Earthquake - January 1998 by Armenian International Magazine

January 1998

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Editor's Note Letters to the Editor Notebook Bytes on File C^-,,-

Other People's Mail Underexposed Essay

14 Cover Story - Frozen in Time The earthquake brought Cumri and Vanadsor to world attention We meet the people enduring yet another winter in the stiil-shattered ruins of Armenia's second and third cities

What's the Came? Analysis Levon Ter Petrossian's now-infanrous press conference on the future for Karabakh unleashed a deluge of accusations and invectivc. Was it something he said?

Hugging The Bear a new relationship with Moscow with an all-

Armenia enters

embracing agreement that recasts the regional power game once more From Russia with love?

lnterview

The Right Stuff

ln an era of individuaiism, First Lady Lucia Ter Petrossian puts the spotlight on the republic's collective responsibilities.

Facing The Future Where do Armenians fit rn modern Australia's new multicultural jigsaw? Ethnic Affairs Commissioner Stepan Kerkyasharian puts the pieces together.

Crowing the Farm

After performing miraculoirs feats to improve agricultural production, Armenia's farmers now need help to reap the full fruits of their Iabor.

35 Rebuilding Faith Armenia has lots of religious monuments, but not too many churches. ln Karbi, Argentinean benefactors are helping change all that. ( O\r'LR

DES

aN BY RAI F lAIIPlN AN; COVtll Pllo lO

IAVEN kHACn (

Jinuiry1998 AIM

editor's note

Founded in 1990

Not Normat

FOUNDING EDITOR Vartan Oskanian FOUNDING PUBLISHER Michael Nahabet

Normally, AIM does not run a lengthy exchange in the letters page. However, Professor James Russell's long and thoughtful response to Markar Melkonian's review of Peter Balakian's book merited a deviation from standard procedure. The letter from Russell, Mashtots hofessor of Armenian Studies, Harvard University, runs alongside a detailed response from Melkonian. Interviews with the First Lady of the Republic of Armenia are as rare as interviews with her husband. During a recent visit to Southern California, Lucia Ter Petrossian spoke with AIM about social needs and programs, often from the perspective of a journalist, which she was, until 1991. When asked why joumalists-Western and localhave difficulty understanding and explaining the complex conditions in Armenia, she gave a very descriptive answer. "[n the Soviet Union," she said, "everything was simple. There was only one color on our palette, and everything had to be depicted using that one color: red. Now, years later, our lives have changed, the environment has changed, and we have many more options. Now, it seems, joumalists have found two colors with which to paint all that they see: black and white. And that is what is being done. The various shades (and complexities) within issues are being lost." Complexities don't begin to explain the situation in the Earthquake Zone. What we should have leamed by now is that there is no "quick fix" solution. Perhaps that's the problem. It was never going to be done in two years, but at this rate, the reconstruction of the Earthquake Tane will not even be finished in 20. The fact that Prime Miniter Robert Kocharian felt it necessary to order the establishment of a committee to draw up a list of what needs to be done-nine years after the event-is a measure of the confused and incoherent efforts that have taken place 1o date. In this case, there is no distinguishing between Armenia and Diaspora. Distance does not absolve us ofresponsibility. An event which bumed into our collective imagination like none other has produced a grand total of $5 million in donations to the Armenia Fund in the last few years, for reconstruction of the Earthquake Zone. Even interest in whether the funds initially raised between 1988 and 1990 were ever completely allocated is no longer an issue, nine years later. There is only one serious book which examines the social and

political implications of the 1988 earthquake. Armenie,

Fracture by Pierre Verluise appeared in French in 1989. Armenia in Crisis (Wayne State University Press, 1995), translated and annotated by Levon Chorbajian, does a great deal towards helping us understand and try to resolve the economic and psychological problems created by that natural catastrophe.Verluise lays out clearly the context for the earthquake. It happened when Armenia was in the midst of conflict with *re Soviet Union. and at the end of the same century which brought the Genocide. It goes without saying that both catastrophes have left the Armenians with deep, unresolved feelings of helplessness. The disgraceful years of inaction since the earthquake have resulted in the earthquake survivors feeling not just helpless, but also hopeless. Government estimates indicate that $500 million is needed to reconstruct the buildings and the lives destroyed in the Earthquake Znne. There is much we can do in helping secure those funds. This is neither an intemational political conflict nor a historic political injustice. The solutions are within our means-everything from an "earthquake reconstruction" charge for passengers arriving at Yerevan's airport to construction loans for those willing to contribute labor to build their own homes. The gains are as practical as a huge boon to Armenia's economy, and as auspicious as a return to normalcy for an abandoned population whose lives in the rickety iron huts below, are clearly not "normal."

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CONTRIBUTORS Artashes Emin, Yerevan; Susan Pattie, London; Ara Chouljian, John Hughes,

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WRITE TO AIM! We welcome all communication. Although we read all letters and submissions, we are unable to acknowledge everything we receive due to limited staffing and resources. Letters to the Editor may be

edited for publication.

A I /tll )anuaty 1998

had to fight to have that letter published); and last month I alerted the ARF to the

/UNI

visit of

Ambassador Kandemir to Harvard. I deplore his intimidation of American scholars who write about the Genocide, and

spoke at the demonstra-

Melkonian is listed as a director of

just cause of the

the Monte Melkonian Fund and the author of a primer on Marxism. Monte

the

Armenian people; but they ought to be enough to persuade your readers that the following are the concemed reminders of a friend.

Israel was founded because it is the of the Jewish people-not as a bulwark of imperialism. Jews have never ceased to regard the Land of Israel as our home. More immediately, it was a refuge. Christian demonization of the Jews over homeland

3lntr

[n.ttrl b I.-.ldEr

How r0 sPEllll $100,000,000 Your November-December cover was superb. Whoever did this set-up is a great craftsman. As for the Kirk Kerkorian $100

mil-

I think it should be spent to build the 32,000 homes needed in lion fund,

Armenia. Never forget the old saying, "As the building business goes, so goes the country." As the homes and factories are built, the majority of Armenia's 30,000 unemployed will be working on them.

N. Nercessian Westminster, California

THE ETUSIUE TRUIH

Markar Melkonian's review of Black Dog of Fate (Books, NovemberDecember 1996) makes disturbing reading: he includes "Zionist depredations" in lrbanon and elsewhere in the list of 20th century atrocities that includes those of Talaat Pasha and Adolph Hitler. I realize that at the moment Israel is allied with

Turkey, and that the interests

the

Armenian people tend toward the Arab side of the Middle East dispute, and of course to friendly Iran. But these political alignments change, and they should not blind decent people to two truths: that the Armenian Genocide must be recognized, with full reparation and restitution; and that Israel, as the national home of the Jewish people, has the right to peace and security. Last year I wrote, vociferously, to the Jewish Forward when one of their staff writers derided the Armenians and denied the Genocide (and believe me, I

survive.

tion. These are small and recent aspects

of one's service to

[s]l{orian's llowo$t Bold Uenlure

infiltrators from Lebanon shot at their car with a bazooka. Both parents were killed, and their five children were orphaned. This was commonplace then, and it goes on now. Israel fights because it has to-to

two millennia culminated in the Nazi Holocaust, a project in which much of

Melkonian died

a hero, but he had neither compassion for nor understanding of the Jews. In his selected writings, he suggests, astonishingly, that the survivors of

the concentration camps should have been forced by the Allies to resettle in Europe-as though they were so many dignity or identity or will. Well, some tried to, in

chess pieces, without human

Aryanizing theories, promoted in

fact, and there were pogroms in Poland in 1946. Stalin started a campaign of murder and terror against Jews that started in 1948 and was aborted only by his death, six years later. So much for life in the European chamel house. I suppose that because Markar is a Marxist, he doesn't include the tens of millions murdered by Stalin and Mao, and the continuing genocide of the Tibetans, in his list of the century's criminals and their deeds. What are the victims of Communism? Class enemies? Superfluous men? It seems to me Melkonian's mourning of "this whole

Germany in the 1930s, have resurfaced in

horrible century" is suspiciously selec-

Europe participated.There is no indigenous Armenian Jewish community, so Armenian anti-semitism, except in such literary works as The Jewish Wife, written in cosmopolitan Constantinople, was

virtually nonexistent. But racialism in this century spread everywhere, and it must be remembered that even General Dro Kanayan, the hero of Karabakh, fought for Hitler and was a friend of the SS. Professor Artashes Abeghian's

am not happy about it, but facts are facts. As for

tive.

the Palestinian Arabs, the supposed victims of Zionism, their leadership refused coexistence with the Jews, massacred them in the 20s and 30s, and supported the Nazis as well. Many Israelis and Jews outside Israel regard the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 as a tragedy. It went too far; and the massacres of Moslems by Christian Lebanese at Sabra and Shatila were crimes in which Sharon and Eitan have to share a measure of responsibility. However, the invasion did not come out of nowhere, and your readers have a right to know the background for what

remembered

the Armenian Republic today.

read Black Dog

when

of Fate ar.d in the

stood

Armenian church at Diyarbakir last June. It is a superb and moving book, and I am deeply grateful to Peter Balakian for it. I feel Melkonian's review raises many very good points, but his interlude of Jew-baiting does the volume a disservice. By all means, let Armenians and Jews disagree about politics. But let us also respect each other's identity and human dignity-and above all, the truth. As the Sanskrit

maxim proclaims, Satyameva jayate: Truth alone wins the victory.

,","iffT:,TH:i#

Melkonian sneeringly refers to as "Zionist depredations." Lebanon had been, for years, a base for terror against

Jews

in Israel and around the world. When Palestinians from Lebanon mur-

IrtEU(01{lA1{ BEPUES:

dered the Israel Olympic Team in 1972, the good citizens of Beirut danced in the

Professor Russell raises many issues. For the sake ofbrevity, I will dispense with polished literary form and limit my response to the following six

streets.

A year before that, when

was

working in the Israeli farm village of Zarit, near the Lebanese border, I made friends with a Moroccan Jewish family, the Malkas. Shortly after I left, terrorist

points:

First: I do not claim to speak in the name of Armenian-Americans. I speak tanuary1998

AIi

for myself. I hope Professor Russell does not claim to speak in the name of his eth-

nic group. I could open my

pocket address book and find the names of half a dozen admirable, honest Jews who might

well dispute Professor Russell's account of things. Second: I suspect that the reasons for the occupation of Palestine are more

complicated-and considerably less inspiring-than the familiar account Professor Russell has presented. It had

lot to do with Western control of oil and the Suez Canal. Professor Russell states that Israel was not founded as a bulwark of imperialism. If it does not fulfill this function today, then I wonder why US taxpayers are still expected to subsidize the "Miracle on the Mediterranean," to the tune of three to five billion dollars annually? Because it is a bulwark against Soviet imperialism? It is hard for me to believe that a government that did what it did to native Americans suddenly found its lost moral compass when it came to a homeland for Jews in Palestine. Professor

Russell decries what he refers to as Palestinian "terrorism." This is an old

story. I

suspect that,

Armenians-especially

for

many

for those who

have endured decades of

Zionist

"counter-terrorism" in Lebanon-the epithet terrorist does not automatically elicit the effect Professor Russell might wish il did. True, Palestinian resistance fightersand defenders in Karabakh, toehave too often imitated their enemies'tactics of targeting civilians. But this point should not mitigate the fact that people have a right to resist occupation and dispossession.

Third: I am not sure what to make of Prof. Russell's accusation that I have pre-

sented a selective list ofatrocities. In the fourth paragraph of the review, I alluded to three or four cases of mass killings, but I am not sure I would describe this as a list. (If Prof. Russell wants something more like a list, a good starting place might be William Blum's book, Killing

Hope: U.S. Military and

CIA

Allies to resettle in Europe." Such

who have displayed as much respect for the identity and dignity of religious, ethnic and national groups, as did Monte Melkonian.

Intervention Since World War II, or one of Noam Chomsky's recent books.) And even if one were to describe this as a list, how could it not be selective? Does Prof. Russell wish to imply that the cases of mass killings he mentions are not selective? In any case, I am of the politically

Sixth: Professor Russell accuses me of Jew-baiting. If I were to mention the names of Japanese military leaders responsible for the massacre at Nanjing, should I then be accused of Shinto-baiting? If not, then I do not see how my review piece can fairly be described as an instance of Jew-baiting.

instances

incorrect opinion that the dozens of of mass killings perpetrated

dous events

with US tax money and in the name of the American people should be of special concem to US citizens like Prof. Russell and myself. (Even as I write these words, the government that claims to

Jew-baiting is a very serious accusation

in my name has-under the guise of an "Operation Provide Comfort," no less-yet again handed Kurds in Iraq

Armenian history, however, fess that I have my doubts.

speak

over to Ankara's butchers.) Fourth: Professor Russell does not like the fact that I am a Marxist. That is his right. But surely he does not wish to insinuate that, as a Marxist, I apologize for Stalin's brutality. Marxists like me were among Stalin's first victims. Fifth: I am ashamed to admit that

Dro Kanayan and Karekin Nejdeh

are

indeed popular figures in Armenia these days. Monte Melkonian, however, detested both of them-and he detested them precisely for their Aryan racism and their collaboration with the Nazis. The author of The Right to Struggle never suggested in that book or anywhere else that the survivors of the concentration camps "should have been forced by the

In view of the unspeakably horrenof this century, the charge of

that should not be tossed about cavalierly.

I wish I could agree with Prof. Russell that truth alone wins the victory. As a student of both Marxism and I must conMarkar Melkonian Van Nuys, California

ERBORS 01{ FII.E:

In the November-December 1997 Cover Story, the United Armenian Fund assistance to Armenia was underrepresented. The UAF, in the last eight years since its founding, has sent $200 million in humanitarian assistance to Armenia. AIM regrets the error. In the same issue, the interview with

filmmaker Albert Kodagolian did not attribute the screenplay Sessions to its

t*,

Chaderjian. AIM regrets the

:1,j.:.,

GllTIIlIG I]I IHE ]IEXI ISSUE: COVER ST0RY: THE KARABAKH MOVEMENT: Ten years ago, a milli0n people took to the streets to demand self-deter mination for Karabakh. Ten years later, where are the movement's leaders, and the survivors of the Sumgait massacres? Also, an excerpt from Mark Malkasian's "Gha-ra-bagh" chronicling the historic first months.

C0MMUNITIES: THE HOLY CITY 0F JERUSALEM AND ITS ARMENIANS: lf Jerusalem is the "Jewel in the Diaspora's Crown", why are the Armenians slowly disappearing? Who is guarding their interests? EDUCATI0N: How is Armenia rebuilding its school system? We talk

to Education Minister Artashes Petrossian.

CONNECTI0NS: From Nazi Camp to California. We meet the displaced persons who made Montebello their home after escaping Stalin and Hitler.

rlil

January 1998

belief would have been entirely out of character for him: I know of few people

notebook

Rescarch Center Home

Sti!! Speaking Truth to Power NAME: Armenian Research

DOWNSIDE: A regular updates

Center, University of Michigan, Dearborn home page

web page even more.

WHERE YOU'LL FIND !T: http://www.umd. umich.edu/dept /armenian

WHAT lT 15? Dedicated for the documentation and the publication of materials in the field of Armenian studies and affairs.

and additions will enhance the

TYPICAL QUOTE: " Armenian history is derivative. One must study the history of neighboring countries since neighboring countries have usually helped determine the course of Armenia's his-

50 years ago isn't. A central intersection-first named for Marxist revolutionary Azizbekov was renamed Sakharov Square, after Sakharov and Bonner lent their names loudly and frequently to the cries for Karabakh independence and the movement for democracy in Armenia and Karabakh. Bonner, whose real father was Levon Kocharyan of

tory" Prof. D. Papazian.

UPSIDE: lt has excellent links to the other universities and Armenian departments around the globe. Thorough and scholarly view in every subject

The woman who came to be known as an ardent and courageous fighter for human rights and justice around the world was the wife of Andrei Sakharov and the daughter of Cevorg Alikhanov. Today, Sakharov, the famous physicist and Soviet dissident is remembered in Armenia in a way that her stepfather Alikhanov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of Armenia,

by Ara Chooljian

Leningrad, herself fought in the Soviet army in World War ll and became a physician in the 1950s. During Sakharov's life and after, she has been associated with the democratic and human rights struggles of the Armenians, Kurds, Chechens and the Chinese. Most recently, she opposed the US granting China

The Happy Millionairc When Nubar Culbenkian

died

this month, 25 years ago, in Cannes, France, he was certainly one of the world's best known millionaires. The son of Calouste Culbenkian, known as Mr. Five Per Cent, because that was supposed to represent his take when he negotiated the division of

the

Turkish Petroleum Company among Western oil firms, inherited his wealth from his father. "l enjoy being a millionaire," he is noted to have said. " l enjoy it for the pleasure it brings me-and others. And certainly, it's a symbol of success." But his life wasn't all leisure. At one time, in the 1950s, Nubar Culbenkian was Commercial Attache

to the lranian

Embassy in London. When Nubar died at the age of 75-22 years after his famous father's death at the age of 85-the Gulbenkian Foundation which provides substantial support for research in

health, social welfare, education, science and the arts in Portugal,

8 AIi

)anuaty'1998

was already established. This Foundation, the largest charitable foundation outside the US, administers the museum containing over 5,000 pieces which once formed Culbenkian's private collection. lt also supports Armenian institutions around the world. Nubar Culbenkian (left) was the son of Calouste Culbenkian, whose statue (above) stands before the Armenian eagle at the corner of the lawn in front of the Culbenkian Foundation building in Lisbon.

Most-Favored-Nation status, she appealed for political solutions to the conflict in Kurdistan, she advocated a boycott of the elections in Chechnya, and the prevention of genocide of the Chechen people. She works hard for the rights of internal refugees in Russia, even as she appears in US forums. She authored Mothers and Daughters, a memoir, in 1992, precipitated by the death of her mother, Ruth Bonner. ln it, she reminisces about "Mama's maternal side" and "my father's mother, Certselia Tonunts...Before the Revolution, they lived in Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh.. "

Total Number of

to serve Armenia since 1992:152

U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers

Total number of U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers currently serving in Armenia: 50

Daily living allowance, paid in Dram equivalent, for a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Armenia: $5

Number of Armenian churches in Ceorgia which have been "renamed" Ceorgian, over the last nine years: 1O Number of Armenians

currently living in Tbilisi: 150,000 Number of state theater groups in Armenia: 13

Doing Fine, Thanks ln January 1992, AIM reported on the hardships of one family in Armenia, the Verdians, as the country struggled through the transition from communism to capitalism. Six years later, Arthur, his wife Nuneh and their two children are far more financially stable. An engineer by trade, he joined the army as a lieutenant in 1993 and was promoted to captain in 1994. Although officers usually serve for only two years, he has opted to remain in the military and now earns around 24,@O drams (US $48) a month. Arthur says this is "not a great amount, but it is a rather stable salary." Nuneh is also doing much better. Formerly a rheumatologist with a Yerevan medical center, she entered the American University of Armenia in May 1995 to speclalize in Public Health. While a student, she worked at the AUA as a research analyst and helped the World Bank develop programs to provide the poor with access to health care. Since graduating, she has become the leading specialist in the Department of Preventative and Curative Care in the Ministry of Health, earning around 75,000 drams ($'150) a month. Their children, Anna and Armen, are still in school. Anna, now 15, hopes to study in the US for ayear on a student exchange program. Arthur has a sister in the US and the possibility of taking a trip there has been suggested more than once. But he is adamant about remaining in Armenia, even if his sister could provide the $1 ,50O to make the trip. " lf she sent me the money, I wouldn't use it for a luxury like a trip to the US. I could spend that sum over the course of a year and make my family's life far more comfort-

Annual number

of theatergoers: 34O,O00 The cost of producing one play in dollar equivalent: $5O,0OO

Number of languages, besides Armenian, taught in Australia's New South Wales state, by government funded

community schools: 66 Total number of students: 37,000

ln 1987, the number of US congressional caucsus devoted

to ethnic interests: 6 ln 1997:15 (including Armenian) Number of Armenians

in Stepanakert: 5O,00O Number of Armenian church buildings: O

Haratch,

AIM

Research, US News

& World Repoi

able."he said. by Harry Enfijian and Haik Tamanian

January'1998

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Nearly a year ago, the Haigazian University of Beirut, the only Armenian institution of higher leaming in the Diaspora, decided that it was time to return to its former campus in West Beirut. Last month, they did.

Despite the considerable damage from the Lebanese civil war and its aftermath, the Armenian Missionary Association of America and the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East undertook the drastic renovation necessary to upgrade and equip classrooms, laboratories and libraries, and move back. It cost nearly $1 million, and the results (including the Mugar Building, left) are fabulous. The decision to return is significant politically, as well as educationally. The 42-year-old institution which has served the Armenian and Lebanese community is doubtless counting on the promises of political and economic reconstruction of Lebanon, as well as the

Middle East

peace process.

"At one point, we were looking to buy a new campus," explains AMAA President Albert Momjian of Pennsylvania. "In fact, we wondered whether it would pay to put money back into bricks and mortar

in Beirut. But really, the decision was obvious. For Armenians there, this is their home. And Lebanon is now the country with the largest reconstruction program in the world. The Haigazian Campus is in a tremendously developing area of Beirut." The Haigazian is the 'Jewel of our projects", Momjian continued. Throughout the civil war, "the Haigazian served that community so well," said Trustee Joyce Philibosian Stein, noting that the number of students is up past 400, with 500 as the self-imposed limit. Over half the students and most of the faculty are Armenian at this liberal arts institution which operates on the US model of higher

education, using English as the language of instruction. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of areas within four faculties: Humanities and Literature; Applied Sciences; Social Studies; and Business Administration. Haigazian University President John Khanjian notes that the students have no problems findingjobs upon graduation. They do have problems finding the financial aid necessary to stay in school. So does Haigazian. The annual operating budget of $1.3 million is provided with help from the AMAA, the Evangelical and Apostolic communities, and individuals.

byAra Kazanjian and Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian

Januarl998 Alilt

trY' a\r r \ ,t-t

,':

;th 5e

lYl{eq

{H tu

(& {e

hSr, .L

cover storv It is late November and not yet what the people of this often frigid place call winter. The sun is an hour away from leaving Gumri's kerosene smoked skies, to bring on a night that will come earlier to Frosya Abrahamian than to most. Already, Frosya is cold. She is wearing tkee sweaters, socks, a scarf inside her tworoom flat in an area of town called Ani. In a

month or less she will be restricted to one room, closing off the tiny kitchen where the winter-time temperature will stay below zero. She is 70, an old woman whose creased face and drawn fingers are a lesson in the mean history of struggle. She lives in Gumri rather than in the village she prefers, so that she may be near her granddaughter, Margaret.

The giri was three

1988, when both

parents were killed in the earthquake that took

25,000 lives and forever changed Gumri. Margaret was buried alive for three days and emerged a psychologically damaged toddler who these years later is in an institution for many like her.

Frosya is a widow, and a mother who

lost one child before the earthquake

and

another during it. A third child, a son, is in

jail

facing murder charges because he got drunk and shoved another man who died when he hit his head in the fall. She survives on an irregularly delivered

government pension

2,800 drams

month-

approximately $5.75 and on charity from foreign agencies still in Gumri for the

benefit of cases such as hers. (The flat was provided by the government to those whose parents died in the earthquake.)

"When

cook a meal for my grand-

daughter," Frosya says, "she sometimes says

to me 'Why is there meat in the soup of our neighbors and none in ours?" Frosya has no answer. a

"My life has been absolutely destroyed, if tumed upside down," she says, recalling days in her village when she had cattle and crops. "I am not alone in this situation. There as

: o

are people who can hardly get something to

Frosya Abrahamian (left) and Armen Tiratourian are among Gumri's holdouts

,anuary1998

Alrl

Vardanian says Gumri will be rebuilt in two years. It is the same claim made nine years ago by Gorbachev and a

eat. I am too stubbom to die after so much

grief.

should have died long ago. There is no sense to my life." When the sun sets, Frosya will cover the misery of her misfortune under a berm of blankets and hope to sleep with the sun until the next light finds a day just like this one. Just like the last. Just like

in these circumstances,

s proclamation that, Y

makes a prophet of Nikita Khruschev who

once said of politicians "they promise to

build a bridge even where there is no river. "

Three years into his

the next.

"lt is

Vardanian is

impossible to get used to the

term,

in fact leading a mini-burst

Here, nine years after that eadh-

progress, aided largely by the World Bank which financed construction programs worth nearly $30 million. And it is significant to some that employment has doubled in Gumri since electricity has

of l0 citizens,

been restored: from five percent to 10 per-

cold," she says. To an outsider, it is staggering to see

just what the people of this region have gotten used to. quake that killed one out

remnants of buildings visited by death on

cent.

Dec.7, 1988 still stand like skeletons that

"We do not want anybody to think

won't decay fast enough. And here, great

that we are poor and miserable," the mayor says. "We are proud, and we appre-

construction cranes that once roared with promise now rust in mocking silence. Bodies were still buried under rubday Mikhail Gorbachev announced a Soviet initiative to rebuild the city, then called Leninakan, in two

ciate our ability to live. The roots of our people are very deep in this soil. I know people who wouldn't move after the earthquake merely because they refused to leave ground on which an apple tree

ble the years.

By 1991, new homes would be built,

He spends his time standing in line for free kerosene distributed by the government, through one 0, the international aid programs.

new schools would be opened, factories

if not gra-

would be restored and running, life, cious, would at least be comfortable.

Leninakan became the largest construction site in Europe. More than 100 cranes were sent by rail to raise Leninakan from its pieces. More than 20,000 Russian construction workers were sent with their leader's mandate. The European

community-

Germany, Austria, Great Britain,

lied with

representatives,

France,

Italy-ral-

with funds, with

determination.

Many achieved much in the two years immediately after the disaster. But none did enough to counter forces as uncontrollable

the very shaking of the Earth itself.

That year of promise became a year of collapse. The wall that fell with so much fanfare to an applauding world gleefully shed of

Communism

1991,

fell

hardest

Leninakan.

Except for the independent efforts of charitable foreigners, the rebuilding of Leninakan stopped. Changing its name was a gesture

independence, but Gumri became

one of post-Communism's earliest casualties of change. In December 1991, Nagomo Karabakh's struggle for independence flared into war with Azerbaijan and Armenia's attention shifted from rebuilding to defense. Only since the cease-fre of 1994 has the nation lived with a semblance of normalcy, a condition that is yet to reach Gumri where the Turkish blockade on the west, the conflict with Azerbaijan on the

'r6 Al/lll

)anuary1998

east, and civil unrest in Georgia to the north, makes Iran this landlocked country's only reli-

able land route to the outside from which building supplies must be transported. Gumri is a factory town. Was a factory town. Imagine Pittsburgh. Imagine Birmingham. Imagine either being without an infrastructure to support the demands of their

livelihood. Ten years ago the town hummed with the noise of textile mills spinning linens, mak-

ing thread from Russian materials, and of a factory that built generators and a bicycle plant that employed 600 where two now work.

Near the corner of the town's main square, one of those textile mills was a landmark because its tower held a large clock. For several years after Dec. 7, 1988 the hands of the clock were stopped at 11:41, the moment when time stopped. Gumri's optimistic mayor Michael H. Vardanian points to progress to answer a ques-

tion about his city's static state. He will point

to the 12 construction companies cunently doing business in Gumri, in a region where there is enough work for 100 or more contractors. And he proudly mentions the "five-star"

hotel recently constructed downtown in this city where allure to outsiders is inconceivable; this place where an estimated 70,000 people

third of the population-live in concrates sent in as "temporary"

-one verted shipping

shelter nearly a decade ago.

had been planted by a grandfather."

They are indeed a proud lot and their suffering is almost forgotten at times, shaded as

it is by gracious

hospitality

that would seem an Armenian birthright. Even in those metal sheds barely insulated and rarely dry when the rains come, mothers serve coffee in family heirlooms and teach their children music on pianos impossible to

in such elements. But pride is not a blanket against the

keep tuned

cold nor a roof against the rain, nor an address on a street where a real house has replaced the equivalent of a boxcar. And no, pride is not a blinder.

"The disaster has scared foreign investors," Vardanian says. "And even

have funds enough to reconstruct exactly what

we had,

it is

impossible to do because there

are new demands.

"The slow tempo (of recovery) does not depend upon the government or local authori-

ties or on a lack of desire, but mainly on finances. When there are funds, the population here is ready to work

ttree shifts."

It is a word that

has lost meaning in this

place of stopped clocks and work unfinished and broken buildings as tombstones:

When.

When Angela Solakhian walks past an outside market where vendors who had been shop owners sell their goods in the street, she passes a

painfully familiar piece of building

she once called home.

"That was our door," she says, identify-

ing an upper unit. That was the door she walked through on Dec. 7, 1988 and closed

behind her leaving her infant daughter in the

compounded with the lack of progress in other

care of the child's grandfather while Solakhian

areas,

The body of one-year-old Zhanna was found wrapped in the body of her grandfather

in the rubble of a room that had once stood

startled that we could

live through

them,"

Ani now, an eight year old,

daughter she pities for the misfortune of being born into such conditions.

"The children's generation

unlucky," she says. "They have seen nothing but destruction. When we were their age, our parents took us all over the Soviet Union. But these children have no choice. No matter what

"People lost those two years hoping that

Solakhian worries that her child will become accustomed to seeing distressed

liv-

ing and not know that life can be better. Was

would like

to make the streets

"The worst affect of the earthquake is not the destruction, but the psychological affect it has on the people of Gumri. They

clear.

look you see ruins, black-

ness. Nobody smiles and

they do smile peo-

ple think they are crazy. "Even now

anything on their own.

I think the citizens of Gumri

are in shock and can't believe they survived an

a revolution, a war. Now, they think it is a nightmare and one day they will earthquake,

to sitting around waiting for If

wake up and see that everything has changed."

people are in such conditions, they lose their

perhaps no outsider has been there to see them

ability to achieve improvement.

more often than Englishman David Dowell. Since I 989, Dowell, owner of a London-based roofing company, has visited Armenia 30

became used

help, and have lost their ability to struggle.

"Even now, to have kerosene is the peak

we desire, we cannot give them."

Everywhere you

Angela says. construction would be done and they didn't do

behind that door. has

"l would like to rebuild Gumri," he says.

"When we remember those days, we are

went to her school to teach English.

Angela

pedagogical institute in Gumri. He has dreams

of his own.

it all becomes intolerable.

of one's dream. These are not

fit

dreams for a

there have been changes

Gumri,

times.

human being."

Armen Tiratourian is 20. He attends the

Right after the earthquake, Dowell took

better.

"It is not so much the destroyed buildings, but

it is these temporary conditions (the

locals call the shanties

donlgs-little

houses)

that are so upsetting," she says.

"And this is the only thing our children see day after day. It becomes something usual. You stop noticing anymore. But then if we go to Yerevan (90 minutes away) and come back,

it is not a happy picture." And Solakhian's family picture is better than many. If there is such a thing as upper middle class here, she and her husband Haroutiun Shatvorlian would fit that category. He is a pharmacist and she teaches at the

Lord Byron School, a state-of-the-art gift from Margaret Thatcher and a facility any country would be proud to claim.

Angela and Haroutiun have a car, they have electricity, they have incomes (hers is about $28 a month). Still, when it is time to bathe here where the water is so cold it burns, Angela must heat the water ovet her stovefor there is no hot water. And, if she is to use water, she must gather it before 10pm because between lOpm and 7am there is no running water at all.

At night

before bedtime, the family

gathers in one room wrapped in their warmest

clothes with a single heating unit placed near their couch. The building they live in has heat,

however the "heating season" here is from December through March, and even then

many families cannot afford the cost of kerosene at $150 for four months.

It has only been in the last two years that electricity has been available 24 hours a day. Before, the lights would come on at 2am and go off at 4am during which bizane time the city would come to life in a flurry, then go back to bed.

This, like so much else about thier lives, is no worse than conditions in Yerevan. Yet,

Ihe Arch ol

IIiumil? Whose triumph? Built in Gumri, after the earththe quake, each resident

Earthquake Zone deserves the arch which symbolizes their victory over

indescribable suffering,

and their

almost super-human survival. lt

certainly doesn't represent the Diaspora's or Armenia's triumph as

a responsible partner in rebuilding people's lives. The original numbers were bad enough. Some 25,000 killed instantly. Another 15,000 injured, of whom 13,000 died within three days either from their wounds or medical shortcomings, a mortality rate of 87 percent. The city of Spitak virtually ceased to exist except as rubble, while Cumri was 75 percent destroyed. Another 50 villages in the surrounding area were badly damaged. ln all, between 500,0OO and 700,000 people were left homeless-as many as one in five of the republic's 3.5 million people. Mikhail Corbachev's notorious 1988 promise to rebuild the earthquake zone in two years has long since faded to dust. Today, the best official guess-and, remarkably, that is all it ls-suggests about 40 percent of damaged homes and apartments have been restored, mostly in rural areas. ln Cumri, an estimated '18,000 families, or

one-third of its population, remain in temporary shelters such as the metal containers drafted in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The Armenian community organizations in the US raised

$34.2 million within two years of the catastrophe. The World Bank has also loaned $30 million towards reconstruction. A recent study by the Armenia Fund estimated it would cost $24.5 million to finish partially-completed restoration work carried out in Cumri before the collapse of the Soviet Union. To date, just $5 million has been made available to the Armenia Fund for Earthquake Zone prolects. And, as of this time last year, iust a little over half the $34.2 million had been turned over or utilized. The Covernment has recently ordered the cataloging of all unfinished rebuilding projects so as to systematize the reconstruction of the earthquake zone. The intention is to produce a plan-estimated cost $500 million-that will erase the notion of an "earthquake zone" by 2001, bringing the region up to the same living standards as those in Yerevan.

,anuary '1998 A I lf, 17

a crew of workers to help build the Lord

An Armenian businessman bought boil-

Byron school, working 20 minutes at a time before having to warm their hands over a fire, and living out of one of those "domigs. " Now when he retums. it ls to prop up a

could not afford to spend $7.20 a day for heat. For nine years Dowell has seen the same

shaky infrastructure that threatens even the school he helped build-a modem aberration

those cranes he calls "Crane Tower City."

among Gumri's decay, a school equipped

computers, with

drill

presses in its shop,

with with

ovens and sewing machines in its home economics department, with science labs,

with

gymnasium and with a performance theater adorned with stage lights and a cafeteria with the conveniences of any Western kitchen.

But the gymnasium is only used in September and May because it is too cold and too costly to heat the rest of the school year. There are no bits for those drill presses and the

shop teacher has been told to ration electrici-

ty. The lunchroom cook brings sandwiches from the outside and laments the unused

ers for the school, but

only recently

learned

they were going unused because the school

skeletal buildings, has seen the rust thicken on

"They just stand there like a Hollywood set," he says. "Like a monument to progress that didn't happen."

"Anyone who says Gumri will be rebuilt in two years is a dreamer or a fool," Dowell

Dowell. "Why get into bed with Armenia if you are going to jeopardize your oil supply?" It is, then, a twisted and confounding rubble that is Gumri's legacy. And it is a simple mess, as easily fixed as a well-placed heater in the room of Frosya Abrahamian who, to explain her ability to sur-

vive, strikes a fist against her hard wall and

says.

In some ways, Gumri's fate is the fate of Armenia. The days have passed when aid can be applied like a bandage. The bleeding has stopped, and now comes the healing of the wound.

The mayor may be too much the politi-

cian when he says "Gumri

will

have

says: "We are made

ovens, capable of producing hot meals, but not

if the electricity is too

handouts.

of stone." Frosya

has an

orange tree planted in a lard can which she recently moved from that cold kitchen to the western window of her other room. "When will we eat oranges?" Frosya is asked by her granddaughter.

Disneyland." But his sociology is sound when he says that his city needs jobs more than

expensive to run them.

It is significant, however, that thosejobs would likely come from western countries that are subject to the politics of petroleum. "Who in the West wants to be involved in a country without oil?" asks businessman

"Maybe next year," she says.

by John Hughes

Misha Petrossian. "We had a good life until the earthquake." They live on the top floor of a six story apartment building and must haul each log there by hand. The economic blockade of

Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan that has left them without heat has also left no electricity for the building's elevator. Yet, the people of Gumri and Spitak wish they were fortunate enough to have apartments to heat, complete with elevators and no electricity. In nearby Spitak, Harout Sardarian and his wife Ophelia lived in one of those "temporary" metal containers for seven years after the quake, until just a few months ago, when he destroyed it in a fit of frustration. Sardarian explained his rage. One of his relatives had been

living in

The people of Vanadzor are more forhrnate than their neighbors in Gumri and Spitak. Most of the buildings in Yanadzor are still standing, and Rouben Gaboyan, a baker in Armenia's third largest city, says that enrployment is their main problem.

"Every day people ask for free bread," says Gaboyan. "Today there have been five or six people. Old people." He gives them the bread. Keeping warm is a problem too. Throughout the city's apartment buildings, steel pipes that look like horizontal periscopes jut out of the windows and gush streams of smoke, obstructing the views of the neighbors upstairs. Look out your window in winter and all you see is smoke, from here to spring. A thick haze of this smoke, from the wood buming stoves that heat the apartments, fills the canyons between the buildings, choking those who venture out. Visibility, even on sunny days. giving each day a timeless sense offoreboding. On yet another cold day, an elderly man and woman struggle down the street as they drag behind them several moss covered logs, which they had scavetrged and now planned to bum in their can be poor,

kitchen to keep warm. "We are ashamed for you to see us like this," $ays the man,

Llrl

)anuary '1998

a similar container, and had died

a sickness, he said.

"We couldn't get the body out of the container because tlre door was too narrow, so we went out the window," said Sardarian, who is 75.

"I was upset, so I went and destroyed my container. I thought the same thing would happen to me. I want to go out the door, not the window, when I'm dead." Before Sardarian destroyed the container, however, he built a new shelter from stone blocks on the site of a house that the earthquake had destroyed. Ophelia Sardarian is proud ofher husband. "He was offended at the thought that being a respected person in this community..." she says, trailing off in mid-sentence before adding: "It would have been an offense to be taken out the window." She turns and smiles warmly at her husband, who is passing

his time drinking homemade vodka at the kitchen table by the

light of a kerosene lamp.

She recalls the hardships they have faced, but she also cherishes this triumph. "In the container he felt like he got smaller as a person, but now he feels bigger." Text and photo by Matthew Karanian

Karanian'atriarrawver*'T#""#x"JiJ*.x*ijir

and allowed some space for all parties to

find a reason to keep talking next year. The co-chairs are likely to resume their travels to the region soon to try to push for an agreed basis on which to open talks.

This certainly accords with Armenia's

main diplomatic goal, which is to create favorable conditions for negotiations to open. Karabakh remains deeply suspicious of any process which could require them to hand back occupied teritory before any settlement of its future status. Breaking this President Ter Petrossian meets with representatives 0f the l\4insk Con{erence co-chair countries:right to left Yuri Yukalov, Russia; Lynn Pascoe and Strobe Talbot, US; Georges Vogier, France.

Alter Lishon-Gopcnhagen After the setback of Lisbon, comeback

the

Copenhagen. President

Levon Ter Petrossian's candor over the options facing Nagorno-Karabakh (see accompanying articles below and next page) bore its first fiuit in a greater sympa-

thy towards Armenia's concerns at

the

Denmark meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The report of the co-chairs leading the mediation efforts still pulled no punches, making plain that Karabakh's refusal to accept a stage-by-stage process for resolving the conflict was the barder to the opening of talks on a settlement. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan, they noted, were

willing to

proceed on this basis. But the Armenian delegation succeeded in preventing a repeat of its isolation at

the Lisbon Summit. where the Chairman-in-office declared

his

OSCE "regret"

that Armenia had rejected a document upholding the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and offering Karabakh the highest degree of autonomy within that, along with security guarantees. These principles, he declared, "have the support of all other participating states."

This time, while

Azerbaijan pressed

hard for a repeat performance, the OSCE limited itself to an acceptance by the

Chairman-in-office progress report

of the

mediators'

for the last year and an

encouragement to

all sides to resume nego-

impasse-without opening a divide for Azerbaijan to exploit be the key task -will facing the mediators and the two Armenian sides this year. But, despite the obvious risks, Ter Petrossian's courage in discussing publicly the options facing them won credit with the OSCE and consideration for Armenia's difficulties. The door was shut at Lisbon and Copenhagen could have seen a decisive turn against Armenia and Karabakh. It didnt happen. Now the challenge is

to show that a willingness exists to

make

real progress through the framework of the OSCE which operates by consensus -

rather than allowing the conflict to be turned over to the United Nations, where

Armenia lacks any veto and

where

Azerbaijan can count on many more friends.

tiations.

While it did not undo the damage of Lisbon, the outcome of the December 19

by Tony Halpin

meeting at least eased international pressure

.Itraalr'gla History illakes lrlslryr, tPrcss Ilrllg GonlerenGe Itltr'Ililtr.rtftlltL ... ltwasanapparentlyinfiocuou5que5'nationalcommunitywillbe1,exxp9;14t9'.*{' ,r.:

tion,pitchedtowaidstheendofatwo-and-km'ffi.eifu.'&''*#.#&&dloseallitsputi"n."." a.halfhourpressconferencebyPresidentli#.d'-':m,*;.E@6.:#&J2)DecIarin8independenceorauni'onwith a.halfhourpressconferencebyPresident&-$.ffi!iffi*ffi:Hffi*ryffi;{2)Declarin8independenceoraunionwith LevonTerPetrossian.Askedto'clearupthe

E:.

i# :ffi:,ffi;*&i.. ffi:&ry

Armenia-'ltisthesamething. ltisanu.lti-

contradictions,inthepositionsofArmenia$::..:,:H*illiiffi:lffillffimatum.lnthisc,jfthâ&#x201A;ŹiIii6i:national,,t&r1qr'

ffi,$

%grT#,ff#:ffHiTifsffiHi;0n,,, I * r.x"iff:,*ro:j*.iii3,lill,ffiifi*i?frli Hisresponse*","t::ifrH:HjI&rui;::##,r,ffii:3:[ffri$hirffi:!r in at

:l*$1ffi:""iil:i*,1',:#llll",ilillJ; out what he saw as the

five,ur: oo,,on:

facing them. criticism

home and

emotionalrangerunningallthewayupto-ffix!seizeBaku'But.ifittrie5to$eke.on:'ry?'9 outragedaccusationsoftreason,w.re!i1u.:,norrv,notBaku,theworldwillnotlet.iL{ Butperhapsthemostremarkablething.4)simultaneou9returnofoccupiedtorrito,] wasthathisexplanation,statin8apreferenceG.,ltriesandrefugees,liftingoftheblockade,

fornegotiationstosettIethedispute,shouldestablishmentofbufferzonesar.rdpeacehave been considered so remarkable. Below are excerpts from Ter Petrossian's answer.

On approaches to a settlement: "Both Armenia and Karabakh

keeping troops, and a settlement of Karabakh's status.

"The status provided for Karabakh was unacceptable for Karabakh and it was rejected by Azerbaijan as well......both mediators and we were convinced that Azerbaijan and Karabagh 3râ&#x201A;Ź lot yei ready to discuss the status of Karabagh."

wish to see the people of Karabakh live a sa{e, secure, free, normal life. We want the people of Karabakh to enjoy all the human rights 5) Step-by-step solution leading finally to a settlement of which people of European countries do. There can't be any contraKarabagh's status. dictions in this question.' 'We have agreed to present our written opinions on this issue On the options facing Armenia and Karabakh: , mediators....if ulsJ they find rliru that urqluts.g.llyrlrf there is some }t{i!&i}fir}!$t:sltilt!:!9t,::tl:::t:j:,t: cornnnpnity of inter- ... to the *rqirlsurqlsrrj.:!r:! 1).Maintaining the status quo*r'l don't think maintenance of .u the status quo is real. We may persist for a year or two but the inter,anuary1998

AIi

Gan We

lallP

A Ghallenge to Normal Debate Several issues emerge from President

Levon Ter Petrossian's lengthy press conference of September 26, and the article he

subsequently published in several Armenian newspapers in which he not only tries to answer his critics but to clarify and amplify his own positions. The frst priateness of make strategic Second,

issue pertains to the appro-

using press conferences to foreign policy statements.

and perhaps uppermost in

most people's minds, are questions about making explicit references to negotiating options available to Armenia relative to Nagorno-Karabak\h.

Finally, now that the cat seems to be

from reticent and reserved at best, scheming, secretive-a leader given to the desire to conduct his job with-

can range

to aloof,

out transparency, unchallenged. If culturally not bothersome, and if the leader is strong enough politically, this can be ignored and communication seen as generous indulgence. Alternatively, if the leadership realizes it has an image problem, it may attempt to ameliorate the situation by establishing some kind of dialogue-what Ter Petrossian calls "debate."

In any case, expectations ofthis press

following the controversial 1996 elections three or

conference were high. In the year

more such events would have been helpful.

out of the bag and we know what

the premises and options are supposed to be, it behooves us to look at the merits of those

positions. Do they conform with reality? Are the president's premises and analyses correct? Is his worldview accurate, politi-

cally viable, diplomatically

achievable? construct of the

Given his premises, the president's arguments may appear logically coherent. It is the premises about substance which must be examined as well as assumptions about the very process ofnegotiations. When public figures, and particularly presidents, have a habit of holding press conferences regularly, the issues raised become quite different than if held sparingly. Frequent press conferences acquire a

certain fluidity. They do not

become

His assessmcnt ol

the intemational community at this time seems Gloscl to the mail( than the pfiGeptions ol inttansigent triumphalists. But it didn't happen. On the whole, it seems Ter Petrossian felt compelled to make policy statements. However, he may not have

But when press conferences are infre-

anticipated all the items about which he ended up talking. Perhaps he wanted to seize the initiative, engage in dialogue; perhaps he felt the need to consolidate public opinion. In the process, a certain subinten-

quent, once a year or every three years, they raise expectations, become focal, sensational. The questions and answers become

tional eagerness to compensate seems to have developed, a desire to appear open, honest, accessible. The thin lines between

weighty, with less room for evasiveness

honest, frank and candid, became blurred.

momentous; they are more like periodic updates or communications, ranging over a variety of subjects with great room for evasiveness.

because there

is no

confidence

that the

same questions can be asked "next time".

That's why reporters try to get major statements while they can. That is why, also, a president's policy statements

policy

are typically made on occasions when there is a written text and they remain in control.

There is another potential complica-

tion. When there is no ongoing rapport between press and leader, the press develops a certain impression of that leader. This

A I ni January 1998

Candor in politics is tricky to handle. Ter Petrossian's detailed exposition of the options facing Armenia and Karabakh in the conflict with Azerbaijan have brought on much attention, most of it furiously negative. His stated willingness to accept a two-step resolution of the conflict, with decisions on the fina1 status of Karabakh defened to a second stage, has been the most controversial. Even those who might agree intellectually and rationally with his

analysis and therefore his conclusions, find the specificity of his references, the candor with which he admits Armenia-Karabakh's constraints, at best baffling, if not outright tactical blunders.

Given the centrality of the Karabakh

issue-one that engages all Armenians across political, ideological boundariesmost substantive proposals are sure to be

immediately consequential

for

both

Armenia and Karabakh, politically, militarily, economically, even socially. Anything the President says about that issue is of great and grave consequence, and becomes the focus of heated reaction. The President claims his intention all along was to trigger a national "debate" on the carefully crafted elements of his analysis: the myths, puzzles, subtle distinctions, proposals and counter-proposals.

He seems to believe that nothing less

than a frank assessment

of national and

international reality can be the basis of that debate. He eschews rhetoric, illusion and

convenient populist cliches in favor of open, truthful---even if painful-examination of concrete situations and inevitable outcomes. It is not sulprising that the President is disappointed that instead of "debate" he got

vilifi cation, criticism, rejection. Frankly, it is hard to imagine how a leader with his savvy expected a reasoned dialogue. On what basis should he have assumed that the necessary groundwork was done? Within the reality of Armenian public opinion, there is little tradition of reasoned, dispassionate political discourse. Confrontation,

altercation, scoring points,

yes.

Ideologically fixed points of departure followed by pronouncements of unwielding conviction. Witness how easily one's opponent is demonized, the purveyor of opposing viewpoints represented as the purveyor of treacherous agendas. It is hard to trigger reasoned debates with a big bang, with shock-therapy that seems intended to wake up the complacent national consciousness. Was it naive of the President to be so candid about negotiations in progress, to

paint

sobering picture

available

options and in an almost deterministic way to prejudge them, and then to expect a cool and reasoned response? Did he think the

people of Karabakh would welcome his reminding them of Lisbon and the intema-

tional community impatiently pressuring Armenians? Did he think Diasporan Armenians, forever equating Azerbaijan with Turkey, would not rather hear exhortations to maximalist triumphalism, to blood, sacrifice and to never again! we set aside more uncharitable judgements of insensitivity to Armenian public opinion. or diplomatic incompetence, we are left with three other possible

explanations.

