RUBEN VARDANYAN: “WE SHOULD SURPRISE AND BREAK THE BIASES”
[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]
Ruben Vardanyan Ruben Vardanyan
Photo: PanPhoto for IDeA
Interviews | March 10, 2015 00:02exclusive
208 views
On the threshold of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Mediamax
continues a series of interviews with the intellectuals of Armenia
and the Diaspora. It is an attempt to collect opinions as to whether
the Armenian Genocide Centennial will serve a certain “New
Beginning†for Armenians or not.
Our today’s interlocutor is the Co-Founder of IDeA Foundation
Ruben Vardanyan
– Tremendous intellectual and organizational efforts preceded the
launch of 100 Lives project. As a result, a project, which, as you
say, blends together the past, present and future, was born. Could
you please present this concept in details?
– Active preparation for the launch of 100 LIVES project started nine
months ago. My team, including me, spent much time and efforts on
trips and talks – we have traveled to almost all major centers of the
Armenian Diaspora and discussed the idea of the project with various
people, among them not only Armenians, but also representatives
of many other nationalities. We spoke not only about the project
itself at these meetings, but also about the situation in the world
in general and in the Armenian word in particular. I view 100 LIVES
project as a link between these two worlds.
The project was born from the story of my own family. After the tragic
events in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, my grandfather, just like many
other children whose parents did not survive the Genocide, appeared in
an orphanage, received education there and became a prominent historian
and professor at the Yerevan State University. My grandfather did not
speak much about what he had to go through – people were forced to
conceal much during the Soviet period as stories about the support
of foreigners, especially of that of Americans, for the Armenian
children were not welcome for reasons that were well understood.
On the whole, the topic of genocide is painful and dangerous. Few
of the survivors are willing to tell about it and if they do tell,
they mainly focus on the brutalities and horrors. In my opinion, all
talks on genocide miss one important thing – we won despite the entire
severity of the tragedy that occurred 100 years ago when Armenians
were deprived of their ancestral lands and property, and importantly,
when the 3/4 of people living on these lands were exterminated. We
won because we managed to save ourselves despite all difficulties
and troubles and made strides in various areas and countries. Yes, we
should remember and honor the memory of the victims and the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by other countries, particularly by Turkey,
is important for us, but our main message to the world is that we are
alive and we are strong. And to remember and to demand one should be
alive and strong.
Through 100 Lives project we aim to express our gratitude to those who
stretched out a helping hand to Armenians 100 years ago and owing to
whose efforts the principal aim of the genocide perpetrators wrecked
– the extermination of the entire Armenian nation. I believe only
a strong nation recovered from the victim’s syndrome can be
thankful. Within the framework of our project, we combine three
elements, which correlate with our past, present and future.
First of all, we are trying to preserve the past helping digitize
hundreds of thousands of pages of archive materials not only in Armenia
but also in the Diaspora. Besides, we are gathering the personal
histories of Genocide surviving Armenians as well as those of who
reached out to them. Presently, little is known in the world about
what many nations, and particularly Americans, did for the rescue of
hundreds of thousands of Armenian children who became refugees and
orphans as a result of Genocide. However, we ourselves are not much
aware about it. Surprisingly, even in the U.S. very few people know
that the fundraising held in order to support Armenians was the first
example of large-scale charity in this country.
Millions of ordinary Americans took part in it and around USD
115 million was raised. Today this sum would amount to billions of
dollars, and this number grasps the imagination! We must and we want
to tell the current generation what all those people – Americans,
Danes, Norwegians, the Swiss, the French, Russians and many others –
did to save our nation.
Unfortunately, back then Armenians did not manage to express their
gratitude to them in full measure and we want to do it now by linking
the past to the present. That is why the second component of 100 Lives
project refers to an annual and international humanitarian award –
“Aurora Prize For Awakening Humanityâ€, which will be
awarded to people committing efforts to save lives in this day and
age. The award is named after Arshaluys Mardikyan who, after the
Genocide, was rescued by the Russian Army in 1915 and who then moved
to the U.S. and took the name Aurora Mardiganian. She wrote a book
called “Ravished Armeniaâ€, which presents those dreadful
events. This book was taken as a basis for the movie in which Aurora
played herself. For many years this movie was a crowd-puller in the
U.S. and it played an enormous role in raising awareness about the
Armenian Genocide. The award ceremony will be held annually in Yerevan
on April 24. The first award ceremony will take place in 2016. The
Genocide is not in the past; unfortunately it is being committed today
as well. A monetary award to the tune of USD 1 million will be mainly
aimed at the support for activities of people who are struggling
against it and help those who suffered. The award nominees will be
selected by the jury comprised of prominent and outstanding people
coming from various countries.
