‘If You Pay Attention, You Can Feel Their Presence…’

Mouradian Lectures in Chicago on Diyarbakir

GLENVIEW, Ill.—On Oct. 25, 2011, Armenian Weekly Editor Khatchig Mouradian reported on a momentous, two-day ceremonial event that took place in Diyarbakir (known as Dikranagerd by the Armenians), Turkey. The event was the opening of the newly restored, renovated, and re-consecrated early-16^thcentury Surp Giragos Church.

The church, with its many arches and seven altars, accommodates 3,000 people, and is the largest Armenian Church in the Middle East. The present-day Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, one of the oldest in the world, and where the Armenians lived since antiquity, is surrounded by a wall that is the second longest after the Great Wall of China.

At the festive event, and amidst tones of joy, welcome, and sounds of Armenian music, banners proclaiming “Pari Yegak Tser Dunuh (Welcome to Your Home!)” in four languages—Armenian, English, Kurdish, and Turkish—hung over the resurrected church and throughout Diyarbakir. Local and international religious leaders, dignitaries, and officials, among them the American ambassador and two American consuls (Turkish state representation was absent), and Armenians from around the world witnessed the re-consecration of the church on the first day, and the celebration of Holy Mass on the second day.

The Kurdish mayors of old and new Diyarbakir—Osman Baydemir and Abdullah Demirbas—stated: “We welcome them [the Armenians] to the land of their ancestors, and we hope that this land will continue to bear the signs of Armenian culture.” One of the mayors added, “Thanks to God, I am witnessing this great day when the Islamic voice meets the voice of the church bell.”

The mayors acknowledged how much the Armenians had suffered and lost, and explained that they too had lost much, for when the Armenians were gone, “…all the roses of this city faded, went away. The colorful voices of the city became monotone and weak, poorness took the place of richness, and we lost peace… Our grandfathers, incited by others, committed wrongs, but we, their grandchildren, will not repeat them. Not only that, but we will also not allow others to repeat them… Come back to your own home, you are once again welcome!”

Five months later, on March 24, Mouradian presented the historic event in a talk titled “The Last of the Armenians: Impressions from Dikranagerd and the Surrounding Villages,” with a simultaneous slideshow, at the Armenian All Saints Apostolic Church and Community Center’s Shahnasarian Hall, in Glenview, Ill. The Chicago “Christapor” Chapter of the ARF hosted the affair.

As Mouradian recounted his experience in Diyarbakir, he occasionally interjected his narrative with poignant moments of revelation expressed by the Kurdish people with whom he had spoken. “Mayor Baydemir,” Mouradian said, “underlined the importance of confronting the past and seeking justice as part of the process of reconciliation and democratization.”

As the audience viewed the pictures on the large screen—of Kurdish villagers; smiling Kurdish children; the lush countryside; the rugged countryside; city scenes; Kurdish homes adorned with Armenian khatchkars (stone crosses); a minaret built by an Armenian and embossed with Armenian script, and designs on one of the stones near the top of the religious structure; a child standing at the entrance of an Armenian church turned into a mosque; an Armenian church used as a barn—Baydemir’s heartfelt words, quoted by Mouradian, resonated throughout the hall: “You are not our guests. We are your guests.”

Mouradian related the incredible story of a an Islamized Armenian, who had donated a large sum of money towards the renovation of Surp Giragos, and his baptism at the resurrected church. With these two acts, the young man had reclaimed his forgotten ancestry and heritage. The editor added that during the restoration of Surp Giragos, 200 deeds belonging to the church had been discovered, thus revealing that the church property encompassed a significant portion of downtown Diyarbakir.

During his lecture, Mouradian paused at times so that the audience could reflect upon the pictures on the screen. A particularly moving picture was that of the interior of Surp Giragos Church filled with people. The main altar, resplendent and luminous and adorned with an exquisite painting of the Madonna and Child, made one realize what a truly symbolic occurrence it had been, and on so many levels. The sheer survival of this ancient church, after centuries of invasion, destruction, pillage, and sacrilege, was a miracle and testimony to the strength, endurance, and perseverance of the Armenian spirit. This sublime church, which had survived despite all odds, once served as the cathedral for the diocese. It had chapels, prelate offices, rectories for the clergyman, and a bookstore. It had a school for boys and girls, and held Sunday School classes. It had a kitchen where food was prepared every day and either served or delivered to the elderly and the indigent, as well as orphan and elder care services. All this was made possible through monetary gifts and wills to the church.

Mouradian described how, while driving through the countryside, a Kurdish man had asked Mouradian’s driver if the foreigners had come to search for “treasure.” The driver had responded that they had not, that they had come in search of fragments of their Armenian culture.

Mouradian later met a tractor driver in the village of Satikoy who asked him where he was from. He responded: “I am an Armenian from America…”

“The tractor driver,” continued Mouradian, “turns off the engine and dismounts the tractor. He begins talking in detail about the Armenians who lived in the village almost a century ago. He points to a nearby area crowded with houses and says, ‘The Armenian cemetery was right there. They destroyed it and built those houses. I asked our Imam if Islam permits that. He said no religious site should be desecrated.’”

Pausing for a moment, Mouradian then described how the man’s eyes had grown sad and had begun to tear as he revealed to him, “My father was a young Armenian boy when the genocide happened. His entire family was massacred—parents, brothers, sisters. He was taken in by some newcomers and survived. No Armenian remained here…”

The editor added that after the man revealed his roots, he pointed into the distance and said before driving off, “Walk some 200 meters that way. There is an open area where the Armenians used to gather to celebrate their religious feasts. There’s nothing there now. But, if you pay attention, you can feel their presence…”

As Khatchig Mouradian’s presentation concluded with a question and answer period, followed by a reception, I began thinking about the humble and kind-faced tractor driver and his words, “…There’s nothing there now. But, if you pay attention, you can feel their presence…” I glanced at the flyer in my hand and read again the title of the lecture—“The Last of the Armenians…”—and wondered: Are we in the diaspora and Armenia doing all we can to uphold the illustrious legacy bestowed upon us by our forefathers?

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Knarik O. Meneshian

Knarik O. Meneshian was born in Austria. Her father was Armenian and her mother was Austrian. She received her degree in literature and secondary education in Chicago, Ill. In 1988, she served on the Selection Committee of the McDougal, Littell “Young Writers” Collection—Grades 1–8, an anthology of exemplary writing by students across the country.” In 1991, Knarik taught English in the earthquake devastated village of Jrashen (Spitak Region), Armenia. In 2002–2003, she and her late husband (Murad A. Meneshian), lived and worked as volunteers in Armenia for a year teaching English and computer courses in Gyumri and Tsaghgadzor. Meneshian’s works have been published in "Teachers As Writers, American Poetry Anthology" and other American publications, as well as Armenian publications in the U.S. and Armenia. Knarik is the author of A Place Called Gyumri: Life in the Armenian Mountains. She has also authored a book of poems titled Reflections, and translated from Armenian to English Reverend D. Antreassian’s book titled "The Banishment of Zeitoun" and "Suedia’s Revolt" She began writing at the age of 12 and has contributed pieces to The Armenian Weekly since her early teens.

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