Armenian opposition leader partially approves president’s Strasbourg speech
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
3 Jul 04
[Presenter] The Armenian president’s [Robert Kocharyan’s] assessments
of Nagornyy Karabakh’s relations with Turkey and of regional
cooperation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
[PACE] were correct enough, Shavarsh Kocharyan, from the opposition
Justice bloc and the leader of the National Democratic Party, said
after the event.
[Shavarsh Kocharyan, captioned] The positions on the Karabakh issue,
which were expressed for the first time at PACE, should have been
voiced earlier. He should, first, have talked about Nagornyy
Karabakh’s structure since it has not been a part of independent
Azerbaijan. This regards not only the period after the collapse of the
Soviet Union till now, but also regards the period of the first
republic [1918]. He did not speak about this, which was the most
important.
Second, here the problem is not a problem of territorial integrity
between two countries [Armenia and Azerbaijan], but a problem of
self-determination. Consequently Karabakh must be a party in the
negotiations [to settle the conflict].
[Presenter] Then it turned out that Shavarsh Kocharyan’s absence from
the session hall during Robert Kocharyan’s speech at PACE was the
result of the opposition activist’s honour. The member of the Justice
bloc said that he was obliged to be out of the hall, otherwise he
would have also had to applaud the president, which parliamentary
etiquette demands.
[Shavarsh Kocharyan] I could not have applauded and this would have
been incorrect.

‘Ararat’ Wins at Armenian Film Festival
.c The Associated Press
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie “Ararat”
won the top prize at the Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by
ethnic Armenian directors, officials said Monday.
The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries. Egoyan
is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.
The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Turkey
left 1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide. The title
refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their national symbol
but which now lies in Turkey.

07/05/04 12:37 EDT

Frommers
June 30 2004
What’s New: An Online Update for Frommer’s Israel, Jordan and Sinai
Destinations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, Amman, Haifa, Jordan,
Eilat, Petra
Activities: Air, Beach, Car Rental, Lodging, Tips and Resources
Author: Robert Ullian
[parts omitted]
Shopping
Honored by the Israeli Postal Service with a set of commemorative
stamps in 2003-04, Jerusalem’s two world famous Armenian ceramic
workshops are always worth visiting.
The Palestinian Armenian Pottery Workshop, Nablus Rd, next to the
East. Jerusalem American Consulate (); and
Jerusalem Pottery, located on the Via Dolorosa, at the Sixth Station
of the Cross in the Old City (); [tel.]
02/626-1587. The artisans of these workshops were originally brought
to Jerusalem at the start of the British Mandate in 1919 to maintain
the extraordinary ceramic tiles on the Dome of the Rock. Hand painted
tiles from the workshops adorn the exteriors and interiors of
buildings throughout Jerusalem, from St. Andrew’s Church to the
American Colony Hotel. The beautiful tile wall panels decorating the
Sukkot Patio at the Residence of the President of Israel, were
designed by Marie Balian of the Palestinian Pottery Workshop (Mrs.
Balian has been honored with a special exhibition of her work at the
Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.). The Karakashian family’s
Jerusalem Pottery Workshop is especially known for its individual
tile designs. An array of hand-painted plates, vases, and other
ceramic items for sale to the general public at very reasonable
prices is available at both workshops. The bazaars of the Old City
are flooded with printed, machine-made imitations of Armenian
ceramics, but only the real stuff shines.
Fans of Jerusalem’s Armenian ceramics tradition will want to check
out a beautifully illustrated book, The Armenian Ceramics of
Jerusalem, Three Generations, by Nurith Kenaan-Kedar. Published in
2003, it chronicles the work of both the Balian and Karakashian
families, and is available at the Eretz Israel Museum Bookstore in
Tel Aviv, or can be ordered at Steimatsky’s Bookstores throughout
Israel. Be sure to specify the English language edition. The A
Both Palestinian Pottery and Jerusalem Pottery are closed Sundays.
When tourism is especially slow, it is best to call Jerusalem Pottery
ahead of time to be sure they’ll stay open for your visit.