One, the opposition's explanation,

that the hesident,

det'eatist and perhaps treacherous, showed his true colors: a willingness to give away Armenian soil, com-

promise Armenian security, accommodate the enemy and ingratiate himself to the greedy international community without a fight.

new one, the myth that the organic union

admits that a very small number of his asso-

between popular will and the vision of the leader is so tightly integrated that the "peo-

ciates are privy to the inFicacies of the negotiations. He names them. Therefore he should also recognize that his constituents at large cannot instantly familiarize themselves with issues or instinctively share his optimism or pessimism. Instead, he seems

ple" instinctively

understand what their

leader says. In such a situation, he may convince himself the cracks that appear, the discordant voices heard, are nothing but bad faith projections of those outside the national consciousness. Ultimately, whatever the reasons behind it, the effects of Ter Petrossian's explicitness on the substance of the negotiations cannot be left unexamined. He seems to have stined the pot among all participants. If for a moment we concede that at a very high political cost to his presidency,

Ter

Petrossian, the chess master, was engaging in tactical moves to draw out his opponents in the negotiations, we may not appreciate the effectiveness of these moves until the conclusion of the tractations. We

Two, that the press conference got out

hand, the give-and-take caught the

President off-guard and he said too much. And since then, instead of damage control, he has sought to make it all look intentional, the expression of a major and positive national strategy. But since a politician and formidable thinker like Ter Petrossian cannot be understood simply in terms of momentary inadvertence, let me propose a third, more personal, interpretation. His candor in telling

like it is to "his people" may be less naivete or error than a hopeful innocence laced with a messianic faith in his place in the national psyche. It is as if the President believes in an organic oneness, a fusion between "his people" and their leader-a shared vision so elemental that those outside it are simply beyond the national consensus. This is reminiscent of de Gaulle's notion of incarnating

Let us think and

rethink ou [eliels, the limits ol our tesoutGes, the true extGnt 0l 0u1 G0mmitments, and the true lace ol a world that seems to change all atound us.

France, its aspirations, interests and place in history. One is reminded of his "candor" in telling his compatrios ofthe inevitability of Algerian independence in the face of

should be careful not to spoil the intended effect by clever comments. It is hard to imagine the master-gamesman, while criticizing as unrealistic the rhetoric ofthe maximalists, would paint himself into the corner of minimalist accommodation. [n two

romantic, ultra-nationalist, colonialist rejectionists. We still remember his exhortations: "Francais, francaises, suivez-moi". The Armenian President now seems to

person zero-sum games, these calculations are linear. But at a table with multiple players of unequal strength and changing loyalties (OSCE, the Minsk Group, Russia, the

be saying, "Help me do the difficult, the

US,

unpleasant, the necessary, the inglorious in the name of, and forArmenia, for its greater glory and future prosperity." We do not

Nagorno-Karabakh), minimalist and maxi-

Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia,

to be saying: "Trust me and have faith in me, because I know the limits of the possible and the

full extent of the desirable."

Paradoxically, except for gut reactions, we do not have much to go on here. Objectively, his assessment of the intemational community at this time seems closer to the mark than the perceptions of intransigent triumphalists. Though he seems perfectly aware of our momentary superiority, he understands equally well that it may be transient. Furthermore, we must admit that the president recognizes the risks to his political popularity that a realism based on the need to compromise can pose. It is very easy to fall back on age-old cliches in our national political culture, the ones that glo-

rify

struggle to the death and great last

stands.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the legitimate questions about the timing, nature and substance

of the president's statements,

deserves intellectual solidarity ingness to question the

for his will-

utility of clinging to

our traditional glorification of moral victories that somehow or another end up costing

us tangible sacrifices of blood, land and security.

Some

of us wish that the

necessary

time ago, by a wider range of leaders and thinkers. That we would have had the national maturity to raise problematic questions confronting us, everywhere. Perhaps the aftermath of a limited victory a fragile ceasefue, the gathering clouds and thorny negotiations in progress, is not the best time for measured debate had been opened a long

ifnot now, when? Let of appropriateness and timing and join the debate. discourse. Then again

us for a moment forget questions

Irt

us think and rethink our beliefs, the limits of our resources, the true extent of our commitments, and the true face of a world that seems to change al1 around us. Let us finally with many voices, in

malist designations become simplistic.

Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and

Diaspora, regain the initiative to discuss and explore the components of our national interest. Let us appropriate a discourse

ences-as to Bosnia, and the Palestiniansin furthering his arguments. Hopefully, while carefully demythologizing many deeply held beliefs of Armenians, the

Movement in negotiations develops its own dynamic. God knows what reshuffles the President's professions ofrealism may have produce in opening up spaces in an otherwise seemingly frozen situation. Having said all this from a most openminded perspective, we must concede that the President's political communications

President is not in the process of creating a

dilemmas remain forbidding. He himself

by Jivan Tabibian

know to what extent Ter Petrossian identifies with de Gaulle. We do know that he is not reluctant to make historical refer-

the

whose present polemics by self-appointed heroes may once more substitute "moral" and symbolic victories for the concrete and defensible security and prosperity of our people everywhere.

,anuary

1998 A t rS

Russia Makes a G0me[ack in lhe Gaucasus

llur Friends ln lhe North Relations between Armenia and Russia

with the signing of a wide-ranging treaty between the two coun-

deepened considerably tries.

President Levon Ter-Petrossian went so far as to declare that the 25-year agreement on

"mutual friendship, cooperation and assistance" brought the two countries closer to a "federation". This may have been no more than clever

politics for domestic consumptionArmenia's Communists have been leading

political campaign for a return to union with Russia, which has attracted quite a bit of pubF

lic sympathy.

But the landmark accord signed in Moscow by Ter-Petrossian and Russian President Boris Yeltsin

will

undoubtedly have

international significance, providing for

Ter Petrosbian (above) and Yeltsin toastlng their friendshipt cooperation and mutual security. The Russian honor guard receiving Ter Petrossian on his arrival in Moscow, far right.

extensive cooperation in the fields of econom-

ics, defense, science, culture and politics. It marks a formal assertion of Russian interest in the Transcaucasus which Moscow has been anxious to consolidate since the collapse of the Soviet Union seven years ago. The treaty replaces the agteement on "Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security" signed on December 29, 1991, the

event of aggression or real threat against either signatory state, the other has an obliga-

tion to intervene and provide assistance. to guarantee sovereignty, territorial integrity and

security from the aggressor.

Russian gas to Armenia and from there to Turkey and the Middle East. Gazprom director Rem Vyakhirev said his company was ready to start pumping 1.6 billion cubic meters of liquid gas per year to

Armenia. Some sources have suggested that the output could reach three billion cubic meters by 1 999, rising to nine billion by 2003. The fuel will cost Armenia less than that

the newly found independence of Armenia.

There are also provisions for reciprocal consultations and extensive cooperation between the armed forces of Armenia and Russia in military technology and production as well as common financing of joint military

This was never ratified by the parliaments of

programs.

either country.

Clearly these guarantees have greater direct resonance for Armenia than for the

Turkmenistan, while the need to construct new pipelines and repair the existing network

day after the break-up of the Soviet Union and

The new arrangement, which both sides noted was not directed against any third coun-

try or the eastem expansion of NAIO, can be automatically renewed for 10 more years beyond the original 25, in the absence of any objections from either party. President Ter-Petrossian said after the

giant Russian Federation. But they also provide assurance for the former superpower that it can secure part of its southern frontier against encroachments from potential aggressors, a key foreign policy objective. But the defense pact is only one of a

in Moscow. Of

signing ceremony in August that bilateral rela-

dozen documents signed

tions between the two countries had now

will be the agreement with the giant energy corporation, Gazprom, creating a jointly-owned company for the

reached a level of "strategic cooperation". The

scale and importance

of the

venture was

underlined by the fact that, as well as taking with himArmenia's defense and energy ministers, as well as close ally and Yerevan Mayor Vano Siradeghian, Ter Petrossian had mee! ings with virtually every senior member of Yeltsin's executive and legislative cabinet during the three-day summit. These included Prime Minister Viktor Chemomyrdin, VicePremiers Anatoly Chubais and Boris

Nemtsov, Foreign Minister

Yevgeny

Primakov, and Security Council President Ivan Rybkin. The defense agreement holds that in the

A I /li

)anuary '1998

immense importance

transport

Russian gas through Armenia.

This has the potential to resolve Armenia's long{erm energy needs, allowing the republic to put behind it once and for all the crippling shortages which have bedevilled the people's lives since independence.

The agreement between Gazprom and Armgazprom created Armrosgaz, with each party holding 45 percent of the shares in the intemational company and a third party, Itera

a 10 percent stake. will have an opportunity to join the company as well, to assure the transport of Corporation, taking

Georgia

delivered from

its current supplier,

promises to deliver thousands of much-needed

jobs.

As stated, taken alongside the cunent Turkmenistan-Armenia-lran pipeline project, the agreement could solve the republic's energy crisis. And, by ensuring the pipeline passes

through its territory, the agreement with Gazprom increases Armenia's strategic importance in the region and therefore its security. Two days before the Moscow deal was struck, the semi-official Turk-Andalou press agency reported that Gazprom had signed an agreement with Turkey for the further transportation of Russian gas to the Balkans.

Aside from the stated objective of reinforcing the security of both nations, the agreement insists on stronger economic ties to promote market relations. Both presidents agreed

that current levels of trade between the two countries were unsatisfactory. Armenia is also keen to attract greater Russian investment to stimulate its still-shaky economy.

Other clauses stipulate an agreement on

the foundation of a Russian university in Armenia and conditions goveming the establishment of cultural centers and information

lasted so long and because of the blockade, Azerbaijan has gained many diplomatic victories through the promise of Caspian black

transfer.

gold. It

The legal status of citizens relating to Russian military bases in Armenia, and the

with the United States and had immediate success. Last July, Strobe Talbott, US Deputy

the former Soviet Union and use of the elec-

tronic surveillance base of Kapalin located on Azeri tenitory.

usurped Armenia's role as partner

On the other hand, both sides were

criti-

and Central Asia, to be a "center of vital inter-

cal of "separatism" and a clause in the agreement stipulated that if one was in conflict with a third party then the other signatory could not contribute militarily or in any other way to

In plain sight and clear language,

est" for America, where Azerbaijan was grant-

those involved.

Armenia and Russia have shown their regional and mutual interests with the overall agreement, which establishes that: Armenia and Russia are strategic partners and allies; internationally, fumsnia is an ally of Russia and in the Transcaucasus it is Russia's only ally.

pivotal role. The week-long visit by Azerbaijani President Gaidar Aliev to Washington in

panies of two treaties with the Azeri

use

weapons

by Russian soldiers outside

those bases are also covered.

Post Soviet Russo-Armenian Relations

After

a first visit to Moscow

December 29, l99l and the signing of the non-ratified frst treaty between both countries, Armenia and Russia established diplomatic relations on April, 13 1992. On March 16, 1995 both countries signed

treaty regard-

Secretary of State declared the Transcaucasus

The signing by Russian petroleum com-

ed a

August was undoubtedly the result ofthis new

reality. It goes without saying that this new factor in the situation has led to a negative reflection of the Karabakh conflict with an increase in intemational pressure and by the Minsk group for a resolution of the conflict in favor of the Azerbaijani position. It is in that general context that Ter Petrossian's agreement with Russia should be interpreted. This agreement serves to hamper the West's new approach by highlighting its

pany Socar, concerning the disputed

oil comoil fields

of Kiapaz, also left the impression that Russia had abandoned its position regarding the legal status of the Caspian sea. This attitude was particularly favorable for Azerbaijan to the detriment of Turkmenistan's interests.

The positive effects of Aliev's visit to Moscow did not hide the fact that they were equally motivated by Azeri tactical considerations in attempting to palliate any negative

his upcoming trip to Washington, which was much more important to

effects of

ing Russian military bases in Armenia and to normalize the protection of for-

Azerbaijan.

mer international borders with the Soviet Union and Armenia. This

the

agreement was only ratified at the end

increased rapprochement

of April 1997. ln 1996, an inter-governmental commission for economic cooperation was created to promote trade but this achieved little. In all, both countries have signed more than 100 separate agreements covering pottical and military relations, eco-

United States and the West, a stmtegic

Aliev's visit to Washington highlighted

are completely new. Those most often applied

Russia's role in the Transcaucasus.

date relate to military matters, partly because commercial and economic agreements have faltered as a result of the block-

With the formation on one side of a defacto Americo-Azeri alliance and the consecration of a Russo-Armenian alliance, the polarization of powers concerned is not likely to change. This new balance of forces is likely to have an effect on the Kharabakh conflict,

will further the arguments of those who dream of tapping into Azerbaijan's rich oilfields that Armenia is increasingly a satellite state of The signing of the latest agreement

Russia.

the

mili-

in Azerbaijan and the Transcaucasus in general, and its replacement by American influence using the trump card of Caspian oil. These considerations and American afiempts to penetrate the region reinforced intemal Russian debates in favor of strengthening its role there and led to the can-

wq weaknesses and enhancing and reinforcing

ade.

with

tary and strategic presence

understandings

last few years, namely,

alliance with Turkey and by extension

and scientific, health and cultural mat-

Some have replaced former from Soviet times but others

in the

Israel, the elimination of Russia's

nomic and commercial cooperation,

ters.

priority orientation of Azerbaijan's

politics

without any clarity as to whether it will be positive or negative. In July, two months before Levon Ter

cellation

of the oil

agreements with

Azerbaijan which had been detrimental to Turkmenistan.

This was also the impetus for the Armeno-Russian treaty, strategically more significant for both countries than the RussoAzeri agreement, the annulment of which resulted in violent ofEcial protests from Baku. But, all things considered, the successful

But the redistribution of the geopolitical

Petrossian's visit to Mosco% President Aliev

visit of President Ter-Petrossian and the new

in the region will not take place

visited the Russian capital too. signing an

treaty with Russia should not give the impres-

ovemight. In the dying days of the Soviet Union, Armenia's new political elite gave a momentary impression that a rapprochement with the United States was imminent. For various reasons, it seemed at the time that

Armenia would be America's partner of

agreement on "Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security", similar to the first ArmenoRussia agreement of 1991. This was perceived at the time as an Azeri victory and caused some concern in Armenia. The agreement put aside all political and

not changed on the fundamental points and Moscow continues to maintain a certain balance between the different countries in the

choice in the Transcaucasus.

military issues which were of greatest interest

region.

But, with the gradual return of Russia in the region, Armenia has tumed once again towards Moscow for obvious geopolitical reasons. Also, since the conflict in Karabakh has

to the Russians while at the same time includ-

map

ing those sectors which were of interest to Azerbaijan, such as common protection of the Azeri borders and the intemational borders of

sion that Moscow has unconditionally conceded areas of vital interest to Armenia.

The Russian position on Karabakh has

by A. H. Alexandrian Tianslated by Harry Dickranian January

1998 A I ii

Whv have you chosen to use your position to promote the particular

whole Soviet []nion, were not ycl rcacly to accept thitt these chiltlrcn

paying their ducs to tlle state. nobody cvcr turned r.nc down. In the hardcst

pro.jects which you have picketl? Fol l7 ycars I worked as a .jour nalist in ncwsllapcrs. r'aclio and TV and came to know {hc leprrhlic wcll frorn

havc thc santc rights as children evcrywhere. All countrics which are undcrgo-

tirnes. we did not lose our hurnanity.

the 1970s until my husband was cle-ctcd presidcnt of the palliarrrc-nt. Frorl those clays. I was arvlire ol'thc problent of invalid chilch'en. When thc. Sovicl slogln was tlrat everyone ts healthy and I'it. thcy especially clirl not Iikc to display ill ol clisabled chiklrcn,.cspe cially rncntally disabled chiklren. who livr-d in closccl orphanagcs. where no .joulnulisls were allowcd. When the entpirc tcll.

I kncw the cspecially, woulcl bc very tol-tgh. I went f irst to thc Kharhcrd Orphanagc where chilc'lren with dcvclopmcntal disahilities reside. l'atc

of these childlcn.

