CHILDREN OF ARMENIAN IMMIGRANTS IN TURKEY FORCED TO STUDY IN THE DARK
AZG DAILY
05-02-2010
Diaspora
Armenian Mirror Spectator, December 26
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet Daily News), by Vercihan Ziflioglu — Children from
Armenia are attending classes and reading smuggled textbooks at an
illegal school in the basement of a building in Istanbul. Forbidden
to attend Armenian minority schools under the Lausanne Treaty and the
Special Education Law, these children could not go to school even if
the Turkish-Armenian border is opened, unless the law is changed.
Tzsonivar is 8 years old and she misses her father and siblings who
live in another country. Six-year-old Serge hopes to be president of
that country some day. But for now, they are stuck in a legal twilight
zone, unable to attend Turkish schools, studying in illegal elementary
classes with smuggled textbooks and volunteer teachers.
Serge and Tzsonivar are Armenian. Unlike Turkish Armenians who can
attend community schools established under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne,
these children are citizens of Armenia. Unlike expatriates who often
send their children to private foreign schools, Serge and Tzsonivar
are poor. The tuition for a private school would be more than their
undocumented parents can afford. Most parents would prefer their
children to be educated in the Armenian language, even if they could
afford to send them to private foreign schools in Turkey.
Even if all the problems between Turkey and Armenia are resolved,
Armenian-born children currently studying in an Istanbul basement
would still not be able to attend the country’s Armenian minority
schools.A change in Special Education Law would be required for those
children to reclaim their right to an education. Only children with
Turkish citizenship who are from the country’s Greek or Armenian
minority are allowed to attend the minority schools in Istanbul,
under the terms of the Lausanne Treaty.
The Hurriyet Daily News visited an illegal school several times over
two weeks with the promise of keeping the students’ names and the
neighborhood a secret. There were almost 20 children ranging in age
from 5 to 14 at the school. Their greatest fear is that their location
will be exposed; every knock on the door makes them afraid that the
authorities are raiding the school. There are other illegal schools
like this in Istanbul.
The children here are not only deprived of their right to an education,
but they miss their families, too. Lusine, a teacher at the school
said: "Our aim is to teach the children at least how to read and write
and provide a social environment. For many, their family is in Armenia
or other countries. They do not have the chance to see their mothers
during the daytime either, which affects the children negatively."
The 1989 earthquake in Gumri, Armenia’s second-biggest city, and the
Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan have pushed the country into
economic distress. The Turkish border being shut down due to the war
has made the situation even worse. Many citizens of Armenia went abroad
to find jobs due to the financial difficulties, and Turkey was one
of the choices. Today, economic problems continue and, even though
their children do not have a proper education here, their parents
are reluctant to return to Armenia because of the economic situation.
According to Turkish authorities, there are 60,000 illegal Armenian
workers in the country, while data from Armenia’s Foreign Ministry
puts the number at 20,000. Although most of the illegal Armenian
workers in Turkey are college graduates, many do menial jobs such
as housecleaning or working at bazaars. Those with better economic
positions engage in the "suitcase" trade, the practice of buying
products at low cost in Istanbul’s bazaars and selling them for a
higher price in their home country.
Most adults can cope with this struggle one way or another, but
school-aged children often experience great difficulties.
"The politicians are after their own gains; it is us, the ordinary
people, who suffer," said Aghavni, a graduate of the Yerevan
University faculty of economics who earns a living in Istanbul by
cleaning houses. Criticizing the rich people of Armenia, Aghavni said:
"They are your children, too. You know how to show off in the streets
of Yerevan in luxury jeeps, but you do not even think of claiming
those children, your future. We had to leave our country because of
financial difficulties. We did not even have bread to eat."
Armineh, another teacher at the school, came to Turkey 10 years ago
from Gumri, where her family still lives. "I came here unwillingly, to
earn a living and send money to my family. I have been a housecleaner
and I have worked at bazaars. Now I clean houses two days a week
and have a stand at the bazaar," she said. Like her other friends,
Armineh has devoted herself to the children at the illegal school. She
studied psychology in Armenia and is very concerned about the future
of the children.
"They suffer great damage both psychologically and in a social sense;
most of them are withdrawn," she said. "It bears thought and is
very sad that children are deprived of their educational rights in
this century."
The children’s textbooks are brought from Armenia. The biggest wish
of 12-year-old Garoush is to go back to his school in Yerevan. "I
miss my school and friends very much. We came to Turkey five years
ago," said Garoush. "I want to go back, but my mother says it is not
possible now."Tzovinar is 8 and her father and siblings live in the
village of Gavar, near Sevan Lake in Armenia. Her eyes were filled
with tears. "I miss my father and siblings so much. I cannot see my
mother either because she has to work a lot to earn money."
Serge is 6 and his favorite person is Armenian President Serge
Sargisian, for whom he was named. "I want to be president, too,
like Serge Sargisian, when I grow up," he said. "The child at the
house my mother cleans wears very nice clothes. He has a very nice
school bag, but I do not. I will let everybody go to school when I
become president."
The Daily News asked for the opinion of Archbishop Aram Ateshyan,
the spiritual leader of the Patriarchate of Armenians of Turkey,
but received no comment. The Patriarchate Secretariat said it was
due to Ateshyan’s busy schedule.
The archbishop met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently
and mentioned the subject.
The Turkish branch of UNICEF also preferred to remain silent on
the matter. "This is a very political subject. It would not be our
place to voice an opinion," said Sebnem Balkan, a UNICEF spokeswoman,
and said she was just assigned to the job.
Setrak Davuthan, a lawyer for the foundations of the Armenian
community of Istanbul, explained the matter as follows: "There
is a law banning children from Armenia from attending the schools
of the Armenian minority foundations. The law on private education
institutions states that only citizens of the Republic of Turkey can
study at minority schools. If that clause does not change, the problem
will not go away even if the borders between Turkey and Armenia open."
According to Davuthan, the roots of the problem date back to the
Lausanne Treaty. He said such difficulties were because the articles
of the Lausanne Treaty on minorities are interpreted as the government
sees fit. "In the time of the Ottomans, not only Armenians, but also
Turks studied in the minority schools because the level of education
was good," he said.
There are currently 18 Armenian minority schools in Istanbul.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress