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Editorial: Knocking on the Doors of Justice
Sun, Apr 19 2009
By: Khatchig Mouradian
Editorial published in the Armenian Weekly's April 2009 Magazine
I can't stop looking at Mujgan Arpat's photographs of doors and
windows of old Armenian houses in Diyarbekir (p. 30 of April 2009
magazine). They seem to have the immediacy of a Komitas song, a Daniel
Varoujan poem, a page from Krikor Zohrab's stories.
The door of an Armenian house in Hancepek, Diyarbekir (Photo: Mujgan Arpat)
I feel a deep desire to knock on them.
And perhaps one day I will. But at the moment, dear reader, this
magazine you are holding in your hands is another way of knocking on
those doors.
* * *
In April 2007, at one of my lectures, I heard the story of an Armenian
Genocide survivor in Boston. When asked about her family's experiences
in 1915, she would talk about them, then she would laugh after
speaking a sentence or two. Then she would apologize for laughing and
continue her story. By the time she had finished, she had laughed and
apologized several times. In the end, she said, `I am really sorry.
But I have no tears anymore.'
A few days later, I gave a talk in New York about the legacy of Hrant
Dink. After my talk, I was chatting with some members of the audience
when a young woman approached me and introduced herself. She was a
Turkish student doing her Ph.D. in New York.We asked her to join our
discussion. A short time later, when a slideshow about Hrant Dink was
being shown, I saw tears running down her cheeks.
`What is your story?' I asked her.
`I don't have a story,' she said. `I did not know anything about Hrant
or about 1915 before his assassination. Now I read all I can find on
the Armenian Genocide.'
The door of an Armenian house in Hancepek, Diyarbekir (Photo: Mujgan Arpat)
As she was saying those words, I felt that somewhere, on a certain
plane of consciousness, the laughter of the genocide survivor and the
tears of the Turkish woman had met.
* * *
The scholars and commentators who have contributed to this magazine
also have a meeting point: They are all knocking on the same door. A
door that has the immediacy of a Komitas song, a Daniel Varoujan poem,
a page from Krikor Zohrab's stories. And a door that, one day, will
inevitably open.
To download the PDF version of the Armenian Weekly's April 2009 magazine, go to:
http://www.armenianweekly.com/download-issues
From: A. Papazian
Sun, Apr 19 2009
By: Khatchig Mouradian
Editorial published in the Armenian Weekly's April 2009 Magazine
I can't stop looking at Mujgan Arpat's photographs of doors and
windows of old Armenian houses in Diyarbekir (p. 30 of April 2009
magazine). They seem to have the immediacy of a Komitas song, a Daniel
Varoujan poem, a page from Krikor Zohrab's stories.
The door of an Armenian house in Hancepek, Diyarbekir (Photo: Mujgan Arpat)
I feel a deep desire to knock on them.
And perhaps one day I will. But at the moment, dear reader, this
magazine you are holding in your hands is another way of knocking on
those doors.
* * *
In April 2007, at one of my lectures, I heard the story of an Armenian
Genocide survivor in Boston. When asked about her family's experiences
in 1915, she would talk about them, then she would laugh after
speaking a sentence or two. Then she would apologize for laughing and
continue her story. By the time she had finished, she had laughed and
apologized several times. In the end, she said, `I am really sorry.
But I have no tears anymore.'
A few days later, I gave a talk in New York about the legacy of Hrant
Dink. After my talk, I was chatting with some members of the audience
when a young woman approached me and introduced herself. She was a
Turkish student doing her Ph.D. in New York.We asked her to join our
discussion. A short time later, when a slideshow about Hrant Dink was
being shown, I saw tears running down her cheeks.
`What is your story?' I asked her.
`I don't have a story,' she said. `I did not know anything about Hrant
or about 1915 before his assassination. Now I read all I can find on
the Armenian Genocide.'
The door of an Armenian house in Hancepek, Diyarbekir (Photo: Mujgan Arpat)
As she was saying those words, I felt that somewhere, on a certain
plane of consciousness, the laughter of the genocide survivor and the
tears of the Turkish woman had met.
* * *
The scholars and commentators who have contributed to this magazine
also have a meeting point: They are all knocking on the same door. A
door that has the immediacy of a Komitas song, a Daniel Varoujan poem,
a page from Krikor Zohrab's stories. And a door that, one day, will
inevitably open.
To download the PDF version of the Armenian Weekly's April 2009 magazine, go to:
http://www.armenianweekly.com/download-issues
From: A. Papazian