The Hopa-Hamshens: Social and Political Life

The Hopa-Hamshens: Social and Political Life

14:45, April 14, 2012
Cemil Aksu

The article was written within the scope of Vahan Ishkhanyan’s
projectregarding
the Hamshens. Read about the author here
.

Recently, social and political issues regarding the Hamshens, the
Hamshen identity have attracted greater attention. This focus is borne
out by the growing number of discussions and publications on the
topic.

Levon Haçikyan’s `The Hamshen Enigma’,[1] regarded as the first
extensive work on the Hamshens, is an apt name for the issue facing
us. Despite all that has been written and the academic debates, the
question `Who are the Hamshens?’ remains unanswered.

Should the Hamshens be viewed as merely residents of this or that
region, or do they constitute a distinct ethnic identity? Is the name
Hamshetsinerjust an appellation given to those living in the districts
of Ã=87amlihemÅ=9Fin and HemÅ=9Fin (Hamshen) in Turkey’s Rize
Province? Does it represent those who speak Homshetsma, a distinct
Western Armenian dialect? Is it a combination of both?

[Translator’s note: I will use the term `Hamshens’ as a noun (the
Hopa-Hamshens) and as an adjective (Hamshen identity)]
The Hopa-Hamshen village of Ã=87amurlu

Do the Hamshens have Armenian or Turkish roots? If they are Turks, then why
do they speak an Armenian dialect? If they are Armenian, then why are they
Muslims? What are the similarities/ differences between the Hamshens of
Hopa and Rize? When and where did they come from? Confusion and debate
still surround such questions.

Along with providing some general definitions regarding the Hamshens, I
will be focusing particular attention to the Hopa-Hamshens in this article.

Professor of Linguistics Bert Vaux explains that the language of the
Armenians of Hamshen (HemÅ=9Fin )
depends on their location.[2]

– Eastern Hamshens – Sunni Muslims living in the Hopa and
Borçka districts of Turkey’s Artvin Province who speak a dialect of
Western Armenian called Homshetsma or Hamshesnak.

– Western Hamshens – Sunni Muslims living in Turkey’s Rize
Province (districts of Ã=87amlihemÅ=9Fin and HemÅ=9Fin) and, in
smaller numbers, in the mountain valleys of Fındıklı, Ã=87ayeli,
Pazar, ArdeÅ=9Fen and İkizdere. Armenian by extraction, they speak
Turkish peppered with Armenian words.

– Northern Hamshens – Non-Islamicized Hamshen Armenians who
today live in Russia and Georgia and speak the same Homshetsma dialect.
Originally from Hamshen proper, many fled the Ottoman Empire for the
relatively safety of the Caucasus across the border. Others migrated to the
Black Sea towns of Samsun, Trebizond, Giresun and Ordu before 1915.

Today, as a result of past and recent migrations, the Hamshens mainly
reside in the Turkish northeastern provinces of Rize and Artvin, the
province of Erzurum (districts of Tortum and İspir), the western provinces
of Sakarya, Bursa, Düzce, the district center of KemalpaÅ=9Fa in Izmir
Province, the Black Sea coastal towns of Samsun and Trabzon, and the cities
of Istanbul and Ankara.

The Hopa-Hamshens still use Homshetsma as a means of daily communication.
The Hamshens of Rize, to the west, speak Turkish and only know a few
Homshetsma words other than place names, flora, and other sundry items.

Language is the most important means for defining identity. This is so
because to construct linguistic uniformity, the other means applied in the
process of forging an ethnic identity, a unified history and the unity of
the fatherland, must be present.

The thesis propounded by official Turkish historians, that the Hamshens
learnt the Homshetsma language from neighboring Armenians, does not
warrant our attention The arguments they make to back up their claim as to
why Armenian was adopted by the Hamshens are flawed and fly in the face of
historical and social realities. What needs to be clarified is how the
Hopa-Hamshens were able to preserve the Homshetsma language whereas the
Hamshens of Rize forget it.[3]

Also problematic is the label used to describe the Hamshens of Rize. This
`Rize Hamshens’ appellation is used to describe everyone living and
regarded as a native resident of the overall Hamshen region that was
divided into two provinces with the founding of the Turkish Republic. The
Hamshen reality, as an ethnic identity, is something else entirely. We know
from history that many Turkish tribes lived in this area under Ottoman
rule. The classical policy of the Ottomans, i.e. the Turkification of
captured non-Muslim lands and the subsequent policy of Islamicization, when
the Ottoman Empire was in a period of retreat, culminating in the Armenian
Genocide, followed by the policy to resettle Muslim exiles in former
Armenian populated areas, lead to many outside families settling in the
region.

For example, Turkish families with the surname Kepenek wound up in the
Hamshen area as a result of such policies and remain well represented with
large extended families. In addition, we know that Laz and other peoples,
both locals and those who migrated from the Caucasus, lived here in the
past just as they do today. Thus, the Hamshen `essence’ (hamshenakanutyun),
as an ethnic identity, doesn’t include all the Hamshens of Rize. However we
must raise the following question – when we refer to the Hamshens
(Hamshentsi) are all of them ethnically Hamshens?
Village of BaÅ=9Foba – Hamshen woman

It is also important to examine the lineage of these families and
Ottoman documents pertaining to these population settlements.

