Author: Maral Chavushian

On the margins of his visit to Los Angeles on Sunday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which among others included ARF Bureau member Dr. Viken Yacoubian and the co-chairs of the ARF Western U.S. Central Committee Avedik Izmirlian and Dr. Carmen Ohanian.

The meeting, which took place at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles focused on the role the ARF has and continues to play in the advancement of the aspirations of the Armenian people in and outside of Armenia.

“I highly appreciate the role of the ARF has played in general and specifically within the context of preserving the Armenian identity,” Pashinyan told his interlocutors.

“Today we are discussing strategic issues, but I believe there is a slight nuance that must be incorporated: In discussing Armenian identity we must take into consideration not only its preservation, but now its development,” said Pashinyan.

“The ARF has had and continues to play quite an active role in Armenia’s domestic life. Within its activity, it’s not always that I have been in agreement with the ARF—that we’ve always agreed on issues—but within the context of our national goals, it does not change anything,” said Pashinyan. “Because those issues around which we do not agree are not that essential, if there are myriad strategic issues on which we agree.”

Dr. Yacoubian, the ARF Bureau member, welcomed Pashinyan to Los Angeles on behalf the party and its representatives, saying that the prime minister’s visit to L.A. had special significance given that during the popular movement in Armenia the people truly raised their collective voice through which they echoed the same vision that has been a source of the ARF’s struggle for the past 128 years.

“In that regard we affirm that the movement was a demand for the establishment of just structures, economic stability, and it sparked hope that the collective voice for advancing our national aspirations will remain united,” said Yacoubian who emphasized the need for the collective pursuit of those goals without divisions in order to put forth the people’s complete potential in the name of our just cause and the security of the homeland, without underestimating the laws and the constitutional order.

Yacoubian also stressed the need to evaluate the issues that concern the Diaspora based on each country and the Armenians that reside there. He emphasized that the preserving the Armenian identity for the Diaspora has not been a task, but rather a means for advance the Armenian Cause and serve the homeland.

“Hence, it is important to treat the Diaspora within this context, in order to not foster cooperation, as has been voiced by some circles, but rather to achieve the creation of the true ‘Armenian World,’ within which the Diaspora, with its people and structures, is present as a participant,” explained Yacoubian.

The ARF Bureau member addressed rumors of alleged splinters within the party, explaining that it is a wrong description of the party, since it operates as a decentralized organization. He pointed out, that the party’s ideology is one and will always be such, hence it cannot be splintered.

In his statements, Izmirlian, the ARF Western U.S. Central Committee co-chair, said that the time has come to serious include and engage the Diaspora in the development of Armenia so it can be an equal partner in the homeland-Diaspora equation. He also added that since their previous meeting last year in New York, some of the reforms discussed have not fully been realized and emphasized the need for advancing those changes to ensure the separation of the executive, judicial and legislative powers and branches of the government.

Izmirlian said that as the force, which has strived to bring together the community and has worked hard to advance unity in the most diverse reality that is the Armenian community of Western United States, the recent creation of the Pan-Armenian Council should be encouraged and supported. The Council, he explained, is hoping to engage more than the current 24 organizations and it aims to address the national challenges collectively, taking into consideration the potential of the community and its institutions.

Dr. Ohanian, the other co-chair of the ARF Western U.S. Central Committee, emphasized the diversity of the Western U.S. Armenian community, pointing out that it is home to countless Armenians from the various communities from around the world, as well as Armenia. She echoed Izmirlian’s sentiments and gave concrete examples of the work the ARF has done to unify and bring together the different segments of the community.

She also prioritized the advancement and elevation of women within the community, as well as in Armenia’s government structures—a sentiment welcomed by Pashinyan during the meeting.

BY ANNA ASTVATSATURIAN TURCOTTE

“As we walked through our patio, the neighbors said goodbyes and the sight was so sad that I wanted to leave this place as fast as possible. I kissed Papa goodbye. He wasn’t coming with us to the airport bus stop once again because he looked too Armenian.

We hurried to the bus station, on foot, trying not to attract anyone’s attention. Grandma accompanied us, helping Mama carry one of the bags and holding Misha’s hand.

Baku looked at me and sighed, I felt. I looked at Baku and cried.

As the bus raced through the city, I wondered when I’d see it again. Maybe in a few months, I thought, that would be the most. We hadn’t gone out into the city much after we came back from Armenia. The streets shocked me. They were so different. Lenin Square, pride and joy of the city, was a deserted lot, grimy with soot, dirt and debris left behind by violent mobs. Clean up and repairs were in process; even the pathway to the stairs leading into the government building and the base of the Lenin monument seemed burnt to a pitch black in several places in the heat of repeated bigoted conflagration.

