The Threat is REAL - AN ALARMING SPIKE

Vahe H. Apelian

This is an update of the article I posted on June 4, 2020, citing the Covid-19 confirmed cases in Worcester County, MA where I reside and in Armenia. The past 11 days Armenia has registered an ALARMING SPIKE in its Covid-19 confirmed cases, while Worcester County MA is reported to be on a downward trend along with the State of Massachusetts.

I remain mindful of the posting that recently Raffi Doudaklian posted on his page. It pertains to a simmering perception in Armenia regarding the Covid-19 pandemics. The posting has appeared on PM Pachinyans’s page claiming that the  Covid-19 is a hoax and is being used by the PM Pachinyan’s government as a political pretext. The posting read: “In Armenia there is no Corona pandemics. It is a fake, media-fabricated pandemics, whose main aim is to spread inordinate fear among people and through fear, the intent is to break down the spirit of the people and to disarm its collective psychology. As to what purpose  is he doing that? Contemplate about it yourself. Surely it’s  not for good nor in favor of the Armenians.”  One hundred and ninety-nine readers had responded to the posting, by clicking of what is now familiar buttons to us, as “like”, “anger”, and “haha”.

It is inevitable that response to this pandemic will be politicized. But reasonable people of all political persuasions would be expected to shed light on the reality of the pandemics that transcends politics.  Surely the PM had uncalled for bravado at the very onset of the pandemics. However, his government soon resorted  responding and addressing the matter appropriately. The onus is now on the citizens of Armenia.

I live in Boylston, MA.  It is one of the smaller towns in the Worcester county. Boylston is some seven miles from the City of  Worcester, which is the epicenter of the Armenian American community (“Worcester is America” by Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian). The first Armenian churches were built in Worcester. Khrimian Hayrig established the Armenian Apostolic Church in this city.  The following is the official statistics of the Covid-19 ravage in the Worcester County, MA. 

The population of Worcester County is 822,280 persons. It has 11,975 confirmed cases, (11,465 on June 4).  The number of deaths is 870, (804 on June 4).  The percent of the Worcester County, MA infected with the virus has risen to 1.45% (1.39% on June 4). But the  overall Covid-19 infection in Worcester County, MA is on a downward trend.

 During the same time frame, the confirmed cases in Armenia has reached 17,064 (11,221 on June 4) and the number of deaths has climbed to 285 (176 on June 4). It is obvious that within that time frame ARMENIA HAS REGISTERED AN ALARMING SPIKE in the number of confirmed cases while, as noted,  the Covid-19 infection in the Worcester County, MA is reported to be on a downward trend. So is the trend in the state of Massachusetts.

I am not in position to speculate on causes for the spiking of the infection in Armenia. However, I can attest the following. Whenever my wife and I, together or by ourselves, venture out for shopping, we wear gloves and mask. We have yet to encounter a single shopper without mask in the stores we shop. All the shoppers are also very conscious of social distancing and stores have made accommodation to facilitate social distancing. Having stated that, I can state the following. It is an exercise in futility to politicize the Covid-19 infection. The infection has not been a political issue in the State of Massachusetts, I know of. That surely is not the case in Armenia.

Does the Covid-19 present a serious threat to a country, be it sparsely populated Armenia?

 It sure does.

For all those interested I invite them to read or watch Jared Diamond’s documentaries on Youtube. Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, anthropologist who is best known for his popular science book, titled: “Guns, Germs, and Steel” (1997).In his book he makes a compelling case that not only guns and steel brought down and decimated civilizations, germs did as well. Age old civilizations in North America, in South America, in Hawaii were decimated no less by germs for which the “conquistadors” had immunity but the natives did not. The latter's only revenge was introducing syphilis to the powers to be of the day, to which the natives had immunity but the conquerors did not.

Covid-19 appears to spare no one. There are no “conquistadors” in the world who appear to be immune to it, be Americans, Armenians, Arabs, Chinese or Indians or any other countrymen.

Yes, Covid-19 is a serious threat and may lead to social collapse. It behooves us to remain cognizant of that reality and support the ongoing efforts to contain it.

