DIASPORANS SHOULD SEE ALL THE SIDES OF THE FATHERLAND
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir.am
22-08-2007 11:46:15
The Pan-Armenian games truly unite the Armenians worldwide with such
a force that this unification often causes a clash. For instance, the
basketball teams of Yerevan and Cairo united with such a force that
some Cairo sportsmen were taken to hospital with injuries. Meanwhile,
the team of Yerevan was disqualified for beating the Armenian
basketball players of Cairo. It goes without saying that it happened
during the game, the Pan-Armenian Games.
The players of Yerevan were disqualified whereas they should be
encouraged.
Not for the beating, of course. Beating has become part of the routine
of Armenians. Parents beat their children, the elder brother beats
the little brother, the little brother beats the younger boy in the
street, in the street the father of the younger boy beats the little
brother because he beat his child, and beats his child because he got
beaten. Beating is the basis of parenting of the Armenian society,
the dam. A good scientific research might even discover that man
originated from the money, whereas the Armenian man originated
from beating. Therefore, the most outstanding pages of 16 years
of our independent history involve beating: reporters are beaten,
political figures are beaten, the children of officials beat innocent
citizens and foreigners, the government beats peaceful protestors,
the bodyguards of oligarchs beat drivers for overtaking, even an
officer of national security. So why should the basketball team of
Cairo be an exception?
The basketball team of Yerevan should be encouraged for honesty and
not the beating. They behaved honestly, and did not surrender to the
lyrical digressions of the Pan-Armenian Games, the idea of unity,
the tear-jerking pronouncements about their exceptional importance,
Armenians are brothers, and other fleshless lyrics. The basketball
team of Yerevan displayed an attitude which exists in the real life of
Armenians, especially regarding the relation of Armenians of Armenia
and the Diaspora. They had the courage and did not try to hide it, even
though guns are made silent during the Olympics. First of all, a fist
is not a gun. Besides, the Pan-Armenian Games are not Olympics. More
especially it is not a theater where one has to demonstrate his
love for a Diasporan brother. Officially, the basketball team of
Yerevan upset this theater but in reality it did a great favor for
both Armenia and the Diaspora. Perhaps this incident will make the
apologists of Pan-Armenian ideas reflect on the real life and not
the vision. Meanwhile, the real life is the major culture gap between
the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora, which sometimes mounts to
controversies. It is enough to visit any Armenian university where
there are Diasporan students and ask them how the other students
treat them for their behavior, clothes, hair. Therefore, besides and
before holding events which resemble Pan-Armenian manifestations it
is necessary to think about real efforts to overcome this problem. The
Pan-Armenian events are not helpful to overcoming these controversies,
and the evidence to this is that the scandal occurs during the fourth
and not the first Pan-Armenian Games.
The organizers might say it shows the games work, and there is real
competition. They will say so to shut an eye on the problem because
it takes great effort to solve this problem, it takes a lively and
practical idea uniting the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora which
will affect the life and work of every Armenian. Meanwhile, it takes
only money to hold the Pan-Armenian Games, which can be raised. After
all, this is not a problem for the tiger any more. Besides, all the
sides of the Fatherland should be shown to the Diasporans, not only
the sights but also the hospitals.
From: Baghdasarian