[Ruben-Vardanyan_Nubar-Afeyan_-Danil-Kolodin.jpg] Co-Founders of
100 LIVES initiative Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan Photo:Danil
Kolodin for IDeA
And lastly, the third component is expressing our gratitude through
specific projects. For example, in many countries, such as for
example Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, children are not able
to get education. We will provide scholarships for these children. In
particular, we are going to offer 100 scholarships for them to study
at UWC Dilijan College. Children should grow up with the understanding
that someone helped them, with a sense of gratitude and with a desire
to help others. This component of 100 Lives project is related to
the future.
– Can we suppose that the trips to the main centers of the Armenian
Diaspora as well as meetings with its various representatives have
become a revelation for you even though you also are a Diaspora
representative, even if not a “classical†one? Could you
please share with your main impressions – both positive and negative?
– I am probably not a typical Diaspora representative. I grew up in
Armenia and got molded in Russia, but the international aspect of
my business was granting me an opportunity to cast a broader look at
the world.
The first impression I got during trips and meetings was the
profundity of disunity of Armenians. For instance, answering my
question as to why he never mentions the Armenian community in
Russia in his reports, a respected person publishing a magazine in
the Diaspora said: “They do not speak Armenian and English,
and I do not know anything about themâ€. At these moments,
you realize that there are grave fractures in what we picture as a
consolidated Armenian Diaspora.
At the same time, I was happy to see that many Armenians strive to
preserve their national identity and are truly proud of their being
Armenians.
Assimilation is another major problem. Before and after the Genocide
large Armenian communities were established mainly in Muslim countries
and the preservation of the national identity, language and culture
was one of the ways to survive. In such a situation a child born
in an Armenian family was to attend solely an Armenian school –
other options were even not being considered. Armenian School and
Armenian Church are the centers that allowed Armenians to retain
their identity despite the domination of another culture, even if it
was not hostile (for example, in Lebanon or Syria). Still, it was
different from the Armenian. Many Armenians subsequently moved to
Russia, where the Diaspora is presently the largest, to the U.S.,
Canada, Australia or Argentina. The culture and traditions of these
countries were closer to theirs and thus, it led to a situation when
people came to have a choice, which they previously lacked. To put
it simply, attending an Armenian school in the new environment was
no longer axiomatic, especially if that school was not the best in
terms of education quality. It turned out if the idea of preserving
the national identity is not being reinforced by the possibility to
develop, then it fails. The paradox is that more convenient living
conditions lead to quicker assimilation. People want to send their
children not just to the good, but to the best schools. And if the
Armenian school is not as such and is also located tens of kilometers
from them, then obviously, the choice will not be made in its favor.
Another overt issue is that many Armenians who left Armenia in
the past 25 years voluntarily or not are trying to prove to those
around that they took the only right decision. As a result, a great
number of representatives of this “new Diaspora†have a
subconsciously negative attitude to what’s going on in Armenia
and flatly do not want to associate themselves with the Armenian world.
[Ruben-Vardanyan_5_-Danil-Kolodin.jpg] Ruben Vardanyan and Head of
UWC Dilijan College John Puddefoot Photo:Danil Kolodin for IDeA
Amid these issues, the question as to “so what does unite
us?†gets more serious. At first sight, the answer is clear
– independent Armenian state. We have dreamed of independence for
hundreds of years and after gaining it, we experienced an incredible
wave of inspiration, but at the same time, we also feared not to lose
it in the future. Obviously, the establishment of a state requires
time and efforts. In any corner of the world people have most easily
consolidated amid the tragic events or when their country became an
outstanding leader and an example of success. When Armenia was at war
or when the earthquake occurred, it consolidated even those Armenians
who did not speak Armenian or who had never been to Armenia. Many
people will want to associate themselves with Armenia and be part of
the history of its success once everything is good in Armenia.