The Hamshens we are to discuss here, regardless of accepting them as
Armenian, Turk, or only Hamshentsi/Hamshetsi[4], now and in the past
are the speakers of an Armenian dialect. Starting in the 1990s, the
growing economic ties with post-Soviet countries, including Armenia
and the Armenians, have led the Hopa-Hamshens to review the issue of
their origins. The apparent social, cultural and linguistic
differences between the Armenians of Armenia and the Hamshens served
as a basis for the strengthening of the view within the Hamshen
community that they constitute a separate ethnic group. Contributing
factors are the differences between Homshetsma and both the literary
and conversational Armenian spoken in the Republic of Armenia. Such
differences are quite natural and actually few in number when we
factor in the processes of Islamicization and Turkification.

The Hamshens have undergone three major historical events of disassociation:

1. Their departure from Armenia proper as a result of the first
migration towards Hamshen, thus restricting future relations between them
and other Armenian communities.
2. The process of Islamicization that began after the Ottoman conquest
of the eastern Black Sea region.
3. The disconnect resulting from the religious and cultural assimilation
stemming from the Turkification and modernization processes implemented by
the newly formed centralized Turkish state.

All these served as ingredients in the making of a `hybrid’ Hamshen
identity.

As a result of Ankara’s state policy of assimilation, Turkish
influence on Hamshen identity has been pronounced and dominant. Even
the Hamshen dialect (Hamshesnak/Homshetsma) has not escaped the impact
of the dominant language, Turkish, and now uses Turkish figures of
speech and words.

The infiltration of words into any language, especially from a
dominant language (either state or nationality), is a fairly natural
phenomenon. It is only from a comparison of fundamental words that we
can understand what language the loan words subsequently came
from. Fundamental words are numbers, human body parts, basic actions
(walking, eating, crying) and names of sundry items long since in
use. Examples of non-fundamental words include – republic, book,
fashion, restaurant, capitalism, television, computer, party, nation,
bus, advantage, spirit, octopus, philosophy, etc. >From this
perspective we see that the fundamental words in Homshetsma, either
wholly or with slight phonetic differences, are Armenian. Whether or
not the names we give objects that enter our lives afterwards are the
same as words in another language, depends on the social and political
relations existing between the two societies. Given that the Hamshens
were under Turkish domination for centuries, it is only natural to
find expressions of that domination in their language and
culture. Even though, from an academic perspective, the Hopa-Hamshens
have the right to an ethnic identity, for a number of reasons they
haven’t been studied to the degree of the much beloved
Ã=87amlihemÅ=9Fin area.

Field research carried out by the magazine BiryaÅ=9Fam[5] (One Life)
regarding the folklore of the Hopa-Hamshens has been seen an important
step towards rectifying the matter. There are no written records as to
when, why, or from where the Hamshens came to Hopa. Given that oral
testimonies on the subject are relatively new, the question of the
Hamshens’ arrival and settling in Hopa hasn’t been researched all that
much. In his doctoral thesis `The Geography of Hopa County’, Zeki
Koday provides some historical information regarding the settling of
Hopa. Koday notes that the Ottoman traveler Evliya Ã=87elebi visited
the area in 1640 and recorded that the population of Hopa was mostly
Laz and a minority of Greeks. Hamshen storeowners in Hopa

After the area was brought under Ottoman control, the local Hopa
landowners were banished and replaced by Turkish settlers. Turkish
state historian Fahrettin KrzioÄ=9Flu provides information contained
in a 1516 `Registry of the Real Estate of Trebizond Province’
regarding BaÅ=9Foba, the largest Hamshen village in Hopa: `[…] It is
noted that the vilayet of Bagobit (BaÅ=9Foba village), located between
Hopa and Makriyali (KemalpaÅ=9Fa) and the total revenues of five
villages there (BaÅ=9Fköy, Esenkıyı, Yoldere, Ã=87avuÅ=9Flu,
Koyuncular, was handed over to the local Christian martolos[6]

(Martolos, derived from the Greek armatolos, meaning `armed man’ or
militia. They were the remnants of the militia of the Byzantine Empire
which the Ottoman gained control of around 1430 and which they
maintained in some form into the early 19th century. At the time of
the full development of their organization under the Ottomans, The
mostly Christian

martolos served in many Ottoman provinces as part of the mobile troops
and received a salary. Over time, most martolos converted to Islam.)
[Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, Gábor Ã=81goston & Bruce Alan
Masters; 2009]

In documents dating to 1520-1554, Arhavi is noted as the county seat
and that other centers were Gönye (Muratlı-Borçka), Yagobit
(BaÅ=9Foba-Hopa) and Makriyali (KemalpaÅ=9Fa). According to these, in
1486 KemalpaÅ=9Fa was comprised of 47 Christian families. It also
notes that the center of Yagobit county (BaÅ=9Foba -Hopa) had 68 homes
and that it was founded between 1510 and 1520. The same registry
notes that in 1520 Yagobit (BaÅ=9Foba) and İskele (Hopa) were the
centers of the county and that Yagobit was comprised of the center and
six villages, and İskele of eight villages.[7]

It appears from the above-mentioned sources that Laz, Greeks and
Abazins, (a people related to the Abkhaz people) lived in BaÅ=9Foba,
founded in 1515.

