our future.

This fight, of course, cannot be won if we continue to create divisions among ourselves. It is not a fight meant to be faced only by the Armenians of the Diaspora or by those living in Armenia. As different as the struggles and concerns are for both, they are not separate; we are not separate people, and the sooner we bring down these barriers, communicate and become aware of one another’s situation, the easier it will be to find proper solutions to our problems. It is the unity we are lacking that is necessary to win this fight for survival, and for this we can always count on the treasures of our culture as a means to unite.

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and blessed with parents who are full of Armenian soul and have been devoting their life to Armenian causes ever since I can remember. My brother and I grew up surrounded by every Armenian thing imaginable. Aside from attending Armenian Day School, my parents would take us to every Armenian event that took place. Of course, at the time, it seemed like a drag, but I love them for it and am forever grateful.

Armenian music was played not only in our house but in the car; I grew up watching our videotape collection of Armenian State Dance Ensembles and remember trying to mimic the graceful movements. Although I have been taking ballet lessons since childhood, I desperately wanted to learn Armenian dance but there was nowhere that offered this opportunity until I reached adulthood. When I heard the news of Hamazkayin bringing a dance teacher from Armenia I was among many who were thrilled. Unfortunately, our dance instructor was only able to stay for a little over a year, but it was enough to give me a good base and a great passion to pursue studying and performing Armenian Folk Dance.

Thanks to my parents’ undying support and the help of my dance instructor, I was recently given the opportunity to study Armenian ballet and character dance and graduate as a teacher and performer at the Yerevan State Dance Academy. Although I had been to Armenia several times before with my family and with Homenetmen Scouts, when I traveled to Armenia to study dance, it was different. I was no longer playing the role of the tourist.

I was excited, yet nervous to start this new chapter of my life in a completely different world. To everyone’s surprise, I adapted rather quickly to the lifestyle in Armenia. It felt as if I had been here for years. Despite the many obstacles I have faced during my time in Yerevan, I feel much wiser and have a greater understanding of certain things about this wonderful and crazy country; things that perhaps others might judge with criticism because they have not had the chance to see the ‘real’ Hayastan.

I have learned so much within the walls of the Dance Academy. Every one of my teachers has helped me gain as much knowledge in dance as possible and I am very thankful to them. Aside from the actual dance classes, the program I am enrolled in also offers classes on the history of art, music and dance. I have learned about Armenian composers, artists, choreographers and dancers. I also had the privilege of practicing with professional dancers from the various Armenian state ensembles; and, most recently, I had the honor of dancing on stage in my Motherland–an experience that words cannot describe.

Outside of school I have taken advantage of seeing Armenian plays, admiring the state dance ensembles and ballets, listening to operas and Armenian music, and so on. My life in Armenia is mostly spent being surrounded by or taking part in anything cultural. After all, it is culture that brought me here to Armenia, my home.

My coming to Yerevan to study dance has created an unbreakable bond between myself and my Hayrenik. As sad as I am to be leaving Armenia in a few months after graduation, I am also looking forward to my return to Toronto so that I may pass along every bit of knowledge I have learned about our culture to our future generations. Yes, being active politically and socially is also crucial for our survival, however, it is our culture that fills the gaps and truly connects all Armenians as one.

Celebration and awareness of our culture creates an indestructible bridge and automatically connects us all to each other. I urge all Armenians to take part in building this bridge and embracing our culture as a means to unite.

