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ARMENIAN DIASPORA AND THE MEMORY OF 205 OTTOMAN TURKS IN CANADA
Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 4 2014
by BARCIN YİNANC
Three years ago I went skiing in Banff National Park in Canada. At
that time I did not know that Turks who were incarcerated during World
War I were perhaps among those who helped build Banf National Park!
I just recently discovered that during First World War, "enemy aliens
(nationals of Germany and of the Austro - Hungarian and Turkish
Empires) were subject to internment... Of 8,579 men at 24 camps
across Canada, 5,954 were of Austro-Hungarian origin, including 5,000
Ukrainians; 2009 were Germans, 205 were Turks and 99, Bulgarians. All
endured hunger and forced labor, helping to build some of Canada's
best-known landmarks such as Banff National Park," according to the
Canadian Encyclopedia.
These Turks used to live in Bradford. All 200 or so of them were
picked up one night and sent to a camp North of Ontario. They spent
five years there. Some have died there. Others came back to Bradford.
There is a burial site in the city where the bodies of some of those
who came back are believed to be.
This year marks the centenary of the start of World War I. So the
Turkish Ambassador to Canada, just like his other Italian or German
colleagues decided to start an initiative to commemorate the Turks
that suffered under the detention camps. The response of the local
municipality to the wish to mark the place with a plaque was positive
in the beginning, yet local authorities appear to be hesitating in
backing this purely humanitarian initiative. No doubt the Armenian
community is behind it. They think this is an effort to derail their
lobbying activities!
Turkish historian Taner Akcam, who claims World War I mass killings of
the Armenians under the Ottoman hands to be genocide, talks about a
"denial industry" in Turkey. I would not contest it, except that the
same is also true for the Armenian diaspora. Their industry is about
closing all eyes and ears to anything that can question genocide. But
this industry goes as far as "obstructing anything Turks do; hating
anything Turkish." Of course there are moderate Armenians looking for
dialogue but it seems they are being terrorized by the more radicals.
What's wrong with commemorating a few hundred Turks who had nothing
to do with the Armenian tragedy in Anatolia. It would have been much
wiser to come and attend the ceremony and perhaps give messages or
letters to the Turkish ambassador asking the Turkish state to show
the same sensitivity to the thousands of dead Armenians.
Another example of the Armenian "industry." Apparently whenever
Turkish representations would donate books reflecting the Turkish
side of what happened to the local libraries; Armenians would take
the book, destroy it and then pay compensation.
The denial industry in Turkey is losing, albeit slowly, its force;
I wonder when this will be the case with the Armenian diaspora. I
wonder to what degree they are ready to realize that taboos are being
broken in Turkey about the Armenian tragedy. More and more people
are questioning the past. It is imperative that the Armenian diaspora
realizes this change in Turkey. Yet without any bridges for dialogue,
how can we blame them for not being aware of current developments on
the subject.
In contrast to the past, the Turkish government is very much willing
to enter into a dialogue with the diaspora; in fact Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu had called them the "Anatolian diaspora."
But in view of the resistance that will emanate from the diaspora,
countries that are hosting Armenian communities should help initiate
this dialogue. After all, several countries from Europe to the
Americas will come under extreme pressure from both Armenians and
Turks in these two years ahead.
February/04/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenian-diaspora-and-the-memory-of-205-ottoman-turks-in-canada.aspx?pageID=449&nID=61958&NewsCatID=412
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 4 2014
by BARCIN YİNANC
Three years ago I went skiing in Banff National Park in Canada. At
that time I did not know that Turks who were incarcerated during World
War I were perhaps among those who helped build Banf National Park!
I just recently discovered that during First World War, "enemy aliens
(nationals of Germany and of the Austro - Hungarian and Turkish
Empires) were subject to internment... Of 8,579 men at 24 camps
across Canada, 5,954 were of Austro-Hungarian origin, including 5,000
Ukrainians; 2009 were Germans, 205 were Turks and 99, Bulgarians. All
endured hunger and forced labor, helping to build some of Canada's
best-known landmarks such as Banff National Park," according to the
Canadian Encyclopedia.
These Turks used to live in Bradford. All 200 or so of them were
picked up one night and sent to a camp North of Ontario. They spent
five years there. Some have died there. Others came back to Bradford.
There is a burial site in the city where the bodies of some of those
who came back are believed to be.
This year marks the centenary of the start of World War I. So the
Turkish Ambassador to Canada, just like his other Italian or German
colleagues decided to start an initiative to commemorate the Turks
that suffered under the detention camps. The response of the local
municipality to the wish to mark the place with a plaque was positive
in the beginning, yet local authorities appear to be hesitating in
backing this purely humanitarian initiative. No doubt the Armenian
community is behind it. They think this is an effort to derail their
lobbying activities!
Turkish historian Taner Akcam, who claims World War I mass killings of
the Armenians under the Ottoman hands to be genocide, talks about a
"denial industry" in Turkey. I would not contest it, except that the
same is also true for the Armenian diaspora. Their industry is about
closing all eyes and ears to anything that can question genocide. But
this industry goes as far as "obstructing anything Turks do; hating
anything Turkish." Of course there are moderate Armenians looking for
dialogue but it seems they are being terrorized by the more radicals.
What's wrong with commemorating a few hundred Turks who had nothing
to do with the Armenian tragedy in Anatolia. It would have been much
wiser to come and attend the ceremony and perhaps give messages or
letters to the Turkish ambassador asking the Turkish state to show
the same sensitivity to the thousands of dead Armenians.
Another example of the Armenian "industry." Apparently whenever
Turkish representations would donate books reflecting the Turkish
side of what happened to the local libraries; Armenians would take
the book, destroy it and then pay compensation.
The denial industry in Turkey is losing, albeit slowly, its force;
I wonder when this will be the case with the Armenian diaspora. I
wonder to what degree they are ready to realize that taboos are being
broken in Turkey about the Armenian tragedy. More and more people
are questioning the past. It is imperative that the Armenian diaspora
realizes this change in Turkey. Yet without any bridges for dialogue,
how can we blame them for not being aware of current developments on
the subject.
In contrast to the past, the Turkish government is very much willing
to enter into a dialogue with the diaspora; in fact Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu had called them the "Anatolian diaspora."
But in view of the resistance that will emanate from the diaspora,
countries that are hosting Armenian communities should help initiate
this dialogue. After all, several countries from Europe to the
Americas will come under extreme pressure from both Armenians and
Turks in these two years ahead.
February/04/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenian-diaspora-and-the-memory-of-205-ottoman-turks-in-canada.aspx?pageID=449&nID=61958&NewsCatID=412
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress