Tateosian: Ask, listen and learn a lot from grandparents
The Fresno Bee
Published: August 23, 2013
2013-08-24T03:30:08Z
I thought I knew him. I really did. He was around during holidays; we
celebrated birthdays together and ate many family meals. During summer
vacation I visited and stayed at his house. We had breakfast in the
mornings and shared tea in the evenings.
It was years ago when I last saw him. I was much younger and he was still
alive. I remember him clearly when I think about him with my eyes closed.
His face appears like he is still with us; like I just saw him moments ago.
>From the outside he seemed very happy. He sang and always smiled. He walked
to the nearby park and fed the pigeons, waving to people as they passed by.
A positive and polite man is how he came across to the world. Little did
those who met him know that he went through the unbelievable and survived
the unthinkable.
All my life I grew up hearing about the Armenian genocide and the wealth
that was stolen from our rich family. The same was the fate of many of the
Armenians in the Ottoman Turkish Empire. When the genocide is talked about,
it seems like it occurred on a land so far away to a people so distant in
bloodline.
I had the opportunity to learn firsthand about how the genocide really was
from my grandfather, the happy man who everyone loved. He actually saw it
with his own eyes. His bones felt the pain of the torture, which was both
physical and mental. He was a survivor. He marched with the rest of them
and lost home and most of his family all because of one uncontrollable
fact: He was an Armenian in an empire where minorities were considered
second-class citizens.
Instead of taking the time to ask him questions about how the genocide
really was and getting the details of this tragedy that are often
forgotten, I was busy playing video games and riding bikes with my cousins.
The opportunity was there, but I missed it. I missed learning the details
of his story, which is my story. I missed asking him the difficult
questions. His answers would have explained so much.
He has been gone for many years and I wish at the time he was still living
I put the controller down to my video games and sparked a conversation
about our family. What else did he know about our history? What else did he
neglect to share about our town, Zeitun, nestled in the mountains of
present day Turkey? Was it true that the town had been under constant
bombardment by Turkish soldiers? Was it true that young men in Zeitun were
courageous fighters?
Each day as I open the obituary section of The Fresno Bee, I see the names
of individuals who have passed on to the next life. Like Grandpa, I wonder
how many of them passed without their grandchildren asking them questions
about their own family tree. Which one of their struggles was left untold?
Which lessons of their family’s history weren’t learned?
As the years pass, more and more community elders are passing on.
Individuals who played a crucial role in developing Fresno and the San
Joaquin Valley are leaving us. Passing on is a part of life. We can’t
change that. What we can change is the quality of time we spend together.
Had my grandfather not left an audio tape of what his eyes witnessed, a
major part of my family history would be gone. Although the tape is
something, it is nowhere near the whole story. There is nothing I can do to
find answers to fill the gaps of the tape recording’s one-way conversation.
Currently, I spend a lot of time listening and talking to elders in the
community. What I have learned is that they are willing to talk and share
their story, as long as someone is willing to listen.
For me and my family, it’s too late. All eyewitnesses to the genocide are
gone. For you that may not be the case. Who knows what a few simple
questions would uncover. Ask, and you’ll get answers. Some answers may be
surprising.
Sevag Tateosian is host and producer of San Joaquin Spotlight on 90.7 FM
KFSR Fresno and CMAC Fresno. He works at United Way of Fresno County.
Read more here:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