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The Threat is REAL

Vahe H. Apelian

Retitled, previously "Boghos, Soros, Toros and Virus"

There are aspects in life that do not lend themselves to statistics. After all, of what use or comfort statistics may bring to the persons who lost a loved one as the only casualty in a war? Statistics may also dehumanize events. It is attributed to  the “man of steel”, Stalin, for  allegedly and ill reputedly having stated that the death of one person is tragic but the death of thousands is a mere statistic. However, using statistics surely serve a purpose to draw a comparison, to make some sense of figures, to understand the dimensions of the event and its impact on the living. It is with such an intent that I resort to the following statistics, for all its worth.

I was drawn to resort to it from a posting that recently Raffi Doudaklian posted on his page. It pertains to a simmering perception in Armenia regarding the Covid-19 pandemics. The posting has appeared on PM Pachinyans’s page claiming that the  Covid-19 is a hoax and is being used by the PM Pachinyan’s government as a political pretext. The posting read: “In Armenia there is no Corona pandemics. It is a fake, media-fabricated pandemics, whose main aim is to spread inordinate fear among people and through fear, the intent is to break down the spirit of the people and to disarm its collective psychology. As to what purpose  is he doing that? Contemplate about it yourself. Surely it’s  not for good nor in favor of the Armenians.”  One hundred and ninety-nine readers had responded to the posting, by clicking of what is now familiar buttons to us, as “like”, “anger”, and “haha”.

It is inevitable that response to this pandemic will be politicized. But reasonable people of all political persuasions would be expected to shed light on the reality of the pandemics that transcends politics. Has the Pachinyan government bungled its response to the pandemics? Surely the PM had uncalled for bravado at the very onset of the pandemics. However, his government soon resorted  responding and addressing the matter appropriately. Could the pandemics have been under more control had the PM government taken a much aggressive stand early on?  I resort to the following statistics to formulate my response.

I live in Boylston, MA.  It is one of the smaller towns in the Worcester county. Boylston is some seven miles from the City of  Worcester, which is the epicenter of the Armenian American community (“Worcester is America” by Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian). The first Armenian churches were built in Worcester. Khrimian Hayrig established the Armenian Apostolic Church in this city where the Diocese functioned  until its move to the New York City. The oldest Armenian church, the Armenian Evangelical Church of the Martyrs erected on December 1, 1901 is still in use in Worcester. The church is named after the martyrs of the Hamidian massacre.  The following is the official statistics of the Covid-19 ravage in the Worcester County, MA. 

Reiterating the statistics posted above: the population of Worcester County is 822,280 persons. It has 11,465 confirmed cases, of which 27 were added yesterday. Thus far the county has registered 804 deaths, 14 of which happened yesterday. In all, 1.394% of the Worcester County population, where I reside, has been infected by the Covid-19 virus. That is an inordinate high percentage and number of deaths, especially when we take into consideration that Worcester is some 35 miles north west of Boston, which boasts reputable hospitals in the U.S. and the state is known for its advanced medical research and is a hub for medical research and is medically very conscious and very responsive.

How does Armenia fare in comparison to the Worcester County? The statistics are attached above. I estimate the population of  Armenia to be  3 times that of population of Worcester County, approximately 2.5 million. The confirmed cases in Armenia is 11,221, similar to the reported in the Worcester County (11465). Surprisingly far fewer people have been reported to have died in Armenia (176 deaths),  compared to the deaths in the Worcester County (804 deaths).

Is Armenia doing better than Worcester County?

I cannot bring myself to conclude that because the course of this pandemics is not worn out yet. Worcester County appears to be much better prepared as it has 97% available beds. The available beds are not mentioned in Armenia but I doubt it can match Worcester County's.  Having stated that, I conclude the following: it is an exercise in futility to ascribe the pandemics to the doings of Boghos or the infamous, all present, all conniving, all  omnipresent Soros. As to who the Boghos are in Armenia?  It appears in Armenia that is how they deprecatorily call their average,  everyday political opponents, turned their nemesis. Should you be not a political supporter of the PM Pachinyan coming to power,  Boghos are those who supported him;  but for those who supported PM Pachinyan coming to power through the velvet revolution, Boghos are those who did not support the movement.  It matters not who Boghos or Soros are in Armenia,  Covid-19 will run its course and the only person  who and the entity that can help contain it, is not the government with its imposed restrictions that it cannot possibly strictly enforce; but it is the average, law abiding, observant citizen of Armenia whom I named Toros. 