The works of a number of Judaica artisans listed in the Frommer’s
Israel 3rd edition can now be previewed on their websites. Oded
Davidson (), is a silversmith whose whimsical
work is in the collections of many museums, including the Israel
Museum and the Wolfson Museum in Jerusalem; Avi Biran, a silversmith
with many awards and a sense of humor in his designs, has had his
work shown in museums throughout the world, including the Jewish
Museum of Prague, and Jerusalem’s Wolfson Museum. Archie Granot
() is a Judaica paper cut artist whose work is in
the collections of the Jewish Museum of New York, the Victoria and
Albert Museum in London, and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
For complete article, see
;destid¾ACH
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA EXPECTS DECLINE IN DIAMOND CUTTING INDUSTRY
Tacy Ltd,Diamond Consultants.
July 04, 2004
Armenia expects production in its diamond cutting industry to decline
before the end of 2004, says Gagik Mkrtchian, Chief of the Trade and
Economic Development Ministry’s precious stones and jewelry
department.
Production has fallen in the industry in the past month, partly due to
a drop in supplies of Russian rough diamonds, explains Mkrtchian. In
2002 Russia and Armenia signed a deal for the supply of over two
million rough diamonds over a period of five years. According to the
agreement, Russia supplies 400,000 carats of gem quality rough
diamonds this year, increasing to 450,000 for 2005 and 2006. So far
this year Russia has supplied Armenia with 55,000 carats of rough
diamonds, says Mkrtchian, while last year total supplies were 130,000
carats of a 400,000 carat quota, accounting for a 15 percent share of
Armenia’s total supplies.

Leaders of ten CIS countries watch horse races in Moscow
03.07.2004, 14.41
MOSCOW, July 3 (Itar-Tass) – Leaders of ten CIS countries gathered at
Moscow’s central racetrack on Saturday to watch the first horse races
for the Russian president’s prize.
Only Turkmen and Belarussian Presidents Saparmurat Niyazov and
Alexander Lukashenko could not arrive to attend the event.
The heads of Russian regions, who participated in the Russian State
Council meeting on Friday, were also invited to the races.
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and senior officials of the
presidential administration and federal ministries also attended.
The presidents, some of whom were accompanied by the wives, gathered
on the special stands for guests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin with his wife sat at the central
table. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Ukrainian President
Leonid Kuchmatook their places near Putin at the table.
The three leaders studied the race bill with great interest and asked
experts about the participants.
At the nearby table, Prime Minister Fradkov talked with Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov.
Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev and Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili with the wives were at another table near the Russian
president. Akayev had binoculars with him.
The fifth race was to be the main where English thoroughbred horses
were to participate. The prize for the winner of the 200-metre race
will be three million roubles.
Mounted guards of the presidential regiment marched before the leaders
before the races.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri MP defends prominent writer’s stance on Karabakh
Ekho, Baku
26 Jun 04
An Azerbaijani pro-government MP has defended writer Rustam
Ibrahimbayov’s stance on the Nagornyy Karabakh problem. In his open
letter to the writer in the Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho, Anar
Mammadxanov blamed “false patriots”, who have criticized
Ibrahimbayov’s recent interview on Karabakh with the foreign media, of
uncivilized methods of struggle and accused them of abysmal ignorance
and treason. The following is the text of MP Anar Mammadxanov’s report
by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 26 June headlined “A letter to Rustam
Ibrahimbayov”:
Falling out with “false patriots”
So finally they have set about you too, Rustam Ibrahimbayov! You too
are blamed for all the troubles of our nation. You too have fallen out
of favour with our false patriots. You too, just like Anar, Aziza
Mustafazada and many other representatives of the Azerbaijani cultural
elite not so long ago, became a subject of, to be polite, accusations
or even attacks, and of, excuse me for the expression, persecution, if
we speak otherwise.
Rustam Ibragimovich, let us remember what we everybody said in 1988:
“Who are the Armenians? One warning shot in the air is enough for them
to run away.”
Did they run away?
You, for example, said that the Armenians are talented. And I am
certain that you said this after thoroughly thinking it all
through. Because if the Armenians are talentless and obtuse, then who
are we, who have lost to them, albeit temporarily?
I understand you very well when you try to make our flag-wavers
understand that an information war has its rules as well and that
everyone plays his or her role in it. And every role depends on who
plays it to boot.
For example, everyone knows well that, when a criminal is
interrogated, the method of “good” and “bad” investigator is used. It
is obvious even from the point of view of the foundations of
psychology: the interrogated person rejects the “bad” one for his
anger and aggression and leans towards the “good” one for his kindness
and understanding and, as a result, is willing to make a full
confession to him in order to spite the “bad” one. And it will not
occur to anyone to accuse the “good” investigator of being too lenient
with the criminal because everyone understands that this is part of
the game.
A game to score into our own goal
But how should you explain this to your own compatriots, who regard
the Karabakh problem as a game to score into our own goal, rather than
the opponent’s?
No-one even wants to read your interview carefully. Meanwhile, there
is a very interesting phrase in it: “And even if the Armenian side
manages to prove that historically, politically and so on these lands
should be separated from Azerbaijan, dealing with this problem in the
20th and 21st centuries by using a method of armed annexation is, in
my opinion, a crime against the entire humanity.”
In other words, you effectively accused the Armenians of a crime
against humanity, but no-one wants to take note of this in our
country! As for the Armenians, they, as experienced soldiers of the
information front, noticed your statement, understood it and published
an angry rebuff in the 27 May 2004 issue of the official presidential
newspaper Voice of Armenia, in which they, in passing, also alleged
that, in fact, it was not you who wrote the script of the movie “The
White Sun of the Desert”!
In other part of the interview, you, as a master of eloquence, used
another method, which is described in manuals for waging information
wars – “to cause confusion in the enemy camp by all means”. The
opinion that you expressed, that the Armenians used to live well in
Baku and might now live even better, will certainly not be refuted
and, just as certainly, will evoke not the best feelings and
reminiscences in the souls of the Armenians from Baku, and from
Azerbaijan in general, towards their countrymen who incited the
Karabakh conflict.
Culture and urbanity
But how should this be explained to our side, Rustam Ibragimovich?
You are being accused of saying that the city is in the hands of
people who come from villages. I cannot understand: are you being
accused of saying this or of distorting something? Frankly speaking, I
personally cannot see anything wrong in the fact that the city is in
the hands of people from villages. Quite on the contrary, the
villagers, who are closer to the country, are more prone to
development than the elite and refined stratum of the city (read
Bakuvian) subculture, which has been and is stewing in its own juice,
and during the beginning of the period of both the Karabakh conflict
and national liberation movement, isolated itself from everything and,
first and foremost, from the people, having failed to have their
say. Besides, the country people, who are the main bearers of national
culture, very quickly accustomed themselves to the amenities of the
city life. And culture and urbanity is much better than just urbanity.
I do not understand, therefore, why these words caused this
reaction. And why the collocation “villagers” is an insult.
I encountered an interesting phrase recently: tigers respect lions,
elephants and hippopotami, whereas cockroaches do not respect
anyone. The same here, you deal with the people who can insult, brand,
accuse someone of treason and so on and get away with it. On the one
hand, it is unbecoming to respond to these, but if you do not, they
become even cheekier.
Abysmal ignorance and treason
In addition, it is impossible to explain to them that a writer of
world renown cannot yell “Death to the Armenians!” even if he wants
to, for if he does, he will be ostracized no matter what. If someone
wants Rustam Ibrahimbayov to be ostracized, then no-one should curse
their fate when some Armenian replaces Ibrahimbayov.
I remember how movie actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan openly and squarely
said in the “Kinoserpantin” TV show in 1992 that the Armenians of
Nagornyy Karabakh lived very well and that they have to blame
themselves for everything that happened. Do you think that it occurred
to any Armenian journalist to call him a traitor? Right, it did not!
Because it does not matter to them what Dzhigarkhanyan says, what is
important for them is the fact that they simply have Dzhigarkhanyan
whom they can be proud of and whose greatness as an Armenian they can
show off. And the same French singer of Armenian origin Charles
Aznavour has also never said anything negative about us. He simply
works and is being useful. He works and is being useful.
What is better – the Azerbaijani team which beats Yerevan at KVN TV
game , or “Guys from Baku” name of the Azerbaijani KVN team who appear
on the stage to physically bash the Armenian KVN players? What is
better – Teymur Racabov, who beats Garri Kasparov at chess, or Teymur
Racabov who gives the best chess player in the world a slap in the
face before the game? And finally, what is better – Rustam
Ibrahimbayov who is known and read all over the world, or Rustam
Ibrahimbayov who is a rabid chauvinist?
To accuse of treason the only Azeri who was awarded an Oscar, the only
Azeri who is a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences and one of the Azeris who are known and respected around
the world is a sign of abysmal ignorance at the very least, and in
other words, it is an instance of treason.

