The California Courier Online, August 29, 2019
1 - ‘Pan Armenian Council of Western USA’
Or Council of Armenian Organizations?
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Amidst International Outcry, PM Pashinyan Approves Amulsar Mining
By Raffi Elliott
3 - Secret Savior
By Harut Sassounian
4- Shattering the Glass Ceiling:
Vivian Ekchian Becomes First Female GUSD Superintendent
5- The Disciple and Master: Taner Akcam Remembers Vahakn Dadrian
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1 - ‘Pan Armenian Council of Western USA’
Or Council of Armenian Organizations?
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
A coalition of 20 Armenian-American organizations announced the
formation of a “Pan Armenian Council of Western USA” on August 15,
2019.
The coalition members are:
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America; Western
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America; Armenian Catholic
Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg of North America; Armenian Evangelical
Union of North America; Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Western
USA; Armenian Democratic Liberal Party Western District; Armenian
Relief Society of Western USA; Armenian General Benevolent Union,
Western District; Armenian Missionary Association of America;
Homenetmen Western USA; Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural
Society of the Western USA; Armenian Youth Federation of Western USA;
Unified Young Armenians; Armenian National Committee of America
Western Region; Armenian Assembly of America Western Region Office;
Armenian Bar Association; Organization of Istanbul Armenians; Armenian
Youth Association of California; Armenian Society of Los Angeles; and
Iraki Armenian Family Association of Los Angeles.
These are respectable organizations that have carried out admirable
work in the Armenian-American community.
The Council announced that “other community organizations which desire
to be part of this collective effort and have a minimum of 300 active
members are hereby invited to become members of the Council.”
Furthermore, the Council explained that “the advisory nature of this
Council and its decisions are not binding on any of its member
organizations. Thus, the Council’s existence does not confer upon the
Council any authority over the activities of its member
organizations.”
The Council stated that its mission is: “To implement and realize
projects of a pan-community nature; To encourage and assist projects
which advance the collective interests and the rights of Armenian
communities across the Western United States; To undertake steps to
resist actions and efforts which are contrary to the collective
interests and rights of Armenians; To gather and apply the Armenian
Community’s resources for the benefit of the Community’s interests as
well as the welfare of the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh; To always
be mindful of the collective welfare and security of the Armenian
Community.”
These are all worthwhile goals for the benefit of the local community
as well as the interests of Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora. Anytime
Armenians of all walks of life join hands, it is a good thing. As we
all know, unity is strength. The more Armenians get organized and
speak in one voice, the more powerful they become as a global nation.
The member organizations of the Pan Armenian Council met on August 16,
2019, at the Western Diocese in Burbank, California, and signed a
joint statement. Even though the event was publicized as a press
conference, no opportunity was provided to the attending journalists
to ask questions and clarify certain important issues.
Here are some of the questions I would have liked to raise at that conference:
1) What prompted these organizations to establish such a Council at this time?
2) Prior to the creation or recreation of such a Council, a similar
coalition with almost identical membership existed from 2013 to 2015,
under the banner of “the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee –
Western USA.” Why was the latter disbanded in 2015 and reconstituted
now, losing the opportunity for four years of collaborative efforts?
As one of the co-chairmen of the Centennial Committee I had repeatedly
urged the group not to disband it after the Centennial of the Armenian
Genocide in 2015. Furthermore, as I reported in my October 8, 2015
editorial, during the Sept. 26, 2015 worldwide conference of the
Armenian Genocide Centennial State Committee in Yerevan, Armenia, with
the participation of representatives of Armenian Genocide Committees
in 40 countries, a resolution was adopted to form a “Pan Armenian
Council” which would supersede the Centennial Committee. An organizing
committee was appointed composed of high-ranking Armenian government
officials and major Diaspora organizations. Unfortunately, the
envisaged Pan Armenian Council did not materialize and the 40 chapters
of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee were disbanded.
3) If the purpose of the newly formed Pan Armenian Council is to
establish a coalition of Armenian organizations in Western USA, the
community already has had such a coalition for a decade, functioning
under the banner of “United Armenian Council of Los Angeles” composed
of 39 Armenian organizations.
4) The name of the new Pan Armenian Council should have been something
like “Coalition of Armenian Organizations of Western USA.” Pan
Armenian means that all Armenians in Western USA are members of this
Council, whereas only members of certain organizations are represented
in it. The great majority of Armenians, who are not members of any
organization, are not represented in this Council.
5) Even though two of the three traditional Armenian political parties
are in the Council, the third one, the Social Democrat Hunchakian
Party, for some unknown reason, is not represented in the Council.
There are other major Armenian organizations that are not members of
the Council, such as the Armenian Professional Society, and Armenian
Engineers and Scientists of America. More importantly, the huge
community of immigrants from Armenia is not adequately represented in
the Council.
Finally, the true Pan Armenian Council or an entity with a similar
name should be elected by the votes of all Armenians in the Western
USA or throughout the Diaspora, not just by members of several
organizations. Only such a democratic entity can claim to represent
all Armenians and speak in their name.
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2- Amidst International Outcry, PM Pashinyan Approves Amulsar Mining
By Raffi Elliott
YEREVAN (The Armenian Weekly)—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has
announced his government’s intention to approve the resumption of
excavation activities at the controversial Amulsar mine. In a
late-night Facebook-live session on Monday, the Prime Minister
explained that the decision resulted from carefully analyzing the
results of the latest independent environmental impact assessment
published last week.
Pashinyan reminded his 6500 live viewers of a statement he made in
September laying out his government’s conditions for authorizing the
resumption of construction on the mine. These requirements included
three criteria: That there would be no danger of contamination to Lake
Sevan; No adverse effects to the hot-water springs of the alpine spa
town of Jermuk; That there be no risk of leakage from the mine into
the neighboring Darb, Vorotan and Arpa rivers.
“Jermuk and Lake Sevan are part of our national heritage,” he declared
Monday. “I am not prepared to risk losing either of them at any cost.”
Pashinyan said he was satisfied with the results of the latest
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) drafted by the Beirut-based
environmental and water management consultancy group ELARD. According
to the firm’s findings, the mine poses no risk to Lake Sevan or
Jermuk, with minimal risk of contamination to local rivers. The
document restricts its conclusions to the ecological impact of the
mine. It does not offer any judgement on the legality of the mining
contract. While it largely concurs with previously conducted EIAs on
the matter, this report highlights critical areas for improvement,
recommending 16 measures to mitigate any risk of water contamination
and better comply with regulatory standards. Lydian confirmed that it
is already implementing 10 of the suggestions and will work to comply
with the remaining six.
Environmental groups, which have campaigned against the mining project
since its launch, remained unconvinced by the latest findings. Around
100 protesters gathered in front of the National Assembly on Monday,
chanting “We are the masters of our mountain” and “Save Amulsar.” “The
mine will benefit a few for a short time, but its environmental impact
will hurt many for a long time,” said a protester during an interview
with the Weekly. Police cleared an attempt to block the adjacent
Baghramyan Avenue. The Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), which
ironically formed part of the previous government that approved the
Amulsar concession in the first place, voiced its support for the
anti-mining activists. Joining protesters in front of the National
Assembly, PAP leader Naira Zorhabyan declared, “Our party will oppose
the launch of the Amulsar gold mine if the people of Armenia are
against it.”
Meanwhile, critics have been scrutinizing the 190-page report in the
hopes of uncovering some potentially serious deficiencies in the
assessment process. The lack of sufficient data at ELARD’s disposal to
effectively analyze environmental risk beyond the immediate area
surrounding the mining site has caused some concern over the validity
of the assessment. Additionally, the ELARD report suggested that
earlier EIAs may not have thoroughly tested the effects of acidity on
adjacent mineral formations. Other troubling findings in the document
deal with inaccuracies with the projection models used by Lydian to
determine seepage of polluted liquids from the mine into waterways.