Does the Covid-19 present a serious threat to a country, be it sparsely populated Armenia?

 It sure does.

For all those interested I invite them to read or watch Jared Diamond’s documentaries on Youtube. Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, anthropologist who is best known for his popular science book, titled: “Guns, Germs, and Steel” (1997).In his book he makes a compelling case that not only guns and steel brought down and decimated civilizations, germs did as well. Age old civilizations in North America, in South America, in Hawaii were decimated no less by germs for which the “conquistadors” had immunity but the natives did not. The latter's only revenge was introducing syphilis to the powers to be of the day, to which the natives had immunity but the conquerors did not.

Covid-19 appears to spare no one. There are no “conquistadors” in the world who appear to be immune to it, be Americans, Armenians, Arabs, Chinese or Indians or any other countrymen.

Yes, Covid-19 is a serious threat and may lead to social collapse. It behooves us to remain cognizant of that reality and support the ongoing efforts to contain it.

   

The Monologues by Berj

Vahe H. Apelian

“No love is greater than that of a father for His son.”

Recently I received a personalized copy of Berj Cholakian's one-hundred pages long Monologues. The book of poetry, published in 2015 in Los Angeles, is a collection of thirty-two poems written over the past four decades. Artistic color pictures precede the poems and help enhance the author’s reflections in each poem. The hard cover depicts a  man treading along alone on a foggy day. The poems are printed in white fonts over  black, thicker than usual, sheets enhancing the author’s reflections on the realities of life in his monologues. The book is dedicated to his late son Sevag and daughter Tamara.

Berj Cholakian was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He holds a BBA degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he majored in Business Administration with a minor in Modern Philosophy and Psychology.  

The first six poems are Oblivious Existence, Enigma, Introspect, Sacred Love, Pax Atomica, and April of Reincarnation. They were written in 1977 and  published in "Kuwait Times" when he worked as area manager for a British/Saudi firm there. The titles give a sense of the reflective mood he expresses in these monologues, as life may well be an Enigma that needs to be sorted out where:

Suddenly
Love is hate
Life is death
Light is darkness
and NO is
Perhaps…..

The next is Aliens…? It was written three decades later. The short biographical sketch sheds light on the prolonged lapse. After Kuwait he moved to Southern California where, for the next twenty-five years or so, he was engaged in his own private trading business from which he retired in 2009. Those years took  all of his attention and stamina while he tried to cope with the profound loss of his son.

The ensuing poems, from 2007 onward, continue to reflect on perennial subjects that have been written “since the beginning of the alphabet”, as he puts it. He tackles them again with a quest to make sense of the Enigma  that life can be and to affirm values.  I quote from I Still Believe (July 2012)

I still believe
That
A full-hearted laugh
or
A tacit smile
Will enlighten
Our aura
And
Enliven our heart

Cholakian presents similar subjects titled God, Love, Life, Religion, and akin themes but in different style and format. He explains, in his notes that he wrote “with as little words as possible to avoid being tedious in conveying my thoughts”. The poetic monologues written in the later years are more personal (Of Hope and Faith, Boundless Love, Tears of Joy and Sorrow and others).

A sense of resignation and need for comfort become palpable in the later poems, especially in “Letter” To My Late Son and Homage To My Orphaned Father. Don’t we all resign to the inevitable eventuality and concede that man proposes and God disposes? Some call it fate, others kismet.

In his “letter” to his son, written some twenty years after Sevag’s untimely death on his birthday during hiz first excursion in the car his parents had bought for him as his high school graduation gift.  Cholakian reveals that he continues to struggle to find solace to try to fill his loneliness and emptiness. He even writes to his son to control his anger against no other than “The Creator” or God. After all the struggle and grief, he ends his “letter” letting Sevag know that the only thing left for the father to do is to bid his son good-bye to see him soon. He writes:

Tentatively
Let me tell you
Good bye my son
And
See you soon

I was particularly consumed by this poem as I remembered what Aram Haigaz noted that the All Mighty God could not stand the loss of his beloved Son and had Him resurrected to sit by Him. I drew on my remembrance in an attempt to understand and convey the pain of a grieving father but not to sound insensitive to our Christian faith.

His last monologue – Homage To My Orphan Father – was written in April 2015 and is about memorializing the life of his orphaned father and paying tribute to him  “With eternal love”.

