Manjikian: All in a Day’s Train Ride
Some days on the commuter train are more interesting than others. A few weeks ago, as usual, I took the commuter train home from the downtown station. I was in store for an eye-opening trip, little did I know.
Living in a part of town where the Armenian population is relatively dense, I am used to sharing the ride with a number of compatriots. Some I am personally acquainted with, and others have become familiar faces along with the rest of the train’s regulars. Either way, I am always overcome with a sense of comfort when I hear random words in Eastern or Western Armenian through the train’s mild tremor—disconnected, muffled sound bites like ayo, lav eh … vaghuh guh desnuvink … desar inch eghav? (yes, it’s fine … see you tomorrow … did you see what happened?) I know I am almost home…
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There has been much talk lately about Bolsahays (Constantinople/Istanbul Armenians) and whether or not, or to what degree, they constitute a Spiurk, a Diaspora. A few articles were published especially after the Diaspora Minister visited the community recently.
I wonder just how far being a Diaspora goes when a community has been a presence in a city or on area for generations beyond living memory, and when that particular place considers the Armenian element part and parcel of society, such as in Bolis/Istanbul, or in Nor Jugha/Esfahan, or even in Lebanon, or the way it was in central and eastern European cities for centuries in the middle ages.
Of course, when it comes to what remains of the Armenians in Turkey, the consideration of historically-Armenian lands (not Istanbul, though) and the execution of a genocide complicate the inter-community, majority-minority relationships.
Istanbul, as well as Isfahan, Beirut and Los, will always be diasporas. They will also be temporary, as are with all none-religious diasporas. It’s counter productive to think otherwise.
Constantinople was the ultimate magnet for the Anatolian and Cilician Armenians to make a decent living and get educated in the Centre of the Ottoman Empire. Bolis or Constantinopolis has been like a second home to Armenians until the Empire started to cruble, fall in a deep paranoia, became more violent and started to persecute the minorities as early as the 1820-30’s after the Greek war of Independence.
We all grew up basically with Istanbul based Armenian Arts and literature from Tourian to Zohrab, Baronian and Khrimyan Hayrig. Too bad that the white genocide is very intense. We grew up in the Middle East as second generation “western Armenian” and it is no wonder that we somehow identify more with Istanbul than the Russian and then Soviet controlled eastern portions of Historic Armenia. Too bad that today the Istanbul community is on the verge of extinction.