Yegparian: Soul Searching or Self Serving?

I’ve been torn for weeks now over whether to write this piece. The dilemma arises from the conflicting responsibilities of speaking truth to power (in this case, the American publishing establishment) and informing our community about matters that impact it while not creating potential harm to that very community.

The topic is a book and its author, about whom I first learned early in 2014. I do not recall what bit of pre-publicity I saw, but it was enough to motivate me to start inquiring about who this author was and what she was up to. I reached out as far as Bolis, where the author spent some two years about a decade ago. My initial impression/worry that this book might be a Foggy Bottom (U.S. Department of State) and Cankaya (Turkish government) dream-come-true has turned out to be correct.

By writing this, I’m giving this “project,” as the author refers it, undeserved credence. Yet the damage it is causing necessitates a response.

Meline Toumani’s There Was and There Was Not: A Journey Through Hate and Possibility in Turkey, Armenia, and Beyond fetishizes hate. It seems to me the author never matured enough to deal with her emotions, and now she’s foisting her problems on us while simultaneously (though unintentionally) serving anti-Armenian interests. She contends, according to all the reviews and her own comments, that she was raised being taught to hate Turks.

Really? Let’s consider this. If any human is informed that another human has done grievous harm to her/his family, friends, community, nation, etc. s/he will end up hating the harmer. Then, they think it through, digest the information, and based on that, act to restore justice. Simple.

She asks us to perceive her book as a work of literature, of art, depicting her “journey” of self-discovery while spending time in Turkey. She insists it is non-political. Yet, she refuses to acknowledge that she is playing in the political field and, at least, accept responsibility for the ramifications thereof. Her own comments and writings betray her, exposing her as not being “non-political.”

I attended a book event for There was and There Was Not, hoping I would be proven wrong about my concerns. There, she read aloud the first chapter of the book, in which she has a very damning juxtaposition: In two sequential paragraphs, she describes what an Armenian feels when confronted with denial, and what a Turk feels when confronted with a heinous past. This creates a false equivalence between the two. If this isn’t enough, how about Toumani’s rhetorical question, heard during her radio interview with Kojo Nnamdi: “Is there such a thing as nationalism that is not exaggerated?” Yes, Meline, there is such nationalism—azcaseerootiun in Armenian. My pride and involvement in my nation is constructive and non-disruptive or antagonistic to others’ equal pride and involvement in their own nations’ lives. Nationalism is what helped break the tyrannical chokehold of empires over the last few centuries.

And, speaking of chokeholds, since that’s how she describes current Armenian identity, she finds that identity is based exclusively on hating Turks and genocide recognition. Without that, allegedly we have nothing in common. I’ll let that contention kill itself on its own demerits.

Since Meline seems to wallow in psycho-babble, let’s address her defensiveness. At the book event, she described feeling beset by other Armenians questioning her “loyalty” (my word choice, strictly for compactness). She repeatedly emphasized she was not questioning the veracity of the genocide when no one made such an assertion. While most of the questions and comments from the packed audience were damn-near fawning, three were not. In two of those cases, she interrupted the speakers before they had a chance to complete their thought. The third instance was my own. When I spoke, I identified myself by name and cracked a self-deprecating joke to defuse any potential tension. She recognized my name, that I wrote these articles, and immediately said something to the effect of, “There’s probably very little we’ll agree on.” Why this defensiveness? If we’re all there to learn and engage in an exchange of ideas based on her book, why the aggression?

After the formal program ended, her admirers, including her parents, approached me and engaged in discussion. I was variously told I was closed-minded, didn’t know/understand English well, that I couldn’t appreciate literature, etc. There was this need to address the “hate” question from a mother concerned about her kids. Fair enough. But must that be done in a way that damages our community’s interests? How can a book do that, you ask? Here are a few quotes from book reviews. They bear out my earlier contention about a dream…

Being with other Armenians “came at the price of nodding along to a blood-curdling celebration of terrorist violence against the Turkish state.”

Meline describing listening to genocide survivors: “Over the years, in countless retellings, the stories have either disintegrated into fragments or become rote and repetitive, ‘condensed… into plaintive one-liners.’”

“But with this book, she gives her people a bit of what they are asking for—recognition—while considering that there is always another side to the story.” Another side to the story. Isn’t this one just what Turkey asserts?

And here’s another example of the false equivalences: Meline disseminates, “she investigates a double-edged intransigence: Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the 1915 Armenian Genocide, and the Armenian Diaspora’s obsession with getting them to do just that.” Another Cankaya pleaser, “conflicting Armenian and Turkish narratives regarding the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915…”

It’s just a question of “narratives,” right?

I’ll close with some questions, a silver lining, and request to the Armenian community.

My question is addressed to Meline and all her book’s reviewers who fetishize anti-hatred. Do you dispense the same advice to Jews who sought and now receive recognition, reparations—in a word, justice—from Germany? Do you call them “German haters?” What about black South Africans, Cambodians, Tutsis, rape victims, Islamic State behead-ees and their families, etc.? Are they, too, “obsessed” in such a way as to damage themselves?