Cholakian's father hailed from Agn, the famed Armenian town that was the birthplace of an inordinate number of influential Armenians in many fields, so much so that Pascal Carmont (The Amiras: Lords of Ottoman Armenia) wondered if Agnetsis possessed a certain gene that catapulted them to such heights in so many fields. Along with a good number of the wealthy Armenian Amiras who hailed from Agn, the eminent Armenian poet Siamanto and revolutionary idealist Papken Suni were from the same town. Cholakian is no less a contributor to the enrichment of the post-Genocide Armenian Diaspora literature.

In the epilogue Cholakian notes that the “book of contemporary poetic monologues in epigrammatic style” is his humble legacy to humanity. After all is said and done the only thing remains of us and can long endure is our remembrance of each other, ss Cholakian notes in Oblivious Existence (Jan. 18, 2007):

In this endless space
In this dim place
Called the world
There  remains no trace…..
Of you
Of me
Of all
Just only a remembrance….

Undoubtedly the book is just that, a legacy of the author's impressionable mind that attempted to make sense of the universe in his early literary ventures forty years ago and ended up coping with the realities of life, especially with the profound loss of his son and paying homage to his parents. 

The book is also a testament of solid friendships and of friends — Dr. Kevork and Cecile Keshishian and Yenovk Balikian — who obviously have shared his experiences. They came together and sponsored the publication of this beautifully rendered hardcover book of poetry.

Berj Cholakian may be contacted at PO Box 694, Glendale, CA 91200 or by emailing at BerjCholakian@AOL.com

Cardashian and Kardashian

Vahe H. Apelian

A single letter distinguishes the two prominent Armenian family names, but both sound alike. There may have been others, much like I, who might have thought that, although spelled differently, the family names are related to each other. They are not. Both come from Armenian inhabited regions. One is a a representative of Western and the other Eastern Armenians. Both have had and continue to have notable roles not only in the life the Armenian American community, but in the Diaspora and in Armenia as well.

I have attached excerpts about their lives from Wikipedia.

Vahan Cardashian (Armenian: Վահան Քարտաշեան), was born in the city of Caesarea (now Kayseri), Ottoman Empire on December 1, 1882 or 1883. Cardashian studied in the local French lyceum and Talas American College. He emigrated to the United States in 1902. He got accepted at Yale University in 1904 and earned a Law degree in 1908. In the same year, he wrote a book entitled The Ottoman Empire of the Twentieth Century.  Cardashian entered the New York State Bar Association in 1909 and began practicing law. In 1913, he was the Fiscal Agent of the Ottoman Empire in the United States. Prior to the Armenian Genocide of 1915, he served as a counselor and statistician to the Ottoman Chamber of Commerce in America. He was a counselor for the Ottoman Embassy in Washington, D.C. and then to the Ottoman Consulate General in New York from 1910 to 1915. He authored several books on the Armenian Question. Some authors claim otherwise, but in his 1934 obituary, it's stated that Cardashian was survived by his sister, mother and brother. 

In early 1919, he founded the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), the predecessor of the Armenian National Committee of America  (ANCA). He continued his efforts until his death in 1934. The ANCA has established an award after Vahan Cardashian and bestows the award yearly on a meritorious person who has distinguished himself serving the Armenian Cause. 

In 2008, the late attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, who specialized in interntional law, wrote a book titled “Vahan Cardashian: Advocate Extraordinaire For the Armenian Cause”.

Robert George Kardashian (February 22, 1944 – September 30, 2003) was an American attorney and businessman. He gained national recognition as O.J Simpon’s  friend and defense attorney during Simpson's 1995 murder trial. He had four children with his first wife Kris (nee Houghton, later Jenner). Their children are Kourtney,  Khloe and Rob, and Kim, formally Kimberly Noel Kardashin West, who is a notable   media personality, socialite, businesswoman, producer, and actress.  The Kardashians appear on their family reality television series titled "Keeping Up with the Kardashian".

 

 

Robert was born in Los Angeles, California. He has a sister Barbara and a brother Tom Kardashian. His great-grandparents, Saghatel ("Sam") and Harom Kardaschoff, were ethnic Armenian Spiritual Christian immigrants from Karakale (now: Merkezkarakale), Kars Oblast of the Russian Empire  (now Kars Province in Turkey ). The family, known at the time by the surname Kardaschoff, in Russian style, made their way from their home village of Karakale to a new life in America. Their son Tatos, Kim Kardashian's paternal grandfather, anglicized his name to Tom, started a business in garbage collection in Los Angeles, and married another Kars-Karakale immigrant, Hamas Shakarian, Kim's paternal grandmother.

 

 

"For Whom The Bells Toll"

Vahe H. Apelian

Armenia observes May 28 as one of its national holidays termed  the Republic Day, although the first stamps issued by the Republic of Armenia on May 28, 1992, declared it to be the Independence Day. On this occasion, the public is invited to celebrate of the establishment of the Republic of Armenia in 1918. Officially the Republic Day “is celebrated with an annual military parade. The President of Armenia will visit the Sardarapat Memorial to commemorate an important battle that the fledgling republic fought against the Turks in 1918. The day is also marked with fireworks, concerts, torchlight marches and parties.”

Understandably this holiday was not observed during the Soviet Armenia era. But the Diaspora, at least a good segment of it celebrated May 28 as Independence Day. Some of the Armenian schools were closed on that day in observance of that important historic day.

The Sardarabad Memorial site is chosen for the official observance and celebration of the day because The Battle of Sardarabad (Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ, Sardarapati Djakadamard)  took place there on May 21, 1918 and for the next  few days between the regular Armenian military units and militia on one side and the advancing Turkish army. Sardarabad is approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of the capital of  Yerevan. The battle not only halted the Turkish military advance into the rest of Armenia, it also made the present-day Armenia a reality. Quoting Wikipedia “ In the words of Christopher J. Walker  had the Armenians lost this battle, it is “ perfectly possible that the word Armenia would have henceforth denoted only an antique geographical term."

The First Republic was short-lived, from 1918 to 1920, but it laid down the foundation of the Armenian statehood after the collapse of the last Armenian kingdom, the Kingdom of Cilicia, in 1375. 

During the past 100 plus years, a few generations of Armenians grew up taking for granted that the Armenians have a state of their own, although under the Soviet rule for the most. On September 21, 1991, the citizens of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to gain independence from the Soviet Union. The date is marked as the Independence Day of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Անկախության օրը) and is observed as another state holiday in Armenia

May 28, 1918 has thus come to symbolize the age old dream of the Armenians for an independent country of their own. It was a decisive and a precarious state, so much so that the commanders of the Armenian Armed forces recommended that the Supreme Patriarch of the Armenians, the  Catholicos of all Armenians Kevork Soureniants (1911-1930), vacate Etchmiadzin and move away for safety.  Not only the Catholicos rejected their proposal but encouraged the military and the people of Armenia to resist to the end. This is what he is reported to have said:

"Armenian nation. Our age-old enemy, the Turks have subjugated Alexandrapol (present-day Gumri) and are advancing towards the heart of our nation, our faith, and our history. It is coming onto the land of Ararat.

The Turks are advancing massacring and plundering. Our commanders see no way out of the disaster and are pushing the Patriarch of the Armenians to flee. They are suggesting to me to leave the Holy See Etchmiadzin, our holy sanctuary, the last remnant of the Armenian people.

No, and no. Thousand times no. I will not abandon the legacy of our saintly forefathers. If the Armenian people are not able to stop the enemy's advances, is unable to salvage our holy sites, I will then bear a sword and fall in the courtyard of our Mother Temple but I will not abandon the depository of our faith, the Holy See.

If the end has come, then why not accept it with honor and courage? And not by submissively crawl in front of our enemy. Our history through the ages is full of valor colored with blood. It has not exhausted our blood and courage. Throughout the centuries the Armenian people have struggled for the sake of preserving their identity. It is for that reason that our history, laden with large-scale massacres, has not come to its end, nor will it. Therefore, as a nation, why not rise against the enemy that is coming thirsty to our last blood?" (Catholicos of all Armenians Kevork Soureniants, May 1918).

Catholicos also requested that all the churches across the land toll their bells. The sound of these bells surely reverberated the souls of the emaciated survivors who had found refuge there. But the Armenians were not all that unprepared. The Armenian military commanders under the leadership of the Armenia Revolutionary Federation had forged an army ready for battle. The soldiers, along with the people met their enemy on three battlefronts and carried the day.

