In a time of crisis, leadership arriving to our shores

For serious-minded Armenians, these are challenging times. We can divert our focus with the beauty of our culture and heritage, but a certain hollowness remains with our anguish for Armenia and Artsakh. Living in the diaspora as an Armenian is a life of choices. We can choose to retain our faith and heritage, or we can reject our hyphenated reality and blend into the great melting pot. Similarly, even if we commit our time respecting our identity as a member of the global Armenian nation, we can choose to ignore certain realities. There are times when I wish I had the ability to shut out certain aspects of our Armenian life and only choose from a portfolio of happiness. Such is not the fate for many Armenians who cannot deflect the pain and suffering of our brethren in Artsakh and in the border regions of Armenia. When we visit these areas and become acquainted with the citizens of these regions, it becomes very personal. These are our friends and colleagues, not simply faceless individuals who we read about being victimized.

Last weekend was one of the happiest of my life as we celebrated the marriage of our daughter. She was a beautiful bride and is an even better human being. It was the culmination of fatherhood to walk down the aisle of our parish before God and the hundreds of witnesses. It was my day to not think about our problems as a nation and simply reflect on the joy of her marriage. Later in the day, at the reception, my responsibility was to welcome our guests and offer words of love to our daughter and new son-in-law. That was the easy part. They are remarkable people deeply committed to each other, and it was natural to reflect on what was evident to all. The difficult part was the need to connect the gathering to our people in the homeland who, at that very moment, were challenged to maintain a sense of daily security and survival. We were all thrilled to be together, but it just did not feel right unless we mentioned something about those in the homeland who have a special place in our hearts. The contrast of our abundance and their deprivation was on my mind. I chose to connect this joyous day for our family with the responsibility to remember those of our greater family who are suffering simply because of who they are. When we attend weddings, it is natural to think of those who had a significant impact on our accomplishments but are no longer living an earthly existence. For my generation, the suffering and survival of our grandparents are always on our minds. We connect their challenges to our current generations in Artsakh and Armenia. After my comments about the relationship between the day’s celebration and never forgetting our brave brethren in the homeland, I felt a sense of inner peace to fully engage in the incredible day.