Oral histories show that BaÅ=9Foba lands passed from the Laz to the
Hamshens. Certain place names still use the Lazuri originals. A
number of Hamshen village names are also Laz (The former name of
Yoldere is Zhourpichi, meaning `two brothers’, and there’s the belief
that Ghigoba (BaÅ=9Foba) derives from Ghigi.)

But we still have no precise data regarding when the Hamshens migrated
to Hopa. Historical research shows that from Hamshen proper
(Ã=87amlihemÅ=9Fin, HemÅ=9Fin, Senoz in Rize), the prevailing
migration routes due to forced Islamicization were to the
west. Anthony Bryer believes that the Hamshens were subject to Islamic
influence in the 15th century and had mostly converted to Islam by the
18th century. Those who remained Christian spread to the towns along
the Black Sea coast, mainly Trebizond. [Bryer, Anthony (1975). “Greeks
and Turkmens: The Pontic Exception”][8]

Bert Vaux believes that there was a mass conversion of Western
Hamshens to Islam in the 16th and 18th centuries, a smaller number at
the start of the 20th century, and that the Eastern Hamshens adopted
Islam in the 17th.[9] Even though the Rize Hamshens still mark the
Christian holiday of Vardavar (its celebration is devoid of any
religious significance and is a summer festival in the mountain
valleys), there are no traces of a former Christian faith amongst the
Hopa-Hamshens. Place names in certain Hopa-Hamshen villages including
the word kilise (Turkish for church) most likely pre-date the arrival
of the Hamshens.

There are many Hamshen villages in Hopa and KemalpaÅ=9Fa today:
BaÅ=9Foba /Ghigoba, Yoldere/Zhulpiji, Ã=87avuÅ=9Flu /Chavoushin,
Koyuncular/Zaluna, EÅ=9Fmekaya /Ardala, GüneÅ=9Fli /Tzaghista,
Balıklı/Anchurogh, Kaya Köyü/Ghalvashi, Ã=87amurlu /Chanchaghan,
Å=9Eana, Ã=9CçkardeÅ=9F, Köprücü, Osmaniye,
Karaosmaniye/Ghetselan, Akdere/Chyolyuket, Kazimiye/Veyi Sarp:
Usually, Hamshen villages are made up of extended families of
brothers. But those of BaÅ=9Foba, Ardala and Hendek are comprised of
different families, leading us to infer that the process of settling
took place in different time periods. It is only in the villages of
Ã=9CçkardeÅ=9F and Köprücü that the Hamshens live alongside the
Laz.

The Hamshens now living in the area of KemalpaÅ=9Fa, a coastal town in
Artvin Province just a few miles from the Georgian border came from
Hopa. Thus, the Hamshens first settled in Hopa and then started to
move to KemalpaÅ=9Fa. It is believed that the Hamshens first arrived
in KemalpaÅ=9Fa as agricultural workers, given that the land was
better suited for this, and that gradually they purchased those lands
themselves. Some of the Hamshen families now living in KemalpaÅ=9Fa
villages have relatives back in Hopa and note that their `native
hearths’ are the villages of Hopa. In the past, there were practically
no Hamshens living in the town of Hopa. Today, due to the retreat of
agriculture and animal husbandry and the parallel rise of commerce,
more than half the town is now comprised of Hamshens.

This `descent’ of the Hamshens from the mountain valleys down to the
town of Hopa, the seat of the Hopa district, wasn’t easy. The
historical disagreements between the area’s peoples are still referred
to today as the `Laz-Hamshen conflict.’

The Hamshens still remember the time when the Laz aghas of Hopa
wouldn’t permit them to enter the town and the village produce they
would bring to market was forcibly seized by agents of the aghas.

The socio-economic development of the Hamshens is a consequence of
this resettlement. The former employment sectors of the Hamshens –
agriculture (corn), horticulture, animal husbandry, and woodworking –
overtime gave way to the trades and transportation.

The growth and division of families, and the continuing difficulties
associated with maintaining flocks of sheep in the mountain valleys of
Ardahan, Ispir, Olti and elsewhere, were reasons for the Hamshens to
turn to the towns and commerce. (The raising of animals became
increasingly difficult after Hamshen sheep flocks were kicked out of
Batumi, which was used as a winter respite, and the border was
eventually shut tight.)

Hızır Yazıcı, who worked for many years as a bread and pastry
maker in the town of Hopa, describes the process of Hamshens becoming
traders and craftsmen thusly.

`I started out as a bread baker in 1935. There were six bread ovens
back then. The Hamshens owned five in Hopa. There was Muhammed from
the Koyuncu’s, two brothers from the YaÄ=9Fcı’s and Grandpa Å=9Eukru
Akbıyık. There was Topal Cemal’s father, Harun, and a guy called
Mehmet TopaloÄ=9Flu. I was the sixth. The rest were Laz. KibiroÄ=9Flu,
TosunoÄ=9Flu, MustoÄ=9Flu, VajoÄ=9Flu; they all had flocks. That’s how
it was until the 1940s.’ [10]

Before the construction of the harbor in 1972, Hopa was a fairly
sleepy town. Like other Hopa residents, the Hamshens went off to work
as laborers in Ardahan, Murgul, Batumi and regional towns and centers
like Zonguldak along the western Black Sea coast. In time, they
brought back the crafts they had acquired to Hopa and other places. A
state sponsored plan to introduce tea in the 1970s did away with corn
growing and horticulture. The government made huge investments and all
suitable land was purchased to make way for tea fields. The tea
industry also served as an alternative to animal husbandry.