Nowadays visitors to the Sardarabad Monument will see symbolic bells held high in three arched columns ostensibly symbolizing the three battlefronts at Sardarabad, Karakilisa, and Pash Abaran. The bells mounted on the monument symbolically are meant to toll for succeeding generations, as they did once during that precarious period in our history, calling upon the Armenians to be ready to rise up in  arms in the defense of the Mother Fatherland.

FIRST DAY COVER
MAY 28 INDEPENDENCE DAY

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Hyroxychloroquine, Colonoscopy, and Broccoli.

Vahe H. Apelian

 

Yesterday, on March 19, I had posted the following on my Facebook page. “ THE PRESCRIPTION for the PRESIDENT - who, according to NY Times on Tuesday May 19, has been taking Hyrdoxychloroquine tablets for over a week. A chain of recorded events should have happened for the President DJT to start taking the medications starting from a visit by a medical doctor, physically or by phone, issuing a prescription, filling the prescription somewhere and handing it to the president by mail or else way, with instruction for the president as how often a day the president to take the tablet/s, with or without meal and for how long. The prescribing physician owes an explanation to the public for the prophylactic use of the medication. After all we are not speaking of an ordinary patient but the President of the U.S., who surely is not self-medicating without medical consent.”

A respondent commented in defense of the white house physician’s knowledge and in defense of the president taking the medication although I had not questioned either of them. My response to him was: “I want to know how many times he takes the medication; how does it take it with or without meal and for how long will he be taking it. If it’s good for him, it’s good for me too. Especially we are talking safeguarding the person against the infection. I imagine that his physician owes the public and explanation on the President's use of the medication. We may differ and that is all about it.”  Being a medical matter, I envisioned that it’s the President’s physician who owes an explanation to the public and not the President. There are issues the public should be aware of as  the medication’s use is being prescribed as a prophylactic and we know that insurance companies and Medicare do not reimburse for use of medications beyond its recommended use.

Rebuttals to my response soon followed. Both noted that I should have been aware that it is a private matter. I partly quote one commentators:  “First of all, I doubt what you want "to know" is or should be allowed under HIPPA; Second, those details are private, even for the president; do you feel you have the right to know everything he takes?”.  The thing is that I would not have known about the President taking the hydroxychloroquine and expected his physician’s explanation had the President not announced it. As to HIPPA, I have no clue what it is. There were other controversial remarks made regarding physicians prescribing for off labels indications and Medicare reimbursing such prescriptions. I am sure such issues would have come about, should the President’s physician come forth with a public briefing.

Briefing about the President’s health is not uncommon. The President’s state of health is a public matter and physicians briefing about the president’s health is a good way of educating the public and is not uncommon. I remember the medical briefings after the following, I quote: “ Reagan Undergoes Cancer Surgery, July 13, 1985. On this day in 1985, President Ronald Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland to remove a cancerous polyp in his large intestine. Doctors also removed 2 feet of Reagan's lower intestine.” Following his surgery, day after day, I would see pictures of our internal organs displayed on television detailing the  President’s surgery and about ailments affecting the intestines.

 I also know that mere utterances by the President swings widely the barometers that indicate stock trading and have profound influence on matters. I recall the displeasure of the broccoli producers against President Bush who had said, I quote, “''I do not like broccoli,'' the President said, responding to queries about a broccoli ban he has imposed aboard Air Force One, first reported this week in U.S. News and World Report. ''And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli!''

Time surely  has changed from the twelve Reagan and Bush years. It was the era of the great communicating President Reagan and the gentleman President Bush, who was said not to pee in a shower. But the thing that has not changed is the inordinate impression a president’s doings and utterance leave on the public. Let us face it, the President looms larger than  the average citizen’s life. That brings back me back to my Facebook posting and I reiterate my point. The White House physician, who I believe prescribed President Trump to take hydroxychloroquine prophylactically, owes the public a briefing and inevitable recommendation on the use of this medicine by the public to safeguard itself against corona virus infection

Kistinok, A Cherished Language

Vahe H.  Apelian

A Panoramic view of Kessab

Levon Der Bedrossian, Armenia’s first nationally elected president, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin I Sarkissian of blessed memory and,  Rev. Dr. Movses Janbazian, the Executive Director of the AMAA who spearheaded establishing the Armenian Missionary Association of America in Armenia, spoke a common language they had learned from their parents, Kistinok.

