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The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 12; March 29, 2008
Commentary and Analysis:
1. A Cat Tale in Emails
Why An Armenian May Not Be Named ‘A Young Turk’
By Zarine L. Arushanyan
2. Emigration from the Orphanage
By Zara Sargsyan
3. The Doctrine of Unclean Hands
By Garen Yegparian
4. Doing Business with an Armenian
By Tom Vartabedian
***
1. A Cat Tale in Emails
Why An Armenian May Not Be Named ‘A Young Turk’
By Zarine L. Arushanyan
"About 1.5 million people were killed as a result of the Armenian Genocide
organized in the Ottoman Empire by the government of Young Turks,
1915-1919."
-ArmenianHouse.org
To start with, I shall say that I live my quiet life in Yerevan, though
since 1988 the life in Armenia may hardly be called "quiet." Anyhow, after
the war for the independence of Artsakh, the meetings of 1996 and the
assassinations in the Armenian Parliament in 1999, I managed to create an
isolated small world for myself, a kind of "ivory tower," as one of my
relatives named my life style in recent years.
You may grin at me, but because of the adverse circumstances of daily
routine in Armenia, I preferred to choose this isolation. I try to work hard
(when there is work to do), and read books that we could not afford to hold
in our hands some 10 years ago. Accidentally, in 2001, I got a cat, and
because it resembled the Vana katu, the collection of the information about
this domestic cat breed became a hobby that I leaped into. Thus, I finished
an online course for feline breeders, then, again accidentally, remade my
course paper which was, of course, on the "Turkish Van" cat (the name under
which the breed was recognized and registered by various international cat
fancy organizations), and prepared an article titled, "What does a true Van
cat look like?" that was published in a pet fancy magazine in their
October-November 2007 issue in Russia.
Meanwhile, a German cat fancier showed interest in my article, and I
translated it to English with some corrections. To ground my negative
attitude to the intentions of some cat fancy organizations to recognize
all-white as a color of the Turkish Van cat, I gave the genetic background
that would influence the health matters of the breed in this case, and
referred to folklore, cultural traditions and history, including the cat
images on Hittite, Urartu and Artaxiad (Artashesian) Dynasty-period jewelry,
armor and other handicrafts, which were mentioned in various articles
relating to the breed.
My German colleague in cat fancy replied as soon as she received the English
version of my article, and said she liked it and would do her best to edit
it for possible publication in Germany. But then she asked me to submit
photographs of the Turkish Van cats, living in Yerevan, as well as the
photographs or drawings of the named antiques. It was not difficult to
provide the photographs of the cats, but all my attempts to find the ancient
cat images failed. No one knew where they were; even those, who had
published this information in their articles replied with silence or
referred me to somebody else.
Then, the German lady kindly offered her help in this search, and told me
that she had sent an inquiry to some Armenian organization in the U.S.
involved in the preservation of Armenian cultural inheritance. I was waiting
for their reply with great hope.
Therefore, please try to imagine how hurt I was, on reading in the German
woman’s next e-mail the response from the Armenian-American: He had advised
her to contact archeologists in Armenia, but to be careful because there
were many emerging "Young Turks" in the National Academy of Science of
Armenia who had become aggressively nationalistic in the last 15 years. He
suggested contacting an older Armenian historian of the same Armenian
Academy of Science for a more objective source.
"Emerging ‘Young Turks’"? I was sitting in sad confusion, trying to
understand what all this might mean. I addressed the lady once more,
demanding an explanation. Very soon she forwarded me the reply from the
Armenian-American scholar, and explained that some phrases of my article
obliged her to find out if they were correct.
These phrases were: ". If we advert to a more recent period, we will see
that the large light-colored cats with characteristic ring-colored tails are
imagined at the jewelry of the period of Urartu or otherwise Ararat Kingdom
(9th-6th c. c. B. C.)."
And then: ".if one takes into consideration that the continuous settlement
of other, except the Armenians, ethnic groups on the Armenian Upland started
during the last 5 to 6 centuries, i. e. much later than the named images of
the Van cats appeared, then it may be understood that the legend, as well as
the breed itself, has passed to the Turks from other ethnic groups ‘by
succession.’"
In our continued correspondence, the German lady demanded that I enter into
debates with the Turkish breeders of the Van kedisi and prove the "Armenian"
point of view as contrary to Turkish point of view. When I refused, because
we do not have any cat fancy organization in Armenia and it was my personal
opinion, and because I did not want to enter into confrontation with anybody
on national basis, she called me a nationalist because of the passionate
style of my article and criticism of Turkish history (Oh my God! The history
of Van is separate from Armenian history!), religion and traditions (as if I
could write about red-and-white van-patterned vana katu without the
explanation of the differences existing between it and all-white van kedi,
and the reasons for these differences).
