CHILDREN OF THE GENOCIDE
by Jean Ipdjian

Gibrahayer
November 18, 2009
London

" The Genocide is not buried in the past, because we are what we
are…we are the Armenian Diaspora"

The recently signed Protocols and the furore generated by them
have brought into the fore the issue of identity and the means of
identifying one’s self in society as an individual and as a group.

It has always been hard for Armenians in the Diaspora to keep their
national identity while at the same time being able to identify
themselves as citizens and as part of the countries, they happen to
live in.

It has always been the endeavour of Armenian individuals and
Organizations to create such conditions that will help keep their
"Armenianism". The object of not being swept by the currents of
assimilation which are so strong specially in friendlier societies,
where the physical threats to their wellbeing is less and where there
are no easily definable social and religious boundaries between them
and the local population.

The Diaspora, which is mostly a direct result of the persecutions of
Armenians in the late 19th century Ottoman Empire and more so of the
Genocide of more than a million Armenians living in their homeland
in Ancient Armenia, present day Eastern Turkey and also Istanbul and
other cities, has used this fact as a means of identification. We
are children of the Genocide and it is practically impossible to find
a family or individual whose ancestors have not been victims of the
Genocide in one way or the other.

Therefore, it is inconceivable for us, the children of the Genocide
to accept any form of denial or questioning of the existence of the
Genocide, because in that way we will be actually denying ourselves and
robbing ourselves from our own identity. This mean of identification
is so strong that it was only recently that compatriotic organisations
were dissolved in our communities. And this fact is one of the core
problems that the Protocols have created.

It is a fact that one should not be stuck in the past. This is
a popular no tion put forward by the proponents of the Protocols
and rapprochement with Turkey. There is no denial that, because
we are geographically and historically destined to have Turkey
as our neighbours, we have to establish some kind of relationship
with them and find a way of coexisting next to them. But, in our
"forward looking" and in our desire that we should not be "stuck in
the past" we cannot forget the Genocide, we cannot pretend that it
has no bearing on us today. We cannot do so, because we live today
and have lived for decades outside our ancestral lands, because we
have been denied our right to live and prosper on our ancestral lands.

It is, to say the least, extreme naivety to believe that this wound in
our history can heal with unilateral acts of forgiveness and "forward
looking" on our part. The key, which will untangle this quagmire of
existence, which is the Diaspora, is firmly in Turkey’s hands. We
can live with the consequences of the Genocide and the heirs of the
organisers and executers of the Genocide, provided that they stop
their denial, provided that they accept it. Only then can the real
healing process start.

That is why the Protocols as they stand, and all such ill conceived
measures such as the now defunct Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Committee, are destined to smash into and be shattered on the wall
of the resolve of the majority of Armenians of the Diaspora and the
more nationalistic elements in Armenia proper.

And if we look at the chain of events, we will see that unless
our resolve in standing up for and defending our National issues
is unwavering and steadfast, their will continuously be attempts
at nibbling on our resolve and eventually defeating it. Because we
are dealing with a nation which has had no qualms in the killing of
its citizens in the past or present, we are dealing with a nation
whose arrogance has allowed it to have laws which make it illegal
to question the Turkishness of its histo ry, and who has complete
and utter disregard for public opinion, and for whom human rights is
something alien.

Therefore, we, as children of the Genocide should stand firm in our
resolve, we, as children of the victims of that Genocide should not
allow for petty economic considerations our rights to be swept aside,
we, as children of the Genocide be misguided by well-wishing and noble
ideas of understanding and unilateral attempts of reconciliation. The
Genocide is not buried in the past, because we are what we are,
we are the Armenian Diaspora.