Հմուտ էր դահիճը.
Լավ էր մտածել, շատ  էր փորձարկել, անվերջ երազել,
Թե ինչպես է պետք վերջ դնել կյանքի այնպես, որ մինչեւ հոգին մարմինը լքի, անվերջ գալարվի,
Որ մինչեւ մարմինն  իր վերջին շունչը փչի, ապրած կյանքի ամեն մեկ պահի շունչը անիծի,
Որ մինչեւ աչքին  երեւացող վերջին պատկերը խամրի, անվերջ անիծի իրեն ծնողին:
Շատ էր լսել նա աղերսող  ճիչեր, շատ էր տեսել նա սովահար դեմքեր
Ուզում էր տեսնել ինչպես են մեռնում,երբ նրանց բաժին  հացը հենց ինքն էր կրծում,
Ուզում էր տեսնել տապից ինչպես են խեղդվում, երբ նրանց բաժին ջուրը հենց ինքն էր խմում,
Ուզում էր տեսնել ինչպես են մայրերը խելագար դառնում, երբ մասնատում էր նրանց մանուկներին,
Ուզում էր տեսնել կանանց աչքերում ցավ ու սարսափ, երբ պատռում էր ողջ-ողջ ընկերքը նրանց
Ուզում էր իրեն տղամարդ  զգալ,
Երբ բռնաբարում էր կանանց ու աղջիկներին,
Մարդկային կյանքը լոկ  խաղ էր դարձել,
Ինչպես ձախ ձեռքի թզբեխը նրա` պատրաստված կանանց պտուկներից:

* * *

Եւ բարձրացնում էր դահիճը կացինն ահարկու` աներեր ձեռքով
Սեւ քողն էր ծածկել երեսը նրա` աչքերի փայլը թաքցնելու համար
Բարձրացնում էր կացինն ու մեկ-մեկ խլում մեկ ու կես միլիոն կյանք
Եւ նրանց արյունը  սնում էր հողը, նրանց մարմինը սնում էր երկրին…
Զոհերից մեկը փրկվեց մազապուրծ եւ պատմեց ողջ աշխարհին
Իր տեսածները դժոխային այդ անապատում,
Մինչ դահիճը նրան դատապարտել էր սովի, սնվում էր նա իր բախտակիցների մարմնի մսով
Եւ հագեցնում ծարավը նրանց արյան անծայրածիր ծովից:
Ու չկարողացավ ընդունել դահճի որդին, որ իր հայրը արյունռուշտ էր եղել
Եւ ստախոս պիտակեց զոհին, ով մինչեւ կյանքի վերջին իսկ օրը
Վեր էր ցատկում իր խորը քնից եւ շնչակտուր սկսում աղոթել,
Որ իր զավակը երբեք այդքան անգութ չդառնա
Եւ որ այնքան ապրի այս պատմությունը եւ այնքան հոլովեն դահճի անունը,
Որ նրա հոգին հանգիստ չգտնի մինչեւ այն օրը,
Երբ նա վերջապես դադարի հերքել եւ բարձրաձայն ներում աղերսի…

—Հեղինար Մելքոմ Մելքոմյան

By Hovig Keushkerian

This struggle…It keeps me awake at nights. It courses through my veins; it kicks at my beating heart ruthlessly. It lights an inferno in my soul and my body smolders under it. It wracks my mind and my emotions, for what is the place of an Armenian-American living in America?

We struggle and fight from seas abroad so that our homeland off in the horizon will remain untouched and prosperous, without any hindrance. Yet when have we asked ourselves the question, “Will I ever live in my homeland again?”

I fear we become victims of pseudo-patriotism. A sense of urgency that arises when our cause is in check, yet quickly creeps away when we have shown our surroundings that we cared enough to take the initiative to act. Yet we look down upon our brothers and sisters living in our homeland, relics of a lost cold war and a fallen soviet empire, wondering when they will ever become as educated as us. We are blind to the fact that they are the true patriots. They live with the land. Every morning they wake with the sun on their shoulders that rises from the east, and stands guard above our national symbol of Mt. Ararat. They culture and harness the land; they give it life and nurture it. They tame both the mountainous terrain and the riches she keeps hidden in her bosom. They are the true descendants of our fedayis and true patriots who saved our fragile people from the clutches of an empire whose only legacy was an insatiable lust for power and domination.

We are the scattered children of our motherland. When the genocide occurred, we fled to the middle-east. When Syria restricted our growth and endangered our way of life, we fled to Lebanon. When the civil war broke out, we fled to the United States. We never returned. Our love for our homeland bled and dried up into an affection and obsession with the abstract idea of what our motherland had been.