But in all this, perhaps there is a silver lining. Perhaps this book’s ramifications will stir the majority of Armenians from the torpor of focusing on genocide recognition to the exclusion of demanding reparations and lands as well. This is something I have long advocated and has, recently, perhaps during the last half dozen years, minimally entered our public political discourse.

Finally, I call on our community not to support the damage this book is causing by not buying it. I am proud to say I have not read it, and likely will not since the broader ramifications it has are evident already. If Meline Toumani feels the need to resolve her issues, I’ll gladly help her find a shrink. Please join me.

Garen Yegparian

Garen Yegparian

Asbarez Columnist
Garen Yegparian is a fat, bald guy who has too much to say and do for his own good. So, you know he loves mouthing off weekly about anything he damn well pleases to write about that he can remotely tie in to things Armenian. He's got a checkered past: principal of an Armenian school, project manager on a housing development, ANC-WR Executive Director, AYF Field worker (again on the left coast), Operations Director for a telecom startup, and a City of LA employee most recently (in three different departments so far). Plus, he's got delusions of breaking into electoral politics, meanwhile participating in other aspects of it and making sure to stay in trouble. His is a weekly column that appears originally in Asbarez, but has been republished to the Armenian Weekly for many years.
Garen Yegparian

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42 Comments

  1. They starve you, and then offer you a tiny piece of bread. They thirst you,and then kindly offer you a sip of water. They make it so hard to attain Recognition, that after you’re exhausted, you’ll be offered tit-for-tat Recognition of mine with Recognition of theirs, and live the illusion that “we won, ’cause they finally recognized”.. This is politics ABC. Ask any diaspora Armenian, and at best you’ll realize they are “dying” for Recognition!!!! Damn with a Recognition that has lost its meaning of just being a portal to Reparations!!!!! Having said this, I’m just ONE descendant, the diaspora had its toll on us, and each will settle his Reparation to his understanding. Till the 19th century, we were just a MILLET; early 20th century we became a nation in a Republic; now we’re getting back to be just a dispersed MILLET, yet this time scattered all around the world and not concentrated on our heartland!!!!

  2. Thank you for writing this article. I completely understand your reluctance to dignify the existence of the book. I, too, considered addressing the insinuations and implications of the book.

    I recently attended a conference where keeping an open mind was a reality, not just something we say we like to do. It was there that two colleagues (both Turkish, one from Turkey as of a year ago) approached me to say they acknowledge the Genocide, even when their own family members were content to deny it. This is courage. Educating yourself despite what you may find is courage. Standing up for what’s right even when it means calling out your ancestors, government, and family is courage. Writing a book calling for the smoothing out of details to make the perpetrators feel better is NOT courage.

    To be clear, by “perpetrators” I mean those who committed and continue to commit or deny Genocide. I do NOT mean all Turks. I have worked with and taught several Turks, most of whom have been wonderful human beings that I am happy to have had the chance to meet. I am an educated woman who is completely capable of hearing difficult truths and NOT allowing irrational fear and anger to dictate my behavior or shape my opinions.

    The most disappointing part for me is that I shared the exact time and space as Meline and many of her followers. Rather than defensive, accusatory, bitter, or resentful, I am eternally grateful for the experience. Thanks to my parents who had the wisdom to send me to AYF and Camp Haiastan and to resist the urge to shelter me from the tragic pieces of my history, I had a supportive environment to discover what my Armenian identity means to me. Along with the entire generation of American-born Armenians, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to these organizations and camps that allowed for open discussions and self-reflection. They do not deserve to be condemned. And the message should not be to stop talking about these issues. That is a call for an uneducated youth. How catastrophic.

    I am genuinely sad for Meline and her supporters that they feel these experiences were damaging. Deep understanding requires courage, hard work, and, sometimes, the discovery of painful truths. My goal for my students is to be there for them and to help them learn how to manage challenges, not to pretend they don’t exist. I sincerely hope Meline’s journey is not done. I hope she comes full circle and sees how important a step it is come face-to-face with whatever it is that is haunting her.

  3. In all the coverage of her book I’ve observed, it seems like Ms. Toumani is filled with preconceived notions about the “categories” of the Armenian community of which she identified at a young age and has not explored since. I grew up in her same circles as well, and I’ve explored all corners of the Armenian community around the world. I lived in Armenia for almost a decade where the Genocide is just something commemorated once a year, and then it’s back to the realities of living in Armenia the next day. What she describes in the excerpts I’ve read and heard so far seem simple and intentionally reductive… like an attempt at intellectual reflection, but really sounds more like fancy words describing the journal entry of a 13 year old who met a Turk for the first time. I hope she spends more time studying her Armenian community and culture to learn and observe the complexities I’ve seen, without her preconceptions.

  4. A friend suggested I take a look at this book and that’s about all I did. After a little digging, I discovered that Toumani was born in Iran and migrated to the States with her family. How nice!

    My parents and grandparents came to the States under different circumstances – fleeing from their village in Kharpert. First generation American Armenians have a totally different mindset which Toumani can never understand. Aside from the fact that she is from a different generation, she did not experience the same dynamics that we did. She needs to come down off of her high horse!

    I do not plan to read her book, but the chapter on Camp Haiastan caught my eye and I did take a look at it. She states that the only reason she went to Camp was because her cousins were there. As far as I can tell, she was never a member of the AYF. How sad for her! Through the AYF, I and many others were able to forge friendships with fellow Armenians in many states. This is clearly evident at the annual AYF Olympics where you can see several generations coming together and continuing to forge bonds that took root decades before.

    My brother aptly describes the generation that came before mine and I quote him here:

    “All that remains are the tattered and yellowed photographs, faded letters, and distant memories of the young Armenians who arrived on America’s shores the dawn of the twentieth century. Forced to leave their ancestral homeland in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, they brought with them the yearning for a new life in a new land of hope and promise. They persevered in their newly adopted country despite the sadness of separation from family members whose fate was always in doubt and in many cases never to be known. But they also brought with them a rich, ancient language and culture that was multi-faceted and most notably expressed through their deep and abiding Christian faith – a faith whose roots trace back to biblical times. Who were these people? They were my ancestors.”

  5. I have not yet read her “book,” but I have read her previous anti-Armenian articles that the mainstream press has been OVERJOYED to publish.

    Toumani does not know geopolitics.

    She thinks that all will be well if we just drop the Armenian genocide issue.
    Does she know about the fact that Turkey was about to invade Armenia in 1993?
    Does she know about the genocide post-1918 by Ataturk’s forces? Does she know about the Varlik Vergesi Capital Tax?
    The 1955 riots?
    Other forms of anti-Christian repression in Turkey?
    The blockade? Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan?
    Pan-Turkism?
    Turkey’s occupation of Cyprus?
    Turkey’s repression of Kurds?
    Turkey’s genocide of Greeks and Syriacs?
    One could write a book about all the things that Toumani does not know or care to know.
    Good grief.

  6. Well said Mr. Yegparian.
    Agree completely.

    Award winning documentarian Peter Musurlian* has an excellent recap of Ms. Toumani’s disastrous interaction with the Armenian community at a local Armenian bookstore in the Los Angeles area: it’s well worth a read.

    http://www.keghart.com/Musurlian-Toomani

    —-
    * Mr. Musurlian is famous for going into the wolf’s lair of denialist Turkophile Rep Steve Cohen to confront him directly about his AG Denialism: Little Steven got so shook up by Peter’s audacity that he went nuts and physically attacked Mr. Musurlian. The vid is hilarious. The only thing missing was Steven foaming at the mouth.

    • sorry, I am still looking for that Dr Lemkin video you were looking for. You know, the one you are hoping will ‘prove’ he did not base the coining of the word ‘Genocide’ on the Armenian Genocide.

      You’ll have to find the link to Rep Cohen yourself.
      Have fun, and a wonderful day.

  7. Ms. Toumani must ask herself why, during her literary career of writing about the Armenians, her peculiar views have captured the interest of the US mainstream book and newspaper industry.

    Peculiar views such as:
    * All Armenians are provincial- and one-track minded. It’s Genocide, 24/7.
    * Why can’t Armenians just get over it already?
    * Armenians are taught to hate Turks.
    * Maybe those old ladies who call themselves survivors were actually coached to believe what they said about their ordeals out of the Ottoman Empire.

    The more I learn, the more Toumani’s views sound just like trivializers of the Armenian experience would like the world to believe. Toumani is playing right into their hands.

    • “hate” is a powerful word and it certainly doesn’t describe the majority of Armenian Communities in Armenia or in the diaspora. Her examples of “hate” from the Armenian community don’t exist and were not specifically stated.
      Armenians hold a protest every April 24th, do we riot? burn down the Turkish embassy? No we don’t – but in Australia the Assyrian Genocide memorial was vandalized by Turks who spray painted the Crescent / Star Turkish flag on the monument and called them “dogs”. For the pro Kessab protests the Armenian peaceful demonstration was met with an angry mob of Azeris and Turks drapped in their flags with whistles in their mouth drowning out the Armenian protestors with childish antics that earn Turkey disrespect from the world for not owning up to their part in the Armenian genocide.
      Not to mention in Washington DC, 5 years ago Turks and Azeris staged a “Celebrate Genocide” protest as Armenians peacefully protested in memory of ther relatives while the Turks and Azeris laughed and danced then were brought inside the Turkish embassy for tea. Oh and 2 Azerbaijani men were found in a car, with baseball bats, the Washington PD, were called.
      For Armenians they reserve the word of “liars” and “troublemakers” that deserved their slaughter – after all we made the Turks do this to us.
      And Toumani (who doesn’t even use an “ian) says that Armenians have hatred toward Turks.

  8. I heard from several sources that according to Ms. Toumani, she thinks there is an epidemic of hatred toward Turks here in America.
    So sad, really: those hate-filled Armenian-Americans spreading hate towards love-filled Turks here in America.
    And how do Turks respond to the hate ?
    Why, with love and compassion, of course, liberally spread towards the descendants of the Armenian Genocide.
    So lovely, No ?

    [Turkish-Americans celebrating the Armenian Genocide, Washington DC, 2010.]
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNfpYNeSyfE

    Note: I am not aware of a single Turkish-American public or private figure or NGO publicly repudiating that vile, vicious, hateful act by Turkish-Americans. In fact, it has become a tradition for Turks in North America* to disrupt solemn, dignified AG demonstrations on April 24 by loud singing and music.
    Perhaps Ms. Toumani can join her love-filled Turk friends next April 24 to show to Turks that not all Armenians are hate-filled.
    A little happy singing and dancing on April 24 will do wonders to chase away hate and fill Armenian hearts with love and compassion towards the _real_ victims of the Armenian Genocide: love-filled, peace-loving Turks.


    * Celebrating Armenian Genocide (Ottawa, Canada) April 24, 2013.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdNHw6zRZfw#t=1

  9. There are many ways the the Turks or their indirect agents will resort to muddle up the THING.!!!! THE G0NOCIDE admission and indeed the main issue that that more than worries them,the REPARATIONS<!!!
    So easy my friends Germans or any thing like that.AHEAD WITH OUR DRIVE to push our abjectives ahead, regardless what the next acts will be by them.

  10. I’m glad that Yegparian actually wrote this. At first when I heard about this book I, for some reason, ignored it after reading something to the effect of “she lived in Turkey to understand them” and didn’t think much of it. Now it has dawned on me, isn’t it strange that she did not write this book for the past decade but now all of a sudden on the verge of the centennial this book suddenly comes out with all this hoopla about it being some sort of “new concept in thinking about Turks”? Very strange indeed. Not political? This low, underhanded maneuver has ‘politics’ written all over it.

    Now I am wondering, exactly who and what is behind this? The sudden ‘popularity’ of this book cannot be the doing of a literary nobody named Toumani. So there is something else at play here. I actually looked on Amazon, and strangely there are already rave reviews including editorial reviews notably by Michael Arlen and Eric Bogosian. In the customer reviews, besides the few clueless Armenians giving the book five stars, I was glad to see one which correctly assessed the book candidly discussed how Toumani basically has no clue about what she is talking about, and the reviewer generously gave her two stars instead of one.

    It seems that this Toumani character wants her 15 minutes of fame, so be it, but too bad that her reckless and self-serving approach will fail to make any positive impact on our communities. And the fact that she and family are from Iran which did not go through Genocide and she is criticizing the descendants of Genocide survivors safely and comfortably from a distance, speaks volumes about her agenda and suspicious intentions.

    • Hagop D,

      The book will fail to make any positive impact on our communities because we are too thick to hear any kind of dissent within our own ranks. That is basically the point of the book, probing our insecurities. She is not criticizing genocide descendants, she is just trying to examine many of the rituals that bind us together as a community and asking out loud if these moments of catharsis are at all genuine or productive. It is a valid question, despite whether it comes from a parskahay or genocide descendant. This is the clannishness that she is trying to transcend.

      Look, after a hundred and thirty pages I think the book is sloppily assembled, lazy, amateurish, and basically, very trite. But there are still few insights we could take away from it, and I know it will resonate with some Armenians. I think Toumani’s politics are feeble and misguided, but she is not presenting herself as a political authority and not proposing any concrete political initiatives (yet). Also, she may be politically ignorant, or just dissembling, but she is only writing about her own personal experiences, so to say she has no idea what she is talking about misses the point royally. She is writing a essay-style memoir that we should neither embrace nor fear without actually reading and considering. Even if hypothetically she was in the back-pocket of some Turkish denialist lobby, her book could still be useful and instructive, perhaps even more so she were. To just insinuate that she has made some deal with the devil and should pre-emptively purged just won’t do. If you think there are suspicious connections, let’s try to uncover them, instead of lazily hurl them and hope they stick.

  11. ERRATA!
    In my post above the sentence was unfinished as to ¨You cannot compare Germans or any other nation with the Turks,their twisted ,cunning and very sophisticated( not to the better),but the other way around wheeling and dealing.The have centuries old Ottoman experience has taught them many tricks ,many ways of cheating etc., so let us concentrate on our JUST ´´HYE TAHD¨¨ WHICH IS MORE THAN SAINTLY FOR US.
    Այսքան արիւն եթէ մոռնան մեր որդիք-Թող ողջ Աշխահ Հայուն կադայ նախատինք:

    • “Այսքան արիւն եթէ մոռնան մեր որդիք-Թող ողջ Աշխահ Հայուն կադայ նախատինք:”

      Very apropos Mr. Palandjian.

      And people who hope that Armenians will forget about the Armenian Genocide and, quote, ‘move on’, need to read about Armenian Prince Zakare Zakaryan, and what he did 500 years after an event.
      Yes, Five Hundred years.

  12. Not so strange, Hagop. All of the born again Armenians are coming out of the woodwork. Toumani has hopped on the band wagon and had her book published in time for the centennial, as have number of others.
    Does she have any roots in Historc Armenia or is she just blowing a lot of hot air?
    The five star ratings most likely came from members of her family.

  13. Armenians have been pretty good at keeping their legitimate quest for restorative justice alive — in spite of every attempt by Turkey, Israel, the US and NATO to prevent just that. The obstructionists can call this determination anything pejorative they want … an obsession, a fixation, a complex, a chosen trauma. Name calling and ridicule will not change the fact that we will persist in our justice struggle … all while living quite fulfilling lives.

  14. Melene,

    I hope you read these comments.

    Please focus your talent on the American Turkish Diaspora, whose leaders such as Ergun Kirlikovali spew racist vitriol on us every day. He is a former President of the ATAA, which hobnobs with American Members of Congress at conferences. He has written, among other things, that we are a race of criminals, any one of whom would kill any Turk on sight. He is in a position of leadership. No Armenian has ever said such things of Turks.

    Where do Turks even state sympathy for the Christian Victims and Diaspora their ancestors caused? We rightly pay tribute to the righteous among them who saved us; when do they ever even regret the murders committed in their names of a people and culture?

    It is absurd to say that Armenians hate Turks. Virtually every verbal formulation we lay people and scholars use attacks not Turks, but the denialist and oppressive policies of her leaders now, and the murderous, eliminationalist policies her former leaders zealously and gleefully carried out.

    Why do you not focus, as Dr. Akcam has, on the content of their textbooks, which paint us as worthy of exile and death? They make our students in our schools in Turkey read this.

    When we are together in our family warmth, our Churches, our meetings, we are not thinking about Turks.

    Turkey wants us dead. Sometimes they kill us, and then she waits for us to leave.

    Has it ever occurred to you that Turkish ire at our demands for justice is completely a device they use? They choose to act nuts when Genocide is mentioned. They could just as easily say that these actions were undertaken by a prior government and were criticized by Ataturk, although his hands were red with our blood too. They choose to act irate.

    Why? Because they are aware that they were once a Muslim Empire in which we were dogs in their eyes. Obedient, loyal and highly prized dogs, but dogs nonetheless. Now the dog screams bloody murder and the former masters hate us for that.

    • jda,

      She is focusing on critiquing her own community but her own community is too prickly and brittle to hear her any of it. I don’t agree with the books premises or its political thrust but I still find it very unfortunate that much of her valid response to the Armenian community’s reactionary nature and the ritualized hollow catharsis as per how we commemorate the genocide cannot be assessed on their own terms. Meline Toumani is a very limited writer and is not even an original voice on these topics, but her willingness and desire to explore some of the troubling aspects of her upbringing and her involvement in her community should at least be taken at face value, as it could be instructive if we want the Armenian-American community to remain vibrant and evolving.

      I highly doubt that she is in bed with any denialist circles, but even if somehow she were, it would still be useful to consider her prerogatives and experiences. Dostoyevsky’s greatest writing came through the voices of the character’s whose politics he despised. I see nothing but fear and ritual prostration on this forum, which does us no good.

  15. Tanks Avery,
    Ma I ask you to direct me to any book or whatever that will thow some light on Zakarey Zakharyan from you?
    I very vaguely remember some Armenian Princes of Georgia or neighbouring Georgia that Zakaeys or some such.
    Thanks anyhow,or should I look it up in google or Encyclopedias or some such?

    • Mr. Palandjian:

      I heard about Prince Zakare from a couple historians from/in Armenia.
      It was either during interviews or some historical TV series (from Armenia).
      Don’t have a book: It is on my list, but a difficult book to find.
      Google won’t help, because it is most certainly in Armenian, and most likely a rare book at that. If I find a source, I’ll let you know.

      On a different note: your change of handle to “pay us gayzag palandjian” is quite interesting. But for someone who does not know what you are referring to, it is confusing.
      Perhaps need to add clarification.
      Something like “Pay us Turks for AG. Gayzag Palandjian”.
      Somehow need to indicate payer is Turkey.