If my recollection serves me well, it was the on- time weekly, “The Armenian Reporter”, that had noted that whenever the three met, they exchanged pleasantries in that language. I believe that their knowledge of this cherished dialect fostered among them a special camaraderie and a bond that transcended all other considerations. There is a unique feeling of cherished ownership knowing that you have been entrusted with an ancient Armenian dialect, or language if you will, few others speak nowadays.

Dr. Avedis Injejikian, the prominent Kessabtsi medical doctor, notes in his study published in the third volume of Hagop Cholakian’s exhaustive study of Kessab that the Armenians of the historical Antioch, which constituted the core of the famed Armenian Cilicia, called themselves kistini, that is to say Christians and the language they spoke Kistinok, the language of the Christians. While the native Armenians understood Kistinok, there are regional nuances in the accent that further characterizes the dialect. The Kessabtsis, call it also Kesbenok, i.e. the language spoken by the Kesbetsek, that is to say the Kessabtsis, the people of Kessab; while the people of Musa Dagh refer to their dialect Sividitsnok, in reference to the Sveda sub-district within the Ottoman province where Musa Dagh is located, presently in the Hatay province of Turkey. 

Consequently, Levon Der Bedrossian and Movses Janbazian having hailed from Musa Dagh, Catholicos Karekin I Sarkissian, having hailed from Kessab, would have spoken in their distinct accents and yet all three would have understood each other very well and enjoyed the precious legacy they have been entrusted with, Kistinok. For generations Kistinok was the conversational language  of the Kessabtsis. Hagop Cholakian, the eminent Kessabtsi scholar, has done much of the study of the language and preservation of its folk stories, songs and sayings. 

My paternal grandparents, Stepan and Sarah, were the sole genocide survivors of their families. They spoke Kistinok with each other not only at home but also socially with their contemporaries. In fact, it was with that dialect that they welcomed my father and my paternal uncle into this world and raised them.  Out of love of their first-born grandson, regretfully they spoke in Armenian with me and thus I  am not conversant in Kestenok but I understand it very well.

Grandfather Stepan Apelian

My mother tells me that for the first post genocide generation of the Kessabtsi boys and girls, herself included,  speaking Armenian was not the norm, rather it was the mandate in the village school they attended. In order to enforce speaking Armenian, the school had devised a system called “signal”, which consisted of a note card kept by a teacher supervising the students during recess. The teacher would hand it to the student caught speaking Kistinok instead of Armenian. The student in turn had the option of passing it to any other student who spoke Kessaberen. At the end of the day, students who had those “signal” cards would be  reprimanded for having not spoken Armenian or “hayja” as students would call speaking Armenian amongst themselves.  

With the ensuing immigration of the Kessabtsis to the “four corners of the world” and with the repatriation to Armenia, the language went along and in some families the kistinok remained the conversational language. Children born and raised in these families in faraway places often time used it as a substitute for Armenian and some became very conversant in it. I doubt that nowadays there are Kessabtsi families whose conversational language in their homes is in Kistinok.  

Kistinok, with its varied accents is a vivid example of the rich dialects that had evolved from coastal towns of historical Cilicia, to the plains of Van and Moush, to the mountain top of Sassoun that was destroyed due to the genocide, the Medz Yeghern that befell upon the Armenians. With the disappearance of these dialects a rich folklore that had evolved over millennia simply got wiped out as well. 

Recently I posted one of Jirayr Terterian’s song on my page and shared it with other groups on Facebook. Most who commented had not heard the language before and some appeared not know that there is such a dialect. I choose to believe that as long as there are Kesbetsek,  Kistinok will be spoken. Before the start of the Syrian civil war, I was told that the young in Kessab are making a special effort to use it socially to foster camaraderie and preserve the language. Recently I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my cousin’s son Dr. Tsolag Apelian and daughter Shoghag Ayanian, have mastered the language having learned it from their grandparents.  In fact, Tsolag maintains a Facebook page called “Քեսպնուօկ - The Armenian Dialect of Kessab” to encourage the continual use of the millennial old cherished dialect across the globe.

Grandmother Sarah Mousajekian Apelian