The airport was filled with people. It seemed like the whole city was leaving. We stood in line, and after a while waved Grandma goodbye. “I love you,” I said to her. She smiled and kissed me. And then my Baku was gone.” – Excerpt from “Nowhere, a Story of Exile,” by Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte

I wrote these lines as a teenager, just learning English, sitting in a small bedroom of our Section-8 apartment we called our first home in United States. In this small North Dakota town, this was the first room I was to call my own. It was small and warm, a clean escape from the stresses of adapting to America and missing my relatives. These lines, which I wrote by hand, were meant to describe an emotional day of my life, September 18, 1989 – in a sense a love poem to my birth city. Now, with the foresight of the last 30 years I can say without hesitation that this was the most important day of my life, the day that shaped me as a human being for the next three decades and more, the day that shaped me as a mother, and propelled me to be an active and vocal member of the society. September 18, 1989 was the day I became a refugee.

But then, at the age of 11 and a half, this was simply a day I was leaving my beloved hometown, my house, my sweet grandmother, and my childhood friends. With the separation of time, and much reflection, we are able to see the important events in a different light, together with other components of our personality and our inner drives. Perhaps these important events eventually dull in the influence they have on who we are because we grow and change. But, time and time again, no matter how much I’ve survived or achieved in my life, I come back to this day, in my dreams, in my writing, in the art that I make, in the home that I create for my family, and in the things I value the most. Time and time again I reevaluate myself against this day: asking who am I, and who am I supposed to be?

Then, there are days when I doubt if I am who I was meant to be if it wasn’t for that fateful day, that fateful year. And, with that constant self-reflection, my friends will be the first to tell you, that I am many different things and they wouldn’t want me any other way. My garden in my home in Westbrook, Maine, is reminiscent of my garden in Baku – which I treasured as I child. I would hide underneath the grapevine-covered canopy and read the books from my father’s library, the library of 2,000 books, many of them antiques, that he was forced to leave behind.

Today, in 2019, I observe my children read under the grapevine that is growing in their backyard in Maine, and I smile. In that way, I take the good of my early childhood and combine it with the strength that the pain of fleeing my home created in me. Similarly, I see this in the work that refugees do across this country. My father, for example, a renowned Armenian repoussé artist, takes the skills of metal embossing he learned in the Soviet Baku and applies it to beautiful and ancient Armenian imagery, all while listening to duduk in his workshop. The refugee families across the country take the successes of our difficult lives and apply them to help others and, in turn, define who they are.

Only a refugee can understand this dichotomy. Only a violently displaced individual can fully comprehend the constant longing for that place, that state of comfort, and almost never finding it. And when the refugee accepts their fractured sense of home, when they embrace themselves and stop placing so much pressure on themselves to find it, the empowerment can be seen from a mile away in the things we create. Just a few hours ago, I completed a fundraiser for a 3D printer and computer lab for Stepanakert School #8 – collecting a total of $10,000 in less than two weeks. Majority of the donors were Baku Armenians with no ties to Artsakh. They wanted to help me commemorate the 30th anniversary of Baku Pogroms of January, 1990 in Artsakh by helping School #8 obtain state of the art 3D technology. There is strength in these projects from humanitarian perspective: we are helping Artsakh children. But there is so much more to this – we, as refugees, take our pain, our built up strength, and our vision for the future, and we create a new home for ourselves and everyone around us. Thirty years later, we survive, and we still question who we are meant to be. But in the end, we create. We create as our ancestors did and only that way we find peace.

Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte is an Armenian-American writer lecturer, city councilor, businesswoman, and a former refugee from Baku, Azerbaijan.

The people of Artsakh went to the polls on Sunday for municipal elections around the republic, marking the first of a series of elections that will take place as the provisions of a new constitution adopted in 2017 take effect. Parliamentary and presidential elections are set for February.

“We welcome the elections of local self-government bodies, which were democratic and fair,” said Davit Ishkhanyan, the chairman of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Central Committee of Artsakh. “We are confident that this election will take our country another step toward a stable state and with further strengthen democratic basis.”

“The elections demonstrated that our people are able to stay away from all sorts of divisive efforts and with a spirit of unity, will continue to path of further developing the country,” added Ishkhanyan.

Artsakh President Bako Sahakian congratulated the people of Artsakh on the elections and wished the winners success in their endeavors.

“Municipal bodies are fundamental to the chain whose efficiency to a great extent predetermines the functioning of the entire system of government. I am thus confident you [the winners] will do your best for the development and enhancement of your communities and Artsakh,” said Sahakian in his congratulatory message to the winners of the election.

“These elections have marked another significant step in the development of our state, on our people’s path to build a free, independent and democratic country,” added Sahakian.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also congratulated the people of Artsakh on holding successful elections. The Armenian government had sent a group of election monitors to Artsakh. In its initial report, the group declared the elections to be fair, free and democratic.

“I congratulate the heroic people of Artsakh on holding free, fair and competitive elections of municipal bodies. I congratulate all the elected candidates and wish them productive work for the benefit of the homeland and the people. I also congratulate the organizations that conducted observer mission during elections the activity of which overall contributed to raising the quality of elections,” said the Pashinyan.

According to preliminary results, Davit Sargsyan, the President of Artsakh’s Kickboxing Federation was elected as the new Mayor of Stepanakert.

TIGRANAKERT, Artsakh (Panorama.am)—The excavation work in Tigranakert, Artsakh, lasted for 40 days this year, concluding in late August, the head of the archaeological expedition in Tigranakert, Hamlet Petrosyan, told Panorama.am. In his words, the excavation has been financed by Artsakh leadership. This year, some $37,800 was allocated to the project that involved around 30 workers, members of the expedition and covered some costs related to reconstruction, transportation and photography of the items.

As the head of the expedition explained, the works are carried out in three main locations. This year, the excavations covered the 66-foot-long part of the northern fence of the fortified region. The total height of the wall is about 7 feet long. Archaeologists hope to conclude the excavations of the whole fence in several years. The fence is of high interest, since its layout and structure is unique for the region.

“It seems to have been a reference structure and shows the scale of the initiatives of Tigran the Great, who gathered all famous architects from Asia Minor and Armenia to build a major city.”

Excavations of the second antique district continued this summer. The works in the first district are concluded. In Petrosian’s words, the districts were established next to the fortress during the 1st century BC, comprising separate walls and residential complexes.

“Several cultural layers have been discovered at the site built in the period of Tigran the Great at 1st century BC. Those are laid one on another with the old walls renovated and the new ones built. New tandoors were revealed,” noted Hamlet Petosyan.

In the archaeologist’s words, the findings uncovered by a team are mostly pottery – whole jars, pots and casseroles. “The richness of colorful pottery is striking which is phenomenal for the region. We have no monument in Caucasus that contained samples of so many colors and black tuned pottery. This proves Tigranakert had served as a regional hub that also spread modern trends.”

The excavation works in the third location are concentrated on the square of the early Christian period, where two churches have been discovered, the mausoleum, as well as remains of a Christian monument. The plans for this year was to expand the southern yard and the works are focused on layers dated in 12 to 13th centuries.

“Large complexes with plastered floors and tandoors are of particular important. Among numerous pottery there was a plate with a colored eagle depicted on it that demonstrated the richness of the city,” said the archaeologist

He added that, this year, they plan to work on top of Tsitsar Mountain, which is directly in front of Tigranakert. It contained a mausoleum with underground rooms, where remains of saints were found on the floors. An anthropologist from France has been invited to identify the gender, age and the chronology.

“Excavations works in Tigranakert discover a history of a major city that prospered until the13th century,” concluded Petrosyan.

BY GARO B. GHAZARIAN

Forty-one (41) years ago, while still a teenager, I left my birthplace of Beirut, Lebanon for the “promised land.” Alone I went, in search of my place on earth, for a better future for my family and me. No, I didn’t go North by North-East. My destination was not what was then Soviet Republic of Armenia. Back then, the tricolor flag I revered did not fly high in Yerevan like it had and still did—earlier this month—when I visited what was once my home in Bourj-Hamoud, just north of the Beirut River bridge, a few kilometers north from Republic Square in Beirut, and a few kilometers south of the Holy See—Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ—The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia.

When I went West, leaving that Armenian enclave in Lebanon for the greener pastures of the promised land—the United States of America, I scoured the vast land from sea to shining sea. I lived in and compared the Armenian communities of America, from Philadelphia to Chicago, to Los Angeles, and finally, I settled in sunny Southern California. It was the closest thing to home which up to then was the beloved epicenter of all things Armenian to me. It was a stone throw away from the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It was all its hot and muggy streets. My home was among the warm and brave-hearted Armenians of Bourj-Hamoud.

So why then today, 41 years after I have stopped living there, and after spending many a decade since then feeling a sense of a not belonging to anywhere more than Bourj-Hamoud, where by all accounts, I had plucked myself away from, leaving behind family, comrades, classmates and childhood friends, that it is now Yerevan, and no longer Beirut, it is now Artsakh more than Ainjar, that are on my mind. Why is it that today, Armenia, the free and independent Republic of Armenia, quite a bit east of Glendale, California, is where so many who hail from different diasporan communities and their children, like my children, look to, as our “promised land”?

The answer lies in the images seen by the world over 16 months ago: Armenia as the “Ambassador of creativity, of strength, of courage, and of determination.”

That is what Armenia became on April 23, 2018. After years of protests and civil discontent, after rigged parliamentary elections and a stolen presidential election as recently as in 2013, followed by a double-downing with constitutional changes to perpetuate an authoritarian rule, the people of Armenia and Armenians in the diaspora rejected what was seemingly an endless state of disenfranchisement of the people. Armenia became the “promised land” for the many, the faint at heart as well as those who never stopped believing in the power of its people to bring about and affect change for the better. It became the “promised land” because of the positive strength of its people, due to their positive engagement, and thanks to the encouragement of its people, both in the homeland and in the diaspora.

In the spirit of the ideas of the Velvet Revolution, people saw the positive in each other’s step, rallied as one, propelling and spreading the spirit of a movement aptly referred to as “My Step,” marched for days on end, gathered over and over again, and chanted “We are the ‘owner’ of our country!” — «Մենք ենք տէրը մեր երկրի»:— “Menk enk ‘dereh’ mer Yergri.”

What then changed since April 23, 2019 on the eve of the 103rd commemoration of the Armenian Genocide and a month shy of the 100th anniversary of Armenia’s 1st republic in the modern era, the resilience of its people of May 28, 1918 and the triumph over the tragic calamity of our genocide? Why are Armenians today treated to and preached by some about “cause for pause,” and reasons to be disenchanted, disappointed, and sad? Why do those who speak and write about all which they are pained by, seem to hold onto the notion that today, 16 months after April 23, 2018, the glass is empty, not half empty, but completely empty?

The answer to those and many other questions depends on how one looks at Armenia today, beyond the euphoria and past the adrenaline rush produced by the “fiercely rising Armenians” in April of 2018.

Looking at the New Armenia of today, it is not all that difficult to see “a half a glass of water.” It is neither a completely empty glass, nor is it an entirely full glass of water. And though it is only half full, it is—at the same time—not half empty. It’s all about the size of the glass we are putting the water in. Armenia is still the same “promised land” the world witnessed in the spring of 2018. It is that and more, but only if we want to be.

You see, it’s all about where each of us are coming from. At the core of the common _expression_ in the proverbial phrase—“is the glass half empty or half full?”— is not a question, but rather, it is an invitation for each of us to rhetorically take out our measuring sticks. How each of us interprets how full is a glass of water, is an indication that a particular situation is a cause for optimism or pessimism for us. It is a simple exercise, a general litmus test, to reveal our individual views on all things in life.

Studies have shown that 50% of optimism is due to genetics, 10% is due to circumstances of one’s life, and 40% is derived from our mindset which, is in our grasp. While genetics is beyond our control, our circumstances and our mindset are entirely in our purview to change, if only our predisposition to pessimism is evicted from our birds-eye view of Armenia.

But shedding of pessimism and the rust in a human’s soul requires engagement. Engagement is the single most empowering energy and positive step we can take towards making a contribution to—and changing of—the status quo for our homeland, for our diaspora, and for our people.

Engagement is beyond merely visiting Armenia each summer, and it is much more than singing songs of worthy praise for our revolutionary heroes of the past. It is being one with Armenia and its people. It is living the words of the songs we sing with optimism. It is optimism which drove our heroes about whom we sing and hold in high regard. And we do it decades after they’ve long been gone. Why are they still remembered today? Because at some point in their lives, they took the kind of action which could only have been undertaken while infused with optimism and hope for a better tomorrow. They are hailed to this day as heroes because of the tangible results they produced with nothing more than a healthy dose of optimism, of belief, and of behavior mirroring such belief. So why not truly remember our heroes and pay homage to their sacrifices? I’m speaking of those who are praised by us in our homes and at our community events, those who our children sing about in summer camps and in youth group sessions the world over. If we, like our heroes once did, start believing in the possibility for a better today than yesterday, and hope for a brighter tomorrow than yesteryears, we will all fare better. A commensurate constructive behavior follow suit, and we will instinctively resist all talk of “us and them,” and all chatter about “black and white.”