Parallel to the building of a harbor and the growth of the tea trade,
the transport sector quickly grew. Many Hamshens entered the transport
sector and it remains the chief job market for Hamshens along with
bread baking till today. Early on, Hamshens worked as drivers for
foreigners. Later, they organized companies of their own. With
companies such as Koyuncular, Yalçınlar, Dalkılıç, Yenigüller,
the Hamshens are serious players in the sector. Those large revenue
generating transport companies, who started dealing with the
post-Soviet nations in the 1990s, slowly began to turn to the
manufacturing sector. Today, there are Hamshen businessmen in all
sectors of commerce. The cultural and political life of the Hamshens
is also conditioned by socio-economic developments. The Hopa-Hamshens
are the only Muslim Hamshens who speak Homshetsma.

The fact that the Hopa-Hamshens preserved their language is linked to
their isolated village life. Their continued self-sustaining village
life, due to agriculture and animal husband, allows them to pass down
the language from generation to generation and for the maintenance of
certain traditions. This situation began to change with the founding
of the Turkish Republic, when the central government made the teaching
of Turkish mandatory. Even those who had become merchants in the towns
and those wishing to obtain decent jobs were obliged to know the
official state language as their native tongue.

Many Hamshens only learnt Turkish in school and this was the case
until the 1980s. It’s forbidden to use any language other than Turkish
in the schools. School administrations would not only force pupils to
speak Turkish but also instructed families to only speak Turkish at
home to their kids.
The author Cemil with a relative

Those families who wanted their children to get a good education and
decent work afterwards, began to speak Turkish at home. But they
continued to speak Homshetsma while they learnt Turkish. Gradually,
the pressures brought to bear for making Turkish mandatory lead to the
weakening of Homshetsma. In the past, everyone spoke
Homshetsma. Today, many children cannot speak it at all, understanding
only a bit.

Concomitant with economic growth, the Hamshens started to show
progress in their social and political affairs. A Hamshen was elected
mayor of Hopa for the first time in 2004. Israfil Kotil, who heads the
Hopa Drivers’ Union, and Engin Koyuncu, Chairman of Hopa’s Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, are both Hamshens. Hamshens are well
represented in government and the public health and education sectors.

When it comes to politics, Hamshens are mostly left of center. This
leftist tendency has received its fair share of scrutiny. In the
run-up to the 2011 parliamentary elections, a press interview given by
Cüneyt Aytolan, one of the managers of the ruling party’s Arhavi
campaign office, gives an insight into the subconscious mind of the
right-wingers and the authorities.

`The right of center electorate in Arhavi is 70%. It’s the exact
opposite in Hopa. The reason isn’t the Laz but the Hamshen
Armenians. They are playing at ethnic chauvinism.'[11]

Except for the `official historians’ and the Hamshens themselves,
everyone else regards the Hamshens as Armenians. Explaining their
support of the left as a consequence of their being Armenian, would
appear to be an expression of chauvinism.

Then again, the interpretation that all Hamshens vote for leftist
parties is also baseless. For example, BaÅ=9Foba other villages are
well-known as `Little Moscow’. However, the Hamshen villages of Ardala
and Zaluna are bastions of rightwing Turkish nationalist parties.

It would be more correct to say that the Hamshens, parallel to their
economic and social development, are regarded to be more active in the
political arena than others. Leftist partisan movements sprung up in
the aftermath of the civil upheaval of 1974-1980 and the military coup
of 1980. Hamshens were well represented in organizations of mass
popular resistance. To understand what was going on, we have to look
at the situation from different angles. First, the Hamshens were
falling behind in the social and economic spheres. For example, the
Laz living in the district center were integrated with the government
(as city dwellers, modernization came much quicker), whereas the
Hamshens started the process much later. Even as late as the 1980s,
the Hamshens had to build village roads on their own, in a cooperative
effort, without state assistance. Second, having their own `mother
tongue’, the Hamshens were out of synch with the Turkish government’s
concept of `One language, One Nation’.

Thus, the Hamshens expressed their social and political demands mostly
in terms of leftist politics. In addition to sociological reasons, the
structure of the Hamshen identity also contributed to their becoming
`partisans’; i.e. on the front line of struggle. Tackling the
challenges and arduous conditions of daily life, the Hamshens have
been gifted with a high degree of self-confidence, personal
responsibility and a rebellious and temperamental nature. It was for
these reasons that the Hamshens strove to be `on the front line’ of
whatever political movement they supported. Then too, an important
segment of Hamshens preferred to be associated with political parties
supporting the government, since they viewed such affiliation as the
road towards economic advancement.

It’s safe to say that, subconsciously, those who adopted the
`pro-government’ approach were constantly fearful of being singled out
as Armenians. The Hamshens know they are regarded by others as
Islamicized Armenians and certain Hamshens, in an attempt to shed this
image, wind up supporting the most rightwing political parties in
Turkey. Political affiliation also divides Hamshens into those who
acknowledge or disavow their Armenian roots.

Hamshens who accept their Armenian roots are generally those within
the leftist-socialist political specter. Since the left-socialists are
opposed to the central state ideology, its official view of history,
and the nationalist motto `One language, one nation’, they do not
emphasize historical problems that much

This section of the Hamshen community, however, also lacks any
narrative of identity and makes no political demands based on
identity. The issue of Hamshen identity was only put on the agenda in
the late 1990s. Several factors were at play here, the primary one
being the Kurdish movement; a political movement demanding various
cultural and language rights. The Kurdish movement shook Turkey to the
core and spurred other national groups subject to assimilation by the
ruling powers to voice their opposition to the `official
ideology’. The Laz, living alongside the Hamshens, followed the Kurds
and experienced a reawakening of their own. Interest grew regarding
the national language and music. Measures to assimilate the
non-Turkish communities, which continued throughout the entire period
of the Turkish Republic, led to the formation of different mindsets
and psychological hang-ups.

The policy of assimilation spawned the view that Turkish, in addition
to being the state language, was the language of modernity and
urbanites. Local languages, viewed as crude and associated with rural
backwardness, were ridiculed to the point of shame. To speak a
language other than Turkish in public was regarded as unacceptable.

The Kurdish struggle, in defense of their language and cultural
rights, and subsequent measures taken by the Laz to follow the Kurdish
example, put an end to such psychological hang-ups. Members of various
ethnic groups began to relate to their language and culture to a
greater degree.

Laz singer-songwriter and activist Kâzım Koyuncu (1971-2005) issued
a number of CD’s that featured songs in the Hamshen dialect. The
Hamshen community, especially the young people, took this as a wake-up
call to mobilize in defense of their endangered language and culture.
Kâzım Koyuncu had no hang-ups when it came to showcasing the music
and culture of the peoples of the Black Sea coast. He became an
instant hit across the country and both the Laz and Hamshen
communities took this to heart and freed themselves from the tradition
of self-belittlement they had come to accept as the norm. Many Hamshen
youth, following Koyuncu’s example, rediscovered the songs locked away
in the memories of their grandmothers – songs in the mother tongue
long since forgotten. Young Hamshen songwriters also started to
compose new songs in the mother tongue.

They began to circulate Hamshen language texts over the internet via
social websites. In the music field, the following singers and groups
began to turn out CD’s featuring Hamshen songs – Gökhan Birben, Bizim
YaÅ=9Far (KabaosmanoÄ=9Flu), AydoÄ=9Fan Topal, Vova, AydoÄ=9Fan
Yılmaz, Salih Yılmaz, Meluses, etc.

Bilingual Homshetsma-Turkish articles first appeared in the magazine
BiryaÅ=9Fam, published in Hopa. A few months ago, the `Hadig’ Hamshen
Cultural Research and Preservation Union, opened its doors in
Istanbul.

These developments in the cultural sector have led to different
approaches regarding the issue of Hamshen identity and related
challenges. What steps can be taken to preserve the Hamshen language;
the main defining component of Hamshen identify? Is the current
Hamshen vocabulary sufficient or must links be re-forged with
Armenian, the prime well-spring of Homshetsma?

Following the lead of the Kurds and other ethnic groups, should the
Hamshens demand that the Hamshen language (Homshetsma) at least be
taught as an elective subject in schools located in Hamshen
communities? What does `Hamshen culture’ mean?

Those individuals committed to the survival of Hamshen identity
continue to debate and discuss such issues. It’s a recently launched
exploration still fraught with uncertainty.

Photo by Anahit Hayrapetyan

Translated (from Turkish into Armenian) by Tiran Lokmagozyan
——————————

[1] Levon Haçikyan “HemÅ=9Fin Gizemi: HamÅ=9Fen ErmenileriTarihinden
Sayfalar”, translated and edited by BaÄ=9Fdik Avedisyan (Istanbul:
BelgeYayınları, 1996).

[2]

[3] An important article on the issue is AyÅ=9Fenur Kolivar’s
`Thoughts on the Turkish Dialect Spoken in a Hemshin Village’

[4] Those who speak Homshetsma call themselves Hamshentsi or
Homshetsi, while the Rize Hamshens do not use this Armenian form.

[5] BiryaÅ=9Fam Yerel Tarih, Folklor, Biyografi ve CoÄ=9Frafya
Dergisi, 13 volumes of this Hopa-based magazine have been published to
date. For further information:

[6] Zeki Koday, Hopa İlçesinin CoÄ=9Frafyası (`The Geography of
Hopa County’). (Unpublished doctoral thesis, page 112)

[7] Ibid

[8]

[9] Ibid

[10] BiryaÅ=9Fam, Vol 2

[11] MehveÅ=9F Evin, Milliyet, (
)

Home page

See also

– `Channel Two’ Live
From…

http://hetq.am/eng/articles/13063/the-hopa-hamshens-social-and-political-life.html
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hem%C5%9Finliler
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hem%C5%9Finliler
http://siyaset.milliyet.com.tr/artvin-de-secim-cetin-viraj-li/siyaset/siyasetdetay/30.05.2011/1396247/default.htm
www.biryasam.com.tr

Israeli Knesset delegation to visit Armenia

Israeli Knesset delegation to visit Armenia

news.am
April 14, 2012 | 13:45

An Israeli Knesset delegation led by Israel’s Minister of Agriculture
Orit Noked will visit Armenia on April 15-17.

