This week we were able to visit the Genocide Museum and Memorial in Yerevan. Obviously, this was not an emotionally light day. What struck me most about the museum was that it read not so much as a documentary of what happened, but rather more like a court case. Evidence was presented as if the presenters expected it to be challenged. Newspaper articles published in France, England and the US are highlighted as examples of objective commentary written at the time of the genocide. Every thing is cited. The entire museum feels as if it had been designed to refute some alternative history- which, of course, is true. The museum is designed this way as a response to Turkey's position that the slaughter of Armenians in 1915 was merely part of the Ottoman Empires response to the growing political turmoil within the Empire during the first world war. Jewish people promise to "never forget". Armenians promise to "remember and demand"- demand recognition, demand remorse, demand some sort of response for the atrocities committed against their parents and grandparents.
This impulse, to demand that the wrongs against their people be acknowledged as such, is completely understandable- but I'm not sure that it's beneficial for the country. There is no real pressure on Turkey to capitulate to these demands- Armenia holds to great political power, they have limited wealth and influence on the world stage- and as long as Armenia maintains this mentality of demand, it seems unlikely that relations with their neighbor to the West will improve. Armenia is bordered by 4 different countries: Turkey to the West, Georgia to the North, Azerbaijan to the East and a very, very small piece of border with Iran to the south. Currently, the borders with Iran and Georgia are open to overland travel. Many Armenians travel back and forth through Georgia in order to find work in Russia. However, the vast majority of Armenia's borders remain closed: they are currently at war with Azerbaijan, and they have never had good political relations with the Turkish state on account of the genocide.
I can understand why that is. I empathize with the Armenian people when they speak of the genocide, and the frustration and anger caused by Turkey's lack of acknowledgement. At the same time, a smaller, more rational part of my mind can't help but think that life in Armenia would be better if they could just be content to remember without demanding. If the border with Turkey were opened, Armenian people would have greater access to trade, jobs, and tourism. I would open opportunities for towns along the border- towns like Shahumyan- that currently don't exist. The bottom line is that it would make Armenia a more open to every form of potential benefit than it is right now. Every benefit, that is, except the emotional catharsis that would come from a Turkish apology.
It's not really my place to say any of this. It is an issue for the Armenian people to decide. But I worry theirs is not truly a decision. Students are taught about the genocide, taught to "remember and demand" from early childhood. The schools are filled with posters featuring the purple violet that symbolizes the Armenian genocide. I think that teaching students about their people's history is important, but I wonder if additionally students are also taught things which will determine their future, which will hamper them in moving past historical traumas, and prevent them from creating a better Armenia for themselves.
Enough. It's difficult for me even to write this- never mind go through the day, speaking with different Armenians who care so passionately about the subject, to see horrible images and read horrifying figures. We were all emotionally exhausted by the end of the day, and grateful to escape to a lighter activity- our Cultural Dinner. Partly because of the stress of the day, and partly because this was some of the only free time we had been able to spend together in weeks, we were all a little silly by the time the food arrived.
It turns out that Armenian food is ridiculously salty. I could maybe eat 1 out of 3 dishes that were served. But they did have a very good selection of fruit compotes available, and I enjoyed them. After dinner we went to a part of Yerevan called "The Cascades". Once a month in the summer, a large music stand is set up, and as the sun goes does and the weather starts to cool off, traditional Armenian music is blasted into the night air. People come out of the woodwork (or, perhaps in this former Solviet state it's more appropriate to say out of the concrete?), pack into the square, and engage in traditional Armenian dancing. After spending the morning and afternoon at the somber Genocide Memorial, where we saw Armenians at their most desperate hour, to see them celebrating their culture in the streets was a good way to end the day.
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