THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA WE DON’T KNOW (1)
ALIN OZINIAN
Today’s Zaman
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March 14 2012
Turkey
It is unfortunate that these days in Turkey what is known about the
Armenian diaspora is still very much based on rumor, stereotypes and
information that is often not based on truth.
There are three separate groups of Armenians recognized in Turkey,
and these are categorizations that have come about with the help of
the press. These groups are the Armenians from Armenia, the Turkish
Armenians and the diaspora. The latter group, the diaspora, is perhaps
the least well-known and, since there is less known about them than the
other groups, the least loved. It is also a group that does not seem
to be able to shrug off the image of derailing relations with Turkey.
It is very important for Turkey, where many people still see the
diaspora as some sort of “monolith” and as an “enemy of dialogue,”
to instead think about this group as the grandchildren of people
who were in fact citizens under the Ottomans. In doing so, relations
between Turkey and the diaspora could become healthier, and at the
same time, this diaspora would become better understood.
Understanding the Armenian diaspora
Today, however, the general perception of the diaspora in Turkey
is of a mass of people who see Armenia as their motherland, who
withhold no financial or spiritual support from Armenia, who hold
complete control over Armenia’s “Turkey politics,” and who are busy
acting out their part as “enemies of Turkey.” Unfortunately, though,
the diaspora is a phenomenon that is not easily analyzed. In order to
really get a better idea of the diaspora, there needs to be careful
analysis and interpretation of the period during which it took shape,
as well as the relations between Turkey, Armenia and the countries
where members of the diaspora have resided during this time.
Armenians, subjected to ethnic cleansing in 1915, and expelled in
a systematic fashion from their homelands, were basically forced to
march into the deserts of Deir-ez-Zor in northeastern Syria. Those who
survived tried to reach places such as Aleppo, Damascus, Beirut and
Baghdad. While one faction of this group tried to form new lives in
these cities, another faction headed for far off places such as Egypt,
Greece, France, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and America. In the
wake of 1915, Armenian communities sprang up in places like Cuba,
Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Australia, Addis Ababa, Cape Town and
even Hong Kong. These days, the term “diaspora” is generally accepted
as referring to any members of a certain nation or belief system who
live outside their motherland as minorities. As for the term “Armenian
diaspora,” it was used for the first time at the start of the 1920s.
However, when we look back into history, we can see that in
fact Armenians began to form communities in other countries far
in advance of 1915, starting after the collapse of the Arshakuni
Armenian Kingdom. From the 15th to the 16th centuries, the founders of
Armenian communities in countries like Romania, Poland, India, Italy,
Germany, Iran and America were basically Armenian merchants who had
gone to those countries for trade. It is estimated that the number
of Armenians living outside of Armenia at that time was around 200,000.
Under the Ottomans, before 1915, the first migration of Armenians
actually began in the early 1870s, reaching its highest numbers in
the years 1895 to 1896 due to the fear and loss of lives experienced
under the rule of Abdulhamid II. During this period, the influence
of missionaries in Anatolia was instrumental in spurring Armenians
to emigrate to America.
Post 1915, Armenians who remained in Turkey can mostly be found in
Ä°stanbul. After events unfolded in Thrace, some Armenians went on to
emigrate to Eastern Europe, but many were able to move to Ä°stanbul,
as it seemed safer and more dependable than other cities. Though a few
members of the Armenian communities carried on with their lives in the
eastern reaches of Turkey, many in the end bowed to pressure and moved
to Ä°stanbul. The Armenian community which took shape in Ä°stanbul
was influenced by events such as the Wealth Tax, the “Citizens Speak
Turkish” public campaign, the events of Sept. 6-7 (1955), the 1980
military coup and, most recently, the Nagorno-Karabakh clashes,
and thus wound up leaving Turkey in great numbers, moving instead to
points in Europe and America and joining a diaspora already in place.
1918-1920: the first Armenian Republic and the diaspora
Between 1916 and 1917, thousands of Armenians living in the eastern
parts of Turkey tried to make their way to Armenia, Georgia or Russia.
And when the first Armenian Republic was officially formed on
May 28, 1918, there were steps taken with regards to the diaspora
living outside the country all over the world. The achievement of
an independent Armenia after so many years was cause for great joy
amongst Armenians throughout the world. In August 1920, the Armenian
Foreign Ministry decided to set up a working desk that would focus
only on Armenians living outside of Armenia. The fundamental reason
for this decision was to bring about, with the help of the Armenian
Republic’s diplomatic missions, the systematic and efficient return
of Armenians living outside Armenia to their motherland. But when, in
November 1920, Armenia came under Bolshevik rule, this new department
had only functioned for three months, and thus no trace was left of
its work on relations with Armenians in the diaspora.
The Soviet Union’s politics with regards to the Armenian diaspora
>From the first days of its formation, the Soviet Union carried on an
active set of politics with regard to the Armenian diaspora. After
Armenia formally entered into the Soviet Union, an “Immigration
Affairs Bureau” was opened in July 1921 in Yerevan, and while this
bureau was not a ministry unto itself, it did possess ministry status.
That same year, in December, a group of 3,000 Armenians arrived by
boat in Batumi from Mesopotamia; the final part of their journey to
Armenia was by road. Between 1921 and 1922, a total of 9,000 Armenians
from different countries returned to Armenia, while between 1924 and
1925, a total of 20,000 people immigrated to Armenia, largely from
Turkey and Greece. There can be little doubt of the role played by the
first Armenian Consulate in Turkey — located on what was then called
Voyvoda Sokak (now called Bankalar Caddesi) in Karaköy, Ä°stanbul —
which was active in guiding and assisting the Armenians who went to
Armenia from Turkey during those years.
After the migrations of 1925 to 1926, “HemÅ~_eri Dernekleri” and
“HemÅ~_ire Birlikleri” (associations for fellow countrymen) were
formed.
Later, at the special request of the Arabkirliler — people from the
city of Arabkir — community in the US, a “New Arabkir” district was
formed in Yerevan, Armenia. Years later, there were many new districts
formed in Yerevan, with names such as “New Kayseri,” “New Amasya”
and “New Harput.” The people who came to live in these places were
often those who had migrated from the districts’ namesakes.
The districts still bear these names. The waves of immigration
continued until 1936 and, in total, around 23,000 people, driven by
a longing for their motherland, returned from abroad to Armenia. The
“Great Terror” brought about in 1936 by Stalin’s regime also struck
a blow to Armenia. Armenians were tried and executed in scores for
crimes such as treason and working for capitalist agendas.
Until World War II, the Soviets did not bow at all to diaspora
politics. After the war, Stalin’s “Armenian diaspora politics” rose
once again. In November 1945, the Soviet Union created an official
policy that aimed for Armenian immigration to Armenia. As a result of
this decision, the Armenian National Immigration Committee was formed.
Representatives of this committee were posted in embassies in countries
with large Armenian populations. The officials assigned to these
posts began to make lists of Armenians who had decided to return to
Armenia. They then started to return to Armenia. The Soviets’ “return
to the nation” project took place between 1946 and 1948. There are
three basic theses about why the Soviet Union developed this project.
The first reason for the Soviet Union’s new policy was the much
damaged relations between it and Turkey. The Soviet Union was
searching for reasons to take land from the east of Turkey and add it
to their own. At this point diaspora politics became very important,
as these lands were to be used as a motherland for Armenians who had
returned to Armenia from other countries. The second thesis is that the
numbers of Soviet Armenians had greatly diminished after World War II,
and if they decreased much more, Armenia itself could no longer be
categorized as a republic. Thus they needed a quick increase in the
Armenian population. Therefore, the return of diaspora members back
to Armenia was to play a vital role in ensuring Armenia’s status as a
republic within the framework of the Soviet Union. The third thesis
was that immigration of Armenians living in the diaspora would give
the strong message to a polarized post-war world that “immigrants to
the Soviet Union are abandoning their capitalist lives,” a message
that would increase the Soviet Union’s prestige. While none of these
theses is actually sufficient on its own to explain Soviet policies,
when taken together as a whole, they do manage to shed some light on
the politics of the Soviets towards the diaspora and immigration.
Diplomats working at Soviet embassies around the world promised
Armenians living abroad that, if they returned to Armenia, they would
receive assistance in finding jobs, homes, etc. People were basically
told that every problem they had would be taken care of the moment
they set foot on Soviet land.
Between 1946 and 1948, 90,000 people immigrated to Armenia.
Unfortunately, what greeted them upon arrival was nothing like what
had been promised to them, or even what they could have imagined. Hit
hard by the war, Armenia suffered from a lack of basic provisions and
employment opportunities. Housing was insufficient. Instead of a house,
land was given to the new arrivals, and they were then asked to build
their own homes. In short, none of the promises made were actually
kept. And as though this was not enough, thousands of immigrants —
along with long-time citizens — were accused of being united in
opposition against the system, and were then forced to march to
Siberia-Altay in 1949. It was only after Stalin’s death that those
in exile were able to return to Armenia. Some of the immigrants were
able to salvage their lives in Armenia, though for years and years,
their lives in Armenia did not hold much promise.
*Alin Ozinian is an independent analyst.
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