To my further surprise she asked me for my permission to pass my article on
to a Turkish breeder of van kedisi, who resided in Germany, to publish in
his book about van kedi, as well as asked me to translate from Turkish two
articles on van kedisi. This was in the beginning of January, and I needed
two months to realize what had made my German colleague in cat fancy apply
such criticism and offers to me. To find the answers, I reread all the works
of Armenian historians that I had collected in my life, especially those
that were published after 1988. Nothing in these two phrases contradicted
the content of the mentioned written sources. Then online, I found a Turkish
governmental site on the origin of the Armenians, and realized why the lady
had offered to translate the articles, written in Turkish. The official
statement of Turkish government confirms that Turkish and Armenian are
relative languages and have numerous words in common. I thought, "Wow!" and
decided to write to the Armenian-American scholar, who had called the
historians at the Armenian Academy of Sciences "Young Turks."
I resent him his own reply to the German lady, and asked him what had made
him use this comparison. The following day, I received his reply. In
particular, he quoted various reference publications and periodicals,
thoroughly explaining who the "Young Turks" were, where and when they had
been at rule, as well as the meaning and usage of the idiom that originated
of the name of the Young Turk movement.
I had no information on this person, but two things were evident. First, he
did not realize why "the English idiom" hurt me, and the second, he did not
know from my given name that I was a woman. Initially, I no longer wanted to
contact him, but then I thought he could be a non-Armenian and did not know
our history and language, or that he was not aware that almost every
Armenian knew who the "Young Turks" were along with the names of the Three
Pashas that had organized the Great Genocide.
I send him the citation, placed in the beginning of this article, and
offered to find him an Armenian, who had genocide victims in their family,
to explain to him why it was unacceptable to use this worn idiom when
addressing an Armenian. When I sent him my second e-mail, I tried to get
more information about the man. I searched the internet, and to my great
surprise, I found out that he was a respected authority in Armenian culture
and had numerous publications. This discovery put me into further
deliresearch. From January on, I tried to contact the Armenian academic, who
had been mentioned by this person as a trustworthy scholar, but this person
had gone to the United States to read lectures and was going to return to
Armenia only in April. So, I contacted one of his colleagues, who explained
to me the position of the USA researcher.
When we, Armenians, overhear someone abroad speaking in Armenian, we ask
them: "Are you an Armenian?" We’re asking about someone’s ethnic origin, not
citizenship, because in everyday life we are hardly interested in someone’s
citizenship. We are sure that an Armenian remains the same Armenian
everywhere. We say: "an Armenian of America" or "an Armenian of France." For
centuries, patriotism and nationalism were the must for any representative
of the nation, in order not to lose both our country and ethnic identity.
There was nothing dangerous in our nationalism for those who surrounded us;
to the contrary, our neighbors always threatened not only our independence
but also our physical existence.
I would not say that much has changed both in our mentality and the attitude
of our neighbors to us. But the world around us does not stand still; it
constantly develops and changes. When someone is asked about their
nationality in the official papers, he or she is being asked about their
citizenship. The contemporary international researchers in archeaology,
ethnography and the other social sciences have adopted some definite
principles, and those who don’t adopt these principles stay in isolation. To
co-exist in the modern world a person should admit the principle of the
equality of all ethnic groups and nationalities. If you try to praise your
own nation, you will be accused of nationalism and racism. Any attempt to
speak on the ancient origin of your nation will be met with distrust.
We innocently believe that we, Armenians, are the descendents of Hayk
Nahapet (Patriarch), whom we consider a historical person or a hero of the
epic that reflected the fight of the Armenians with Babylon. Our mentality
resists questioning this point of view, not because we are undereducated or
aggressive. We are expressing our patriotism in a hostile environment. It
helps us survive under severe conditions and to develop our national culture
and traditions.
At the same time, the social sciences develop, and to communicate with the
outside world, we must change our mentality and attitude to that outer
world. Ideally, this way of thinking is necessary. But it is true only in
general. To illustrate this idea, I will give some examples on how this
principles work in practice.
Example 1: Such terms as "Armenian plateau" and "Armenian highlands" were
used in non-Turkish publications to describe the region until 1941, when
these terms were replaced with the name "Eastern Anatolia Region" at the
request of Turkish officials. The request was satisfied, and the
long-lasting tradition, existing in the Christian part of the world, was
left behind.