Time to put aside all such thoughts and nonsensical talk of “black and white.” Time to focus on what our tricolor “Red, Blue, and Orange” means, and oh yes, it’s also time to see “green.” A green light, to talk about and to engage in solutions. Time to talk about “we, us, the future, and solutions.” Let us stop whining about “the past, problems, failures and doomsday.” Don’t we know that it is really not about the past? It is about the future. Is it about failures, or is it about successes? Don’t we know that success begets success and sorrow begets sorrow?

Yes, yes, I hear the voices of the cynics now, dismissing these thoughts as naive. Yet, it must be said: it is all about trust in our institutions and nothing other than trust, whether it be government, or be it opposition to government. I’m referring to “true trust,” not the kind which is borne out of a “blind loyalty,” and the type that is devoid of healthy—and transparent—debate of ideas.

For some time now we are being fed with fear. “Beware of Nikol,” “beware of Soros,” “beware of Kocharyan,” “beware of the old regime mounting a comeback,” “beware of Russia,” “beware of the US and the Western influence,” “beware of the Istanbul Convention,” and “beware, beware, and while you’re at it, beware a little bit more.” At this rate, we will soon be asked to heed a call of “beware of our own shadows!” And while reality remains the reality, we the people are fed a steady diet of fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of that which we are told is the reality, regardless of whether it does or does not bare any resemblance to reality. All we are fed these days is a steady message of fear and distrust. These messages have intended and unintended consequences of killing that which is the opposite of fear and distrust: Hope!

It is up to each of us, individually and collectively to make a choice: are we living in times of crisis or in times of opportunity for us Armenians?

It’s no secret that pessimists make more noise, preach about cause for concern and the urgency of being displeased. But more than being pleased with a decision or, a choice made or rejected in our homeland today, our overall sense of being “pleased” with or “displeased” about anything “Armenia-centric,” is but a sliver in the formula for our success as a nation. The overwhelming force and the number one priority for our people, for our nation’s success and growth is “freedom.” Freedom to make choices, to have a “say so” and a role in the path being carved for us.

Let’s not complain about people—leaders in government or opposition—for who they are or are not, or for how we see and perceive them to be. Let’s change ourselves. If disengaged, become engaged. If engaged, make sure we are informed, sufficiently informed, in the matters with which we are engaged. Disinformation in an era of “fake news” is infectious. These days, a headline seldom is representative of the article it precedes. The substance in everything, much like an article, is in the body of work, it’s in the article and not in the headline itself. The sound-bite pounded over and over again into our ears until we are rendered deaf to all rhyme or reason, may or may not be the truth. When our perceptions are fed with infuriating information that we have no independent knowledge of, it’s easy to transform that perception into our reality, regardless of it being true or false. Engage and remain engaged. It is the antidote to disinformation and the key to knowledge of all things relevant to us as a nation.

So, are the glasses half-empty or half-full on the Armenian breakfast tables this morning? Well, here’s an idea: do not look. In fact, we should all stop staring at the proverbial glass of water and instead focus on our own efforts or the lack thereof thus far. It is our efforts which have produced the contents of our glasses. If we want progress, and if meaningful change is what we’re after, then let’s go about and double our efforts. We will surely produce twice the gains made thus far, and we shall reap the benefits of twice the substance in our respective glasses.

What are we afraid of? An overflowing glass and some slippage of water on the breakfast table? We should be so lucky. And what do you know? We actually are. We are as lucky and as blessed as we choose to be. A life of choices, evaluated and made, produces a life of consequences. It quenches our collective thirst for progress, and it produces a “glass” which is eternally full.

Here’s to focusing on what we can become, not what we were—or what we are not yet—as a nation. Let us fill our glasses to the brim, and bring to life, the words of the song ringing in my ear. “Letsnenk ungerner pajagnereh li. — “Friends, let’s fill our glasses to the brim.”

Yes, let’s do all of that. But, before we raise our glasses in a salute, let us each do a little more of the heavy lifting for our communities, for our people, and for our nation. There’ll be plenty of time later for singing, and for toasting. More work begets a ripening of a toast. And when that toast ripens, we’ll all raise our glasses, not the ones that are half-empty or half-full. Because then, and only then, most assuredly, we shall raise our glasses—our full and overflowing glasses, and in unison we will utter the words, loud and proud:

“Getseh Hayasdaneh”—”Long live Armenia!” Long Live Armenia!