  16. My research ,just now On Zakarey Zakarian on Wickipedia.Just went through Avery and I did not come across anything that might indicate his writing a book or anything rgding of 500 yrs ago.Though I waas glad to see that he is associated with Ivane Zakarian and that this past Summer in Yerevan I happend to go to Byurakan and same day clibed up8in car) to Ambert(what a find my god it reesembles old Euro casstles I seen near Avignon France and so many tourists ,foreigh too were there.Stayed to lunch up there…
    Dear Avery am getting old plese forgive my bad typings and erros.Also decided to spend a few months God willing this come Spring Summer to teach at least Armenian 120/130 yrs old history in -Artsakh to secondary , perhpas first yr of College kids there and stay there more if can and …
    best to you ,carry on strongly on guard and let them have it ,those …..WE MUST WIN this last round with the Toikish halabazoos

    • Mr. Palandjian:

      Prince Zakare Zakayan did not write a book. Like most royalty of his time, he was a military man.
      I heard about him from a couple of historians from RoA.

      Briefly, this is the story from memory:

      About 500 years before the event, Arabs, who had invaded Armenia at the time, invited some Armenian princes and such to a supposedly friendly meeting to discuss something or other.
      Instead, Arabs treacherously trapped Armenian delegation in a building and burnt it down, with everyone inside burnt alive.
      So, about 500 years later, Prince Sakare Zakaryan, who knew about the treachery, trapped a bunch of Arab fighters, together with their leaders and disarmed them. He then told them what was about to happen and for what reason. Then he did to them what was done 500 years prior to Prince’s Armenian ancestors.

      The story as told by RoA historians was in context. Meaning that whether the AG was 80 years ago, 100 years ago, or 150, or 200, or… is quite irrelevant to Armenians. People who vainly hope we will forget AG with passage of time will be sorely disappointed.

      Armenians fought in Artsakh like lions, because to them AG happened yesterday, not 80 years ago.

  17. Wow, this piece is astonishingly unfair. Yegparian felt personally slighted by the author at a book launch event and is extrapolating out from that experience that her book is harmful to the Armenian cause. What is certainly harmful to the Armenian cause is how quickly we jump to close ranks and cast out our own. No one would exactly claim we are renowned for celebrating our internal diversity, and this seems like a case of wanting to cordon off and own Armenian identity and political initiative as much as possible.

    Yegparian has cherry-picked some quotes but refuses to actually read the book so cannot offer a real review of it or assess its general thrust. To me this smacks of head-in-the sand narrow mindedness, fearful of ideas that could challenge a cherished and/or too-cozy sense of identity. Yegparian apparently feels threatened by anything outside the normative Armenian-American experience. If you ask me, he is hiding behind a false piety. Many Armenian-Americans do this and I think it keeps us from actually evolving politically. When someone points out unhealthy trends in our community the first response is always to shun. But I don’t think we should be sweeping the retrograde aspects of our community under the rug any longer. If this amounts to airing dirty laundry in public, then so be it. As an analogy, the same type of accusation of aiding our enemies is made in the RoA against those who want to investigate suicide and non-combat deaths in the armed forces.

    I am half-way through the book and find it engaging and moderately insightful so far. It is a memoir, not a piece of scholarship, so its anecdotal nature is unavoidable. It is not a particularly brilliant analysis, and is a little too on the nose in certain parts, but it is at least nice to see some things that have gone unsaid and questions that have gone un-posed in print.

    The author is basically probing her upbringing vis-a-vis her sense of Armenian identity. In so doing she recapitulates confusing moments when her community has made her feel “less than” or not Armenian enough. She mentions how as a parskahay her identity is suspect within a needlessly stratified Armenian world, which this comment section has neatly corroborated. She also writes with insight about the ways in which it was conveyed to her that her Armenianness was somehow the deepest and most precious part of her humanity. This is the observation of a sensitive child, which we would do well to at least try to hear.

    I don’t share Meline Toumani’s politics. Personally, I have no problem hailing ASALA or the Lisbon 5 because I think they were political realists. But it is undeniably messed up to ask a kid aged 12 to grapple with these narratives at Camp Hayastan as the author describes. This is the disconcerting experience at camp patronizingly alluded to in the article, which Yegparian should not be belittling. It is clear he also wants to suggest that the author is somehow unstable for trying to work through parts of her childhood and identity in a public way, with other Armenians. This is a cheap insinuation, as is the wink-wink, nod-nod, that she is somehow receiving encouragement from denialist Turkish circles.

    I haven’t reached part of the book where the author goes to Turkey, which might change how I feel about it, but so far I think some of her points are generally valid and should definitely be taken to heart by Armenian-Americans. In my experience the South American and French disapora don’t suffer as much from these insecurities – on full parade in this comment section. Perhaps this has something to do with how we’ve internalized American identity politics. Food for thought, at least for those capable and willing to think.

    • I agree with you wholeheartedly Stepanos. I too believe that we, Armenians, are quick to jump and out our own when we stray from group ideologies. I grew up in the Armenian community also. The clan mentality can be exhausting and inauthentic for many of us, yet for many in the AYF / homenetmen / tashnak groups, this difference in opinion based on our personal experience often means that we are anti-Armenian. This couldn’t be further than the truth. I stay away from these groups, as I’ve learnt that differences are not appreciated and the toxicity of the inner politics destroys my personal wellbeing. Am I less Armenian? Absolutely not. My patriotism and love for my people is stronger now than ever. Without the disturbances and propoganda that I experiences from these groups.
      Instead of attacking, listen to what your people have to say. All experiences are valid and need to be heard for a progressive community for the diaspora.

