FROM BERLIN WITH LOVE: REPORTER FINDS SMALL, BUT VIBRANT ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN GERMANY
FEATURES | 19.09.14 | 11:16
GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
In the heart of Europe, near Berlin’s famous Brandenburg gate, a
little girl’s argument with her brother catches my attention. The
thing is that she does it in Armenian, which completely confuses my
thoughts. I at once deviate from my route and approach them.
After not meeting a single Armenian in Berlin during the first four
days of my workshop in the German capital the girl’s Armenian speech
sounded like music to my ears.
“Mum, tell him to behave,” the seven-year-old complains to her mother,
a young woman sitting near the Gate not far from them.
“Are you Armenian?” I ask the young woman as I approach her. “Yes,
we are,” she answers, stretching her arm for a handshake.
Armine Gevorgyan, a 34-year-old mother of two, has lived in the
German city of Hamburg with her husband for already 14 years. She
says she has already got accustomed to her life away from Armenia,
but she admits that her historical homeland is always on her mind.
“Every time we see an Armenian we have a different feeling, especially
when we meet an Armenian from Armenia. Although our children attend
a German school, at home we speak only in Armenian, we try to remain
Armenians,” Gevorgyan says.
According to official data, Germany is home to a 40,000-strong
Armenian community. Unofficial sources put the number of Armenians
in Germany at 60,000. The largest Armenian community is in Cologne,
while about 4,000 Armenians live in capital Berlin.
Northern Germany priest Father Gnel says that the German diocese
of the Armenian Apostolic Church was founded in 1992, the primacy
is located in the city of Cologne and has 15 church communities,
a few others are now in the process of formation.
Father Gnel says that mainly descendants of survivors of the
Ottoman-era Genocide of Armenians live in Germany. In recent years
there have also been newcomers from Armenia.
“Armenian House – this is how the small gathering place of the Armenian
community is called. It plays a very important role in the preservation
of our identity, as there is a certain place where Armenians gather,
have conversations, arrange various discussions, workshops, events,”
says the priest, as he enters a modest two-storey building rented in
a street not far from the central part of Berlin.
Little Armenia opens as you walk in. In front of the front door
on the wall there is an Armenian tricolor and the coat of arms of
Armenia. On the wall in the spacious room on the basement floor
there is an Armenian khachkar (cross-stone) made of khachkar images,
pictures of great Armenian writers. Every Friday this room is filled
by Armenians who hold their various events here. Armenian language
and history classes are organized on the first floor.
Father Gnel sadly notes that although the community rents one of the
churches in Berlin for liturgies, it still has no church of its own
in the German capital so that its doors could be open to Christian
Armenians all the time.
But even in the absence of a church Armenian community life in Berlin
is quite active. Father Gnel says that local Armenians will also
have their part in the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide next year.
“The Diocese has set up its internal group which attends to programs
connected with the Genocide commemoration events. Each city presents
its programs, for example the city of Halle, where we already have
our church, has officially recognized the genocide word. Next year,
on May 10, a monument will be set up in the center of Halle upon the
initiative of the Armenian community,” the priest says.
Genocide commemoration events are likely to be held also at an
official level.
Member of the Christian-Democratic party at the German parliament,
Bundestag, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag
Manfred Grund said during the Tuesday meeting with Armenian,
Azerbaijani, Russian and Georgian journalists that he had spoken
to the head of the Bundestag and at present they were considering
what format to choose “for the commemoration next year of the 100th
anniversary of the heinous crime of the Armenian Genocide.”
“Most likely the Bundestag will pass a resolution regarding these
events and different discussions will be organized,” said Grund,
who recently visited Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
German lawmakers are not indifferent to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue
either. According to MP Grund, who appeared on Baku’s “blacklist” of
personae non gratae after visiting Karabakh, at present no peaceful
solution can be seen, as “Azerbaijan makes huge investments in the
purchase of arms, and Armenia is Russia’s hostage.”
“Germany is not a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, therefore we have
no much information about the Karabakh issue, usually, we learn the
opinions of Azerbaijan and Armenia, but for me it is also important to
see the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the attitude of the public,
that’s why I visited Nagorno-Karabakh and hope that the problem will
be solved through negotiations and an armed conflict in this region
will be excluded,” the German parliamentarian said.
On the evening, returning to our hotel, we inquire about the directions
from a Berlin metro information desk officer. The polite worker
explains the directions in every detail, asking us where we were
from. Feeling like small drops in the world’s ocean we say we are
from Armenia, being sure that the German will surely mistake it for
Albania, Romania or some other eastern European nation with a ‘-nia’
ending. But we get pleasantly surprised to see that he recognizes our
country at once and as proof pronounces: “Me-khi-tar-yan”, referring
to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Armenian player of the German soccer club,
Borussia Dortmund.
The trip of Gohar Abrahamyan and other Armenian journalists to Berlin
was organized by the Taz.panterstifung foundation.
http://armenianow.com/society/features/56949/armenia_berlin_germany_community_reporter