Vahe H Apelian
As far as I am concerned, the Armenian Diaspora is the entity the survivors of the Meds Yeghern forged. There is no other. Furthermore Syria is the cradle of the Armenian Diaspora.
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| Olive and fig trees in the rebel held Idlib province, Syria. Courtesy NY Times |
Perhaps no other has so succinctly defined the role of Syria in the formation of the Armenian Diaspora than Viken Attarian. I quote his comment to an article I had written at one time in Keghart.com regarding Antranig Zarougian’s book “Yerazayin Haleb - Dreamy Haleb”. But I took the liberty and replaced his use of Aleppo with Syria and put a comment in parenthesis. My doing so is not all too liberal. Often time Aleppo is metaphorically used to represent the cradle of the Armenian Diaspora, Syria.
I quote Viken Attarian:
“SYRIA is undoubtedly a milestone in the evolution of our Armenian Diasporan identity of the post-Genocide period. I believe that it is there that the future community of Beirut was forged. And from then on to the different realities of our existence in the West. In the great migration of our people, SYRIA was the first place of a Great Gathering after the initial murderous big bang of the Great Dispersion.
The above applies to all aspects of community life, whether they be historical, cultural, political, artistic, literary and so on. This is not to minimize the roles of other places. Far from it. But, if there are temporal and geographic points of reference around which our existence (note: in Diaspora) coalesced after 1915, SYRIA was surely the first.”
No wonder that developments in Syria is central for the Armenian Diaspora. The latest is the historic toppling the iron grip of the Assad regime in Syria and its implication to the Armenian community there.
The reports emanating from Syria are hopeful. I quote the following.
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Today, on December 15, 2024, Levon Sharoyan reported from Aleppo, the following on his Facebook page:
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| Courtesy Levon Sharoyan |
“THE THANKFUL INITIATIVE OF ALEPPO VOLUNTEERS: A general optimism prevails in Aleppo at the moment. It is true that water has not reached the city for 4 days, there is a serious gas crisis (due to the ruthless elements exploiting that vital region...), the electricity has not yet been restored, still..., still..., and yet people are optimistic, there is a smile on their faces, there is a sparkle in their eyes.... This is undoubtedly the bliss of having overcome a difficult and unbearable BONDAGE.
Now everyone is talking about the need to rebuild the devastated and plundered country, to join hands and restore it. The young people, especially, have begun to look to the future with enthusiasm. The cities are beginning to boil, to breathe. The exiles, the families who were expelled, the thousands of boys (representatives of a select and mature generation) who took refuge abroad for fear of some absurd political accusations are returning home in droves...
Everyone wants to make a contribution to the revival of the country, of their city.
There was some interesting news today.
Considering that the central main square of Aleppo ("Saad Allah Jabri") has become a stage for permanent gatherings and celebrations in the last two weeks and has also become quite dirty, a group of volunteer boys began cleaning and beautifying the square today. The same grateful work will be carried out in the large public garden (meshtel) of Aleppo. The work is sponsored and promoted by the Assyrian Orthodox community of my city, in collaboration with partner organizations.
What a wonderful idea and initiative! The sister Assyrian community is to be commended.
And we... What will we, the people of Aleppo, do? Shouldn't we also have a benevolent and welcome role in these first efforts to restore the "dream Aleppo?" Or will we, under the gloomy pressure of pessimistic predictions, continue to "analyze" the country's political issues and remain hunched over in our shell...
Let's throw away the veil of reserve. Let's open up to the country and extend our hand to the children of the new Syria...”
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Kantsasar, the official organ of the Prelacy is Syria reported the following today, December 15, 2024.
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| Courtesy Kantsasar |
“We inform our beloved children of the churches that on the afternoon of Saturday, December 14, 2024, the spiritual leaders and pastors of the churches of Latakia, met at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox community, the representatives of the current transitional leadership of the country, both political and military, who came to say that they are ready at all costs to protect and implement all security measures for our churches and institutions, and of course for daily life. Those responsible assured that the rights, security and freedom of Syrian Christians as dignified citizens and as human beings to live and survive will be preserved.
The responsible ones appealed, saying that all of us, as citizens of the Syrian Homeland, must join hands to build a renovated, new, civilized, free and progressive homeland that has been handed down to us from our past generations. The responsible ones asked in these present and coming days, until the situation in the country is clarified and everything is in order, to be prudent, vigilant, put aside fear, be vigilant and not listen to and not believe all those false and misleading rumors and disagreements that want to disrupt peace and create chaos. And finally, those in charge asked that all churches perform their ceremonies as usual and prepare together to welcome the New Year and the Nativity of the Savior.
Until then, our dear compatriots, let us be calm and continue our lives normally.
May God protect us all."
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The NY Times posted the following article today, Dec. 15, 2024: “How Will the Rebels Rule Syria? Their Past Offers Clues.” After a lengthy analysis the article concluded with the following two paragraphs.
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| Courtesy NY Times |
“In a conservative society, they did maintain elementary schools segregated by sex. The rebels also set up a chain of free Koranic schools called the House of Revelation, which teach both theology and regular subjects like math and English.
At one point, hard-liners objected that a new shopping mall built under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s auspices was sinful because it allowed men and women to mingle in public, said Mr. Ajjoub, the doctoral candidate.
But the Idlib leaders overruled them.”
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