The l'irst to ofTcr hclp wcrc the internapL:()ple, and not peoplc. our hut peoples of thc the .just

tional agencics. OLrr

24 AIM

rnrrry

l99B

ing this transition know that cvr:ntual, ly. it will be ovcrcorne. But if wc don't

occupy oursclvcs with thesc vrrlnera, ble chilclrcn. and others in tl'rc sante sit, uation in the: cornntunity. thcn one dav. we will scc tlrat there is tnorc lroney. more lrrcacl. lilt is bettcr, hul wc have lost oul conscience. This is a ve ry tlan-

gerous phenomenon, bccatrse

nran

without cor.rscience is nol a rnan. Bu( now. it is our own pcople who havc begun to help ancl I anr very happy and proud. DLrring the hardest

winlcrs. when thcrc wasn't

enough

hrcrrtl. wherr thc elcctricity e risis r.l trs irt its worst. when I woulcl scek help lrorl tactory directors, new husinessmen, people who had .just bcgun their businesses, and wcrc working legally and

Ibresee a bright, hurnane country. Kharbcrd to(lay can be visitccl by anyone. ancl thc situation has improvccl tremenclously. Now, we wish to opclt a residenlial school adjaccnt to the orphanilgc, lirr clisabled chilclren whcr livc with thcir farnilies. Wc will do evelythinu we can to cnsure that those wlro livc with their farrilies continue to do so hecanse having a l'antily is the gl'catcst happiness Ibr e vcryone ableb<died or disabled. Then, we took on othcr projects. For children disablccl in the earth-

cluakc. there is thc Rehabilitation Ccntcr in Oshakan, .jus1 northwest of Yercvan. All the nurses have bcen trained by Pro.lect Hope to provide physical rehabilitiation to disablecl children and young pcople. We have

modern vehicles provided by lhe

French-Armenian

Yerevan? This is

community. I have brought together approximately 100

wrong. Even

a person has no fam-

ily, he has neighbors. He has, if

businessmen from Armenia and

nothing else, the

demonstrated to

landscape around

them the successes of Oshakan.

him. This is what

he is accustomed to. It is important

The Oshakan Center itself is, of

and more humane

to allow people to

course, very impor-

tant, but for me, it just as significant

that people joined in to help. Now, with help from our

local businessmen and the Diaspora, approximately 100 children receive

treatment

yearround, and already these volunteers

remain in their own towns and neighborhoods.

between the

in the orphanages, and the elderly in old children

age homes, is the Far left: Melissa Brown Arzoumanian, wile ol Armenia's Foreign Minister, First Lady Lucia Ter Petrossian, and Lilit Shugarian, wife of Armenia's Ambassador to the US, at Blair House in Washington DC, during the

President's 1994 trip to the US.

Angeles communi-

and donors are asking me to point them to a new project. This is unity, when the people of Armenia and the Diaspora work together.

A cynic might sa5 of

nursing school. Yes, and the Los

course they

would say yes to you, you are the First Lady. But there is a great deal of follow-

through in their participation. And in Armenia, as in the Diaspora, there is great interest to see where the moneys go. Not just the building, but to see how the children are helped, what kind of treatment they receive. Seeing the building completed is easy. The joy is in seeing children who

come to the center being canied by their mothers, able to walk in several months or a year. Then, you have to see not just the child's eyes, but the mother's eyes and you know the value of helping.

You've chosen a difficult population. You could have chosen the grandmothers, whose situation is easier to see and understand, than the needs of the disabled, who are invisible. It is natural that in this new environment of freedom and individual

toms that are hard to change; they were used to the Soviet system. Now, when they are often left alone, they are helpless. But, we have improved the conditions of our old age homes, the doors

are open, people can come and

see

how the elderly live. Those who were

just recently homeless or

hopeless,

now sing and dance, and you can see that they wish to live. That's the great-

est evidence that their lives

have

turned around.

Are old age homes new to Armenia? No, nor in the Soviet Union. But they weren't talked about. And when you don't talk about something, soon you quit thinking about them, too.

hope very much that life in Armenia iontinues to revolve around the family. But because everything can happen in life, we must improve the state system of care for the elderly, so that everyone knows that they will not be left alone and helpless in their later years.

a normal life, but, don't the elderly have a right to life? I believe that only God can decide the day of our birth, and our death. It remains for man to

These facilities are private or stateowned? They all belong to the state under the auspices of the Social Welfare Ministry. We have learned much from the Diaspora. For instance, there are regional old-age homes in the US, and I believe this is a wonderful example. Even if Armenia is a small country,

simply help. Or, at least, not obstruct. The elderly have habits and cus-

Sevan be forced to live in a facility in

rights, we all want to help children live

why should the grandfather from

ty was key to its success. This school is today recognized in Europe and the US, and in the former Soviet Union. We have 37 students from vulnerable families, who live and study at school, and who receive all their clothing and educational materials from the community. They study to become nurses and this unique program will overhaul the standards of health care. They will graduate and teach at the same school, and train other nurses already on the job, and teach physicians as well. Our doctors are not accustomed to nurses who are well-trained. This will be a small and pleasant revolution.

How are these projects financed? I believe the direct way is the best. and groups, I explain the significance of a project, I introduce the people who will work on a project. I tell contributors that they must participate in overseeing the completion of a project, not just as bystanders, but as participants. Alone, I can do nothing. Without my friends

I talk to individuals

here in Los Angeles, in Paris, in Yerevan, I can do nothing.

We, as a people, have no frame of reference against which to view you and your actions as First Lady. That's right. This is a new system. In the old system, the First Secretary of the Communist Party had a wife but the people never saw her. That was not done. But when you are building a ,anuary1998

Alt

democratic country it is very important that people know everything-the whole truth, all the details. I speak now as a journalist, not as the president's wife. If the people don't know the details, it is dangerous. Who are the leaders? What do they say? What do they think? How do they live? What do they do? All this must be open and apparent for the people.

I understand very well that one of my responsibilities is to create the institution of First Lady. After us, there

will be new presidents, their wives and families. So, even if the work I do is considered too much or too little, nevertheless, if I have been able to establish that such work and responsibilities in the public sector are part of the First Lady's duties, then future First Ladies

will be obliged also to work for the good of society. They may have other specializations and other interests but they cannot sit at home and be invisible. They must work with and for the people.

What about the Western fear that the press and the people want to know too much. Is there a crisis about what is or is not public information?

No, for us that is not a problem. Maybe I'm out and visible so much that there is no room for this desire for even more information. It's true I don't give interviews. There is still the journalist in me: I prefer to ask questions than answer them. But, I also believe in being public and visible. I'm conscious of the fact that we are creating a state and statehood. I feel it is important that I act in such a way that creates the institution of First Lady. And I really have nothing to hide. I have a husband. He's president. I have, unfortunately, just one child, a son. I want to make it clear to young people, that one child is a mistake. There must be at least two or three. My son is married and is a father. I am now a grandmother. This is a normal life.

How do you explain the dilemma of the Armenian woman? In a country where women are professionals in large numbers and are bearing the

brunt of this transition, therc

are

almost no women in leadership positions. Our women are heroes. During those terrible years, you saw unshaven

men on the streets. But you would 25

i,l

.,anuary '1998

Above, the President and First Lady, surrounded by other members 0l government, at Eimiatsin for Christmas service, January 6, 1997. Below, the First Lady speaks at the first Women's Conlerence organized in Yerevan in 1994. Louise Simone, President of the AGBU, is in the background.

never see women on the streets or at work, unkempt. Their children would always go to school in too-white shirts, ironed shorts. Women never allowed the circumstances to alfect their appear-

tunity to rise was less. The president worked at the Matenadaran, again for lower wages, in lower positions, yet he never joined. We never looked to

ances.

And during the movement? During the movement, there was

Women grasped the new changes

more quickly. They even understood

the market and market faster. And,

economics

think com-

advance up a ladder.

no time. Remember those intense days. The massacres of Kirovabad, Baku and

earthquake came. Then the Karabakh

Committee members were arrested. They were returned six months later to Armenia. The Soviet Union had almost collapsed. At that time. there was no time to think about position, but instead, we had to think about how to save the country. You could feel the empire was collapsing, and you knew

that you could remain under

pared to the other countries in our region, the number of women in the

the rubble.

Would you want for your Iife today to be otherwise, to be smaller, quieter? Or

Armenian parliament is high. It is the region we

must use for compari-

are you satisfied?

son. Unfortunately, and

I love my family as do other women. I can understand

this is true not just in Armenia, but in the West as well, it's always much

harder

those who wish to close the doors and remain within the home and family environment. That is natural. I never said to my husband, "Don't

for the woman.

to compete with a man, and demonstrate that she is equally capaShe has

ble. If you are competing, day in and day out to prove you are equal, and then come home to carry the full burden, this is hard.

go. Don't go to the because you

How did you meet your husband?

arrest him. I didn't know when br which day, what time. But I knew that this man had left his home to struggle for his country and

The president was a tall, atffactive, young man, we

met by chance among a group of students. We fell in love. He was very interesting. I would say he was quite ffierent from other

his people. Did I have the right to say, "No, live for me?" I think not. I won't say that to my son, either.

young men. Naturally, if you ask other women who

Did you ever drearn that one day he would be president and you first lady? Never. We lived in the Soviet Union. I managed to work as a journalist without joining the Communist Party. My pay was lower and my oppor-

arested.

therefore, that they would

In St. Petersburg.

have also lived for over 20 years with their husbands and are still in love, they will probably say the same thing. Of course, there were problems. I was born in Leningad. I wasn't Armenian, I was from Russia, and accustomed to another culfure. Neither family was pleased with this match. We each had a hard time convincing our parents that this was right. Finally, I ran away and married him. And for 27 years, we have proven that that was not a wrong step.

square

be arrest-

knew he would be It was evident he was going up against the empire, against the state. Every state punishes those who rise against it. I knew,

ed." Among the prolects which the First Lady has undertaken are the Kharberd Children's 0rphanage (above) and the Nursing School (below) which has attracted a lot ot international attention, as a model for nursing schools

will

As a mother, grandmother,

what are your fears and your hopes? Oh, fears. I have fears, especially when I think of chilSumgait. The first refugees. The horrors

of the situation. What we had seen in movies had become reality. We understood that what had happened at the beginning of the century could happen to us again. The people were shaken. Then, the condition of Artsakh. We knew that 150,000 people there would be killed. That is when people took to the streets. Of course, the whole country had embarked on a democratic movement. For us, it was more intense, because it was a matter of survival. Then, the

dren and grandchildren. First and foremost, I want peace. Peace, peace, and again peace. Then, I ask that my children and grandchildren are healthy and receive a good education, that they have good spouses, good friends. And I very

much want internal harmony. But, I also want that my son, and my grandchildren (and I want lots), live notjust

for themselves, but for their country and therefore, the world.

I don't believe

that the salvation of the world comes from egoism. by Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian

lanuary

1998 Al

AIM: You've been Ethnic Affairs Commissioner for eight years in one of the most multicultural regions in

possibly

the most multicultural

country in the world. Yet, you are not an "obvious" ethnic.

I think the fact that I'm of Armenian background instead of Greek, Italian or Vietnamese, has its benefits, since people might not see me as being associated with one of those numerically large communities. At the same time, by appointing me, the government doesn't avail itself of that par-

ticular electoral dimension. That's a downside politically. The Armenian community of Australia, numbered at somewhere around 35,000, is only two generations old.

in the Armenian community here seem to think that the "smart Many

ones"

left the Middle East and

migrated to North America. The rest came here.

What

has

Australia's pol-

icy been towards Middle

Eastern

immigrants?

The Armenian community in Australia is a sad case of lost opportunities. After the First World War, there was some proposal to migrate Armenians to Australia because they were industrious. The government approached ANCHA and wanted to arrange for 20,000 Armenians to come to Australia. As I understand, ANCHA (The American National Committee to

Euery Miglant Has A Uision Stepan l(erkyasharian

on Molding ldenlity in Australia Stepan Kerkyasharian has blazed a trail as a pioneet of Australia's

new multicultural identity. He was Head ol Hadio lor nine years at Australia's Special Broadcasting Service, a national netwotk producing 650 hours ol programming each week in 68 Ianguages. Mr Kerkyasharian, 54, was also a key ligure in Sydney's successful

bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games. His ptomotion ol the idea ol Australia as a thriving multicultural society was seen as a critical lactot in the bid. Now Ethnic Alfairs Gommissioner lor J,lew South Wales, where lhere people from 200 birthplaces, speaking 92 languages, his Gharter ol are Principles for a Gulturally Diverse Society was adopted by the State in 1993 and enshrined in legislation in 1996. Kerkyasharian's experiences as an Armenian in this melting pot give him a unique insight into minority lile in a country of minotities. Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian mel him in Sydney. 28 Afm

January1998

Aid

Homeless Armenians) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)-Dashnaksutiun just declined. The major influx of 20,000 people

into Australia at that time, with

the

blessings of the Australian govemment would have enabled the community to

extract some privileges in terms of housing and community infrastructures, which would have enabled them to establish good foundations. With a bit of clever leadership, that community could have concentrated in a particular locality, and just like Greeks, Lebanese, and Italians, could have had members in the local council, a mayor, they could have gone into the political infrastructure of the country, and benefited Australia and the

Armenian community. There could have been a greater concentration in the local schools, and with the positive atti-

tude that the Australian government had, they would not have had to invest heavily in the building of schools,

because the local schools would have catered to their cultural and linguistic needs.

Father Aramais Mirzayan, who assisted a lot of people to migrate, didn't have the infrastructure to direct the

migrants once they got here. The Armenian organizations were formed

needs?' We developed community infrastructures which were completely alien to the environment. That worked well because you had a migrant population who didn't speak English very well, who had to rely on peer group support, and to some extent was therefore introverted.

by people who had migrated from Egypt and Lebanon-very well-meaning people, but they weren't the highpowered leaders who went to the US or Canada. But I don't think that would

How do you compare that to other

have made any difference. Because of the bitterness which some of them brought with them.

have their problems, but the difference was that those people had a homeland and a consulate or embassy here, and could relate to them. In some cases, for example with the Greeks and Italians, the governmental structures were not all that alien. They were numerically larger, and therefore, could be assisted.

Bitterness?

Against each other. The prime example of this, regrettably, was the church, which in the late 1960s would not allow anyone who was remotely seen to be affiliated with the Dashnak side of things to be given membership, even though the two Catholicoses had

kissed and made up.

It is true, the

Catholicoses had not settled any terri-

totial disputes which existed at

ethnic communities?

They all have divisions within their churches or temples. They all

archy simply refused to accept it. That's the case until today. They will not accept members if you're not part and parcel of that very niurow, not political or ideological circle, but social circle.

Ihere's a Iear ol letting uo, a lcal ol the ideas 0l a young

gcnetation We developed these infrastructures which were alien to the environ-

I can put in a membership form that

ment, and the next generation-the

can be rejected? If you get a membership form, it means you will not be rejected, but I know of people here who will not be given membership forms. I think the fundamental problem is migrants who have come to Australia,

Ausffalian-born Armenians who represented a fairly significant number of educated people-just could not relate to them. On top of that, there is this notion of control-the very basic insecurity of the leadership. I guess that's where the other dimension might come in, in that if we had the leadership, if the creme de la creme came here, they may not have felt as insecure as the locally drawn leadership. If you look at some of the Armenian organizations, most of the leaders are the same ones who've been there for 20 years. There's this fear of letting go, fear of the ideas of a young generation who's grown up in a new environment

and

suspect

to all newly

developed

Diaspora colonies, bringing with them the community concepts and strucfures which existed in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. They have to have the Homenetmen and the AGBU, Tekeyan and Hamazkayin, etc. That perception and concept was reinforced by the leadership in the Middle East. Because that leadership has never studied the local circumstances-it never crosses their minds to look at 'What are the local

want

to fit the local

and wants to make

changes

environment.

Therefore, there is a fundamental con-

flict, these young people "want

undermine our traditions, they want to destroy our organizations." What happens? Those youngsters are alienated because of this insecurity and because of the incompatible community structures-and no, because they're not

Armenian. We're losing this

young generation which wants to contribute. I don't know what the solution to that is. There have been several attempts over the years to set up new initiatives.

Have there?

All of the institutions

here in Australia seem to be the tra-

ditional ones. Because they

the

time, but they had at least given assurances that they would not be grabbing any more land from each other. So despite assurances by Antilias that they would not accept a change even if the church committee (under the jurisdiction of Ejmiatsin) said they wished to switch affinities, the local church hier-

modus operandi of the community, so the community can be brought in line with their requirements, because they

will not accept

any-

thing else.

Is it a function of numbers? In the US for example, there aren't many new kinds of institutions, but there are a few: The Zoryan Institute, the

AIM. But not here, where the community is Armenian Assembly, even

smaller. It may be a combination of things, it may be an issue of numbers. It may be the issue of locality-the Armenians here are concentrated largely in one city.

On the other hand, you have a state

that supports these kinds of substructures. So why isnt' it working here? Is it because wetre repeat migrants? We haven't left one state for another state; we have left a migrant community and brought those structures here.