  18. Stepanos should not criticize Yegparian for not reading the book, when he (Stepanos) has not finished the book. Well, I have read the book and have highlighted example after example of its shallowness and childishness, false foundations, immature analyses, and witting or unwitting pandering to those toxic individuals, who would diminish the significance of the Armenian Genocide.

    We did not need this book. Toumani is trying so hard to do something original and controversial. She forgot to consider that no one cares about a mixed-up 40-year-old’s “memoir.”

    The book is a mess and is the work of a well-educated simpleton. Berkeley and NYU should ask her to return her degrees.

    • I agree with you (so far) that her book is sloppy, amateurish, and trite, and bears zero sign of literary talent. But that does not make it worthless. There are still things in print, publicly addressed to the Armenian community, that there have not previously been.

      Yegparian apparently does not realize how patently ridiculous it is to write a whole piece about how harmful the book is while I also bragging that he hasn’t read it. He should be mature enough to understand that just because he felt unloved by the author in whatever context he encountered her, he has insufficient grounds for calling for a boycott of her memoir.

      P.S. The reason I haven’t finished the book is because I am reading an un-purchased copy surreptitiously in the stacks of a bookstore lest I unwittingly surrender funds to a lady who may be a massive Armenophobe. (You only get store credit for returns.) The security guards patrol the aisles every twenty minutes, which interrupts my flow because I have to pretend I am browsing. And I only have an hour between when I get off work and when the store closes. Nonetheless, I am giving it pretty much the amount of scrutiny it deserves. Whether I have read a word of it or not, however, does not make Yegparian’s absurd piece any less absurd.

  19. I have read Toumani’s articles.

    She is published mainly because she is a novelty – she is an Armenian who insults Hye Tahd. Usually only Turks and their friends do that.

    And because she confirms what some influential members of a certain ethnic group think about the Armenian genocide, namely that Armenians should forget about it and concentrate on the one and only true genocide of the 20th century. And we know which one that is.

    Seen an article lately in the mainstream press that is sympathetic to Artsakh? No. That is because it is not part of their or the western agenda. Toumani is part of their agenda.

    As for those good reviews of her book, that is simply standard PR that every publisher sets up. Is there a hardline Armenian out there who likes her book? No, not even one.

    You really think Eric Bogosian, who likes her book, knows much about Hye Tahd? Please.

  20. It appears that one of Meline Toumani’s followers has arrived here to promote her anti-Armenian book. This particular follower of hers, even goes so far as to say “I am half-way through the book and find it engaging.” What could possibly be so engaging about a book written by a loser who’s totally detached from her Armenian culture and who then proceeds to depict this culture in an extremely negative manner, along with rejecting the brutal injustices experienced by the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population? Anyway, let it be known to Toumani and her fellow losers that no matter how hard they attempt to undermine the Armenian people’s winning spirit, they will never succeed.

    • Hahah, you are outdoing yourself, Yerevanian. I sympathize, my posts were obviously too arduous for you to get through, keep trying though! I never heard of Meline Toumani before this article and I repeatedly stated that her book is badly written and trite and that I don’t share the politics that she is espousing. But I think it would be a good reading comprehension challenge for you (after a few more years of tutoring, perhaps) because you would recognize at least a quarter of the words and because there are some simple deployments of irony, sarcasm, and metaphor – concepts I know you are still struggling with as we speak. Best of luck!

    • Arduous? Not at all; on the contrary, your comments are very easy to comprehend; however, as I told you earlier, they’re filled with words which convey nothing. Anyway, it’s very easy to figure out that you have a liking for Meline Toumani. This explains the reason why you find her book engaging; and this also explains the reason why you launched so many insults at Mr. Yegparian. It’s evident that you were deeply offended by his article on a person whom you happen to admire. On the subject of good reading, Meline Toumani’s book is certainly not the kind of book that I would consider reading. Unlike you, there’s nothing I could possibly find engaging about a book which depicts the Armenian culture in such a negative manner and then proceeds to reject the brutal injustices experienced by the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population. On the other hand, since you’re not capable of reading anything educational, Toumani’s book is therefore good reading for someone like you. So anyway, I’ll let you go back to your engaging book.

    • Yerevanian,

      You need to try to get a little bit better at rebuttal. Whenever I address the points you raise all you do is write “on the contrary” and then parrot back verbatim what you just wrote. Your all-purpose appropriation of a phrase you probably heard on some detective show is actually kind of cute, but you might want to branch out and find some new rhetorical devices that may help you begin to develop a reasoned argument, which someone out there less generous than myself may even be able to process and respond to one of these days.

    • Stepanos,

      Actually, on the subject of rebuttal, you just aren’t able to handle my arguments. As a matter of fact, you have failed miserably in that department. Whenever I address the false points you raise, you immediately return back with a meaningless argument. Exactly what does a detective show have to do with anything on here?

  21. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.

    I have purchased and read “There Was and There Not” and have a special connection to some of the content of this book. I was one of Meline Toumani’s councilors at the summer camp she describes in chapter 2 (summer of 1989) and am keenly aware of the wonderful atmosphere that was (and still is) created there. I have first hand knowledge of the setting. She has cleverly created a distorted and negative image of a summer camp it does not deserve. Her exposure to history, current event debates, and music somehow affected her in hindsight and she feels that her camp experience planted the seed of hatred against Turks. This is simply not true. The sentiment was outrage at the atrocities, and astonishment at the official Turkish stance on history.

    In reality, the summer camp was a fun and educational experience for most young Armenian-Americans where in between sports, arts and crafts, and summer dances, campers were taught Armenian history, participated in lively debates, and were exposed to Armenian culture. Much like American Jewish summer camps where Hebrew is taught, the Holocaust is discussed, and Israeli-Palestinian issues are debated, the Armenian summer camp was a unique place for those of Armenian heritage. Her inclusion of the summer camp is clearly a literary device, in my opinion.

    Keep in mind that students in the US are taught about the Holocaust, Nazi Hunters, the bombing of Hiroshima, Slavery and the treatment of American Indians as part of their history curriculum. Books from Eli Wiesel, John Hersey, and Ernest J. Gaines are good examples of books young adult are assigned in school, and asked to discuss. History, and its aftereffects are not an uncommon topic for teenagers. In debates on these subjects during the school year, the moderator/teacher allows for a free flow of discussion as an outlet to discuss difficult subjects.

    Ms. Toumani also seems woefully out of touch with the contemporary movement of the Armenian Diaspora and Armenia herself. The word myopic has been used to describe her book, and I must concur. Most Armenians focus on nation building in the form of volunteerism in Armenia, repatriation, and business ventures. There are fundraisers designed to improve the quality of life for those in Armenia in areas such as farming, clean water, building roads, etc. That’s not to say that Armenian Genocide recognition has taken a back seat. It hasn’t, however, her book creates a false image that all Armenians are solely focused on recognition, which simply isn’t true. It is factually incorrect. Additionally, during her time frame in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Armenian Earthquake was also on the front burner of most Armenians and helping them out. Turkey’s response? Sending cargo items filled with trash to Armenia disguised as relief help.

    Toumani’s tone and voice in this book is arrogant, petty, and extremely selfish. It is designed to sell books at the expense of just about everyone she has ever had contact with. It was a complete turnoff to have to read her disparaging comments on the summer camp, Armenian boys, Hayastansi (native Armenian) women, Armenian volunteers, Armenian lobbyists, Armenian historians, the Armenian Community, Diasporans, Armenian atheletes, Armenian students club, the City of Yerevan, and just about anything that was Armenian. This is all in the book, not my opinion. It’s downright weird.

    To Meline’s credit, her passages in Turkey are interesting. Her writing style is easy and flows. The explanation of the denial process of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey is fascinating. This, in my opinion, is where the book shines and her talent clearly obvious. However, to describe her two year trip to Turkey as a “brave journey” is really stretching it. She met Hrant Dink for an hour. Swam in Lake Van, goes to Akhtamar Island, interviews a few people from across the socioeconomic spectrum, goes to a soccer game, and then “shuts down her science experiment” and comes back to the States and writes this book. Her final chapter where she describes her anguished decision not to tag a term the Armenian Genocide in a NY Times article she penned (she had editorial control) is pathetic as she tried to explain her evolution from a Community member to an Individual.

    I don’t believe personal attacks on Toumani outside the confines of the book are appropriate or professional. She is a seasoned writer, educated, and clearly passionate about getting her point out. I respect that. However, the content of the book should be fair game for critique. I have read some reviews of people who have not read the book who have given it a negative or positive review, that’s not fair either.

    I have read comments in various online periodicals stating that it takes someone with an “open mind” to read the book. After all, “what’s there to be afraid of?” For those who have not given it a positive review, they are considered “closed minded”, “extremist”, and having a lack of “nuance”. These are also hot button marketing words designed to sell books by the Metropolitan/McMillan team. Nothing wrong with it. Business is business and there is a product to package and sell. I get it. However, keep in mind that the contents may not actually align with the hype it is getting.

    Meline is clearly positioning herself as a “controversial” author speaking of “taboo subjects” in the tradition of Orhan Pamuk and Elif Safak. She isn’t in their league and does not have anywhere near what they have at stake to lose.

  22. How can you seriously offer a critique of a book you haven’t read? Indeed, you proclaim proudly to have not read it! It’s intellectually irresponsible.

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