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Ekklesia, UK
Nov 4 2012
Eat Thai, talk Turkish, think Armenian: an encounter
By Harry Hagopian
4 Nov 2012
On 31 May 2010, when the Armenia-Turkey Protocols of 2009 were still
very much the buzz of many Armenian and Turkish blogospheres, I wrote
a short personal reflection entitled `An Armenian-Turkish encounter in
Germany' (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/12373). It described a
fortuitous encounter I had with Ajlan, a thirty-something Turkish man
living in Frankfurt and working for a German security firm, who kindly
guided me from the airport to the ICE train station that eventually
took me to Erfurt University.
I concluded my piece at the time with the following pause for thought:
Is Ajlan a righteous Turk, as Robert Fisk writes at times in his
articles? Is he a genocide denialist, or pretty much ignorant of his
own history? Was he too clever by far or imperceptive? In the final
analysis, did it matter that much when an Armenian and a Turk met
awhile in Germany and had a chat despite their sensitivities over real
history? Germany was a compass point for me, where our deeper humanity
- with its redeeming points - overtook our separate fears, angers and
doubts. We were just two men in a train - one helpful, the other
grateful.
Fast forward to early September, when I invited a colleague of mine to
Busaba Eathai, a Thai eatery in London, that serves delicious meals
and fragrant teas in a cosy and pseudo-ethnic atmosphere. The
headwaiter who showed us to our table was certainly not Thai let alone
Oriental, and something in my ear whispered to me that he could well
be Turkish.
Although my colleague pooh-poohed the idea and suggested it was the
Armenian gene in me drawing this conclusion, the inevitable happened
as it often does when two people meet and strike a conversation. Where
are you from, and where am I from, and suddenly here was an Armenian
talking to a Turk. Once our ethnic identities were clarified, I could
sense a certain uncertainty in him too: we were both thinking whether
this will be an awkward moment or, worse, an unsuccessful meal? So I
broke the ice by telling the headwaiter Selman, `Well, we have quite a
history as two peoples, some of it very painful, very unjust and very
bloody, but we both also enjoy our cuisine, so let's see if this Thai
meal could be as good as an Armenian or Turkish one?' He smiled
broadly and added, `No way, this is good but it does not outmatch
either Armenian or Turkish cuisine'! And throughout our whole
succulent meal, Selman kept coming over to ensure we were both
enjoying ourselves. He even recommended a Turkish restaurant that he
claimed to be the best in central London.
Does our interaction mean at all that we have both forgotten our own
histories and backgrounds? Or more to the point, will I have somehow
forsaken my own proud history as a descendant of the Armenian genocide
during WWI? Did I forget that we Armenians - whether in the Diaspora
or in a young and struggling republic - have grave issues with Turkey
let alone proxy ones with Azerbaijan over the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh that it claims as its own since 1994? Had I shown
acute insensitivity in the case of an Azeri military officer,
Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in
Hungary for murdering Lieutenant Gurgen Markarian of Armenia during a
NATO course in 2004 and sent back to his homeland on the basis of the
1983 Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons to
serve out his sentence in Baku only to be callously pardoned and freed
by the Azeri authorities - bosom allies of Turkey? Most certainly not!
But I also feel it is important for us Armenians nearing the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide in 2015 to start distinguishing
ordinary Turkish men and women from Turkish officialdom or many of its
politicised institutions, let alone from Turkey and Azerbaijan. In
fact, whether in the case of Armenians and Turks, or elsewhere in the
world where sectarian and ethnic conflicts and animosities abound,
would we simply not be more faithful to ourselves if we did not export
a bilious hatred against ordinary people simply because we hold a
valid grudge against their policies or authorities? Should all
Israelis be the enemies of all Palestinians? Should all Japanese be
enemies with all Chinese, or all Armenians enemies of all Turks? Do we
not have the inner faithful resilience to begin our own process of
transitional justice by distinguishing between ideas that are crowned
with a human value from others that are insulted by political
conflicts?
My colleague and I enjoyed our Thai meal. But did Selman honestly
enjoy our banter? Perhaps yes, or perhaps no, but that is not the real
question that I would ask myself today. Mind you, I am not advocating
an ex nihilo omnia conversion, and any academic analysis of this topic
is better addressed by experienced institutions such as the Regional
Studies Centre (RSC) in Armenia. Besides, one could easily dismiss
this episode as merely another fluke encounter, just like the one I
had at Frankfurt airport in 2010. Moreover, it is quite likely that
many Turks let alone Armenians would not overcome their identity
issues in such instances but project instead their mottled opinions
about my encounter or even question its intent.
Yet, does such a chance encounter not perhaps carry with it a clear
message? Could one not eat Thai, talk Turkish and still think
Armenian? Could we not initiate this catharsis without necessarily
waiting for a quid pro quo from Turks? Would it prove to be
treacherous, inexcusable or worse, naïve, or would it be a hard test
that evinces an inner strength to lift up our strong moral fibre?
After all, and at the end, was it not Martin Luther King, Jr, who
challenged us all that `Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light
can do that? Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that'?
-------------
© Harry Hagopian is an international lawyer, ecumenist and EU
political consultant. He also acts as a Middle East and inter-faith
advisor to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales and as
Middle East consultant to ACEP (Christians in Politics) in Paris.