It's also a question of economics, of what resources exist within the com-

munity. Financial resources-buildings, etc. If a group of Armenian kids wanted to come together and set up, where would they meet and what would they do? Where would they give exposure to their activities? Who

would be their audience? Regardless of how well motivated some are, a bit of ego comes into it, and at the end of the day somebody's going to appreciate

what you're doing. The leadership doesn't. The numbers thing comes in.

fundamental

Is Armenia a sounce of new migra-

to the structures and to the

tion? Were the last comers in the 70's )antary

1998 A I nn 29

or 80's? In the 80's. In the early 80's we got quite a bit from Turkey. From kan.

ful country of opportunities, but that doesn't translate to collective success?

have a siege mentality because you're an outcast as a minority grouping. That doesn't work here, you cannot build

In the 60's it was Egypt, then Lebanon in the 70's, Syria, Iran after the Shah's fall, and Turkey in the late 80's. A little

Some say that. But a lot of them value it; for example, every year, after

barriers here. The bonds here have got to be more than that.

matriculation results are out, a lot of communities have functions and hundreds of parents turn up and award those who've done well.

Am I correct in assuming that here, in a society where 'multicultural'is

more than

few hundred from Armenia

in recent years.

Is today's policy such that a migrant must meet some sort of educational or economic requirement? Yes, it's very restricted.

So, if you're getting Armenians from somewhere today, they're educated? They're educated or they're political refugees.

The Vietnamese community is amazing. A history of 20 years of settlement in this country-refugees, virtually all penniless, no specific attention to them by government; a lot of crime in the community, a lot of drug addiction. But last year, 50 percent of the graduates of the medical school in the university were of Vietnamese

the banner, that the stated purposes of Armenian school education would not simply be academic excellence but also to produce bicultural kids, comfortable in the world. There is no restriction whatsoever

to bilingual teaching or bicultural teaching. I said to one of the local schools when it was first established, "Why don't you do your kindergarten

through first, second or third grades

And they aren't coming in enough numbers to change this existing paradox?

No.

It's got to be done by the youngsters. There is a realization among the leadership that they have to work together. I don't know if the bit-

terness

is there any more.

think

there's a bit of ego. But I think a good leader can guide them.

Are you seen as an

outsider?

Because, you're politically active,

but

not within the traditional structures. Yes, I'm seen as an outsider. If I were to move back into the Armenian community, then I don't know to what

extent I'd be seen as a threat to the leadership.

Are you seen as a role model by anybody in the community? Not in the leadership, but in the community at large, yes. There would be a lot of parents who say, yes, I'd like my child to succeed, in that way. There are other factors as well, and I guess that relates to our migrant background, There's a pressure from the parents, "go learn a trade." A large number in our community are self-employed, but at

the trade level-shopkeepers,

etc. "What do you want to matriculate for,

there's a business waiting here for you," is a common admonition. But because of our great free education system, a lot of kids have made good doctors, lawyers, economists and all these peoplg are going to waste.

Does every ethnic group say that? That we have these individual success stories because this is a wonder30 AIi

lanuary1998

shoul our kids

bilingually? Why don't you teach math in Armenian?" I didn't start learning English until I was in year 5, in primary school. It hasn't bothered me. But they just won't accept it. So I said, OK. If you're not going to go down that track, when you're doing geography,

who haue done

do geography of Armenia, not where it is, but analyze it. In your social sciences in the higher classes, look at

well in socicty

some of the social dynamics of the Armenian community. Give that as an assignment. Do it all in English! But deal with Armenian issues!

We don't

outside that we ualue them background. And the parents of these kids work in factories, live in virtually slum type situations, but put those kids through university. The minute they qualify there is a dinner at Sydney's top

hotel and the community officially honors these

kids.

These kids do not

belong in community organizations, they're going to be out there and

become practitioners, but they'll never forget their community values. We do not show appreciation. we

don't show our kids who've done well in society outside that we value them. To us, an affinity, a belonging must be demonstrated through membership of an Armenian organization. If that membership is not there, then you're rejected, you're not part of the scene. And it's a fundamental flaw in our attitude. That kind of attitude works in the Middle-East, when you're forced to

0n the one hand, Australia has a great deal of legislation which pro-

motes multiculturalism. 0n the other, it has a long history of racism, especially with the Aborigines. How do you explain this? The Aboriginal issue is just part of

it. When the English colonized

Australia, they took the view that it was uninhabited. The Aboriginals just didn't count. In 1901, when the constitution was brought in, the Aboriginals were specifically excluded by the constitution. They were not to be counted in any census, they just didn't exist. And that didn't change until 1966. So we come from that very racist position to the 1960s when the immigration officer in London gave every applicant the first test the minute he entered the offices, because he had a little mark on the door and if you were shorter than that, he decided you were not going to get in. Then you had to be preferably blond, blue-eyed. But you absolutely had to be white and fair in color. If you were not Christian or Jewish, you didn't come in either.

Yet the need was still for the laborer?

As the pressure for human resources, for labor, they came towards the Absolutely.

mounted

Mediterranean-Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, then Egypt-where it was only the Armenians, the Italians and the Copts, not the Muslims, that they wanted. Anything else was an absolute no-

no.

They shied away from Spain

because, you never know, you might pick up someone with Moorish blood.

This is still the '50's. In the mid-60's, the pressure became so much that immigration started drying up from those traditional countries, so they had to relax it a bit. Therefore, in 1966 we signed an agreement with Turkey and started bringing in Muslims for the first time. Once the barrier was down, the Lebanese were acceptable and then towards the early 70's, we had to start

getting closer to Asia because of the economic developments in Europe. And with the end of the Vietnamese war, we had our share of refugees.

When they started allowing

Muslim immigration, the government started to realize its policy of assimilation, brought in in 1953 with the first Immigration Act, was failing. In the 1970s, the ethnic affairs commission looked at this whole issue of participation. How, and to what extent did people of non-English

your country. You've got refugees who migrate here because they were forced out of their homeland. Or you've got people who force themselves to leave behind their homeland, their childhood,

With technological advancements,

it is not possible for govemments to kill

and abou.t9Z languages spoken. Sydney 26 percent of the people

speak a language other than English at

home. And you've got the Aboriginal communities, so you can reasonably assume that a third of your population is not part of the dominant culture. You've got a society which can go

two ways. It can collapse to a conflict situation, because some of tlese people have still got their homelands locked in

war. Or you've got the potential for something really good. The good essentially comes from the govemment looking at it as a resource.

You have to take the view that people do not migrate so that they can set up some sort of evil operation in

10,000 people anymore without someit within days. It is no longer possible to go quietly and butcher a few thousand of your population,

one reporting

you can make them feel

welcome, secure, then obviously you can exploit

or get rid of a minority within your state. The news will be out and for sin-

them in effect. And to me that is the function of the commission I have. The charter of principles for a culturally diverse society moves it all away from the welfare state with the majority having a policy for the minority, and says these are principles by which the whole of society lives. We're equal and we must respect people's cul-

ister and cynical political reasons some

huge economic power will say, "I'm putting an embargo on you." People have to come to terms with this at least at a superficial level, saying, "How can I cover up my racism as

a state? How can I cover up my hatred for minorities?" Once that takes place,

ture, religion, language.

This is in legislation now, but it also defines the limits. It promotes

and governments make the right noises,

albeit for the wrong reasons, albeit superficially, over a generation, that attitude takes hold and the intelligentsia, and the intellectual class of

equality and also tends to reassure the Anglo-Saxon elements in the community that this is not a threat. Multi-culturalism is not going to change English from being the lingua franca. In the last couple of years, we're emphasizing the economic value of cultural diversity. This is an irre-

that society starts to sort of assume and promote that open, tolerant way of thinking.

NTNE'.BANK

ffisffimffi

economic,

sented

together.

genuinely want to start a new life. Every migrant has a vision. When you've got a mass like that,

political, artistic? That commission brought in a participation report which then led to the establishment of a permanent commission. In New South Wales, we've got something like 200 birthplaces repre-

force people to work together and trade

all their emotional stuff, because they

speaking background participate in the

life of the state-social,

versible trend; extremist elements can-

not reverse it. The reasons for that are global. Economic imperatives will

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)anuaty

1998

vatization.

With the break-up of

Armenia's 600 huge collective farms, the economies of scale engineered by Soviet

planners were undone. Farmers with three or four acres can hardly justify investing in expensive machinery or gambling on new technologies. Although the reconsolidation of Armenia's holdings is gathering pace, the govemment has yet to develop laws on selling and leasing land.

Armenia's Farmers Need Help to Grow Six years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and sweeping land privatization, the dust is finally beginning to settle in the countryside of Armenia. The republic is far from being able to feed itseli or even restoring the low levels of productivity that marked the Soviet peri-

credited with being on the fast track of agricultural reform. According to the US Department of Agriculture, no other former Soviet republic has gone further in

od, but Armenia's farmers have made

beginning. Armenia's most fundamental problem is the lack of essential inputs. The 1988 earthquake that struck northern Armenia

important strides in putting together the of their country's agricultural

pieces

economy.

Immediately after independence, as much as 60 percent of Armenia's 1.2

mil-

lion arable acres lay fallow. Once prosperous villages were without seed, fuel, and fertilizer. The wheat harvest was over

40 percent below the record level of

dismantling price controls, liberalizing trade and privatizing farmland.

Yet. Armenia's farmers

recognize

that their work is only

knocked the republic's only fertilizer plant out of operation. Few farmers can afford imported fertilizer. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture reports that the fertilizer shortfall has caused soil nutrient levels to decline sharply, with crop yields

in tandem. The situation with quality seed, herbicide, and insecticide, is

1988. Since then, most of the more than 250,000 private farmers who received

falling

plots under the

l99l land reform program have gradually leamed to cope with the difficulties. Many have pooled their small plots, averaging 3.2 acres, with their

no better.

neighbors.

By the end of the decade, Armenia's stock of agricultural machinery will have reached the limits of its durability. Spare parts are increasingly scarce and expen-

' The picture that emerges is significantly different from the Soviet era. In the Soviet command economy, Armenian

agriculture occupied a very narrow niche. Most of its land was devoted to specialty crops, especially grapes and fruit trees. Eighty percent of Armenia's wheat was shipped in from other republics. Today, the emphasis is on non-perishable staple

crops such as wheat and potatoes. In 1996, for example, more land was planted in wheat than at any time during the Soviet period. Moreover, in comparison to its former Soviet neighbors, Armenia is

32 Alnl

)anuaty1998

sive. Many farmers are hard-pressed even

to pay for fuel.

Part of the problem is linked to pri-

Financing is another obstacle. Only a handful of farmers have access to credit. The rest are expected to pay cash for

their

seed, fertilizer and fuel months before the harvest season. Once farmers

bring in the harvest, they have few options for selling it. The web of cooperatives, wholesalers, and marketing specialists that crisscrosses the United States

has not taken shape. Expectations

are

growing that the government will step in to provide farmers with low-interest loans and low-priced agricultural inputs, and to take on a larger role in marketing.

The Armenian Technology Group

(ATG), a California-based, non-profit organization, has continued

work

closely with Armenia's new class of private farmers. It is best known for its efforts to introduce American varieties of

wheat seed into Armenia. This year, about one{hird of the wheat sown in Armenia has its origins in the AIG project. Meanwhile, AIG is shifting its focus from immediate humanitarian concerns to long-term development. Building on a network of regional specialists linked to the wheat seed project, ATG hopes to broaden efforts to provide Armenian farmers with the latest agricultural research. It also intends to target resources on educating farmers about the business of agriculture. To move beyond subsistence levels, Armenian farmers will need to explore

new methods of packaging. processing, and marketing their crops.

by Mark Malkasian Photos by Zaven Khachikian

economv

Yerevan by commercial trucks. The Mercedes bus still serves as a transportation vehi-

cle for the tour groups within Turkey. And all of these

only safer, but cheapwell. The total cost of the tours has dropped from

changes have made the trips not er as

It seemed so out of place just sitting there, a Turkish bus parked on a street in the middle of Yerevan. And yet, the realIy strange part was that the bus was supposed to be there, at the request of Chinel, a Turkish travel agency with a branch in Armenia. Since I 994,

$810 to $550. In addition, tours are now organized twice a month, taking up to 15 people instead of the former 12. Now working permanently in Turkey, Raisa Ananian continues to organize Turkey - Armenia sightseeing tours, leaving office administration in Yerevan to her deputies, Razmik Hovhannesian and Mariam Aharonian. Whether people chose to go for trade or tourism, most seem satisfied with the way Turks have treated them during these trips. As of yet,,,,

Chinel Armenia has been ananging extended bus tours of eastem Turkey.

no major obstacles or problems have arisen during these tours, which the

Raisa Ananian, 47, owner of Chinel Armenia, started the business

agency sees as a good sign.

with two major aims. The first, of course, was to improve her family's financial situation. The second, as she put it, was "to acquaint tourists

by Harry Enfiiian Arthur Ghoukassian Photo by Mkhitar Khachatrian and

from Armenia or the Diaspora with a number of ancient Armenian cities in western Armenia (present-day Turkey), like Mush, Kars, Erzerum and Van." The trip, which cost approximately US $810-850, took 10 days to complete. It used a circular route because of Tirrkey's blockade of its border with Armenia. Travelers left Yerevan, arriving first at Akhaltskha, Georgia, and then going on to Turkey. Tourists would do some sightseeing and, perhaps more importantly, trade. On the eleventh day, the bus retumed to Yerevan.

Armenia

The route used to include the port city of Batumi, Georgia, but the 50-60 hlometers (30-38 miles) they had to travel within Georgia were deemed unsafe, due to the high incidence of robbery in that country. In fact" the agency acquired the Turkish bus largely because "Thqre are no problems they would be crossing into

Georgia.

on the Georgian border for cars with Turkish numbers," Ananian said. Mariam Aharonian, Ananian's deputy explained: "A traveler could do nothing

if his items were robbed from

Armenian bus

on Georgian territory. Where could he appeal? To what authorities?

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Ananian added that the Turkish bus, which was made by Mercedes-Benz, had a larger capacity and fewer mechanical problems than their old, Hungarian-made Icarus models.

Ananian expounded on the number of ancient Armenian churches and other sites to be seen in Tirkey. Often, the agency invited along a guide who could point out and explain important sites. In addition, the trip also allowed time for the travelers to stop and visit

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However, many undertook the joumey primarily for trade. In fact, trading became such an important facet of these trips that a number ofpeople started taking the tour regularly, even going to the same shops in order to establish a line of credit,

Trying to improve service and avoid the risks related to lengthy Chinel has started to use the regularYerevanJstanbul flight of Armenian Airlines. Cugo acquired in Turkey is then hauled to

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)anuaty 1998

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Resume to Edje Press

I,{A 0l tt2:t-45 I 3

If we believe in legendary traditions, then the Armenians have been closely connected to mathematics since

the very beginning of history. Thus, their eponym hero, Hayk, is said to have established the first calendar and dating system after his victory over the Babylonian tyrant, Bel. This could not have been done without some notion of mathematics.

In the

Mathematics of Yerevan. Six 16-17 year-old students, the best qualified in the national competition out of 4,000 teenagers from Armenia and Karabagh, were the "stars." Four of them (Grigori Baghdasarian, Ara Hayrapetian, fkayr

year's delegation was uncertain until

Matevosian, and Hayk Mkrtchian)

1997), as well as the construction of a similar school in Stepanakert, this last one with funding mainly provided by

were Sedrakian's own

disciples;

Khachik Sargsian came from the Imastaser school, and Arman Melkumian, from Anania Shirakatsi

seventh century AD, the scholar Anania Shirakatsi authored one High School. of the oldest mathematics textbooks to A public organization founded in have survived to the present. He also April, 1995, the School Olympic formulated a theory about the gravity Movement of Armenia has played a ofthe Earth and postulated its spherical large role in preparing Armenia's stunature. Last, but not Ieast, he reformed the Armenian calendar and established a second dating system. Teens Pit Broins

the Hayastan All-Armenian

Fund

to pay their fares. The

Fund

agreed

undertook the reconstruction

it is not surprising that in our century, Armenian mathematicians reached high levels

Moth

their

the Armenian-Argentinean community.

Although reception and lodging for the delegation was assured by the organizers in Argentina, some additional help

was provided by the local chapter of the Fund.

The tiny community of Mar del Plata, as well as visitors from Buenos

Agoinst the

Aires, followed

the

Armenian delegation

during the competi-

Best

tion.

The Armenian

embassy

in Argentina

was especially helpful. After their retum

to Buenos Aires,

within the former Soviet Union. The

the

Armenian delegation met the community in

achievements of emi-

nent

the

School of Physics and Mathematics of Yrcrevan (completed in September

IT ALL ADDS UP

So,

special reception

held at the hall of the Armenian Center. Some of the par-

astrophysicist

Viktor Ambartsumian (1908-1996) were not an isolated incident.

ticipants

of the math

Armenian

Olympics had more

to go with Soviet teams to the International Mathematics

The Armenians had just two months to

students were qualified enough

than one year to train.

work. One of

Olympics.

Since 1993, the Republic of Armenia has been sending its

the

competition's superpowers, China, was

the winner. Members of the Argentinean Armenian Community Center Executive Body with students, Archbishop Mouradian (center) and Ruben Mozian, Second Secretary of the Armenian Embassy. Members of the Argentinean Armenian Community Center Executive Body with sludents, Archbishop Mouradian (centeo and Ruben Mozian, Second Secretary of lhe Armenian Embassy.

own teams to these math Olympics. The tri-color flag was first raised in Istanbul, where the Armenian team got its only gold medal that year. And, as a rule, Armenian students have won silver and bronze medals wherever they have competed.

This year, the 38th International Mathematics Olympics were held in Argentina. From July 18-30, the beautiful coastal city of Mar del Plata hosted460 students from 82 countries. An Armenian delegation was also there.

The delegation was headed by Maels Azizbekian, Executive Director

dents for international competition. "After the creation of an independent Armenia, it became important to find the most talented children in Armenia and Diaspora, teach them, and create all the necessary conditions for them to take part in local competitions, thereby helping them rise to the international Olympic level," said Azizbekian. Recognizing that even talented youths can't accomplish great feats without the proper training, SOMA brought together some the best qualified teachers in Armenia, many of whom have

of the School Olympic Movement of

worked without pay for the last two

Armenia, and Nairi Sedrakian, Deputy Principal of the School of Physics and

years, due to a lack of funds.

In fact, the participation of

Iran,

Hungary, US, Russia,

Ukraine, and Bulgaria

Romania followed

the Chinese

the

overall category. Armenia placed fifth among the NIS countries (after Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia).

Last year in Bombay, India, Armenia received 63 points and one bronze medal. In Mar del Plata, the team boosted their score by 50 percent. They obtained 97 points, three bronze medals (G. Baghdasarian, K. Sargsian, A. Melkumian) and a honorable mention (H. Matevosian). Armenia placed 34l35th overall, one higher than in Bombay.

by Vartan Matiossian

this )anuary

1998 A I li

Photographer Zaven Khachikian captured scenes of life in Karbi.

From top, left to right '1 . The church of Karbi. 2. New construction in Karbi includes a residence for the clergy to be built alongside

the church. 3. A monument erected to Boghos Arzoumanian, in whose memory philanthropists Siranush Arzoumanian-Mezadourian and Armen Mezadourian of Argentina have undertaken the work of rebuilding structures

of faith. 4. Life in the agricultural village of Karbi includes the traditional annual carpet washing by women and childdren and 5. A regular game of dominoes by the men. 5. The reconstruction, maintenance and enhancement of the Karbi Vahan Tekeyan school also came about through Diasporan philanthropy. Sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural Association and Vartkess and Rita Balian, the school has over 700 students already, and is the village's only high school. The statue of Tekeyan which stands in front o{ the school was sculpted by LevonTokmakjian.

Sowing Hope ln Hard Times Armenia is famous for its architectural monuments-many of them religious. But how do you encourage spirituality and religious observance in a

people when almost none

the

churches are operational?

Catholicos Karekin I has a solution. On the occasion of the lTth Centenary of the Proclamation of Christianity in Armenia, he has called on Armenians around the world to adopt the reconstruction and renovation of one of 38 churches and make them into places of worship.

wife are vice-chairman and

chairman

of the Boghos Arzoumanian Foundation, named for Siranush's brother, in whose memory they agreed to rebuild a church in Armenia. In October, 1996, accompanied by the Catholicos as well as Archbishop

Mesrob Ashjian, Executive Secretary

of the 17th

Centenary Committe,

Armen Mezadourian chose the the village of Karbi, north of Yerevan, and its

Church of the Virgin Mary. Besides work on the lTth century church, the Mezadourians will also build a home

Arzoumanian-Mezadourian and her

for the local priest on the church grounds. The town square will get a

husband Armen Mezadourian, respond-

facelift in the process, and a new 4500

ed to the pontiffs call. Long-time supporters of the Armenian church, and Armenian education, the husband and

sq. meter public park is being designed.

From Buenos Aires,

Siranush

and

Karbi is an agricultural village, it is home to the Vahan Tekeyan

School which can house up to 1200 students, as well as two kindergartens, a community center, a library and a med-

ical center. This is all pretty modem sfuff for a 7th century village which was flattened

Timurlane's excavations. In

medieval times, the people of Karbi chased off the Khan of Erevan. The Church of the Virgin Mary is not the only church in Karbi. There is also a single-nave church from the 5th century, as well as the ruins of a convent, a chapel, various caves and monuments. The church the Arzoumanian Foundation has adopted is made of red tufa and has khachkars embedded in its main wall. The flrst stage-the reconstruction of the church-should be completed by spring of 1998.

tanuary

1998

highest levels of education and is active in local and state politics is a definite

in a state where the majority of will soon be from families

asset

students where

English is not the first language.

Petrossian comes from a politically active family. Her husband Vahik works for the State of California, her father Hagop and uncle Kosti, together with her aunt Savey Tirfenkian, were

until recently the majority stock own-

of the larger California-based refuse companies.

ers in Western Waste, one

"Also, I'm very interested in outreach as far as preparing students for

admission

to the University

California, and to have a broad base of students who are eligible and can compete with other applicants." Khachigian's term as chair ends in June 1998 but she will remain a UC regent until 2001. She left her public affairs consulting business to devote more time to the position of regent,

which is unpaid. Khachigian's husband Ken was a

long-time speechwiiter for President Reagan, and the California Campaign Manager for Senator Bob Dole.

Reigning Regent

Passion

For the third time since she joined the University of Califomia Board of

lol

Educati on

Regents, Meredith Khachigian has been voted chair of the Board which

At one time, teaching credentials in California were signed by two Armenians-Alice S. Petrossian, head

oversees nine campuses.

the California

Teaching

Credentialing Commission,

and

Regent Khachigian was first appointed in 1987 to the final two years of an unfinished term by Governor George Deukmejian, and then re-

Today, another governor, Pete Wilson, has appointed Petrossian to the

Congressman

George Radanovich (R-California) announced his co-sponsorship of the Caucasus Peace and Stability Act, 1997

dispute.

"The conflict over

22-campus Califomia State University (CSU) Board of Trustees.

Nagorno-

Karabakh has been going on since the Azerbaijan campaign of armed aggression began in 1988," said Radanovich. "Despite the existence of a cease-fire, Azerbaijan has continued with blockades of both Armenia and Nagorno-

It was Wilson who appointed Petrossian to the California Community College Board of Govemors in 1992. She just finished a six-year term there, in December, serving as president of the board during the last year. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the

Petrossian

In a move to help both Armenia

and Karabakh, US

(H.R. 2893), which aims to deter renewed aggression in the region and promote a peaceful resolution to the

George Deukmejian, the govemor who gave her that appointment.

University

Sponsotlng Pcace and Slability

of Southern California, is also the Director of

Special Projects and Intercultural

for the Glendale Unified District. Originally from Iran, she moved to the US at age nine. Herself a product of English as a

Education School

Second Language (ESL) schooling, she

went through the school system with flying colors, always maintaining a high involvement in Armenian conununity affaiis. She began teaching in Hayward, Califsrnia, and continued in Glendale as an ESL teacher.

Throughout her career, Petrossian

has consistently spoken up

for

the

rights of Armenian immigrant children and other minorities, sffessing that the home factor and community involvement are the keys to student success. Her own experiences as an immigrant student who has succeeded in the

38 Alm

January1998

appointed to her current |2-year term

in 1989. Khachigian initially

became

interested in the Board while studying at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara.

"You develop [as a student]

curiosity about what this Board does, and the people I saw who were involved with it were people I wanted to get to know and work with," said Khachigian. Khachigian has a number of plans for her term as chair. "One of my

biggest goals is in external relations and outreach. To help tell the story of the University and why it's important

to the

people

Khachigian.

of California,"

said

Karabakh, which have resulted in extreme hardship and loss of

life."

The Peace and Stability Act,

passed, would impose economic sanctions on Azerbaijan if it resum.ed the

use

of force against

Armenia or

Nagorno-Karabakh. "The reason for this bill is a vacuum of action by the

London bureau appearing on its "Nightly News," "Today," "Sunrise"

Clinton Administration-a void of

programs and CNBC.

leadership, a void of ability on the part of the Administration to focus on this

conflict in a neutral way," said Tim Jemal, Congressional Relations Director for the Armenian Assembly of America. "That's why this bill is necessary."

Radanovich, a vocal advocate for Armenians, has also made great efforts to have the Armenian Genocide recog-

nized, most notably last year as coauthor of the Radanovich-Bonior Amendment, which, had it been enactwould have cut US foreign

ed into law,

aid to Turkey by $3 million until Turkey acknowledged responsibility

for the Armenian

Genocide. Radanovich chose the sum, according to his district director Steve Samuelian, because "that is approximately the

On camera, Garapedian

comes

across as petite, pert and personable. Behind it, she is a dynamic producer-

director with six full length documentaries to her credit. Her TV career began after completing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in International Relations at the London School of Economics. Her frst job in television was a documentary on European defense. Upon completing her doctorate, she became a researcher on a weekly analysis pro-

gram, "The World This Week." She worked her way up to senior producer and reporter on that series,covering sto-

ries around the world. After directing a special documen-

tary on three former KGB

spies, Garapedian was offered the chance to

amount of money that the Turkish lobby spends each year in Washington on public relations firms who try to sway congressional opinion." The amendment, which passed in the House of Representatives, didn't make it through the Senate. The fact that it was even brought up in the

medical prescriptions, but his songs try message than many of his rapping rivals.

Pasadena, Califomia,Kojoglanian has produced his own CD, Licensed to Heal, with songs that are anti-gang,

would reject all US aid for the coming Radanovich, 42, is also noted for being the frst full-time winemaker to

Representatives. He has a BS degree in agriculture business management from

work for the BBC's foreign affairs documentary series, "Assignment." She produced and directed films examining

University at San Luis Obispo. In

dangerous nuclear reactors in Eastern Europe, the new South Africa, and the immigration backlash in California fol-

1986, Radanovich opened the

first win-

ery in the region that would become his

district. It now produces 4,000

cases

annually.

An Amclican in

[ondon Carla Garapedian has a double distinction as the firstAmerican and the first Armenian to anchor for the BBC. She appears on its global satellite news service broadcasting to over 120 countries, including Armenia. Originally from North Hollywood, California, Garapedian has worked out of London for t}te last nine years for both British and American television. Since 1993, she has worked as a free-

lance correspondent from NBC's

second year resident at

Huntington Memorial Hospital in

year.

the California State Polytechnic

Sam Kojoglanian- aka Dr Rapis as concerned with drum beats as

to promote a healthier

bluster that Turkey

be elected to the House

Rap

heart beats, as perhaps the world's only rapping doctor. He may not rhyme his

House, however, prompted the Turkish

ambassador

Ilr.

lowing the 1994 earthquake. Her documentary "Cooking the Books," an award-winning investigation into the Thatcher government's misuse of official statistics in Britain, won a silver medal at the New York

Film and Television It is used by universities and

International Awards.

Reuters for reference and training. Garapedian, whose father, the late

Leo Garapedian, was professor of photo journalism at North Hollywood's

Valley College, can be seen on BBC World's three-hour analysis program, "Newsday", as well as anchoring news bulletins throughout the day.

by Seda G. Marootian

anti-violence and pro-education. Born in Israel in 1966, he was exposed to rap shortly after moving to the US at the age of nine and quickly fell in love with the linguistic speed of the artists. But his passion cooled the harder he listened. "The more I listened, the more I found out that this thin! is dirty, nasty, stinking, filthy...and if you follow rap, it's gotten even worse," said Kojoglanian. When he saw the body of a fiveyear-old child who had been shot by gang members, he realized he had to send a different message to young people. "She was dead on arrival, but the mom still thought the baby was alive, so she was yelling and screaming, 'Won't anyone please save my baby?' That just broke my heart," remembers Kojoglanian. "The mom's scream was the turning point, and I said this album has got to come out." Part of the proceeds from his CD will go to Huntington's Emergency and Trauma Care.

by Harry Enfijian

,anuary1998

Alfl

Shooting Inside: Egoyon Explores the World of the Heort "Ihe Sweel Hereofler" is (onodion ftlm moker Alom Egoyon's seventh film. Eosed on the Russell B$rks novel o[ the some nome,

lells how

smoll

llew York lown deols wiil fie hrgedy ol o sthool bus otddenl whidr klls 14 ol its rhildren. The film hos

upslote

otlroded rove reviews in both the United Stoles ond Europe dler sweeping ile (onnes

lilm teslivol, where il won fie

intemolionol aitirs oword the grond iury owod ond the etumenkol ouncil oword. Poul Choderiion mel Egoyon ot fie

fii|m'r premiere in Vonower ond inlerviewed him for o television progrom he wrole ond produced on fte young diree lor's toteeL

use the peoples' rage and anger for his own end and about one woman who survives the accident and how she, for her own reasons, turns the entire case around. When I read what this young woman does, I was really inspired. I thought it was an incredible story with a very skong message and it's very much about this

moral universe where what do you do when the worst thing happens, questions ofblame, questions ofhow you get out of it, how you find some sort of a direction.

what do you need to heal and the contrast

between how we heal communally and how we heal privately.

our psyche hasn't been addressed, as long as we've never really had an apology. I was just reading Peter Balakian's Black Dog of Fate. It's so extraordinary. We're the only people in the century who've had this sort of incredible violence perpetrated against us and where it hasn't been addressed by the perpetrators. We are always questioning what is it that we have done to deserve such a fate. How do we emerge from that? When we showed the film at Cannes, an Armenian journalist came up to me and said, "Well, you've made a film about the Genocide." And I didn't even want to accept that... And yet when I

think about.. Maybe that's why

book?

Atom: Arsinee, my wife, gave me the book as a gift. I read it and I was completely overwhelmed. I think it's a most remarkable story. It's a story about a

community that sustains the most unimaginable horror, where all the children of the town are on a school bus and one day it falls over a cliff and crashes through the ice and children disappear.

How the townspeople deal with that.,. a lawyer who comes

and tries

into the town

to get everyone involved

class-action litigation. Wanting to sue, wanting to get compensation, trying to 40 Alm

)antary1998

Musa Dagh and

thought, Can

make

this story? In a way, it's not my type of

film. It's a beautiful book. What The healing process. What is the healing process? How can you heal? And the whole notion of

This is an issue that you've dealt with, being from Armenian descent. I think it's a fundamental issue to any Armenian-as long as this wound in

Paul: How did you come across the

though it's very subversive, what she It gives her dignity. I'd have to say, I don't want these parallels to be drawn closely. As an Armenian film maker I'm always asked when are you going to make the film about the Armenian Genocide. I don't know if I'll ever be able to make that film directly. I have to tell you that after this fikn was finished I re-read 40 days of does.

was

attracted to the story because it's really about what do you do when no one else can really help you. As Armenians we're always waiting for validation from other powers, we want the American government, all the govemments of our various host countries to recognize us. We want the Turks certainly to recognize us. But in the meantime, we have to find our means of survival.

What does Nicole do which can be an example forArmenians? Nicole basically finds her own truth. She's given this process of a legal system and she's allowed to tell the truth, she's allowed to give a deposition but what she says is not what anyone expects. Even

Franz Werfel understands about Armenian cornmunity life at that time is extraordinary.

You've made movies about interesting people in Canadian society. Now

you've got a movie about Middle America. How did you make that leap?

I made it because I really admired the book. I also knew I had to challenge myself and to be true to the spirit of the book. In all my other films, the characters are searching for themselves, so they're not really inviting any sort ofan identification on the part of the viewer. You don't watch the characters in my other films and think I can understand or I can relate to this person, because what they're doing is often so excessive, so unusual, that you wouldn't know how to relate. But in this film and in this community, I think the people are very identifiable. And I had to respect that, I had to change my focus and that was something I was prepared to do. Was this a natural..progression for you

from art films tii films with more appeal? It really depends on the budget. The budget of this film is a higher one and when you raise more money you have to

be responsible to the people who've given you that money. You have to be able to repay them on their investment. The film has to be more mainstream so that it can justify itself financially. It's a business as well. It's the most difficult thing about film making-it's not just an art form, it's also a business. It has to make sense as a business.

When you read the headlines asking

Atom has gone "Hollywood", how do you respond? I react to that by understanding the myth we have about Hollywood. But I

also understand Hollywood like the back of my hand after Exotica. I was offered to

do a film with Warner Brothers and I spent a great deal of time there and understood what the advantages-and disadvantages----of the system were. When I make my films I have complete independence, complete control. Nobody tells me how to make the films, nobody tells me what I should be doing, and the films that I make are mine. When you make a film

West, the

American-

Armenians. Arsinee, your wife, the woman you call

your muse, is from the Middle East. You are Canadian. When two of these Armenian identities

create a nsril [1ms1i2nyour son Arshille-who wilt this future Armenian turn out

within the system you have to be prepared to compromise.

Are you ready to compromise with Mel Gibson's production company, in making Felicia's Journey? I don't think I need to compromise. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but the geat thing about the offer is they're allowing me to do the adaptation. I get to write it. I get to communicate in the script what I'm going to do. Even there, I'm going to be financially responsible. I'm going to say, look if we make the film for less money, can I have more control? I hope they'll be responsive to that. They're great people I've worked with them before and they're committed to a certain type of film making. If you make a film for $30 million you just can't do your own thing, it is as simple as that. I'm just as proud of a film like Calendar which we shot in Armenia

for $100,000 as

am with The Sweet

Hereafter which we shot for $5 million.

What interested you in Felicia's Journey? Felicia's Journey is about territory and people crossing territory. It's also an examination of a relationship between England and Ireland. It's a very interesting psychological thriller and I've always been attracted to the thriller form. I think one of my favorite films of all time is Rosemary's Baby. If I can do something within the system that has that type of mood and provokes those types of questions then I'd be very happy.

Let's talk about your

cannot predict. The worst thing you can do to a child is to impose things on them. Parenting is this balance between having your value system, which you cannot help but have, but also trying to understand what the character of that child is

to Armenian don't know how long he'lI be able to maintain that because it is forced in our culture... It is, and I understand about. So...he's going school.

made

a short film

called

"A Portrait of Arshille." I'm explaining to him in English why we chose to give him that name and Arsinee is saying it in Armenian. It's a haunting little film. It's four minutes long, we made it for British broadcasting. And it's very very open, very honest. It's also talking about Arshille Gorky's painting "A Portrait of an Artist and His Mother." It's probably

this. My mother tongue is Armenian but I went into a town in Canada where we were the only Armenian family. I had to assimilate. I had no choice. And it is one

the most complex little four minute film

of the things about our culture that

anyone could see.

we have been incredibly open to adaptation. We have to be open to that, we are inherently people who have had to make certain accommodations and yet preserve

very fiercely those things which are most valuable to us. Arsinee and I are very strong

Armenians and that will endure in Arshille. In what form I don't know. I can't predict that. I think it puts pressure on him because we are public people and I don't want him feeling the pressure of that.

Ibll

What do you say to young people, young artists, who're trying to find their voice like you found yours? Believe that there are people who want to hear you. Even if you have to create those people in your imagination. Nobody can work in a vacuum and if those people are not there you have to imagine them. And that's the strongest advice I can give because if you think

you're writing, expressing things, for yourself, it's very difficult to sustain the energy and drive.

me why you named him Arshille. Arshille is a huge

le gacy

to have

If you're

lucky enough

those people around you, that's

great. But ifyou're not, you have to keep imagining they are because eventually they will. Eventually you will find those people. It may take a lot of work and a lot of patience. But if your voice is clear and

if it's

passionate then the audience

will be

found.

personal life. In Calendar you've perfectly exempliIied the three mod-

ern identities of

Armenians-

those from the

homeland,

Middle

the

Eastern Armenian, and the

Armenians

the

Above: lan Holm as lawyer Mitchell Stephens and Sarah Polley as Nicole Burnell. Lett: A scene from The Sweet Hereafter. opposite page: Director Atom Egoyan.

play Dvorak with pianist Lucine Ketendjian; 19-20th century art songs

from soprano Marine Ter-Kazaryan; violin and piano selections by award-

flxxrmt 97 DISPERSION IMMERSION After hours inside Los Angeles' state-of'the-art

Contral Library and Armenian-Americans originatlng from ten countries brought their telents to meke Arvest'97.

winners Aroussiak and Sarkis Baltaian; and the ll-man Garni Folk Ensemble with singers Anahid Shahnazarian and Garbis Dakessian. That treasury of sound emanated outward from speakers as guests surveyed the gallery-goers on three levels

below. Encountering the 90 works by

20 painters in both oil and mixed media, sculptors and photographers

resulted

in an

offeeling and

enchanting exploration

ideas.

Viewers were drawn by glowing Robert Elibekian women, dancing Nakian nymphs, ancient histories of Charles Garabedian or Samuel Lachikian's undulating oriental rugs, the abstract bravado of Alysse Stepanian, Ruben Amirian, and Robert

Setrakian, challenging ciphers by Assadour, Altoon or Sirak Melkonian,

poetic formations by Oshin Sahinian, Seta Manoukian or Rostom Voskanian, the sensual textures of Kardash Onnig,

Organized by the AGBU Young Professionals Committee, the exhibition of visual artists, musicians, writers and poets became a case of so much artistry, so

little

time.

In five hours, 600 guests transitted

Konyalian-Grenier,

Sona

Van

(Kistorian) and Fr. Dajad Yardemian, and play monologues from Pasternak

and Mandelstam by Aram Saroyan. The most intimate attention was

haps

accorded these writers in performance. Most visitors to the November 8 event, however, circulated in the new wing with its spectacular eighrstory atrium. At the summit were both lavish

the Armenian prose of

Khoren

food buffets (everything from sushi, Armenian specialities to wine and desserts) and the fan shaped Mark

Aramouni, Vahe Berberian and Ishkhan Jinbashian, poetry in both English and Armenian by Ara Kazandjian, Arpine

Taper Auditorium with continuous con certs: the Khatchaturian String Quartet interpreted Mirzoyan then went on to

myriad fascinating thoroughfares by escalator. Welcomed by video monitors

in the street lobby, they escalated perto the Literature program first. Held in the restored 1926 children's library, the roster joined eight voices:

Marcos Grigorian and Levon Parian, philosophic commentaries by Eileen Ahabazian and Yepremian-De Greef, and the formidable theatrics of Ani Kupelian and Emil Kazaz. Credit directors Artemis Bedros with Stepan Partamian, Ruben Amirian and Harout Yeretsian for music, art and literature, respectively. The spatial experience of guests circulating from agora to pamassus in a place set aside for study was an unintended re-creation of the searching,

adapting diaspora offspring. The cultural and the social can equal civilization. Text and photos by Janet Samuelian

Lefttoright: CharlesGarabedian'sTheQuarrelers(acryliconpaper, 1989); AlysseStepanian'sHUSHE(oil oncanvas, 1992); Emil Kazaz'sPios(oil, 1997).Top, leftto right: Garni Folk Ensemble with Anahid Shahnazarian; Vahe Berberian reading from his work at the literary session

42 AIM

January1998

THESE ARE REAL LETTERS TO REAL PEOPLE. SEND US YOURS.

Dear S,

Afew months after my graduation, degree in Sociology and

with a

Business, I was still pondering what to do with the rest of my life. So I decided to take the long awaited trip to Armenia. This is where my grandparents were born, where my grandmother was left an orphan and the place of oldyet-not-forgotten memories and traditions.

I flew to Yerevan. I will never forflight. The food served with

get this

I told my dad that I was not coming back until I learned Armenian or at least something that I could bring back with me. I started classes at Yerevan

was one of only three foreign students that year. We made it through together until the fall State University.

and then one of the others decided to go back to the States. I lived in the univer-

sity's dormitory-my dad almost flipped when he fust saw the room. But he finally came to the realization that everyone was living like I was going to live, and probably worse, so I moved in the next day. I did learn Armenian,

wine. The man sifting next to me who stuffed his pockets full of everything that would fit there and was free. Is it really that bad

the side of the road, where food and drink are sold. I was in a state of shock and could only imagine what our hotel would be like. When we came to Hotel Armenia, I was ecstatic. The out-

satisfying my spoiled self, I All I could say was, what a beautiful and lovely country. The people, the land, the villages, the days

churches, the traditions, even the ugly Soviet-built buildings. I found home. I met my husband-to-be within the first week I arrived. We had no intention of falling in love and getting married. It just happened. We call it destiny and God's way of bringing us together.

seat,

looked out the window and said, "Oh my God, this reminds me of Calendar." At the time, I had no idea what you meant and all you would tell me was: 'rlt's a movie, but I'm not saying one word about it until you see it for yourself." Then Gago said something and I forgot about it completely as we

Levon Travel's man, Raffi, with his clunky white van. The dark streets lit only by small kerosene lamps or a single electric bulb, by

ventured outside.

I watched Calendar for the second time today. I rented it for my parents to see, taking my seat in a chair at the back of the room to be alone with my thoughts. As I watched the familiar scenes unfold, I was sitting there thinking about the time in Armenia you and I were in Gago's jeep driving back to Tatev from Sisian. I was in the front listening to him laughing and telling stories. You were in the back asking, "What's he saying?" and I would translate for you. After about 2 hours of this

you leaned back in your

there? Maybe I should take some forks, napkins and stuff, too.

side looked decent. The inside was majestic and beautiful. I decided if this was the nicest place in Armenia, then this is where I would stay. After a few

Dear A,

though never fluently. But I learned a

lot

about the Armenian

culture. I

learned about how people survive. I learned what the word family really means. It's not too clear to most Americans.

gained not only a new

family-

my wonderful husband, his incredible family, especially Mayrig and our new born baby

boy-but

also a country that

truly love, believe in and definitely

regard as Home Sweet Home. Write to me soon,

went on to other subjects. A month later, in England at uncle Fred's flat, I was looking through his video collection, when I found a tape labelled Calendar. I popped it in to view and as I watched the pictures of them driving on the highway past Mount Ararat, I remembered where I had first heard the name. I tried hard to hold back the emotions as I watched the scenes unfold and the memories came flooding back. As the plot developed, I realized what you mean that time in Gago's jeep driving through the Armenian countryside in the full moon light.

Miss you,

January

1998 A I ll

underexnosed

A I ltll Januaty 1998

u, L q,

SI aaI I I

Ihis Won't Hurt

= =

E' L

IIII

= L

The Armenian Dental Association of Yerevan, together with the Armenian International Dental

Every Tuesday, Yerevanites can sit in front of the television and $15 to a car. TV Lotto, a popular program which has been running for over a year, prints 70,000 tickets each week. An average of 45,000 are purchased at 400 Drams each (about 80 cents). Half of the approximately 18,000,000 Dram revenue goes towards the prize fund. Some 1,500 people win in every game. Artur Bakhtamian is the careful host who goes to great lengths to demonstrate that the game is played by the rules-somewhat akin to bingo-and that everyone stands an even chance of winning. see

if they've won anywhere from the equivalent of US

Association, convened a general dental convention with lectures in English and Armenian, exhibitors from Armenia and the US, and 500 participants. Most of the dentists attending were from Armenia, but the contingent from the US, the Middle East, Europe and Canada was not small. Everything from periodontal care to new equipment and tools were discussed in a field that is growing fast in Armenia.

let lhem Eat Ghooolate There is lots of talk about bringing marketing principles to Armenia. After all, how else to promote sales of all the new-fangled Westem products like Ttvix bars and fabric softener. But bread? Does Armenia really need new ways to market the basic staple of every meal? Vahe Aghabegians thought it did. The owner of the Glendale, Californiabased Microcomp, Inc. has become a Yerevan entrepreneur. His most recent venture is Voskehats [Golden Bread]. At the moment, Voskehats consists of a bread shop that sells hundreds of loaves of eight different kinds of bread each day. Now

sells even more, thanks to Aghabegians' promotional gimmick. Remember

"Make a purchase and receive a free gift"? That's what the Tehran-born Aghabegians, 44, told all the children in the neighborhood. Buy five, and get some free chocolate, he told them. He didn't have to tell them twice. Not only did they come to buy their own family's daily bread, but also bought (and resold) enough bread to get their chocolate treat and save lots of neighbors a walk down to the bread store. What a deal!

A Dog's This

lile

long-standing observer

the

Armenian scene is a familiar sight to many who have walked along Amirian Street, near Republic Square. The easily recognizable dog spends large parts of each day noting the comings and goings of tourists and locals, as well as dignitaries who enter the Foreign Ministry across the street. lanuary

1998

rlt

essav Some of the most important insights I have gained in my twentysomething life seem to boil down to a series of idioms: Never say "never;" Trust your instincts; Things are not always what they seem. The last rang truest during a two-month stay in Armenia as I struggled daily to come to an understanding of the people I met, the life I lived, and everything in between. In fact, the visit left me with a realization that so very much of what I think I know about Armenia is only partially accurate.

Everything

was trying

to understand-the

burden of the

Genocide, the influence of Soviet rule, the future of Artsakh, the Armenian language (Eastem or Western?), the economy, the govemment, the people-was tweaked at each new juncture by its interaction with the others. Inevitably, this revised perception involved an element of sad reality. This was especially apparent with the great joy I found in each new union with the many people I now have the privilege of calling my friends in Yerevan. They opened their hearts and homes to me, treating me to wonderful meals I can still taste and giving me

precious

never had to reconcile such conflicting values: the preservation of Artsakh, in contrast with consequential death and destruction on both sides of the battle lines. I left a piece of my soul there that day. Our drive back to Armenia was filled with a sense of loss, as if I had just met a long-lost relative to whom I had to say "goodbye" all too abruptly. Yet my sadness quickly turned to anger. Why had it taken me so long to come to care and leam about Artsakh? The journey was a wake-up call for me. Until this summer, I am ashamed to admit I often thought we were being obstinate in fighting for these lands and causing so much turmoil to the people in Armenia as a result. I kept thinking, What exactly were we fighting for anyway? It is a tragedy that I-and so many of my friends and family-knew so little about a land so central to our national existence. One reason for this, I believe, is that so many of us in the diaspora (myself, especially) have used the Genocide as the defining point of our ownAr:menian identity. To a degree, this is to be expected; my ancestors were from a part of Armenia that was virtually a world away from Artsakh, burdened with a legacy of denied geno-

cide, thereby neglecting to

gifts

(both tangible and

intangible)

I will

focus additional energy on teach-

treasure forever.

But

ing me

these

euphoric moments

were simultaneously terribly sad. In most instances, my friends were

Armenia. Herein lies another result of denial, however; by forcing us to focus so much attention,

unemployed or working outside

of their

about

another troubled corner of

profes-

sions, people I

energy,

knew could not

and resources on com-

afford financially

1 batting denial of

to offer me

ttre Genocide i (which largely ! represents the

much, but emotionally could do

no less. I

was humbled, thrilled, and devastated time and again by these relationships. These same paradoxical emotions came to fruition during our incredible journey into Artsakh. We were told we would find the landscape beautiful (it was), the people hospitable (they were), and the travel treacherous (it was not as bad as we expected!). What I could not have known was how I would react to this republic which, until then, I did not understand to be truly and essentially Armenian. I met people who personified hope, dignity, and strength, even in a dialect I had great difficulty understanding! Inside the sacred walls of Gandzasar, we toasted and feasted and reveled in our incred* ible surroundings; later, in Stepanakert, we danced (and feasted again!) and toasted a striking young soldier whom we had quickly grown to love and admire. I was sure I had never known such joy as on that day. Yet it had begun with equally intense sadness as we made our way from Stepanakert into Agdam. As a woman raised in a superpower nation, and with a strong philosophical objection to war, I found myself experiencing profound support for a military operation. Driving through Agdam, coming to tenns with the carcassed buildings, the charred pomegranates still on their trees, the ghost town left behind on the 40th day of Monte Melkonian's death, I have

lf,

)anuary 1998

v goal of my own academic work)

we are neglecting every other aspect of our Armenian identity, culture, and history. Why had I never before read Charents? Seen Sarian? Loved Artsakh? Outside our Armenian schools, our diasporan youth are growing up knowing only a fraction of what it means to possess a heritage that spans centuries-and one that holds an exciting future if we do not let it slip into oblivion. Nothing is what it first seems to me anymore, when it comes to Armenia and Artsakh. I find this phenomenon exciting yet exhaust-

ing.

I have been compelled to re-think, re-examine, re-learn at every question every aspect of my identity now-Where is my "home?" What made me feel so essentially connected to the people and places of Armenia and Artsakh? What is my duty as a Diasporan concerning Armenian issues?-and I wonder if I'11 ever find the answers to queries that riddle me with heartache if I ponder them

turn. I

long enough. Then, I am reminded again of the simple virtue of trusting my instincts.

by Nicole Vartanian

Vartanian is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University. She participated in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Summer Language Institute in Yerevan.

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