We never stopped once and held our ground. We always fled. We protected our people, but we never fought for the land on which we lived. We took the lands we lived in for granted and abused our right to live there. We never repaid  our freedom. We bled for survival, but we didn’t bleed for the land, because it wasn’t ours, nor did we want it to be.

So we came to The United States, land of the free and home of the brave. We sang songs, read books, and published newspapers by the hundreds. We created organization and opened schools so that our communities and future generations will always remember our identity and out story. And here we stayed, for the sake of our offspring, for a future, and most importantly, a promise which few realized was a warning in disguise.

The life expectancy for our identity was only as long as our willingness to master it. Yet in a society where Capitalism is king, where you are responsible for your own share of the pie, where morality and justice are but fantastic ideas on a piece of parchment drying up in a box in Washington D.C., it became apparent that our survival in such a society would come at the slowly increasing cost of our identity.

Such is the burden of the patriotic Armenian-American youth today. We struggle on all fronts. We fight for our homeland abroad, we fight for our survival in our environment, and we constantly grapple with the idea of dropping our way of life to move back to the homeland because it is the right thing to do. America and a globalized military-industrial complex have diminished our sense of nationality and patriotism, by dangling the myth of the American Dream in front of us, while keeping us in fear that it is unobtainable anywhere else in the world. We fight our gut feelings that call us traitors every time we decide to remain here so secure a better way of life for our diasporas and generations to come, for why shouldn’t those people have the chance to live and grow in their own country?

We have the burden of fighting for our existence and the preservation of our identity in an unprecedented context, under the guise of assimilated Armenians.

Yeraz Im Yergir, Hayreni. That is what you have been for us, for the Diaspora Armenians from Western Armenia.

A dream. The dream of our motherland.

By Skeptik Sinikian

When I was first asked to write a guest column for Haytoug that addressed the issue of a “white genocide” and the perceived evils of assimilation, I was tempted to write this entire piece in Kra’par (Classical Armenian).  After all, it is my humble opinion that if you do not know how to read Kra’par, then you’re not a “real Armenian.”  Then I thought to write it in Armenian but I couldn’t decide what language to water our mother tongue down with – Turkish? Arabic? Russian? Farsi perhaps?  But then I thought, “The one language that we all can or should understand is English .” – plus, I don’t know how to use an Armenian keyboard or anything that resembles one.  So using the King’s English, let’s address the issue of Armenian assimilation and the “jermag chart.” (I hope I’m not the only one who sees the irony in that.)

I find myself growing increasingly perturbed by the term “white genocide.” First of all, we can’t use the word genocide to describe a trend where Armenians living in the United States are losing their sense of ethnic identity because nobody held a yatağan to your neck and forced you to name your child a non-Armenian name or forced you to stop speaking Armenian.  Not to mention that comparing it to an actual genocide is not only disgusting but insulting to the memory of countless Armenians who perished or the thousands who survived the Turkish persecutions.  Let’s call it what it is – cultural suicide.  We can try to blame television, music, cross-cultural dating or marriage, the cultural vacuum created by capitalism or other theories but the reality is that we have no one to blame but ourselves – or as the comic strip Pogo once wrote – we have met the enemy and he is us.

We are our own catalyst of assimilation because we not only set the bar very high for being a “real Armenian” but we also fail to reach our own markers.  For instance, many Armenians consider the speaking of Armenian as being a critical element to staving off assimilation, yet who do you consider to be more Armenian – a person who doesn’t speak the language but sends money to Armenian charitable organizations, calls their member of Congress to urge support of Armenian issues, and patronizes Armenian-owned businesses or the person who does none of the stuff the first guy did but instead listens to Armenian music, speaks Armenian and associates only with other Armenians.  Popular opinion would label the first person as assimilated and the latter as Armenian. But who is doing more to advance the Armenian Cause? If you said the first guy, then move up to the head of the class.  We agree on that.  Also, of those who said the second person is more Armenian, I would want to know how extensive your own knowledge is of core topics of Armenian competency – literature, art, political history, grammar, spelling, amongst other issues and topics.  I would guess that even the kids who go to Armenian schools in America and learn to read and write the language have a reading proficiency and vocabulary that does not go beyond the 5th grade level.  But let’s move on.

Why should I care if a person speaks fluent Armenian but won’t take the time to make one phone call to a politician who can vote to contribute tens of millions of dollars for foreign aid to rebuild Armenia and Artsakh?  This question may sound tired and redundant but it’s necessary to ask and understand the answer.  After all, this discussion is important but the people who would benefit the most from participating in it, probably would never pick up an issue of Haytoug unless there was a picture of the Kardashian sisters on it.  The answer is, that we shouldn’t.  I’d rather have 1000 Armenians who are informed on American issues and process and are engaged in making a difference than 100,000 who don’t care about anything other than expanding the ghettos of their mind.

So if we can agree that a person’s true Armenian identity is defined by their commitment to preserving the culture and society of the Armenian people in Armenia and worldwide, then all the other preconditions (spoken and written fluency in Armenian, listening to only Armenian music, eating only Zankou Chicken) are irrelevant.

Having said that, I understand that an appreciation for all things Armenian isn’t exclusive from the efforts to preserve them or be an advocate for all things Armenian.  But we can’t deny a path to either by being overly judgmental of people who are trying to return to their ancestral roots or labeling people on the peripheries of our community as “white washed” or “assimilated.”  I’ve seen it happen on more than once, where a person who knew very little of their Armenian ancestry began to explore his or her roots and this led eventually to a trip to Armenia and eventually a desire to learn how to speak Armenian.  In fact, one person I’m thinking about actually moved back to Armenia to help the country develop and improve.

So what term do we use to describe this phenomenon?  Definitely not “white genocide.”  And there isn’t a term that’s familiar to us because we are too focused on the negative aspects of our community than on the positives.  Don’t worry, it’s in our nature to focus on the negative. Spending 4000 years as history’s punching bag will drive that emotional trigger deep into your DNA.  The good news is that it’s not permanent.  And just by reading Haytoug, you’ve already committed yourself to a struggle whose outcome accepts nothing less than success for Armenians worldwide.

But being involved in the Armenian Youth Federation or any other youth group doesn’t immediately absolve one of responsibility of preserving and caring for the Armenian people and land. Instead, of those who have great power and organizing tools, much is expected.  And living in a society in America which emphasizes consumer conformity more than individuality and portrays ethnicity as a liability makes it hard to adopt the aspects of American culture, which will translate into success for the Armenian people of the United States and abroad.  But it is necessary.

Yes, some assimilation or “acculturation” is necessary for success. The most important things in life are usually the hardest to do and act upon.  Preserving our passion for Armenian causes and mastering the English language and American customs are equally important tasks for success.  Let’s be honest with ourselves.  If an Armenian-American is ever going to get elected to Congress from anywhere in the United States – I guarantee you that it won’t be a garlic breathed someone who wears a lot of jewelry and listens only to Tata.  It will be someone who is articulate and acculturated and who can speak about John Adams and Abraham Lincoln with as much ease and comfort as they can talk about Gomidas or Simon Vratsian.

So rather than worrying about how we can create a society where we sell out barahanteses and Armen(chik) concerts week after week after week, let us instead think about how we, ourselves, can engage our adopted homeland on its own terms and perhaps in the process, get it to see things our way and maybe adopt or absorb the best that our culture has to offer as well.

Skeptik Sinikian is the property of Asbarez Newspaper. He is on loan to Haytoug and will be promptly returned upon the completion of this issue. Skeptik  loves baseball and baklavah.  His life mission is to educate and inform as many non-Armenians about the medicinal benefits of soujoukh sausage as he can. You can reach him for comments or questions at  SkeptikSinikian@gmail.com