As the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture informs, the aim
of the visit is to decide upon certain cooperation programs in the
field of agriculture between the two countries.

The delegation will meet with Armenian Minister of Agriculture Sergo
Karapetyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and Armenian PM
Tigran Sargsyan.

The delegation will visit Yerevan’s Brandy Factory, the Genocide
Memorial and the Matenadaran, institute of ancient manuscripts.

Various events to be held within the framework of `Yerevan World Cap

Various events to be held within the framework of `Yerevan World
Capital of Book’

13:10, 14 April, 2012

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS. The events intended within the
framework of “Yerevan World Capital of Book” program are already
known. Citing the official web site of the events, Armenpress reports
that the launch will be given on April 21 with the “ArmBookExpo” book
exhibition-fair in Yerevan with the participation of publishing and
printing houses from Armenia and abroad which have issued Armenian
language books or books about Armenia.

On April 22 a performance-march of alphabets will be held. On that day
the official ceremony of passing the UNESCO title of Capital of World
Book from Buenos Ayres to Yerevan will take place. The representatives
of Bangkok, world capital of book for 2013 will be among the honorary
guests.

A number of other events like opening of a statue, exhibitions, “Open
Book” open air reciting festival, international festival of “Tumanyan
Fairy-Tale Week”. During the 2013 events for children will also be
held.

German deputy foreign minister to visit Armenia, Georgia

German deputy foreign minister to visit Armenia, Georgia

10:07, 14 April, 2012

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS. Deputy foreign minister of Germany
Cornelia Pieper will visit Armenia on April 16. An official from
“Artsakh European Center” NGO told Armenpress that before the visit
the deputy minister stated that Germany’s relations with Armenia have
deep historic roots. In spring 2012 Armenia and Germany will mark the
20th anniversary of diplomatic relations. “Germany is the second
biggest partner of Armenia. As to cultural relations, they play
significant role in development of relations between the two
countries,” Pieper said.

“Unfortunately, there are unsolved territorial conflicts in the South
Caucasus and their peaceful settlement will promote the development of
the region. We want to promote the creation of atmosphere of trust
between the parties. The coming elections in Armenia and Georgia will
play an important role in the development of democracy in these
countries and orientation to Europe,” the German top official said.

On April 16 Cornelia Pieper will meet with Foreign Minister of Armenia
Edward Nalbandian and Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan. On the
next day she will meet with Education and Science Minister Armen
Ashotyan.

German deputy minister will open in Yerevan on April 16 “Call out Art
– Gobelin from Halley-Zalley” exhibition. On April 17 together with
the Armenia’s Education and Science Minister Pieper will open German’s
center in Yerevan.

On April 18 the deputy German minister will depart for Georgia.

ANCA-Hollywood to Host `Armenian Cultural Show: Revival Through Art’

ANCA-Hollywood to Host `Armenian Cultural Show: Revival Through Art’

armradio.am
14.04.2012 11:38

The Armenian National Committee of America, Hollywood Chapter will
host an Armenian Cultural Show in commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide on the evening of Friday, April 20th. The show will be held
at the Armenian Youth Center in Los Angeles.

April 24 marks the dark day Armenian intellectuals and artists were
killed. The evening will remember these artists and thinkers and bring
their art to life again. Again and again, the show’s message will be
the revival of the Armenian People through art and creativity that
persists to this day.

`We have not forgotten the spirit and talent of our people, which live
on today through our youth, who are constantly generating new
inspiring artwork,’ said ANCA-Hollywood Executive Board Member
Tsovinar Karapetyan. “True, the memory of the Armenian Genocide
continues to live in us and makes up a part of our identities, but our
identity as Armenians should not be limited to this memory. We have a
rich culture and produce great art, poetry, and music that speaks
strongly of this Genocide and we should always remember this,’ she
added.

The evening will begin with Armenian-American composer Eric V.
Hachikian, who will speak about his cultural and professional journey
in music and the inspiration his heritage lends him in producing such
art.

In addition to composing, Hachikian has produced and directed the film
Voyage to Amasia, which tells the story of his grandmother’s exile
from her village `Amasia’ during the Armenian Genocide and his return
to that village, now in modern-day Turkey, nearly a century later.

Following Hachikian’s presentation, a group of young, talented
students will perform the mmortal works of Komitas, Shiraz, and Paruyr
Sevak.

On display throughout the evening will be an “art showcase,” arranged
as a timeline of the works of Armenian writers, artists, and
intellectuals who died during the Genocide or survived to see its
consequences. The works of today’s Armenian youth will also be showcased.

`It will be a great opportunity for the entire community to come
together and witness the unique Armenian talent living here in Los
Angeles,’ said ANCA-Hollywood Chair Paul Seradarian.

