Local SpotlightDiaspora
“These stories live in us”: Srab Der Haroutounian on trauma, identity and Armenians in the UK
Srab Der Haroutounian, a Ph.D. candidate born and raised in the United Kingdom to Armenian parents, is examining the multigenerational impact of trauma through the lens of the Armenian Genocide within London’s Armenian community.
After living and working in Armenia from 2003 to 2014, Der Haroutounian returned to the UK. Eight years ago, he had what he describes as an epiphany and went back to school to study psychotherapy. Now, with one year left in his doctoral program, he is completing a
Or, subscribe now for unlimited access
By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
Already a subscriber?Log in here
This story is FREE for you...
Create a free account to access this and four more articles, and get more sent to you with our e-newsletter.By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
This was a powerful and beautifully written piece. The idea that these stories live in us is something many of us feel deeply, especially in the diaspora where memory, history and identity are part of everyday life. Thank you for putting into words something that is often felt but not always easy to explain. Writing like this keeps those stories alive in the way they deserve.
Well done Srab for making the Armenian Genocide more widely known and giving the descendants of the victims more of a voice, and a better knowledge of where they came from and why.
Thank you. I can relate on every level. Both my parents were Armenian. My Mother was a Genocide survivor who spent many years in an orphanage before coming to the US. My Father was born in the US Armenian survivors. I have some sad and also fascinating stories, but I feel as if no one cares. Growing up in America as an Armenian felt like no one knew what an Armenian was so I tried not to recognize it. My Mom would tell me to be proud to be an Armenian but I didn’t get it. As an adult I am very aware of the injustices done to us. The recognition of the Genocide from US government is only recent. The average person is totally unaware of The Armenian dilemma. As an adult I do feel pain because of my personal awareness stemming from looking through the lens of my family’s tragedies, losses, sufferings and injustices. I am so glad and appreciative to read about what you are doing. What you are explaining definitely hits home with me. If you would ever want to speak with me I would share some of my family’s stories and my thoughts.
There’s something missing here, I don’t get it. His grandfather overhears a discussion of Bedouin tribes, and he “follows that lead?” What is a lead about it? Did the discussion mention “there are lost Armenians living with those tribes” or what? There’s nothing in this story which explains why a truck driver’s discussion should have triggered a search for his sister lost decades ago. This missing detail makes what is billed as an incredible story fall flat.
Thank you, Srab & Talar, for any story about our unjust genocide…
which became part of our DNA to continue our mission
to climb our Ararat…our lost bride.
I have expressed my pain in > 30 poetry books in 5languages
that I have published in Yerevan and on Amazon…and inaugurated many in Komitas Museum, Yerevan
I wish someone could comment on them.
Sylva’s >30 Poetry Collections since July 2007.
Lance my Hart {Heart} at a Glance (July 2007)
[Modified to the Arabic Language by Poet: Sylva (January 2019)
Delete Depression ~ Type Inspiration (November 2007) A Poetic Soul Shined of Genocides (August 2008) Angel ‘Lilit’ Lilting via Internet (October 2008)
Sons: Take My Heart and Transplant (February 2009)
Millennium Brains’ Lacrimates (March 2009)
Politics Play~People Pay~Poets Proms~Pledging Pray (May 2009)
E-Mails: Beneath Blossoming Trees (June 2009)
Songs of Searing Desert Storms (December 2009)
Sylva’s Serenade Dative Eyes (January 2010)
My Son~My Sun: Chants Ann, Obama’s Mother (June 2011)
Syndromes of Souls (March 2012)
Carve Poetry ‘INtTO’ Your Psyche (July 2014)
Gomidas~Komitas, ‘My Musical Saint’ (April 2016)
Arches of Symphonious ‘Sabre Dance’ of Ballet Gayane (May 2017)
Churchill at Ararat with Sylva’s Ethereal Love Songs (May 2018)
Sylva’s Blossoming Years ~ ”SERDIS”~ Armenian Poems (May 2018)
Your Brain ‘IS-NOT’ a Box (June 2018)
*BRING OUT our Genocided Skulls & Artful Hands! (April 2019)
Sylva’s >1000 Passionate ~ Impassioned Poems for 1000 Nights (February 2023)
Why Hate=Hateness=Hatism=Why !?! (March 2023)
Your Blue~Green Eyes~Sparkling Love~Deleting Hates (April 2023)
Sylva’s AI Poetic Stories (April 2024)
* Gomidas Musical God (May 2024)
* Pedicide iss Genocide (August 2024)
Sylva’s Italian Poems (October 2024)
Sylva’s French Poems (May 2025)
Sylva’a Poetic Dictionary (2025 !)
Fruits Serenades Stanzas (2026 !)
Medical Healing Poems (2026 !)
Roads to Happiness (2026 !)
Children’s Songs: Sing to All Souls) (2026 !)
Artsakh War & Holocausted Sons! (2026 !)