“All You Taught Us is False” - "բոլոր մեզի սորուեցուցածներդ "ՍՈՒՏ" ԵՆ"

 

Vahe H. Apelian: 

Recently a friend, reacting to the post war bitterly divisive situation in Armenia that has trickled onto Diaspora as well, emailed writing that it  makes him wonder if he should scrap another visit to Armenia later on this year. He went on saying that it looks like Google is reading his  mind and appears encouraging him to stay on the course and visit the “Places to visit in Armenia” and do the “Best things to do in Yerevan”, he has been receiving in his email.

Time will tell if will scrap visiting Armenia or stay the course as planned presumably taking along with him his grandchildren and their families.

Most of us relate to my friend's vacilation. By now we know that two post 44-day Artsakh war camps are bitterly feuding on the Armenia political landscape and overpouring their divisiveness onto the Diaspora. To simplify the warring factions, I will characterize the two camps as follows:

"Pashinyan lost the War “ Camp. The proponents of this camp argue that  the PM Nikol Pashinyan lost the war and hence has to be removed at all costs to rebuild the nation. The advocates of this  camp go even further and call  the PM TAVAJAN (traitor) or on a more mellowed characterization call him HOGHADOU (relinquisher of land).

The other is “Armenia  lost the war under Pashinyan watch” camp. The proponents of this camp argue that Nikol Pashinyan did not lose the war but Armenia did, under his watch. Consequently they  advocate rebuilding the nation transcends Pashinyan the person and the PM’s fate is for the people of Armenia to make in a free democratic election.  I am adherent of this camp.

These two polar opposite mindsets are not new, although the expressions are. There was a time when a segment, of the post First Republic of Armenia diaspora, labeled ARF leaders, who signed the treaties that dismembered emerging Armenia to the verge of decapitating it, using similar arguments and terms. Not only did they held these Armenian leaders of First Republic, who were mostly ARFers, in contempt; they also did not teach about them in the Armenian history they taught, did not observe May 28, did not sing “Mer Hayrenik”, did not display the tricolor in their schools and in their community centers. 

The other segment of the diaspora at the time, in which I was brought up, considered these ARF-ers as nationalist heroes, had their pictures hanging on the walls of their community centers, upheld tricolor, and the emblem of the first republic, sang “ Mer Hyrenik”, closed the schools on May 28 in celebration. For them these Armenian leaders did all they could to salvage the rest,  had to  keep diplomatic ties with Turkey, and sought ties with the Turkish officials, had an embassy or consulate in Constantinople that continued to function for a year or two even after the fall of the First Republic. Paradoxically, ARF nowadays, appears to have turn the table around and resorted towards the PM, what it was subjected to at one time.

I became more reflective of the  ramification of this bitter divisiveness’ in the diaspora when I read the following on my mother’s Facebook page that disturbed me greatly.

Let me just say that Mrs. Zvart Apelian was a beloved teacher of Armenian language, history for some five decades. The accolades her former students bestowed upon her through the years and even after her death have humbled me. But there was a disturbing posting on her Facebook page on January 31, 2022, five years after her death on the same day, January 31, 2017. A student of hers had posted a comment, presumably marking the occasion and had written, more with profound disappointment in the prevailing situation in the Armenian world his education had portrayed for him, rather than in rebutting her for her teaching. 

He commented saying:

“ Alas…to all your efforts. The Armenia of today proved that all you taught us is “FALSE”. It is the Armenian who massacred the Armenian and NOT THE TURK !!!!”

“Մեղք..... Բոլոր ճիքերուդ, այսօրվա "հայ" ը բաստեց որ բոլոր մեզի սորուեցուցածներդ "ՍՈՒՏ" ԵՆ, հայը Հայուն չարդեց, ՈՉ ԹԷ ԹՈՒՐՔ ը!!!!!”

The baby boomers, my generation, can better deal with the current polarization. But for the generation that followed them, it may turn out to be intolerable. Let us be mindful that the later Diaspora born Armenian generation were brought up by their parents who had carved a comfortable living for their families and wanted to pass on to them, the best of their Armenian culture. The emerging reality since Armenia declared independence on September 21, 1991, is not  what it was portrayed to them in their formative years, be it as students in Armenian schools or not. They also have grown up more in tune with the culture of their host countries due to the unavoidable acculturation  mixed marriages, day to day interactions at work. Also, the ever-increasing cost of the living, demands  of modern life have necessitated the newer generation to make  a determined effort to choose as to how much and to what extent they should devote to their Armenian heritage and deal with the  Armenian political divisiveness.

Armenia may be immune from such concerns. The political process in Armenia may not need to take into consideration the ramification of their divisive politics on the young and upcoming. Although there, leaving the country for good looms large, if not the acculturation to a host country. But they have a political recourse, they vote or can vote. But in the diaspora it is altogether different. Diaspora Armenians do not vote. They are not citizens of Armenia. They simply internalize the Armenia divisive politics brought onto their lives in the Diaspora, leading to their alienation or distancing from Armenia and what is Armenian. At best this divisiveness leads to their polarization and hence fractionalization or fragmentation of the Diaspora social structures to the detriment of the Hay Tahd  (The Armenian Cause), and to the detriment of the comfort of the young and upcoming to socialize in Armenian Diaspora institutions and in doing so support Armenia and perpetuate the Armenian history and culture in the Diaspora.