However, as a country with present limited ambitions Armenia neither
evokes pride among Diaspora Armenians, nor fear for its future. The
attitude the Diaspora demonstrates toward Armenia is not about
disappointment but about apathy, which in my opinion, is way more
dangerous than negative attitude as it lacks emotions.
Besides, there is a wide generational gap. Many people in the Diaspora
above 70 have done much to save the Armenian world. We also have a
young generation wishing to preserve its identity without at that
losing its dynamism. However, a large layer of people aged 40-70
tends not to associate itself with the Armenian world. As a result,
there occurs a misbalance – there is not much involvement of people,
and a far too small number of active members of this or that community
carry too much on their shoulders.
The lack of a dream, which would consolidate people irrespective of
where they were bon and what language they speak, makes these issues
graver. Thus, huge work lies ahead of us if we want to fully utilize
the resources and potential of the Armenian world.
– Who should play the “first violin†– Armenia or Diaspora?
– Nobody should dominate – neither Armenia, nor the Diaspora. There
should be maximum permeation and support. Another question is what
to unite around. There should be a common dream. Obviously, Armenia
needs Diaspora’s support and vice versa, but none of the
parties is ready to admit it till the end. Various complexes impede
it. Many people in Armenia do not like it that “Armenians from
the Diaspora will come and start to teach us how to liveâ€. And
there are also such Diaspora representatives who are convinced that
donating USD 10 000 automatically grants them certain special rights.
The demand for the use of the Diaspora’s potential should
be shaped by the elite of Armenia, which should understand that
without the use of this resource with its competence we will not be
able to successfully compete at the global level. Unfortunately,
this signal comes neither from state officials, nor from media or
business representatives. For example, which Armenian media has ever
tried to carry out a project with the participation of globally
recognized Armenian journalists from the Diaspora? On the whole,
Armenia’s business and community model is built on quite
a considerable “lock-inâ€, which does not suggest the
necessity to become the best of the best.
Unfortunately one of the scourges of Armenia is mediocrity. Armenians
were previously regarded as one of the most educated and talented
people versed in several languages. In the times when Armenians were
reaching Singapore or Burma, over 90% of people in the world were born,
lived and died without ever leaving their native city or village. When
the majority of people could not write and read or were hardly able
to speak their mother tongue, Armenians spoke several languages. I
often joke saying that Armenians invented Facebook long before it
was created, as network communication technologies have always been
widely used by our people.
In today’s world the borders become more and more formal and the
active part of the population has virtually unlimited possibilities
in terms of traveling around the world for work or education. At
the same time, globalization results in that many young people want
to understand who they are in reality. Before, people used to say
“don’t give fish, but teach to fishâ€, and today
you should not only give the fishing-rod but also knowledge on how
to ensure maximum efficiency of this fishing-rod to catch, say,
ten and not five fish.
Knowledge is a key competence in the information society to create
a competitive product. Despite their small number, Armenians have
always been a nation of pioneers. We have always set high standards
for others and for ourselves, and we should not renounce them.
The mediocrity, which has put down roots in our society, is very
dangerous in reality. It kills our creativity. In order to overcome
this crisis, we need to revolutionize our perception. We should
surprise and break the biases. We cannot go mediocre and should spare
no effort to be the best in everything we do, in the way we live,
in the way we work and in the way we think.
In the history of mankind, the Armenian nation has several times been
in leading positions under the conditions of great changes. Today
we should do our best to re-morph into a country and nation whose
opinion will be heard, respected and taken into account.
I believe we can change everything for the better and turn it to
our own advantage. Armenian people have gone through many hard times
in their history, including the horrible crime in the 20th century,
but we were not destroyed or defeated. We are an example of a nation
which has once again successfully reborn and therefore I remain upbeat.
Ara Tadevosyan talked to Ruben Vardanyan.
P.S. You can watch live streaming of the official launch of 100 Lives
project at , at 01:00 by Yerevan time, on March 11.
http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/13437#sthash.ugQJYgVj.dpuf
www.100lives.com