Example 2: In 1969, the delegates to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy
(GCCF) voted in favor of granting breed recognition to the Turkish Van Cat.
The application was supported by a letter, written by Professor Emin
Ariturk, the acting head of the Department of Animal Sciences at the
University of Ankara, who confirmed that the Van Cats of Turkey were a
recognized breed and had been bred domestically in Turkey for many years.
Thus, the breed was to be named the Turkish Van Cat, similar to the Turkish
Angora Cat, another cat breed originating in modern Turkey. These two cat
breeds are named with the use of two place-names (toponyms), making the
exception among the names of all other cat breeds.
Example 3: The Turkish Daily News reported in 2005 that "The Environment and
Forest Ministry has announced that it has changed animal names that contain
the words "Kurdistan" and "Armenia," which they considered threatened Turkey’s
unitary state." Meanwhile, a United Nations Development Program official
objected, noting that the change needed to be cited in relevant literature
to come into effect. We may guess of the extract that whenever the change is
cited in relevant literature, it will come into effect. We see in these
examples the tendency, as well as the process of attaching "national
identity" to scientific standards, which we are demanded to remain true to.
This distinction in the approach finds its continuation in popular
publications, when for instance, American and European writers with tender
affection repeat the Turkish interpretation of the place-name "Anatolia" (in
Turkish "Anadolu") as "the land of mothers."
Contrary to the "resolute step" of our neighboring nation, we are used to
adapt to ever changing circumstances, and in the outside world we, in our
greater mass, are pliable; we easily recede, leaving behind what we achieved
with hard work and at the cost of enormous hardships. Usually we forget
easily and hurry on to march in step with European time.
In our fear of being accused of nationalism and finding ourselves in
isolation, we become the most passionate guardians of the objectivity in the
valuation of our history and culture. We discuss various foreign theories of
our own origin, and our historians divide into different hostile camps; yet,
none of them want to hear the arguments of the others, instead of trying to
find the solutions that may satisfy both the requests of the contemporary
scientific methodology in the analysis and evaluation of the archaeological
and linguistic data, and serve our national interests.
The above-mentioned actual state of affairs, as I may guess, was the reason
the Armenian-American scholar gave such a negative opinion of the large part
of our historians. Of course, from the "scientific" point of view, he may be
right. But I look at his "devotion" to the principles from the ethical point
of view, and it is not acceptable for me. In case he wrote to my German cat
fancy colleague that naming Urartu "Ararat kingdom" and declaring the
Armenians the oldest ethnic group of the region was not correct, and advised
her to contact a trustworthy scholar, I would find the truth and enter the
corrections in my article sooner.
But, unfortunately, he applied his excellent knowledge of English idioms and
modern world history in his way. His replies show that he wrote them with
the conviction in his own immaculacy; this made me more upset because I
believe that naming an Armenian "a Young Turk" was an insult that outraged
the remains of our unburied victims, the ashes of whom hammer in our hearts
because none of their executioners have publicly recanted.
Unfortunately, the intolerance to our compatriots that has been displayed by
the Armenian-American scholar is not a lone event. Recently, we witnessed
another type of such intolerance that had transformed into hostility,
developed within the internal political process going on in Armenia. Some of
our compatriots forgot the severities they had suffered not long ago, while
others (between their long-lasting feasts and gambling) refused to see that
the "lean years" had not finished for everybody in our country.
This lack of "love to the neighbor" resulted in the social burst that led to
victims. I will not do any guesswork, and will wait for the results of the
criminal investigation to be published in the hope that this time, those who
took advantage of the people’s dissatisfaction in their miserable living and
the internal policy of the authorities, and instigated the disorder that
threatened our national security, will be revealed, and that they and the
faithful executors of their orders will be punished according to the law.
I am firmly convinced that the truth about the tragedy and the cooperation
among the political forces, based on the mutual respect of other parties’
opinions, is the only way for the survival of this nation.
—————————————— ————————————————– ——-
2. Emigration from the Orphanage
By Zara Sargsyan
I believe that one has to go to far away lands sometimes, to find treasures
hidden in their backyard.*
Last year, one of the programs of our organization, the Bem Youth
Progressive Action Center, brought me to this orphanage in Yerevan.
>From my conversations, it became evident that the majority of the children
who had ended up in this place had more or less the same story: the father
had left for another country to work and had formed a new family there,
while the mother wanted to continue her life without difficulties or wanted
to start a new life, so she brought her child to the orphanage. Terrible,
isn’t it? Believe me, it is even more terrible to see the very same mothers
visiting their child in the orphanage, accompanied by their children from
their new husband.
But I want to address another issue in this column.
These children’s past is past and we cannot bring it back. We also cannot
heal their wounds. But we can think about their future.
"What the children need most are people who would talk to them. Their
schooling is more or less OK, they receive good nutrition. There is some
shortage of clothing, but that is not a terrible thing. The bad thing is
that no one talks to these kids, no one listens to them," says the educator
of the group of 6-12 year-old girls.
The children, I learned, wanted to learn foreign languages, so our center
prepared a program for teaching foreign languages, one that would prepare
them to meet university requirements and make them competitive in the
workforce.
We visited the orphanage for an hour every day. Our main purpose was to talk
to the kids. Many of them confided in us, saying they wanted to leave the
country because they did not consider Armenia a place worth living in. What
was astonishing for me was that in their words, one could see the
disappointment and resignation of grown-ups.
It turned out that while we were thinking about the future of the orphans in
Armenia, they had other thoughts about their own future.
One day, we witnessed a very sad incident. "I don’t want this, I am
disgusted of Armenia, I am ashamed of being an Armenian," yelled one of the
girls who used to live in the orphanage. At 21, the government had given her
a small apartment and a job. She often came to the orphanage to help. Her
outburst shook us all. I hugged her and calmed her down. She said that she
lives in a terrible house and that her pay is very bad. I told her that I
had been to many countries and that there is something here, in Armenia,
that we cannot find anywhere else, and that’s the feeling of harazadutyun.
The number of teenagers who enrolled in the English-language classes
continued to grow. There were already 20 kids in the class and 20 others
were waiting for a new class to open. Their average age was 16-17. They had
finished school and wanted to continue their studies abroad-which is, in
fact, an excuse to leave the country.
I found myself in a complicated situation. Our foreign language course,
which we designed with good intentions, might have dangerous consequences.
After all, these kids had an idealized view of other countries. Here, within
the walls of the orphanage, they were sheltered from the many problems of
the outer world. But who would provide them with support and shelter in
foreign lands? In Armenia, at least, they had a place to call home.
We had long conversations about this, and it was impossible to convince
them. I got them Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist, and asked them to read
it. I thought, Now they will read the novel and hear the voice of the
universe. Perhaps they, too, like the hero of the novel, have to go to far
away lands to discover that the treasure they have been seeking is, in fact,
buried in their backyard.
* This quote is from a feature article by Khatchig Mouradian titled, "An
Alchemist’s Pilgrimage: Best-Selling Author Paulo Coelho’s Journey Among the
Armenians." It appeared in the Oct. 28, 2006 issue of the Armenian Weekly.
—————————————– ————————————————– ————–
3. The Doctrine of Unclean Hands
By Garen Yegparian
In the law, there’s a concept known by the title of this article. If I
understood the explanation my lawyer friend gave me, it goes something like
this: When someone is taken to court by another seeking redress for an
alleged "wrong," the person being sued can argue that because the person
suing was involved in whatever "wrong" occurred, the latter is not entitled
to any redress.
I hope this reminds you of something. Think Levon Ter-Petrossian. Here he
is, pleading for justice in high-minded language and dancing while doing it.
Even worse, many of his supporters are, by all accounts, people who stand to
gain personally with a Levon restoration or to renew their power, lost with
the passing of LTP from the presidency a decade ago. None of these people
have clean hands.
This is not to argue that the current wielders of state power have clean
hands. Both sides in the current clash of crooks actually have blood on
their hands. Yet, that seems to be the way of the world. Arafat, Begin,
Kissinger and Roosevelt (Teddy) all received the Nobel Peace prize. None
were exactly your run-of-the-mill pacifists. It’s absurd to me that any of
them got it. Lending credence to Levon’s caterwauling for better conditions
in Armenia would be just as ridiculous. No more! But credence is just what
he’s getting because of his circle’s savvy use of modern communications.
Their internet noise machine has trounced the poorly functioning remainder
of the Armenian media (Homeland and diaspora). Form is substance, the medium
is the message, and these lowlifes’ activities are living proof of the
veracity of these dicta.
The worst aspect of all is that those individuals who indeed came upon the
scene with clean hands, especially college-aged youth, are especially
susceptible to the profound disillusionment that ensues upon discovering
they’ve been had. These sincere folks are rightly indignant. We’ve got to
improve the state of governance and life in Armenia. Things aren’t as bad
for as many people as they were in the early to mid ’90s, but they’re
nowhere near acceptable.