From: Baghdasarian
Nov 4 2012
Eat Thai, talk Turkish, think Armenian: an encounter
By Harry Hagopian
4 Nov 2012
On 31 May 2010, when the Armenia-Turkey Protocols of 2009 were still
very much the buzz of many Armenian and Turkish blogospheres, I wrote
a short personal reflection entitled `An Armenian-Turkish encounter in
Germany' (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/12373). It described a
fortuitous encounter I had with Ajlan, a thirty-something Turkish man
living in Frankfurt and working for a German security firm, who kindly
guided me from the airport to the ICE train station that eventually
took me to Erfurt University.
I concluded my piece at the time with the following pause for thought:
Is Ajlan a righteous Turk, as Robert Fisk writes at times in his
articles? Is he a genocide denialist, or pretty much ignorant of his
own history? Was he too clever by far or imperceptive? In the final
analysis, did it matter that much when an Armenian and a Turk met
awhile in Germany and had a chat despite their sensitivities over real
history? Germany was a compass point for me, where our deeper humanity
- with its redeeming points - overtook our separate fears, angers and
doubts. We were just two men in a train - one helpful, the other
grateful.
Fast forward to early September, when I invited a colleague of mine to
Busaba Eathai, a Thai eatery in London, that serves delicious meals
and fragrant teas in a cosy and pseudo-ethnic atmosphere. The
headwaiter who showed us to our table was certainly not Thai let alone
Oriental, and something in my ear whispered to me that he could well
be Turkish.
Although my colleague pooh-poohed the idea and suggested it was the
Armenian gene in me drawing this conclusion, the inevitable happened
as it often does when two people meet and strike a conversation. Where
are you from, and where am I from, and suddenly here was an Armenian
talking to a Turk. Once our ethnic identities were clarified, I could
sense a certain uncertainty in him too: we were both thinking whether
this will be an awkward moment or, worse, an unsuccessful meal? So I
broke the ice by telling the headwaiter Selman, `Well, we have quite a
history as two peoples, some of it very painful, very unjust and very
bloody, but we both also enjoy our cuisine, so let's see if this Thai
meal could be as good as an Armenian or Turkish one?' He smiled
broadly and added, `No way, this is good but it does not outmatch
either Armenian or Turkish cuisine'! And throughout our whole
succulent meal, Selman kept coming over to ensure we were both
enjoying ourselves. He even recommended a Turkish restaurant that he
claimed to be the best in central London.
Does our interaction mean at all that we have both forgotten our own
histories and backgrounds? Or more to the point, will I have somehow
forsaken my own proud history as a descendant of the Armenian genocide
during WWI? Did I forget that we Armenians - whether in the Diaspora
or in a young and struggling republic - have grave issues with Turkey
let alone proxy ones with Azerbaijan over the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh that it claims as its own since 1994? Had I shown
acute insensitivity in the case of an Azeri military officer,
Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in
Hungary for murdering Lieutenant Gurgen Markarian of Armenia during a
NATO course in 2004 and sent back to his homeland on the basis of the
1983 Strasbourg Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons to
serve out his sentence in Baku only to be callously pardoned and freed
by the Azeri authorities - bosom allies of Turkey? Most certainly not!
But I also feel it is important for us Armenians nearing the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide in 2015 to start distinguishing
ordinary Turkish men and women from Turkish officialdom or many of its
politicised institutions, let alone from Turkey and Azerbaijan. In
fact, whether in the case of Armenians and Turks, or elsewhere in the
world where sectarian and ethnic conflicts and animosities abound,
would we simply not be more faithful to ourselves if we did not export
a bilious hatred against ordinary people simply because we hold a
valid grudge against their policies or authorities? Should all
Israelis be the enemies of all Palestinians? Should all Japanese be
enemies with all Chinese, or all Armenians enemies of all Turks? Do we
not have the inner faithful resilience to begin our own process of
transitional justice by distinguishing between ideas that are crowned
with a human value from others that are insulted by political
conflicts?
My colleague and I enjoyed our Thai meal. But did Selman honestly
enjoy our banter? Perhaps yes, or perhaps no, but that is not the real
question that I would ask myself today. Mind you, I am not advocating
an ex nihilo omnia conversion, and any academic analysis of this topic
is better addressed by experienced institutions such as the Regional
Studies Centre (RSC) in Armenia. Besides, one could easily dismiss
this episode as merely another fluke encounter, just like the one I
had at Frankfurt airport in 2010. Moreover, it is quite likely that
many Turks let alone Armenians would not overcome their identity
issues in such instances but project instead their mottled opinions
about my encounter or even question its intent.
Yet, does such a chance encounter not perhaps carry with it a clear
message? Could one not eat Thai, talk Turkish and still think
Armenian? Could we not initiate this catharsis without necessarily
waiting for a quid pro quo from Turks? Would it prove to be
treacherous, inexcusable or worse, naïve, or would it be a hard test
that evinces an inner strength to lift up our strong moral fibre?
After all, and at the end, was it not Martin Luther King, Jr, who
challenged us all that `Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light
can do that? Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that'?
-------------
© Harry Hagopian is an international lawyer, ecumenist and EU
political consultant. He also acts as a Middle East and inter-faith
advisor to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales and as
Middle East consultant to ACEP (Christians in Politics) in Paris.
From: Baghdasarian