Le village frontalier de Dativan a sa nouvelle école

ARMENIE-FONDS ARMENIEN
Le village frontalier de Dativan a sa nouvelle école
financée par des Arméniens d’Argentine

Un couple de bienfaiteurs Arméniens d’Argentine, Armen et Nadia
Eskerdjian ont financé -par l’intermédiaire du Fonds Arménien «
Hayastan Himnatram »-la construction de l’école du village de Dativan
dans la région de Tavouche (Arménie). L’ancienne école qui datait de
1950 était une construction en bois à laquelle d’autres constructions
étaient venues se rajouter avec l’accroissement du nombre des élèves.
Aujourd’hui la nouvelle école sur deux étages, peut accueillir une
soixantaine d’écoliers. Les salles de classes seront équipées de
matériel scolaire avec également une salle d’informatique. « Le couple
Eskerdjian ont ainsi apporté une contribution importante pour ce
village frontalier. De plus, nous sommes honorés de les voir ici en
Arménie pour l’inauguration de cette école de Dativan (…) c’est
aussi grce à eux que le village a aujourd’hui de l’eau potable, du
gaz et d’un Centre communautaire » dit Ara Vartanian, le directeur
exécutif du Fonds Arménien « Hayastan Himnatram ». Rappelons que le
village de Dativan se trouve à la frontière entre l’Arménie et
l’Azerbaïdjan. Son développement et le maintien des villageois sur
place est tant humanitaire que stratégique pour la défense des
frontières du pays.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 14 avril 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

A Titanic Survivor’s Tale

A TITANIC SURVIVOR’S TALE

April 13, 2012

Titanic survivor Neshan Krekorian. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAMELA SABOUNJI

BRANTFORD, ONT. – BRANTFORD, Ont. – Neshan Krekorian spoke no English
in 1912. But he understood fear. He understood terror. And the Armenian
emigrant had a will to live.

In the desperate panic during the wee hours of April 15, 1912,
Krekorian, 25, did not know what instructions frantic Titanic crewmen
were shouting. He did not comprehend the words spoken by doomed men
as they placed wives and children into the descending lifeboats.

He could not make out the gasping, futile cries for help from those
flailing in the icy sea.

Perhaps it was just as well. For more than 65 years, Krekorian lived
with memories no one would want yet everyone wanted to hear.

He was one of only about 700 survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.

Some 1,500 people died. Krekorian also belonged to an even smaller
fraternity – that of male survivors from third class.

When Krekorian boarded the Titanic to embark on a new life in the
new world, he had already escaped an uncertain fate.

A Christian, he had fled the political strife and religious persecution
of his homeland on the advice of his father, who instructed him to
go to North America and start a new life.

In April 1912, he was headed to Brantford, Ont., where, in the years
before the First World War, a small but vibrant Armenian community
had formed.

Krekorian, and five other Armenian men from his community, found
their way to France and booked third-class passage at Cherbourg for
a voyage to New York aboard the much-heralded Titanic.

Krekorian had no idea of the hype that preceded the luxurious liner’s
maiden voyage. As a non-English-speaking steerage passenger, he
was also unaware of the lavish amenities afforded to those on the
upper decks.

That Krekorian survived was a miracle in more ways than one. He was
one of only about 75 men, 76 women and 27 children from third class
to survive the sinking. The death toll of third class passengers
numbered more than 500.

“It was secluded down there,” says grandson Van Solomonian, of
Toronto. “He talked about breaking a locked door. There was a chain
on the door.”

During the voyage there was no mingling between steerage passengers
and those in first or second class.

Somehow, in the horrific chaos of the sinking, Krekorian made his
way on deck and into lifeboat No. 10. “He saw an opportunity and he
jumped in,” Solomonian said.

As years passed, Krekorian’s tales of the experience became less
specific and more visceral.

“He talked about how cold it was. The chunks of ice (in the water).

And the noise. He heard screaming and yelling,” Solomonian said.

After being plucked from lifeboat No. 10 and taken aboard the
rescue ship Carpathia, Krekorian joined the hundreds of bewildered,
unbelieving strangers whose notoriety for simply being alive would
grow with each passing generation.

On arrival in New York City, Krekorian spent four days in hospital
being treated for pneumonia. He was finally sent on his way and
arrived in Brantford on the evening of April 25, 1912.

A Brantford Expositor reporter learned of his arrival and hurried to
an Armenian boarding house for an exclusive interview.

The reporter entered a large room set with tables. Four Armenian
men sat at each table entertaining themselves with some type of
“game peculiar to the country whence they came.”

The interview was a convoluted affair, conducted with the help of two
interpreters, Mr. Mosoian and Mr. Ouzounean. The latter, Ouzounean, did
not speak English either and interpreted Krekorian’s words into French.

As reported in the newspaper, as Krekorian related his experience,
the other Armenians – about 20 or so – crowded around to hear the
harrowing tale.

“Everybody was running every way, downstairs, upstairs,” he told the
newspaperman. “It was about 11 o’clock and I was quite asleep. One
of my companions woke me up and told me something happened. He then
went up on deck to see what. They tell him to go right down and get
his things on and to get ready to get into lifeboats.

“At first we had no idea that anything bad happened and then little by
little we began to see ship was sinking. Then everybody got excited,
running, shrieking, shouting. I saw little boats and big boats being
lowered and I began to feel bad. I saw two men try to get into a boat.

(An) officer shot them. I felt stunned, and knew that something must
be done. As a little boat went down I jumped right into it. I then
hid under the cover at the front.

“I remember twice they looked to see all who were in the boat and none
saw me. Then they came again, a third time, and found me. I was too
listless to care, and just sat and looked around. We stayed in the
boat perhaps three hours, perhaps more and then came the big steamer.

We then went to New York.

The Expositor heard another account that Krekorian might have been
found dressed as a woman when he was picked up by the rescue ship.

Although Krekorian denied the rumour, the newspaper ran with the
headline the next day: Armenian Who Dressed in Women’s Clothes to Get
Off the Titanic Arrived Here Last Night – Interviewed by Expositor Man.

According to records, Krekorian was in lifeboat No. 10, launched at
about 1:40 a.m. It is believed it carried about 30 people, less than
half of its capacity of 65.

Also aboard the lifeboat was two-month old Millvina Dean, her
two-year-old brother and their mother. Millvina, who died in 2009 at
the age of 97, was the last living Titanic survivor.

Krekorian remained in Brantford for several years before moving to St.

Catharines, Ont., in 1918.

He raised three children and died in 1978.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/04/13/a-titanic-survivors-tale

Memorial Walkway For Armenian Genocide Created In Arizona

MEMORIAL WALKWAY FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CREATED IN ARIZONA

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 13, 2012 – 10:39 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Noubar Armen Manoogian, 17, of Scottsdale, Arizona,
has become the first Boy Scout of Armenian descent to achieve the
rank of Eagle Scout in the state of Arizona.

According to a press release provided by St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic
Church, the completed project was approved by the Grand Canyon Council
and the rank of Eagle was conferred on April 12, 2012 at the Eagle
Board of Review. Nationally, the Eagle Scout rank is achieved by only
5% of the boys that enter Boy Scouts.

For his project, Noubar created a Memorial Walkway for the Armenian
Genocide, which is the first of its kind in the United States. The
walkway is bordered with the words “Martyred For Our Faith In These
Places, Here We Worship Still”. The 68-foot long, 5-foot wide concrete
path has stamped into it 113 names of towns where the Armenian
Genocides of 1896 and 1915 occurred. It is located at St. Apkar
Armenian Apostolic Church, 8849 East Cholla Street, in Scottsdale.

The Armenian Genocide Memorial Walkway took 320 man hours to complete.

After many stages of planning, fundraising, work and approvals, it was
completed over three weekends in January of this year. The purpose
of an Eagle Project is for a Boy Scout to show leadership in the
planning and execution of a service project that is the culmination
of his years of training in the Scouts. Noubar led the dedicated
Boy Scouts from his Troop 869, and also from Scottsdale’s Troop 411,
in the execution of his project.

2012 is the 100th Anniversary of the Eagle Scout rank. Noubar’s Eagle
rank patch will be a special centennial edition that will only be
conferred on those scouts who achieve Eagle in 2012. The Armenian
Genocide Memorial Walkway will be blessed on Sunday, April 22nd,
2012 by Rev. Fr. Zacharia Saribekyan.

The blessing will take place after the church services when the
congregation follows the priest in a vigil Tapor for the Genocide
Martyrs. The Primate of the Western Diocese, Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian, will lead a short ceremony at the Memorial Walkway when he
visits the St. Apkar Parish May 3 to 5 for the Annual General Assembly
of the Western Diocese. It is being held this year in Arizona for
the first time in its 85 year history.

Noubar Manoogian is the son of Dn. Berj and Victoria Manoogian and the
brother of Rossleen. He has been in scouting since age 6 as a Tiger
Scout, then as a Cub Scout when he earned every Arrow Point and the
St. Gregory Religious Medal for Cub Scouts from the Eastern Diocese.

As a Boy Scout, he has earned 51 Merit Badges and the St. Vartan
Religious Medal for Boy Scouts, and he is a member of the Boy Scout
Honor Fraternity, the Order of the Arrow. He has been an Ordained
Acolyte of the Armenian Apostolic Church since age 8 and is currently
the Junior Executive for the Hye-Ways Group and a member of the ACYO.

Not Reforms But System Changes Required In Armenia – Democratic Part

NOT REFORMS BUT SYSTEM CHANGES REQUIRED IN ARMENIA – DEMOCRATIC PARTY

news.am
April 13, 2012 | 18:37

YEREVAN. – Head of the Democratic Party of Armenia Aram Sargsyan held
meetings with the voters in Gyumri.

He presented the key points of the party’s election program and
responded to the voters’ questions. Sargsyan claims that no reforms
may change the situation till the present authorities are in office.

Hence, not reforms but system changes are required.

The Democratic Party of Armenia is a left-wing party established in
1991. Chairman of the party is Aram Sargsyan.

The proportional list includes 45 names. The party’s motto is “If
Justice then Democrats.”

Armenian President Calls To Vote For ARF Dashnaktsutyun Candidate

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CALLS TO VOTE FOR ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN CANDIDATE

NEWS.AM
April 13, 2012 | 18:49

YEREVAN.- The Republican Party of Armenia continues its pre-election
meetings. The President of Armenia and RPA leader Serzh Sargsyan
visited to Ararat region on Friday in the framework of the election
campaign.

Referring to those who criticize the authorities, the President
mentioned that there are political forces which do not want to work
but criticize the government.

“I advise you to be careful and see who the promising ones are,
what they have done,” he emphasized.

Speaking in one of the villages he advised to vote for a candidate
nominated by ARF Dashnaktsutyun.

“Don’t consider it to be strange. We stand for tolerant and civilized
dialogue. And we try to solve many issues by uniting everyone’s
efforts,” the Armenian President said.