It seems reasonable to assume that we don’t spend enough resources in the diaspora on the subject of identity. It is often the elephant in the room, given the challenges of secularism, intermarriage and cultural estrangement that surround us. While we spend considerable resources on ready-made institutions, we invest much less on outreach to an increasingly diluted diaspora.
Some of us successfully connect with our Armenian identity, while others struggle. We accept our losses and move on to the next generation. The problem, however, is that the pool gets smaller. The numbers in Sunday schools and youth organizations don’t lie. Given the enormous importance of this topic, I was very moved by Zoe Karibian’s article in the Weekly on her story of identity. The essay was intriguing primarily because of her profound understanding of the topic, despite still being in high school.
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I appreciate the call for inclusiveness in this article.
I feel that this Armenian “purism” that rejects variations in diasporan Armenian language fluency, culture, marriage, and more— is an ongoing trauma response to the Genocide and reinforced by the ongoing Azerbaijani hostility. When overpowered and outnumbered like we Armenians have been, the natural response is to try to get stronger and multiply, and in this vein, many still feel that we need to remain as Armenian as possible (full fluency in language, full-blooded Armenian children, etc.) in order to counteract these countries’ efforts to eviscerate us. I’ve encountered this thinking not only in older generations, but, to my surprise, recently among high school aged diasporan Lebanese Armenians. With this said, I do feel that Armenians’ capacity for inclusivity toward our own people is tied up with 1) our history, and 2) the question of what diasporan Armenians should consider our “goals” that will heal our nation and move it forward. Will it truly help our nation the most to have all of us be fully fluent in Armenian and have full Armenian babies? I think it’s definitely time we diasporans make a serious effort to regroup and reconsider the ways we think we can best help our people and our nation.
Also, I would gently add that anti LGBTQ attitudes demonstrated by Armenians towards LGBTQ-identifying Armenians warrants examination as a major factor that divides Armenians internally.
Thank you for an introspective article.
Thank you Stephan for this article.Yes we should always strive to take care of our heritage and culture no matter where we are.
Mike Stephan
Former Caretaker Armenian Church Madras India
Former Asst manager Armenian college kolkata India.
While identity is singular in its characterization of an individual’s memories, experiences, and values, it has morphed into an aggregate of attributes that can extend into the larger diaspora.
Is it just the hyphen that bridges our birthplace and community, defines our heritage and horizon, or describes our life and death – or is it more nuanced through our genetic profile/archetype, our oral histories, and our culture.
It certainly is a worthwhile new branch of psychosocial development to explore.