PLANTING NEW ROOTS:ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN T.F. WANTS TO CREATE A MEMORIAL IN CITY PARK TO COMMEMORATE WHY ITS MEMBERS LIVE HERE
by Jared S. Hopkins
Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
August 27, 2009 Thursday
Aug. 27–Planting a tree isn’t always about waiting for something
to grow.
Sometimes it’s about celebrating a change that’s already blossomed.
The Armenian American community in Twin Falls wants to donate a tree
and plaque to City Park to commemorate why its members live here
and to recognize their role it the city’s makeup. Their effort is to
memorialize the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and to recognize that event
— and those in the late ’80s — as a major reason why its community
moved to Idaho. Genocide is defined as the systematic killing of a
national or ethnic group.
"Because of those atrocities, because of those conflicts that
happened miles away, we are here, and we are part of this community,"
said Armenian community spokeswoman Liyah Babayan. "We nurture this
community, and this community nurtures us, and part of us being here
is we’d like to play a role in designing this community."
The Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Commission voted 9-0 on Aug. 11
not to approve the request, and the Twin Falls City Council discussed
the issue for about30 minutes Monday. Councilmen were supportive
of the Armenian community’s efforts, and there was a motion for
approval. Ultimately the council voted 6-1 to table the issue and
return it to the parks commission for reconsideration, and for Babayan
to meet with commission members.
Babayan, who estimated there are hundreds of Armenians or their
descendants in Twin Falls, said the community simply wants to recognize
what brought them to Idaho. There are similar memorials across the
country, including in Boise.
"If the vote occurred out of ignorance or anything like that, that’s
unacceptable for us in our community," Babayan said. "So we’re willing
to do whatever it takes to go forward."
Parks and Recreation Director Dennis Bowyer told the council the
commission felt the request tied to Armenian history, but not Twin
Falls’.
Brent Jussel, who sits on the commission and was at Monday’s council
meeting for an unrelated matter, said he couldn’t recall anyone at
the commission who didn’t like the idea of the memorial. Rather,
he said the application didn’t meet the requirement of city code so
it recommended staff take the opportunity to advise the applicant to
resubmit the application.
It was also the commission’s first attempt to consider a donation
after the city tweaked its donation policy in July. For example,
donations must have "long-standing ties" to the community. "If
anybody’s suggesting there was any animosity toward the applicant I
absolutely didn’t get the sense of that at all (from the commission),"
said Jussel, who’s served on the commission for about 12 years.
But Babayan said in an interview part of the idea is to educate other
people. But she questioned the wording of the revised city code,
including what "long-standing" is and what size a "group" is.
"Our community may be small in comparison to another community but
we are still here and significant and a part of this community,"
Babayan, 26, told the council. "I have a problem with those words,
or they just need to be better defined."
Babayan, who came to Idaho in 1992, said the majority of the Armenian
community is in Twin Falls and the U.S. because of the 1915 incident
and other events in the 1980s. She asked how future events, whether
they are military efforts or national tragedy, would be allowed to
be recognized — a wonder council members shared.
"How could we ever allow any memorial?" said Councilman Greg
Lanting. "World War II didn’t happen in Twin Falls."