Back to Basics
BY SANAN SHIRINIAN
Do I have any right to be upset? I’m a healthy 21-year-old senior in college, living at home with my parents in beautiful La Crescenta, CA. What right do I have to get upset or mad or frustrated at the fact that kids in Gyumri do not know the meaning of our tricolored flag? Who am I to get disappointed when my campers don’t know how many Armenians were slaughtered in the Genocide? My hardships may be minimal compared to these kids, but I cannot deny the fact that I am genuinely and wholeheartedly upset.
I honestly feel like I have entered the twilight zone. What is this place that is so incredibly different from the little Armenian community I was raised in back home? All throughout my adolescence I was nurtured with such national pride and national awareness, all the while believing that when I get older I can come to Mayr Hayasdan and find a cohesive attitude with my people, and finally put all my “Armenianness” to practice. I’ve come to the shocking realization that, even with all its natural beauty, with all its historical magnificence, Armenia is not the glorious treasure our textbooks, poetry and songs lead us to believe.
When I first realized that my kids at camp Gyumri did not know who Talaat Pasha was, did not know when Armenia first proclaimed independence, and did not know the words to our national anthem, I was furious. I kept them in from playtime that day and tried shoving as much of this basic information into their minds as possible. I am not doubting the fact that they have more knowledge, experience and education about their country than I do, but my point is not about who knows more and who knows less. My point is that the lack of familiarity of these simple yet vital historical facts, reflex a lack of national pride. What is the future of this nation if the new generation is indifferent to our flag, our anthem, our history, our politics, our geography and our natural environment? Is the government intentionally keeping these kids uninformed and preoccupied so one day they won’t be a threat to those in power?
Then there is another side of me that thinks, why should these kids care? Would I care about the well-being of my country when my own father is an alcoholic and beats me everyday like 9-year-old Suzanna’s father does?
Today she told me that when he gets really angry, he pulls her off the ground by her hair and slams her against the wall. As for her mother; a few years ago she told Suzanna to sit and wait in front of their neighbors’ house. She never came back. Would I care to learn about the suffering of my ancestors when I have to share one toothbrush with my whole family like Dianna does?
I suppose for me national pride comes easy, because I am not the one experiencing the hardships of this country today. But for kids like Suzanna and Dianna, pride in their homeland and history may become slightly more important when they are given a reason to love Armenia.
Although these kids are the future of our nation, they need their basic security, livelihood, and humanity respected in order for them to be interested and to care; care about our history, our culture and care to want to make the changes our country so desperately needs.
After all it is human nature to cherish the things you love and the things that love you back.
The girl in these photos is 9 year old Suzanna. She is so tiny for her age!
Hey San, really powerful note…i guess in order for a home to be a hairenik the young people need to see progress and need to see a place to grow and need to see a future. There are so many talented and brilliant young people in the country and the saddest thing is to see them stymied or forced to leave to find opportunity.
The most important thing, like you said, is national pride. Pride in the past, present and future of Armenia…With that pride comes people standing up to corrupt politicians, people demanding fair employment and wages, and environmental justice.
The work Youth Corps is doing in teaching about national pride with educationals on our history, teaching songs, lecturing on the importance of the environment, not littering, personal hygiene etc.. is an amazing start to making the new generation take ownership of the future of Armenia….
All we have to do is move and help them guide the way…
Take plenty of pictures in Javakhk!
Unger Sanan I am so inspired .. i have been following most of what you and your ungers are doing .. God Bless you and all the work you guys are doing .. I would like to do everything that i can to c this efforts are continued .. go and keep on going you all will not be left alone .. c you soon
As a Youth Corps participant in 1997 I believe we had it easier in Artsakh because the Kharapaghtsi mentality is much more in line with our ideology and they have the national pride and awareness you speak of. I never felt that disconnect with the people of Kharapagh that I felt with the people of Armenia. I too couldn’t understand why they lacked the national pride and awareness. It wasn’t until many trips later and after many conversations with locals that I came to realize they are hardened by what they endured after the fall of the Soviet Union. They lived through some rough times and I respect that they didn’t flee to the Diaspora like so many others. I can’t even begin to imagine how much more difficult things have been in Gyumri since the earthquake and fall of the USSR.
They all have the national pride. They may not know the significante of the tri-color or much about the Genocide or Independence day but we HAD TO flood ourselves with that knowledge living in “odarootyoon”. They eat, sleep, live, breathe Armenia every day. That’s the beauty of Armenia and it’s diaspora. We complete each other. Just look at what Youth Corps is and does. We go there and enrich their lives and don’t realize until we are there or have returned that they enriched our lives right back.
It’s going to take a while for Gyumri and the Gyumretsis to heal. I don’t condone the way these children are being treated by their families, but I don’t discount the trauma and hardships those families have endured. What you guys are doing there is enriching the future generation and breaking the cycle. It’s an integral part of our Baykar so stay Strong and just remember the bigger picture and know that the work you are doing is going to resonate with these children and when they grow up, they too will likely pay it forward.
It was an excellent decision for AYF to move the Youth Corps program to Gyumri. It’s evident from these blogs and last year’s blogs that the program is much needed in Gyumri.
You make home where ever you are. As far as the country, its sad that people and leaders dont stand up to educate teach the youth. Instead they spend money turning the capital into Vegas, watch kids starve and expects the outside community to fly in to the rescue.