A legacy from generation to generation
Growing up in Buffalo, New York as the third son of Armenian immigrants to the United States, it was difficult to maintain Armenian culture and traditions. At the time, there were approximately 20 Armenian families in the city, along with about 10 single Armenian men who were middle-aged or older. With no Armenian church in Buffalo, I was baptized by an Armenian priest from New York City who made annual visits to communities without one.
In our household, Armenian was the primary language, with English spoken occasionally. When my parents did not want us to understand what they were talking about, they spoke Turkish. My father instilled in us a deep pride in being Armenian. He would read aloud from a large Armenian-language history book he had brought with him to America. He made us proud of our Armenian heritage.
At the age of 6, my father saw most of his hometown of Moush ravaged and its Armenian residents massacred by the Turkish military and Kurdish brigands. He sought refuge with his father and other Armenians in the hills of Sassoun. Between 1894-1896, approximately 300,000 Armenians were slaughtered throughout the Ottoman Empire. This set the stage for the attempted annihilation of the Armenian people yet to come.
In 1917, my mother, then 10 years old, saw two of her maternal uncles taken to the village square by Turkish soldiers and police. Along with other Armenian men, they were tied to posts and axed to death. My wife’s father was the only survivor of a death march to the deserts of northern Syria. Her maternal parents and grandparents were sheltered and saved by a kind Turkish family who helped them escape to safety in Syria.
When the 1915 genocide commenced, my father’s family and the entire population of Moush were killed. The Ottoman government sought to eliminate an entire people. My father, living in Argentina at the time and hearing of the massacre of his family and hometown, joined an Armenian regiment of the French Foreign Legion. He fought against Ottoman forces in Palestine and Cilicia, including in the Battle of Arara.
He told me stories of how the Armenian Legionnaires, armed with only rifles and bayonets, would attack Ottoman troops who defended their positions with machine guns and cannons. They were fighting for a free and independent Armenia. Although wounded by a bayonet to his calf, my father completed his three-year enlistment in 1920.
He had utter contempt for the French and English who betrayed Armenia, their “little ally,” after the war. He realized that the Armenians were used as pawns of the French and English and all their promises for an independent Armenia were a sham.
When I was 12, I once glimpsed my father through a partially open bedroom door, kneeling at his bedside in tears, praying and asking God why such a tragedy had befallen his family and the Armenian people. He never knew I witnessed that moment.
My father and other Armenians of his generation who suffered the consequences of the genocide would be proud today to see an independent Armenian republic. However, with the current Armenian government’s internal and foreign disputes, Armenia might once again be used as a pawn by larger nations and lose its independence.
We must never forget the previous betrayals of Armenia’s so-called allies. Armenia must be careful not to be manipulated and unwittingly used by other countries for their own advantage and political dominance. To do so would make Armenia a pawn. Smart diplomacy that resolves conflicts and promotes cooperation may be the key to keeping Armenia free and independent and avoiding disastrous consequences.
To begin, Armenia, its government and the Armenian diaspora must show a united front and promote mutual understanding to ensure the survival and sovereignty of the Armenian state.