Turkish intelligence details rebel Kurd actions
Hurriyet, Istanbul
4 Jul 04
Text of report by Ozgur Cebe, “The PKK purchased weapons worth 1.7m
dollars in a year”, published by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet (Ankara
edition) on 4 July
Diyarbakir, DHA: The security units determined that close to 1,500
armed terrorists connected to the PKK/Kongra-Gel Kurdistan Workers’
Party/People’s Congress of Kurdistan crossed into Turkey in the form
of small groups and that the organization had purchased weapons worth
1.7m dollars in the past year.
The intelligence units determined that the PKK started to make
preparations at 17 camps in northern Iraq against probable military
intervention by Turkey and the United States. It was stated that the
organization had purchased weapons worth 1.7m dollars from Iraq, Iran
and Armenia within the past year after the intervention of the United
States against Iraq. Among these weapons there are RPG-7 missile
launchers, Kannas-brand assassination weapons, Kalashnikov rifles,
G-3, G-1 and M-16 long-barrelled infantry rifles, Bixi heavy machine
guns, hand grenades and land mines.
Also, according to the intelligence reports, in the past six months,
the PKK organization has sent to Turkey over 1,500 armed terrorists in
small groups from the camps in northern Iraq and Iran.
In the report, it was warned that the groups could initiate mainly
hit-and-run and land mining actions and it was stated that Murat
Karayilan and the Northern Iraqi Fehman Husayn were at the head of the
armed wing of the organization. Recently, information was received
that the organization has reduced its political training to a minimum
and has increased its military training to eight hours a day .
The security units determined that a significant number of the seized
weapons belonging to the terrorists were Russian-made. Of the
Kalashnikov rifles, 71.6 per cent were of Russian origin, 14.7 per
cent were of Chinese origin, 3.6 per cent were of Hungarian origin,
and 3.6 per cent were of Bulgarian origin. It was also discovered
that 45.2 per cent of the weapons, such as the Kannas assassination
weapons, Bixi heavy machine guns, Arbiki, G-3, G-1 and M-16 were of
also of Russian origin, 13.2 per cent were of British origin and 9.4
per cent were of US origin. It is stated that 85.3 per cent of the
missile launchers were of Russian origin, 5.4 per cent of Iraqi
origin, and 2.5 per cent of Chinese origin. Of the anti-tank and
anti-personnel mines, 60.6 per cent were of Italian origin, 28.3 per
cent were of Russian origin, and 6.2 per cent were of German
origin. Of the defence and attack-type hand grenades, it was stated
that 72 per cent were of Russian origin, 19.8 per cent of US origin
and 8.0 per cent of German origin.
From: Baghdasarian

Paper reports high turnout in Azeri march in Iran
Vatandas Hamrayliyi, Baku
4 Jul 04
Text of Mansura Sattarova report by Azerbaijani newspaper Vatandas
Hamrayliyi on 4 July headlined “Our tricolour was raised over Fort
Bazz” and subheaded “Despite serious resistance by the Persian police,
200,000 of our compatriots managed to get into the fort”
“The march to Fort Bazz has been staged for eight years, but never
before has there been so much pressure and resistance against the
participants. Moreover, there were attempts to reduce the number of
demonstrators by changing the timing of the march. Despite this, the
march to Fort Bazz was successful,” said Ali Nicat, head of the
analytical-information centre of the Southern Azerbaijan Department of
the Congress of Azerbaijanis of the World CAW . In all, more than
500,000 Azeris took part in the march, he said.
It started on the evening of 30 June and became a mass rally on 1
July, Nicat said. The Iranian government resorted to some measures,
including pressure and intimidation, to prevent the march, and the
fort was surrounded by the police and the special forces, he
said. There were about 40,000 policemen and servicemen around it. In
addition, one of the two roads to the fort was closed. “Buses were
stopped on the road and forced to turn back. There were six
checkpoints on the 10-kilometre road between the fort and the town of
?Kalheydar . There were over 20 checkpoints on the road between the
fort and Tabriz. Hotels near the fort – ?Azadliq and Babak – were also
closed and entry into the nearby village was banned. The government
tried everything possible to dissuade the people from attending the
march. They even staged military exercises around the fort and
announced that this was a military zone.”
The activists of the National Liberation Movement NLM , including
members of Shams-e Tabriz, were officially banned in advance from
joining the march and placed under house arrest on 1 and 2 July, Nicat
said. “The police asked the people on 1 July to leave the fort, but
nobody took notice of it. The police did not allow the 400,000 Azeris
inside and outside the fort to come together. Some 200,000 managed to
get into the castle, but the rest could not cross the police
barriers. In order to show their unity, the people inside and outside
the fort shouted the slogan ‘Unity’. There had been several clashes
between the police and Azeris by 3 July. More than 200 demonstrators
were arrested, including well-known intellectuals and activists of the
NLM – Ali Suleymani, Seyid Calil Huseyni, Mansur Mahammadi and Huseyn
Abid all names untraced . On 2 July, the police and people in plain
clothes attempted to destroy the tents around the fort. They beat up
some demonstrators and injured 60 women.”
There were more than 300 bonfires in the area. While slogans such as
“Long live United Azerbaijan”, “Russians, Persians and Armenians are
enemies of Turks”, “Death to the enemies of Azerbaijan” and “Karabakh
or death” were chanted, the people around the bonfires sang various
songs in their mother tongue. On the night of 2-3 July, at about 0000
2030 gmt on 2 July , they sang the national anthem of Azerbaijan and
raised the tricolour in and around the fort, Nicat said.
Although the 3 July was the last day of the march, some people were
arrested and faced police resistance yesterday. “A person named ?Lavai
went to the top of the fort and spoke about the life of Babak Azeri
national hero who fought the Arabs in the 8th century , his actions
and the significance of the march. The police arrested Lavai and 30
others.”
The police did not allow filming outside the fort and all cameras were
broken.
There are seven CAW members among those arrested. There is no official
information as to where the detainees are kept. Reports from some
sources suggest that most of them are in Tabriz and others in Ardabil.

A1 Plus | 17:09:23 | 29-06-2004 | Social |
WHEN WILL HOVHANNES VARYAN BE PUNISHED?
Wasn’t it possible to distinguish journalists from protestors?
“On June 10, 2004, the First Instance Court of Kentron and Norq-Marash
Communes sentenced 2 persons having committed violence to journalists during
April 5 rally to fine of 100.000 drams each. The trial turned into a farce.
We can’t call it otherwise since the preliminary investigation, the legal
proceedings, and the court verdict cause perplexity and discontent”, Yerevan
Press Club, Journalists’ Union of Armenia, “Internews” social organization
and Committee for Protection of Speech Freedom have made the statement.
According to the authors, they expected for disclosures and trials but
nothing was done to unmask the other masterminds of violence.
“Until now no steps were taken towards the policemen who did nothing against
the men beating journalists and breaking the cameras on April 5. The
policemen who beat journalists at April 13 night on Baghramyan Avenue weren’
t disclosed and punished, either. Even their actions weren’t criticized.
Instead the highest circles of Authorities announced it’s impossible to
distinguish journalists from protestors”, the statement says.
The organizations call upon Media and journalists to be more combined and
consistent when the matter is on professional solidarity, when the right to
freely gather and divulge information is violated.

The New Republic Online
An Armenian in America
by Aghavnie Yeghenian
Only at TNR Online
Post date: 07.03.04
[ In 1915, roughly 2 million Armenians lived in Turkey. By 1923, the
government had murdered one and a half million of them. In this article by
Armenian-American Aghavnie Yeghenian, published in 1921, the author asks why
America’s morals have not matched its might. Yeghenian questions the moral
fiber of a nation–“so beloved, so rich, free”–that did nothing to stop the
Armenian genocide despite full knowledge of its existence. Today, some
30,000 black Africans have been murdered in Sudan; once again, America has
failed to act. Will we do anything about the Sudanese genocide? Or will our
morals once again fail to match our might? –Eric Herschthal ]
June 29, 1921
How does it feel to be an Armenian in America?” asks a thoughtful friend. I
stare at him. Does he wish to change places with me just once? “Write it, if
you can’t tell me,” he urges. Yet even while I write these lines I wonder if
he will really read what promises to be so painful.
Being an Armenian–an Armenian anywhere–gives one strange feelings. My mind
is torn by the conflict of opposing emotions growing out of my racial
inheritance and my living experience. Fear struggles with courage; pain with
the will to endure; worry with optimism; depression with buoyancy; sorrow
with faith; despair with hope; overshadowing death with promising life.
The injection of my friend’s question into such a consciousness makes me
gather my life into a shifting scene in which we Armenians, bleeding,
wounded, murdered, outraged, drowning in the sea of barbarism, beaten by the
waves of civilized cruelty, call out to the multitudes dwelling on the shore
of security.