So what are we to do? In the diaspora, we should really pick a few projects
or, even better, geographical areas in Armenia and support them. Build
infrastructure and demand accountability and the eradication of corruption,
on a small, localized scale. Then we, all of us, Homeland and diaspora, can
point to those success stories. Of course, this doesn’t mean ignoring
diasporan needs, something that has been the norm since the re-independence
of Armenia-a strong, well-endowed, smoothly operating diaspora is essential
to Armenia’s growth. In Armenia, those decent people who expressed their
outrage over the last few weeks should be engaged in the "demonstration
projects" I just mentioned.
Let’s shun, revile and extirpate from our midst the Levons of the world,
whether in office or out. Let’s apply the doctrine of unclean hands
mercilessly. Let’s build a Free, Independent and United Armenia by
integrating the efforts of all sincere lovers of Armenia.
—————————————– ————————————————– ————
4. Doing Business with an Armenian
By Tom Vartabedian
When somebody says to me, "None of your business," it usually means they don’t
want any.
Lately, I’ve been consumed by the world of business. And in my shrewd
dealings, I have come to one conclusion. It is very vulgar to talk about one’s
own business. Only people like stockbrokers do that, and then merely at
dinner parties.
I know of no better place where men may deceive one another than the stock
market, especially during these troubled times. It turns into a combination
of love and war.
However, that is not my business today. The matter at hand is doing business
with an Armenian-those of my ethnic kind. My father was a stickler for
supporting your own. He always drove home the hard fact that "birds of a
feather should flock together."
When an Armenian opened up a business, Dad was usually the first one at the
door. He bought his cars from an Armenian, had his insurance dealings with
an Armenian, and made sure his restaurant supplies were purchased from
Armenians.
His vacations-however few they were-he spent at an Armenian beach resort.
When he got sick, an Armenian doctor called. If he needed a new suit, he
made sure the sale went to an Armenian.
Conversely, his business drew very few Armenians. They would never
reciprocate for some reason, regardless of the home-cooked meals my mother
helped prepare or the fine Armenian hospitality they couldn’t wait to
initiate.
I happen to come from the same mold. My instincts always urge me to
patronize my own kind. Given the choice, I feel more at home when I’m
dealing with an Armenian. But to a certain point.
A certain turn of events has cast a shadow of doubt. Allow me to explain.
I just received a letter from an Aram Hagopian. He deals in camera
accessories and we’ve been doing business for quite some time.
He writes, "Dear Tom. After checking our records, we note that we have done
more for you than your mother did. We carried you for 15 months."
I’d give the guy credit but I don’t have any left. Where is this trust that
Armenians are known to possess? If he made the bill out for the proper
amount, I may have paid it, had the cash flow been available.
My barber was Armenian. I went to him for years, even when his eyesight was
failing. Business was so bad, I felt sorry for the guy. He even had a sign
in his window that read, "One barber-no waiting."
One day he cut off the sideburns on half my scalp and left the other one
standing. I gotta hand it to old Sam Karoustian. It grew so popular that a
fad was started and he survived a pretty close shave.
I have since taken my business to another Armenian barber. This one appears
to be a lot busier, much to my regret. His window sign reads, "Four
barbers-panel discussions."
A prominent Armenian philanthropist hired me to photograph his daughter’s
wedding and spared no expense, except when it came to the meal at the
reception. While 700 guests dined on prime rib at this posh Boston hotel, I
found myself in the kitchen munching on a cold turkey sandwich with members
of an Armenian band.
"Couldn’t we have been part of the wedding party?" I asked myself. "Hey,
aren’t we peas in the same pod?"
Money usually talks, but in this case, it said nothing to impress me. My
father always said a rich man is nothing but a poor man with money.
I’ve waited an eternity for an Armenian plumber to show and don’t seem to
have much success with an Armenian broker. He tells me all’s well, that
ends. I’m afraid that’s where my money is headed.
The "Armenian discount" merchants promise me tends to be 10 percent more
than the normal price. I imagine it’s pretty much the same across the ethnic
board. It all points to another logical conclusion. People should mind their
own business. If they don’t, others will.
I’m still looking for a good Armenian dentist. The last one I called was 40
years ago when a nagging toothache shut me down.
"Take two aspirins and I’ll call you with an appointment," he promised.
I’m still waiting. In the meantime, I’ve taken my business to a Jewish
dentist and he’s treated me like one of his own.