RICH CULTURE & LONG MEMORIES
by Joe Kernan
Warwick Beacon
Feb 4 2009
RI
The TSETSE Gallery, through the mentorship of Berge Ara Zobian of
GalleryZ, hosted an evening of Armenian art and culture last Friday
night. Armenian artists and their guests gathered to share their art,
play music and share traditional Armenian recipes.
Most of the paintings, drawings and photographs at the TSETSE made
some reference to the Armenian traditions (see photos), but many of
the folks at the exhibit clustered around the buffet, which offered
Armenian delicacies not always available.
"Food is very important in Armenian culture," said Michael Manoog
Kaprielian Friday night. "When they came over here, or wherever they
went in the world, they brought their food because they had little
else." According to the 2000 Census there are 6,677 Rhode Islanders
of Armenian descendant.
As too few people realize, the fanning out of ethnic Armenians
into the greater world began en masse after and during the First
World War, when the Ottoman Turks, faced with losing their empire
because of their alliance to Germany, took advantage of the fog of
war to attempt the annihilation of the Armenian people. An article
on the Armenian Embassy Web site offers a short history leading up
to what many called "the first genocide" of the 20th century: "Over
the centuries Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Mongols, Arabs,
Ottoman Turks, and Russians conquered Armenia. From the 17th century
through World War I their most brutal invader, the Ottoman Turks,
under whom they experienced discrimination, religious persecution,
heavy taxation, and armed attacks, controlled major portions of
Armenia. In response to Armenian nationalist stirrings, the Turks
massacred thousands of Armenians in 1894 and 1896. The most horrific
massacre took place in April 1915 during World War I, when the Turks
ordered the deportation of the Armenian population to the deserts
of Syria and Mesopotamia. According to a majority of historians,
between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians were murdered or died of
starvation. The Armenian massacre is considered the first genocide in
the 20th century. Turkey denies that genocide took place, and claims
that a much smaller number died in a civil war."
Kaprielian, a third-generation Armenian-American, listened intently to
the stories of his grandparents and studied the history of the first
Christian nation in the world. The country was converted to Christ
around 400 A.D. He learned that Armenians brought their faith and their
culture to America and assimilated successfully. Armenian-Americans
represent a number of professional people disproportionately large
for their actual numbers. Kaprielian himself succeeded well enough
to retire early and move to Armenia.
"I remember once, when I was at Brown, an old Armenian woman came up
to me with a tray of traditional food," said Kaprielian. "I pointed
to each of the things on the tray and called them by their Armenian
names. The woman asked me how I knew these things and I told her
my family tried to pass on as much of Armenian life to me as they
could. Food was one of the only things they could call their own."
Kaprielian said the Turks, to this day, continue to deny that the
massacre was a fact. They had good reason to think they could get
away with that story. The world was concerned with the progress of
the war and the Armenian question almost fell into obscurity.
"When Hitler was questioned about reaction to the Holocaust, he said,
‘Who cares? Does anyone remember the Armenians?’" said Kaprielian,
an American-born, third generation Armenian, who spends more time in
Armenia than he does here. Kaprielian said it is the unique history
of Armenia that keeps Armenians in touch with their history.
"You know, lately there have been a lot of Armenians over here who
donate tons of food to food banks, and when you ask them why, they
say, ‘We are Armenians and we know what it is like to be hungry,’" he
said. "Everybody over a certain age remembers when their parents would
say ‘eat your dinner and think of the starving Armenians.’ Armenians
were like a joke, but at least people recognized that something
terrible had happened."
After the Turkish defeat in World War I, the independent Republic
of Armenia was established on May 28, 1918, but survived only until
Nov. 29, 1920, when the Soviet Army annexed it. In 1936, Armenia
became a separate constituent republic of the USSR. Armenia declared
its independence from the collapsing Soviet Union on Sept. 23, 1991.
An estimated 60 percent of the total 8 million Armenians worldwide
live outside the country, with 1 million each in the U.S. and
Russia. Kaprielian wants to see that outflow reverse itself.
"It’s like a ‘brain drain’ for the country," he said. "Armenians with
skills and professions don’t want to go to Armenia, but I can tell you,
it’s worth it." Kaprielian has been an avid and articulate spokesman
for the country. He also touts the low cost of a high standard of
living there.
"There are markets in the square that peel back the covers and display
banks of vegetables and fruit," he said. "It cost me about $4 a week
to eat."
Kaprielian has been actively seeing that his young relatives get a
chance to experience the old country, a luxury their grandparents
and great-grandparents didn’t have.
"The kids love it when they get there, it’s like camp to them and
they can’t wait to get out into the country side," he said. "And
I can tell you, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing these
American kids leading sheep into the country, going so far that the
sheep look like snowflakes."
Kaprielian was looking very happy and satisfied to be among his
Armenian-American friends at the exhibit but looked almost apostolic
when he described Armenia to people who grew up outside the culture.
"Everyone should go to Armenia, at least once," he said.