We cry the story of our life-long suffering, of our murdered manhood, our
outraged womanhood, our dying babies, our tortured mothers, our crucified
leaders. We cry in anguish and pain. We show our wounds. We call for help.
The crowd on the shore throw out some handfuls of pennies which fall leaden
into the waters. Our cry has not been understood.
Perhaps that band of strangers will be stirred by the story of our marvelous
history of heroism. We tell of our struggle for liberty through the ages, of
our martyrs who are countless, of the ever-undaunted courage of our men and
women, of our undying faith in the triumph of right, and our unfailing hope
of human goodness. Again we have failed to thrill the crowd upon the shore.
What has happened to the people who look out at the Armenian sea of
suffering? They are incomprehensibly unresponsive. They seem almost
motionless. We detect, however, a slight movement. It seems to spring from
an emotion like that described in a cartoon published in a well-known
American magazine, showing the gaunt figure of Armenia disturbing the peace
of a fat congressman, who, handkerchief to his eyes, exclaims, “Get out. You
are breaking my heart.” Yes, there almost seems to be a slight movement, a
turning of the back to avoid a harrowing picture.
The scene gives way in my mind to a question that stands out in letters of
living fire: Has the world a heart? Alas! this is Armenia’s eternal and
unanswered question. People who appear great and noble talk about the heart
of the world. Do they really believe in it? Are they sincere? Have virtue
and love of human valor died? Is there only the false and pretentious?
The suffering that comes from feeling that we live in a shallow and isolated
world is more tragic than the danger of impending death. For death we have
always met fearlessly, but it is life,–good, brave, real, serious
life,–which Armenia craves; and the time when she feels her wings most
broken is not when the Turk is out killing and plundering, but the time when
England is deceiving her and France is betraying her, and when America is
turning her back to avoid the painful picture. To be an Armenian in America
is to be bitterly disappointed. To this country, this America so beloved, so
rich, free, happy, it seems impossible to impart the sadness of an
Armenian’s life.
But why do I suffer? Haven’t I the privilege of living in America, a
privilege envied by others of my countrymen? Haven’t I all the opportunities
of an American? All this I have, freedom, position, opportunities, friends,
but the happy smile of an American I can neither achieve nor buy. I walk
about like one in a dream, my head heavy, my throat choked, my spirit
crushed. I go to church and the minister reads from the old prophet of
Israel, “How doth the City sit solitary that was full of people! She is
become like a widow, that was great among the nations! Is it nothing to you,
all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow.” I do not comprehend the application of the words. I keep asking
myself, “Isn’t it of me that the minister speaks? Is there anyone else in
the congregation who has lost his country, even as did the prophet?” I
review the desolate cities of Armenia, its burned homes and ruined churches,
its solitary hills and deserted streets. The rest of the minister’s words
are lost to me. As I walk out I cry silently to the passing crowds, “Is it
nothing to you, O Americans, that I suffer, that my people are murdered,
that my country is destroyed, that the virgins of Armenia die in shame in
Turkish harems, that our children are starving, that our youth are still
falling in the field so sacred to you, the battlefield of liberty? Is it
nothing to you?”
I go to a concert, and the singer begins Mignon’s passionate love song for
her country, “Connais-tu le pays ou fleurit l’oranger–? C’est là, c’est là
que je voudrais vivre, aimer, aimer et mourir.” A desire to sob aloud seizes
my whole being. I want to run away from the audience sitting there politely
and smiling while they listen, they who cannot understand. I cry silently
once again, “Is it nothing to you who have a country that I have none?”
I go to the mountains and the memory of the green hills of Armenia takes me
back to its present valleys of tears. I leave the mountains and run away to
the beach in despair. The gay crowds marching up and down bring to me the
dark picture of columns of women and children marching up and down the
plains of Armenia in search of herbs for food. I attend a dinner party and
note the luxurious gowns and wasted food, and I am forced to think of the
rags in which the once wealthy and beautiful women of my land are now clad.
I pass through the streets where American children play, pretty, happy,
careless, and in my vision rise the rows of our orphanages with their pale,
solemn-faced babies. The bright side of every situation points out to me
with unmistakable clearness the other, the darker side, the Armenian side,
and so, confined in my Armenian being, I cannot step into the freedom of
America. I wait, still I wait for America to break my chains.
This is how it feels to be an Armenian in America.
Aghavnie Yeghenian