Today’s Zaman , Turkey
Jan 16 2010

Initiative encourages Armenian-speaking anchorwoman

Melisa Boz is a 25-year-old Turkish-Armenian. What brings her into the
media spotlight is the fact that she is doing something no one else
has done — until now. Boz presents news in Armenian on SU TV, known
by many as an `Alevi channel.’

The young woman, who received threats before the television program
began airing, said she gets her courage from the government and the
democratic initiative process. `At the time of earlier governments, I
would not have dared do something like this. But I trust the
government now,’ she said.

In her program, Boz presents news not only on Turkey but also news
that concerns Armenia and Turkish-Armenians. `If I can contribute to
peace between the two countries, I will be very happy,’ she says. Boz,
who was the interpreter for the Armenian national soccer team at last
year’s Turkey-Armenia soccer game in Bursa, said the Armenian players
liked Turkey very much.

Police officers responsible for providing security to the team were
very kind, Boz said. `The police officers became friends with the
players and the delegation and even played backgammon together with
them. The police officers acted like a part of the initiative and
represented our country very well. I was very proud of my country that
day.’ After she was chosen from a pool of applicants to become an
anchorwoman, her family started to receive threats, she said. `My
family was concerned because their daughter was in the public eye, but
I was not afraid at all. If it is brave to go on television, then yes,
I am brave. But I would not want to commit an injustice to any of the
many older people that have struggled on this road. The Agos daily has
been publishing in Armenian for years and we lost an important person,
Hrant Dink, on this road. I get my courage from them. I think I
finally trust my government,’ Boz said.

Boz, whose family is from Sivas, went to Yerevan to attend university
after graduating from high school. While there, she majored in English
language and literature. The young woman also said she was excluded
and made to feel like a foreigner during her five years in Yerevan,
noting that she was different in the way she dressed, styled her hair
and talked. She explained that she always defended Turkey in Yerevan
and added: `Some Armenians didn’t think Turkey was a developed country
and considered it backward. They always asked me questions about
Turkey. At first they would get mad at me because I always defended
Turkey, but as they got to know me, their views about Turkey changed.’

While Boz has not experienced any major form of discrimination in
Turkey over her ethnicity, she has encountered some upsetting
attitudes. `For example,’ she says, `if a Turk says, `I am sick and
tired of this city’ when getting off a crowded bus after being stuck
in traffic for several hours, no one gets mad or says anything to that
person. But when I say it, they tell me, `If you don’t like it, go
somewhere else.’ This offends me because this is my country, too.
Where else am I to go?’

Noting that her parents never told her even a single negative story
about problems between Turkey and Armenia, Boz explained that her
father always says that `a child should not be brought up with enmity
and hatred. This is not healthy.’ Proud of her Armenian identity, Boz
said she takes her mother’s advice on being proud of who she is. Boz’s
mother tells her to `never hide the fact that you’re Armenian. A
person who likes others will have developed an affinity toward
Armenians.’

Recalling that her mother could not dare listen to Armenian music 20
years ago, Boz said she believes they can live more freely today. The
democratic initiative plays a major role in the expansion of freedoms,
she said, adding that both SU TV and she have the courage to present
news in Armenian as a result of the initiative. The young woman, who
presents news every day between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m, prepares the
program herself.

16 January 2010, Saturday
DILEK HAYIRLI Ä°STANBUL
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