Addressing those concerns in his broadcast, the Prime Minister
explained that the choice of ELARD to conduct the study followed a
recommendation from the New York-based non-profit Natural Resource
Governance Institute. “I took it upon myself to read all the
correspondence and all the concerns which you sent me at the expense
of many sleepless nights,” said Pashinyan. “I can assure you that the
investigation which I authorized took every aspect of the case into
careful consideration.”
Not all members of Pashinyan’s cabinet shared in his satisfaction with
the findings. Deputy Speaker of Parliament and senior member of the
governing Civil Contract Party Lena Nazaryan expressed her
apprehension on Facebook: “It’s hard for me to believe that I read the
same report as the Investigative Committee and came to the conclusion
that the risks were manageable.”
Amulsar has been embroiled in controversy since the Anglo-Canadian
mining consortium Lydian International LTD won the rights to extract
gold deposits from the site in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province in 2012.
Given the previous Republican-led government’s notoriety for corrupt
dealings, environmental activists have long suspected the presence of
foul play in the contract negotiation process. Lydian International,
which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has repeatedly dismissed
this accusation as frivolous. As a publicly-traded company, Lydian
says it is subject to Canadian mining regulations as well as corporate
criminal law.
For historical reasons, many Armenians remain deeply distrustful of
the government’s dealings with big business. Previous environmental
regulators have allowed government-connected mining projects to wreak
havoc on the country’s ecosystem due to poor ecological protection
implementation, inadequate regulatory oversight and rampant
corruption. Cases like the bankrupt Teghut open-pit mine and the high
rates of health complications caused by the Alaverdi Copper Smelter
highlight the sort of ecological devastation caused by the
government’s inability or unwillingness to enforce environmental
regulations.
But Lydian insists that it’s different. The mining giant routinely
presents itself as an example of environmentally safe, socially
responsible and economically beneficial mining practices. The company
points to the publicly available environmental impact studies,
projected tax revenues, labor practices and investor lists on its
corporate website as evidence of its commitment to transparency. The
Amulsar mine is also the only one in the country to meet international
standards for ecological and employee safety. Lydian has also touted
its track record in community engagement. The company has allocated
hundreds of thousands of dollars for infrastructure projects and has
provided one-thousand well-paying, medium and long-term jobs in a
region suffering from chronic poverty. The firm says it is committed
to minimizing its footprint on the area, having earmarked $25 million
to decommission the mine and restore the site to its original state
once operations conclude. The primary ecological concern over Lydian’s
mining operation is its location. Amulsar sits atop a seismically
active area, inducing fears that acid rock seepage from the site could
contaminate Lake Sevan’s underground drainage basin, Jermuk as well as
other river systems in the area.
Lydian has repeatedly downplayed these concerns, insisting that it
employs a state of the art contamination prevention technique known as
“encapsulation” to eliminate acidity during the gold extraction
process. However, as a gesture of goodwill, the company also agreed to
use traditional mitigation methods as a fail-safe.
This concession has not been sufficient to sway opposition. In June of
last year, a group of environmental activists blocked access to the
mining site which was weeks away from launch, sending Lydian stock
into a nosedive and forcing the firm to lay off hundreds of
mostly-local workers. The company eventually won an injunction to
remove trespassing protesters from its property.
More radical activist groups, such as the Armenian Environmental Front
(AEF), have attempted to romanticize the standoff by framing it as
resistance by locals against the colonial ambitions of greedy foreign
multinationals backed by “corporate courts.” However, this portrayal
has been disputed by some of the locals themselves. In an open letter
to the Prime Minister, several villagers contended that they welcomed
the economic prospects offered by the mine. They also depicted the
protesters as but a “small group of people who have taken it upon
themselves to speak for the entire community.”
Pressured by company executives, environmental activists as well as
foreign diplomats, the Armenian Investigative Committee launched an
inquiry in July 2018 to examine claims of willful concealment of
environmental pollution data regarding the mine. The Lebanese
consulting firm ELARD was contracted as part of this investigation to
review the results of the previous two environmental assessment
studies on the mining site.
In a dramatic escalation, Lydian International’s subsidiaries in the
United Kingdom and Canada filed arbitration requests with their
respective governments under bilateral agreements with Armenia earlier
this year, stopping short of launching litigation procedures.
Despite the threats, the mining consortium has closely cooperated with
the investigation. An official communiqué published online invites
authorities “to continue amicable discussions with Lydian with a view
to the prompt settlement of the disputes.”
The Prime Minister’s permission to resume mining on Monday helped
settle the matter before it reached the courts. Pashinyan stressed
that his decision does not let Lydian off the hook. “I explained, in
no uncertain terms that we will subject their operation to the
strictest environmental monitoring standards ever implemented in
Armenia,” he announced. “If the mine so much as leaks a drop into the
surrounding rivers, they will be given 90 days to clean up or face
immediate termination of their contract,” he asserted.
The Amulsar affair will likely mark a watershed moment in Pashinyan’s
premiership. Months earlier, he had touted his country to investors,
declaring Armenia “open for business.” As the largest single foreign
investor in Armenian history, Lydian International is expected to
invest over $400 million into the Amulsar project over its lifetime.
Had this case gone to litigation, experts speculate that Armenia would
almost certainly have been forced to provide compensation of up to $1
billion (roughly eight percent of the country’s entire GDP). Such an
eventuality would have likely caused irreparable damage to Armenia’s
reputation as an investment-friendly country at a crucial time when
foreign capital inflows are most desperately needed. The weight of
this predicament was not lost on Pashinyan, who ended his Facebook
Live broadcast with a parting remark: “As a country, we must stand by
our commitments, or we will never be taken seriously.”
The controversy over the Amulsar mine project has erupted into one of
the most polarizing issues facing Armenian society since last year’s
Velvet Revolution. The cause has also reverberated in Diaspora
circles, many of whom provided financial assistance to the protesters.
Last month, members of the Boston-based progressive activist
collective Zoravik handed a petition to visiting Parliamentary Speaker
Ararat Mirzoyan calling for the Amulsar mine’s closure. “We stand with
the communities of Jermuk and Gndevaz. We stand against mining in
Amulsar,” read their communiqué.
When Lydian’s operations began, locals made fleeting and sporadic
attempts to block the roads leading to the mine in an attempt to stop
construction. Yet these protests were always met with heavy-handed
police opposition and quickly quashed.
That is, until the 2018 revolution, at which point two things changed.
Firstly, the stage was set for a much less repressive government,
opening up new possibilities for protest. Secondly, the triumph of
people power over authoritarianism inspired the communities
surrounding Amulsar to take their resistance to the next level.
In June 2018, one month after the Pashinyan government was elected,
locals began a permanent 24-hour blockade of all three roads
approaching the mine. The blockade continues to this day, having
stopped all construction at the site for the past year and prevented
any gold from been extracted.
In Armenia, public debate has been centered on seemingly antithetical
obligations: respecting due process and encouraging economic
development at the risk of ecological degradation. How Armenians
decide to apply these concepts may have far-reaching consequences for
the roughly 400 mines of various sizes and environmental conditions
currently operating in Armenia. Arshak Tovmasyan, who publishes the
Yerevan-based magazine Regional Post – Caucasus summed up the broader
existential implications in a Facebook post: “Amulsar should push us
to contemplate who we are as a people. The decision will reflect what
sort of values and what kind of State we want to build.”
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3 - Secret Savior
This article, written by The California Courier Publisher Harut
Sassounian, was originally published in 2017, at the time of Olivia
Balian's passing.
The article was adapted and has been published in the September 1,
2019 issue of Reader’s Digest. The issue goes to 2.4 million
subscribers, making this article among the most widely read pieces
written by an Armenian writer appearing in a mainstream publication.
Olivia Balian taught at Sophia Hagopian High School for 25 years.
In 1968, I was a student at the Levon & Sophia Hagopian Armenian High
School in Beirut. When the time came to register for tenth grade, I
went to the principal’s office and told the staff my parents could not
pay the tuition. Although I was the top student in my class, I was
sent home. This was a heartbreaking experience, as I loved being in
school and desperately wanted to continue my education.
I went home and spent the day helping my father at his tire-repair
shop. He could barely earn enough to pay the tuition of my two
siblings.
A very old man saw me in the shop and wondered why I was not in
school. I told him I was sent home because of lack of funding. He
offered to help by calling the principal of another school to ask him
to register me tuition-free. Even though the school was far away from
my home, I could not pass up the opportunity to continue my education.
I took a city bus to downtown Beirut and went to the principal’s
office. Embarrassed to tell him that I was supposed to get free
tuition, I told the principal that arrangements had been made for me
to study at a discounted tuition. I was stunned when the principal
screamed at me that there was no such thing as a discounted tuition. I
immediately turned around and rushed back to my father’s tire shop.
Three days later, one of my classmates from Sophia Hagopian came over.
Our principal had sent him to tell me that I should come back to
school. When I arrived, I told the registrar that I could not pay the
tuition. She informed me that my tuition was fully paid and that I
should join my classmates. I asked who had paid for my tuition so I
could thank that wonderful individual. I was told that the benefactor
wanted to remain anonymous.
I went to my classroom, but I kept wondering who had given me this
golden opportunity. I went back to the principal’s office after
classes and begged the registrar to disclose the name of the
benefactor. Upon my insistence—and on the condition that I didn’t go
and thank the person and risk the registrar’s getting fired for
breaking confidentiality—she informed me that the benefactor was my
English teacher, Olivia Balian.
The registrar explained that when the school year started and Ms.
Balian noticed my desk was empty, she inquired why I was not in
school. She was told my parents could not pay the tuition. She then
told the principal to deduct my tuition from her salary.
The whole year I sat in Ms. Balian’s class, thinking about her
magnanimous gesture but unable to express my appreciation. A year
later, I moved to the United States. I eventually received two
master’s degrees, one from Columbia University and one from Pepperdine
University.
I never forgot the kindness and generosity of Ms. Balian. Almost 40
years later, I returned to Beirut for the first time to donate $4.5
million from Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation to all 28 Armenian
schools in Lebanon. Among the schools I visited was my former high
school. While handing the principal a donation of several hundred
thousand dollars, I advised him to never send any student away for
lack of money, because one never knew what that student might become
in the future. He or she could be a brilliant doctor, a good diplomat,
or someone who ends up working for a billionaire benefactor who would
make a major donation to the school.
While in Lebanon, I visited Ms. Balian. She had retired from teaching
long ago and lived in an apartment by herself outside Beirut. She was
as thrilled to see me as I was to see her. I was finally able to thank
her for her generosity all those years ago, but she did not want to
hear about it and humbly changed the subject. I offered to assist her
in any way possible, including financial help or special recognition
for her many decades of educating young Armenians. She declined all
offers.
While this story is about Ms. Olivia Balian, who passed away in 2017,
it is also a testimony that one person can make a great difference in
the lives of others. Without her timely assistance, giving me the
unique opportunity to study English, I probably would have never come
to the United States and would not have ended up as the publisher of
an English newspaper, the California Courier. I probably would have
spent the rest of my life repairing tires at my father’s shop in
Beirut.
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4- Shattering the Glass Ceiling:
Vivian Ekchian Becomes First Female GUSD Superintendent
By Erick Gabriel
(CSUN)—For more than 12 years, Vivian Ekchian ’82 (Political Science),
’87 (Teaching Credential) has served the community of Los Angeles in a
variety of roles — from teacher’s assistant to, most recently, interim
superintendent at Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). In May,
she smashed the glass ceiling by being named the first Armenian
American female superintendent in the 106-year history of the Glendale
Unified School District (GUSD).
“I want people to know that I’ve come in as the superintendent of the
people,” Ekchian said.
Before she was appointed, 17 men had served as superintendent of GUSD,
dating back to 1913 with Richard D. White, according to the Los
Angeles Times.
In 1979, at age 19, Ekchian moved with her family to the United States
from Germany after leaving Iran at a young age. They moved to Woodland
Hills and, soon after, Ekchian started classes at Pierce College
before transferring to CSUN in the early 1980s. She had heard great
things about how immigrant students were embraced at the university
and felt she would find a home at CSUN. She also had a strong interest
in political science and knew that CSUN’s department had a great
reputation.
“Even though it was a university, that learning was personalized to
the students,” Ekchian said. “The professors were available to meet
with students; class sizes were large, but not unruly; and I received
the attention I needed from the counselors to be successful.”
While at CSUN, she started working as a teacher’s assistant at an
elementary school in Hollywood and quickly realized that she may have
found her calling as an educator.
“Education is what levels the playing field for all, and it really is
the beginning of every aspirational goal a person may have,” Ekchian
said. “That is what motivated me to go into teaching and support the
youth.”
She earned her teaching credential from CSUN in 1987, taught for 10
years in a variety of positions — including an outside-the-classroom
teacher advisement position and principal at Rio Vista Elementary in
North Hollywood in 1999 — before pursuing her master’s and
administrative credentials from UCLA. This past May, Ekchian also
completed her doctoral degree in educational leadership from USC.
“I loved teaching so much,” Ekchian said. “I could have stayed in
teaching forever and not missed a beat.”
However, her career shifted away from the classroom and into
leadership and administrative roles where, she said, she felt she
could have a greater impact on an entire school.
Ekchian applied for the superintendent position at GUSD in hopes of
giving back to her community. She didn’t know the historical
significance her appointment would hold.
“It was a pleasant surprise for me to know that I was the first
woman,” Ekchian said.
In a Glendale News-Press article on Ekchian’s appointment, school
district board President Jennifer Freemon noted why the CSUN alumna
was the right choice to lead the district.
“Our absolute first priority was finding the best person for the
position and finding somebody that had the wealth of experience, that
had the understanding what student achievement really means — that
it’s not just a test score, but the whole child — and really deeply
understands that,” Freemon told the newspaper.
As superintendent, student and community voices are important to
Ekchian, she said — especially as a member of a demographic group,
Armenian American, that makes up 36 percent of the Glendale community.
During the early 2000s, she helped create an Armenian Genocide
curriculum in textbooks used throughout California.
Just as she helped the state understand the historical significance of
its Armenian residents, Ekchian hopes, in her new role, to get to know
the community of Glendale more intimately by personalizing their
experience and learning from students and the community — as a whole —
what matters to them.
“Health and wellness are incredibly important for our students and
communities,” Ekchian said. “Being multilingual, being globally
competitive, giving our students the chance to obtain the most
desirable job they wish to obtain is our responsibility.”
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5- The Disciple and Master: Taner Akcam Remembers Vahakn Dadrian
A memorial evening, called “Celebration of Life” was held at Ararat
Home of Los Angeles on August 17. It was sponsored by Ararat-Eskijian
Museum, NAASR, and Organization of Istanbul Armenians. Among the
speakers was Dr. Taner Akcam, Professor of History, Kaloosdian and
Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies, Clark University. Here are
the remarks he delivered:
Dadrian was, for me, a teacher, a mentor, and above all, a guardian
angel. The ways in which I am in his debt are too many to count…. I
know that he loved me like a son. But I am afraid that any attempt to
describe here in words all that he was to me will fall woefully short.
Every time I would phone him, he would ask me “How is your health,
Taner? Are you exercising?” When I would reply in the affirmative, he
would be pleased and exclaim “Good for you! Afferim sana”….
Dadrian had a prominent role in my decision to begin researching the
Armenian genocide. Had it not been for his assistance I am not certain
that I would have been able to embark on what has been my life’s work.
It was in the year 1990 or 1991. I had decided to work on the Armenian
genocide. I broached the idea at the institute at which I was then
working. They declined my request on the grounds that they simply
didn’t know enough about the topic to judge its relevance. They did
leave open the possibility, however, saying that if I could put
together a workshop and invite some experts on the subject, they would
then better be able to reach a decision on the basis of the debates
and discussions that transpired there.
But where could I find experts on the subject? I met with Professor
Petra Kapert of Hamburg University and asked her for help. She gave me
two of Professor Dadrian’s English-language articles to read and told
me that I needed to contact him. But in those years, I couldn’t speak
English, and on my own I could neither read the articles nor find
Dadrian’s address. Yet, I was too ashamed and embarrassed to reveal
these things to Professor Kapert.
One of the things I noticed in both of the articles was that Dadrian
cited many Turkish-language sources. “This guy has to know Turkish” I
thought, and so I decided to write to him in my mother tongue. It took
some time back in those days, but by persistent searching I was
eventually able to acquire Dadrian’s address. Despite what I felt were
slim hopes that something would come of it, I nevertheless sat down
and wrote the professor a letter explaining my ideas and intended
research.
“Bu benim 40 yıl sonraki ilk Türkçe korrespondantımdır -This is the
first Turkish-language correspondence I’ve written in 40 years”, began
the letter I received. The letter has long since disappeared, but I
can still see these first lines before my eyes. And it was the
beginning of a friendship that would last for decades.
He embraced the idea of a workshop with great enthusiasm and the talk
he gave there had a great effect on those present. In particular, he
stressed the importance of having a Turkish scholar who wanted to do
an objective study of the subject. At the end, the Institute accepted
my proposal, and the draft that I prepared for the workshop would
serve as the basis for my first book on the Armenian Genocide.
Throughout the period in which I was writing my doctoral thesis
Dadrian was always generous with his time and his assistance. During
those years there was neither Internet nor email, and as a result, I
corresponded with and updated him regularly by fax. As a Turk, I was
naturally as hesistant to undertake such a venture. I was not entirely
sure of myself and I wanted answers for the hundreds of questions that
plagued me so as to ensure that I didn’t write or say anything
incorrect.
And Dadrian was there, patiently answering every one of my questions
and sending me photocopies of the sources on which these answers were
based. But there were so many questions that at one point, his
patience nearly exhausted, he wrote a brief note on one of the faxes
saying, “Hopefully, the questions have come to an end.” To this day, I
have preserved all of the questions that I asked him and the answers
that I received.
It is due to Dadrian that I ended up coming to America. It was in
1999. I had no possibility of working on the topic of the Armenian
genocide in Germany. I had a family that I needed to support. I sought
out Dadrian and told him that I was obliged to look for work. He did
not receive this information passively, but instead actively obtained
an invitation for me to the United States from Dennis Papazian at
Armenian Research Center of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and,
just like that, I was able to continue my work on the genocide.
May it not be seen here as speaking ill of the deceased, but, truth be
told, my mentor could be somewhat prickly. Getting along with him was
never an easy task for anyone. In one of his letters to me he once
wrote “I [simply] cannot work with another person”. But, to my immense
good fortune, he ignored his custom in my case. He didn’t dismiss my
proposal to write both an English- and Turkish-language edition of the
post-war Istanbul Trials.
Dadrian didn’t just act as a mentor and helper in my academic life. He
was also a guardian angel over my social life…
Since I was the first Turkish academic who worked on the Armenian
genocide, I was received into Armenian circles with more than a little
hesitation and suspicion. For his part, Dadrian expended great effort
attempting to dispel the prejudices against me among his fellow
Armenians. I am sure there are a lot among you who heard my name first
from or only because of Dadrian. I know he used to call people and
tell about me. As I said, I was like a son to him.
He invited me to the gatherings he would attend and introduced me to
these circles. At one such gathering the question was directed at me
as to why I had decided to work on the Armenian genocide. I replied
that “It was actually due to a coincidence”, but Dadrian then
interjected “No!” and launched into a ardent defense of me. “You know
this person. He has suffered greatly, he has sat in prison, he’s been
tortured. His family has suffered greatly. It is because of the
sufferings of his own family and the torture that Taner knows and
understands our suffering as Armenians and it is thus no coincidence
that he has decided to occupy himself with the Armenian genocide.”
He always longed for Istanbul—even Üsküdar… I greatly wanted him to
come and visit Istanbul, but he was greatly afraid. “If I go there,
they’ll kill me”, he would say, and there was nothing I could do to
convince him otherwise. When I asked him “What food do you miss the
most?” he would always reply “ızgara köfte”, or “grilled meatballs”.
Whenever he would come to Hamburg, I would take him to the restaurant
of Maraş’lı Oruç Abim. He couldn’t get enough. He would order several
plates of ızgara köfte and eat them all. Oruç Abi would joke, saying
“This man’s appetite is unquenchable.”
His time in Vienna was a major turning point in his life, one which
would eventually set him on the path to becoming a genocide scholar.
He had originally come there to continue his studies in mathematics,
but in one of his courses the instructor, upon learning that he was
Armenian, asked him if he had ever heard the name Franzl Werfel or
read his novel The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. Dadrian replied that he
was unaware of both the book and its author.
The instructor was quite surprised to learn this, but, ultimately, it
was Dadrian who was more surprised to hear of such a work. He
immediately located a copy and read it cover-to-cover. Afterward, he
couldn’t sleep. He felt greatly embarrassed and ashamed: how was it
that he could be so completely unaware of this horrible calamity that
had befallen his people? Not a single member of his family or
acquaintances had ever mentioned it to him, much less discussed it….
He recalled, during his childhood, older people would come to their
house, close themselves in a room and speak with each other and then
weep. At that time he had no idea of the reason for these “crying
ceremonies”, but now he grasped it.
And so he abandoned his mathematical studies. Later, he would devote
his life to studying the Armenian genocide and became the “founding
father” of Armenian genocide studies. There’s no need to speak of his
contributions here—he created the field of study. So much so that,
whatever discussion we’ll have today on the Armenian Genocide will be
built on the body of knowledge that Dadrian has bequeathed us.
He was a great scholar, but his heart always beat for his own people,
and for humanity in general. Dozens of times he told me that he
frequently could not sleep at night. Even in his dreams the cries of
the children who had been killed, of the people murdered in the
deserts of Syria did not leave him. Dadrian had the rare ability to
combine in his work the objective, analytical eye of a scholar with
the search for justice for those who had perished and for their
descendents. It was this guiding principle that made him such a great
scholar.
Beyond his academic works, Dadrian was simultaneously active in
working for the international recognition of the Armenian genocide. It
was Dadrian who in 1996 was responsible for achieving the declaration
by one hundred scholars, among them the prominent Holocaust scholar
Yehuda Bauer, opposing the Turkish government’s “denialist” policies
in regard to the Armenian genocide. The declaration would appear in
great many U.S. newspapers. Similar initiatives would be repeated in
the years 1998 and 2000. For Dadrian, scholarly works were simply a
component of the larger struggle to have the traumatic events suffered
by the Armenian nation recognized and to prevent future genocides.
The renowned sociologist Norbert Elias, upon receiving the Adorno
Prize in 1977, said during his acceptance speech that he carries a
torch that was lit by those before him and that there would be others
after him to carry it into the future. But in Dadrian’s case, there
are not many people who lit the specific torch that he bore. In many
ways, he was not only the bearer, but the actual creator. And, I know
that one of Dadrian’s ultimate desires was to see young scholars pick
up the torch that he had borne so long and so far.
What does Dadrian mean to me? Permit me to be very personal here… and
to repeat something that he already knew. I spoke to him the following
lines when he was alive:
My dear Hocam, as you know, one of the basic creeds of Sufism is the
bond between master and disciple. Like the relationship of teacher and
student, it is grounded upon shared interest in a subject and the
willingness to transmit knowledge. Teacher and student, however, need
not share a personal relationship beyond mutual respect, courtesy, and
cooperation, according to their respective roles. After the training
is completed, student and teacher may part ways. If they remain in
contact, whether socially or professionally, their relationship will
never be the same.
The bond between master and disciple goes even deeper than this.
Profound and personal, it involves not only the transmission of
knowledge, but also, more significantly, spiritual wisdom. A Sufi
disciple may bond with another master only by leave of the previous
one. The disciple acknowledges the master, even when teaching others
in turn.
Sayin Hocam, you were my master and will always remain so. In fact,
you are the master of all of those whose hearts beat for justice and
humanity.
I vow to transmit to the coming generations the torch that you
yourself have lit and carried forth. Where you have gone, may you
always rest in peace.
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