A Soul-Defining Sorrow

Despite being born and raised in America, Narek Mardirosian’s soul is shaken by a genocide carried out overseas generations ago.

Relatives and friends sometimes cry when they speak of how 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. And the bustling Armenian American community living throughout Los Angeles steadfastly remembers that genocide--in fact, unites around it.

“It’s our cause,” Mardirosian, 17, said simply. “It becomes a part of your life. Itbecomes a part of your soul.”

So on Wednesday, the 81st anniversary of the start of the killings, many Armenian Americans will close their markets, bakeries, restaurants and law offices. Thousands will attend special events including church ceremonies, memorials and peaceful demonstrations, and will also mark the day with private moments of reflection.

Indeed, the genocide remains central to Armenian American lives. It tightly binds most to their ethnic heritage, even as the widely diverse local community continues to grow and change. And the trauma runs through generations.

Larry Zarian, board chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said his 86-year-old mother, Tamara Zarian, is a genocide survivor who initially fled from Azerbaijan to Iran with an older brother.

“They were running for cover,” said Zarian, a longtime Glendale city councilman and former mayor. “Although she was 7 or 8 years old she remembers very well.”

Zarian, like many others, said that such memories, and the desire for today’s Turkish government to officially recognize the extermination of Armenians, unites Armenian Americans.

The widely diverse community traces roots to places like the former Soviet Union, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and even Fresno, an old-time port of entry to the West. The community, its leaders say, while largely close-knit, successful and filled with members whose families have been in the United States for generations, is in the midst of a significant transition.

Estimates of the number of Armenian Americans living in Los Angeles sometimes run higher than 350,000. Although there is little agreement on the total, all agree that there are tens of thousands more than the 105,000 counted in Los Angeles County by the 1990 Census.

The largest concentration is in Glendale, where an estimated 40,000 Armenian Americans live in a total population of about 180,000. Other nearby communities with significant Armenian American populations include Hollywood, North Hollywood, Pasadena, Montebello and Burbank.

Activists and scholars said many of the recent immigrants came seeking opportunities simply unavailable elsewhere.

Some of them were escaping unbearable living conditions in Armenia. A devastating fuel and energy blockade is being enforced by Armenia’s neighbors, economic hardship persists nearly five years after the country declared independence from the former Soviet Union, and war continues in neighboring Nagorno-Karabakh.

For most, Los Angeles was a logical destination because other relatives or friends, some with deep roots in California, already lived in the area. The connections helped in key areas like finding housing and employment.

But for others, the support system, if it existed at all, was not as strong.

For these immigrants, according to Richard Hovannisian, a professor of Armenian and Near Eastern history at UCLA, social services are stretched.

“The community is growing very rapidly,” Hovannisian said. “Its resources have not been able to absorb and reach out to immigrants the way it could and might have if there weren’t so many immigrants. Its resources are very strained.”

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The Armenian Relief Society recorded about 40,000 client visits last year at its offices in Glendale, Hollywood, Montebello, Pasadena and San Francisco--up from about 15,000 in 1990.

“It’s getting worse and worse,” said Sona Zinzalian, director of social services at the relief society. “Our goal is to help these people. We want these people to be self-sufficient.”

But for those like Jackline Hovasian, 34, of Glendale, who visited the society offices recently, that can be a tall order.

Hovasian, who is originally from Iran, arrived in the Los Angeles area in 1991 with her husband and their two young sons. The family has struggled to make ends meet and relies on welfare assistance, while the relief society helps with things like translating important documents.

Hovasian, whose English is weak, was relying on social worker Sona Kalandjian-Didi, who was born in Lebanon and grew up in Boston, for guidance.

Hovasian, her auburn hair falling toward her face, cried as she talked about her circumstances.

“First it’s the language,” Hovasian said. “Then, I have no family member of my own here. Financially, I have problems.”

Her predicament is not unusual.

On another day, Arax Zaki, 48, was asking about job opportunities. Zaki said she lives with her husband and two adult sons in a two-bedroom apartment in Glendale.

“Our economic situation is not very good,” she said. “We are trying to be middle class.”

At times, financial hurdles aren’t the only obstacles.

In Glendale, for example, police recorded 72 hate crimes--mainly name-calling or ethnic slurs painted on walls--during the past 10 years. Of those, 25 were against Armenian Americans.

Crimes allegedly committed by some Armenian Americans include drug offenses, graffiti tagging, gang fights, domestic violence and even possible extortion of local businesses, police said.

“Many times you will have Armenians denying that Armenians can be criminals and can be terrible people,” said Chahe Keuroghelian, 38, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department. “They take it as an embarrassment to the entire community.”

The impact of immigration of the 1980s and 1990s and other growth has also been felt in schools.

The Glendale Unified School District counts close to 10,000 students, one-third of its student body, as Armenian Americans. Another 20,000 are enrolled in the massive Los Angeles Unified School District.

In both school districts, many Armenian American students are listed as having limited English proficiency.

“Today, more teachers and teaching assistants are being recruited by the district,” said Jacob Terjimanian, a bilingual advisor for the LAUSD who also lectures about the genocide.

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In some cases, young people are taking it upon themselves to maintain their culture.

The Armenian Youth Federation, which also emphasizes ethnic awareness, has members from 9 to 26. The group is one of many that try to shape lives and attitudes through athletics, lectures, summer camp and dances.

In many ways, several federation members said, Armenian American youths are no different from others. They must cope with gangs, drugs, gender roles, the influence of family and friends, education issues and fitting into the mainstream. What they find sets them apart is the genocide.

“It’s such a cultural baggage that Armenians carry from generation to generation,” said Alex Sardar, 22, of Glendale. “That’s not something you forget so easily.”

“It’s a live issue for us,” said Stepan Haytayan, 22, of Van Nuys.

Commemorations of the genocide will be held around the Southland. One large gathering will take place at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church on Central Avenue, about two blocks south of the Glendale Galleria.

The church, as with other Armenian congregations, provides social, as well as spiritual, benefits. People regularly gather on the steps outside the large brick building or under nearby trees to chat.

“We believe that every Armenian church is a beautiful bridge between the old and new immigrants,” said Archbishop Yeprem Tabakian, church dean, 55, who was born in Lebanon. “This church, maybe it’s a melting pot to bring together Armenians from all over the world.”

“There is no doubt that all newcomers, although they are keeping their traditions and they are strong Armenians, little by little they are becoming Americanized. Little by little,” he said with a grin. “It’s a beautiful congregation really.”

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Over the years the community has provided strong political leadership, including Zarian, former Gov. George Deukmejian and many others. One goal now is to generate even more political awareness.

“Our focus is trying to promote our agenda to the non-Armenian community and at the same time make our community more politically sophisticated,” said Vicken Sonentz-Papazian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America’s western region. “That’s part of the education process.”

And while immigrants and the first- and second-generation descendants keep their ancestors’ native lands in mind this week, America is also on the minds of Armenians overseas.

Sonentz-Papazian, 34, smiled as he recalled one brief encounter he had with an Armenian soldier while visiting Nagorno-Karabakh less than three years ago.

The soldier, stepping past blasted buildings, animal carcasses and emaciated children, easily spotted the stocky, leather-clad Sonentz-Papazian taking photographs.

“Are you from the United States?” the soldier asked in Armenian.

“Yes,” Sonentz-Papazian answered.

“Oh,” the soldier said. “Take my picture and send it to my sister in Glendale.”

* RELATED PHOTOS: B12