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AYF Seminar Explores Liberation Movements Past and Present
asbarez
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
Some of the AYFers at the Seminar
BY RAZMIG SARKISSIAN
`We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being,
to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human
being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to
bring into existence by any means necessary,' said Malcolm X in 1965,
the year he was assassinated.
`By Any Means Necessary,' a phrase first used by French philosopher
Jean Paul Sartre and later popularized by Malcolm X, was the theme of
the Armenian Youth Federation's (AYF) 2012 Educational Seminar which
took place over the June 1-3 weekend, educating participants about
freedom fighters from the past and present.
The seminar, which hosted a number of members from the AYF, local
Armenian Students' Associations and other young Armenians, sought to
foster a spirit of social awareness by examining the liberation
movements of different peoples including, but certainly not limited
to, Armenians.
`It is imperative for young Armenians to have opportunities to discuss
historical liberation movements,' said Tamar Baboujian, Executive
Director of AYF Camp and former AYF member, who was also a discussant
at the seminar. `It broadens their perspective and evokes compassion
for people internationally.'
Jumpstarting the weekend's lecture series with a video presentation
and discussion about Guerilla movements was Baboujian, along with
Razmig Sarkissian and Berj Parseghian, who is pursuing a Masters in
Education and has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the
University of California, Santa Barbara.
The presentation used multimedia from manifestos written by the likes
of Che Guevara and Mao Tse-Tung, to video clips of the films `Malcolm
X' (1992), `The Motorcycle Diaries' (2004) and `The Weather
Underground' (2002), covering a breadth of issues from effective
guerilla tactics, the American Civil Rights movement, Latin American
liberation struggles, and anti-Vietnam activists.
Each clip was followed by insightful commentary from participants and
vibrant discussions about core issues underpinning these movements
such as the costs and benefits of non-violent vs. violent approaches
to a cause.
The following day, Jovian Radheshwar, a lecturer in Political Theory
at California State University Channel Islands and Ph.D. candidate at
UCSB, gave a lecture about cultural and ideological awareness, the
effects of imperialism and globalization, and the India-Pakistan
divide.
Among the many themes Radheshwar's lecture covered were `revolutionary
solidarity' and `radical awareness of reality.'
To explain the concept of `revolutionary solidarity,' Radheshwar used
the example of local shopkeepers during the riots in Britain a few
years ago. The riots were led by members of the working class, but did
not have wide-spread support among all in the working class. Many
local shopkeepers called on the police to stop the riots, even though
the cause included them as well, so that they could resume their
day-to-day business. Revolutionary solidarity would have entailed the
shopkeepers supporting the cause despite the short-term business loss
due to the riots.
Revolutionary solidarity, thus, is realizing that outside one's
individual community are others in similarly oppressed conditions, and
breaking down boundaries to identify with their cause as well, because
at the end of the day their cause is your cause.
This ties into the concept of being `radically aware of one's reality'
in the sense that you need to be aware and almost hyper-conscious of
happenings in the realm of politics, society, culture, philosophy and
anything else, and be a contemporary of the world. Otherwise you lack
the tools and knowledge necessary to be a true socialist or
revolutionary.
Leading the next lecture was Allen Yekikian, Chief Technology Officer
at Operation HOPE with a background in Armenian history, who discussed
Armenian liberation in the 19th century, and the impact the `Zartonk'
movement had in shaping Armenian identity and future generations of
freedom fighters.
`Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are today what
the printing press and newspapers were in the 19th century for the
group of intellectual Armenians who manufactured and disseminated the
`Zartonk' cultural awakening to the oppressed and impoverished
Armenian masses,' said Yekikian.
His take-home message was that an entire cultural renaissance was born
with technology we consider crude today, and that the opportunity is
ripe to create an `iZartonk' with the unimaginable technology, means,
and capabilities offered in today's digital environment.
Wrapping up the weekend's lecture-series was Nora Injeyan, who is
pursuing a Masters in History with an emphasis on modern Armenian
history from the University of California, Irvine.
She explained the conditions which led to the fall of the Soviet Union
and gave birth to Armenia's second independence, such as
democratization of the political system, and the liberalization of
cultural expression all ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet
Union's last leader. Injeyan then turned the focus to the current
problems facing Armenia today.
Participants collaboratively identified some of those challenges as
widespread electoral corruption, poor economy, and an emigrating
population. This led to a vibrant discussion of the causes of those
problems, and a lengthy brainstorm about the ways in which Diasporan
activism can aid this still-infant nation.
`It was very reinvigorating to interact with AYF members discussing
broader issues of liberation and how to draw lessons from other
struggles relevant to our community today,' said Myrna Douzjian,
Director for the weekend's seminar and a former AYF member, who is
pursuing a PhD in Comparative Literature in Russian and Armenian from
the University of California, Los Angeles. `Participants delved into
the core of what it means to be an Armenian activist today, all while
exploring and analyzing other national movements,' Douzjian added.
Freedom fighters challenge mankind's history of conflict, oppression
and injustice by fighting for the empowerment and liberation of the
oppressed. This fight is sometimes physical but more often a
metaphysical one, aimed at overturning dominant societal conceptions
and norms. In order to bring into existence a world devoid of violence
where the rights of all human beings are tolerated, our generation
must arm itself with the knowledge of past and present struggles
against oppression, be emboldened by the determination of past freedom
fighters, and practice revolutionary solidarity to fight injustices
anywhere they may occur against any group of people, by any means
necessary.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
asbarez
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
Some of the AYFers at the Seminar
BY RAZMIG SARKISSIAN
`We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being,
to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human
being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to
bring into existence by any means necessary,' said Malcolm X in 1965,
the year he was assassinated.
`By Any Means Necessary,' a phrase first used by French philosopher
Jean Paul Sartre and later popularized by Malcolm X, was the theme of
the Armenian Youth Federation's (AYF) 2012 Educational Seminar which
took place over the June 1-3 weekend, educating participants about
freedom fighters from the past and present.
The seminar, which hosted a number of members from the AYF, local
Armenian Students' Associations and other young Armenians, sought to
foster a spirit of social awareness by examining the liberation
movements of different peoples including, but certainly not limited
to, Armenians.
`It is imperative for young Armenians to have opportunities to discuss
historical liberation movements,' said Tamar Baboujian, Executive
Director of AYF Camp and former AYF member, who was also a discussant
at the seminar. `It broadens their perspective and evokes compassion
for people internationally.'
Jumpstarting the weekend's lecture series with a video presentation
and discussion about Guerilla movements was Baboujian, along with
Razmig Sarkissian and Berj Parseghian, who is pursuing a Masters in
Education and has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the
University of California, Santa Barbara.
The presentation used multimedia from manifestos written by the likes
of Che Guevara and Mao Tse-Tung, to video clips of the films `Malcolm
X' (1992), `The Motorcycle Diaries' (2004) and `The Weather
Underground' (2002), covering a breadth of issues from effective
guerilla tactics, the American Civil Rights movement, Latin American
liberation struggles, and anti-Vietnam activists.
Each clip was followed by insightful commentary from participants and
vibrant discussions about core issues underpinning these movements
such as the costs and benefits of non-violent vs. violent approaches
to a cause.
The following day, Jovian Radheshwar, a lecturer in Political Theory
at California State University Channel Islands and Ph.D. candidate at
UCSB, gave a lecture about cultural and ideological awareness, the
effects of imperialism and globalization, and the India-Pakistan
divide.
Among the many themes Radheshwar's lecture covered were `revolutionary
solidarity' and `radical awareness of reality.'
To explain the concept of `revolutionary solidarity,' Radheshwar used
the example of local shopkeepers during the riots in Britain a few
years ago. The riots were led by members of the working class, but did
not have wide-spread support among all in the working class. Many
local shopkeepers called on the police to stop the riots, even though
the cause included them as well, so that they could resume their
day-to-day business. Revolutionary solidarity would have entailed the
shopkeepers supporting the cause despite the short-term business loss
due to the riots.
Revolutionary solidarity, thus, is realizing that outside one's
individual community are others in similarly oppressed conditions, and
breaking down boundaries to identify with their cause as well, because
at the end of the day their cause is your cause.
This ties into the concept of being `radically aware of one's reality'
in the sense that you need to be aware and almost hyper-conscious of
happenings in the realm of politics, society, culture, philosophy and
anything else, and be a contemporary of the world. Otherwise you lack
the tools and knowledge necessary to be a true socialist or
revolutionary.
Leading the next lecture was Allen Yekikian, Chief Technology Officer
at Operation HOPE with a background in Armenian history, who discussed
Armenian liberation in the 19th century, and the impact the `Zartonk'
movement had in shaping Armenian identity and future generations of
freedom fighters.
`Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are today what
the printing press and newspapers were in the 19th century for the
group of intellectual Armenians who manufactured and disseminated the
`Zartonk' cultural awakening to the oppressed and impoverished
Armenian masses,' said Yekikian.
His take-home message was that an entire cultural renaissance was born
with technology we consider crude today, and that the opportunity is
ripe to create an `iZartonk' with the unimaginable technology, means,
and capabilities offered in today's digital environment.
Wrapping up the weekend's lecture-series was Nora Injeyan, who is
pursuing a Masters in History with an emphasis on modern Armenian
history from the University of California, Irvine.
She explained the conditions which led to the fall of the Soviet Union
and gave birth to Armenia's second independence, such as
democratization of the political system, and the liberalization of
cultural expression all ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet
Union's last leader. Injeyan then turned the focus to the current
problems facing Armenia today.
Participants collaboratively identified some of those challenges as
widespread electoral corruption, poor economy, and an emigrating
population. This led to a vibrant discussion of the causes of those
problems, and a lengthy brainstorm about the ways in which Diasporan
activism can aid this still-infant nation.
`It was very reinvigorating to interact with AYF members discussing
broader issues of liberation and how to draw lessons from other
struggles relevant to our community today,' said Myrna Douzjian,
Director for the weekend's seminar and a former AYF member, who is
pursuing a PhD in Comparative Literature in Russian and Armenian from
the University of California, Los Angeles. `Participants delved into
the core of what it means to be an Armenian activist today, all while
exploring and analyzing other national movements,' Douzjian added.
Freedom fighters challenge mankind's history of conflict, oppression
and injustice by fighting for the empowerment and liberation of the
oppressed. This fight is sometimes physical but more often a
metaphysical one, aimed at overturning dominant societal conceptions
and norms. In order to bring into existence a world devoid of violence
where the rights of all human beings are tolerated, our generation
must arm itself with the knowledge of past and present struggles
against oppression, be emboldened by the determination of past freedom
fighters, and practice revolutionary solidarity to fight injustices
anywhere they may occur against any group of people, by any means
necessary.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress