Guest Column: The mood in Yerevan 100 years later
When I arrived in Yerevan on April 16, the buzz created by Kim Kardashian’s and Kanye West’s visit still lingered. The city was energized as the Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration approached.
The city is blooming with tulips among the fruit-bearing trees and slender poplars. This scene is not unusual, but for me it is a new experience: both Armenia in the springtime as well as the commemoration here, where genocide survivors found refuge from the torturous desert sun and man’s inhumanity to man.
The road from the airport to Republic Square is lined with billboards and large posters that hang across building facades, declaring “We Remember, We Demand.” Another one states, “191.5 million” (the 19 in white and the 1.5 in purple), in English and Armenian, paired with the Forget Me Not blossoms.
Stickers of the blossoms are affixed to cars, bus windows and storefronts. Pins of Forget Me Nots adorn lapels, T-shirts, and are sold at the open air market, Vernissage. Another billboard includes a red fez and a black mustache, 1915 written under the face, adjacent to a head with parted hair and a goatee, 1939 written under the image. This juxtaposition connects to Adolf Hitler’s infamous statement, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
Yerevan is bustling with activity. Hotels are fully booked with visitors from around the world, including officials from Russia and France. There are numerous genocide-related events including concerts, plays and museum exhibitions.
On April 23, Republic Square was transformed into a stage with six floors of scaffolding for System of a Down’s free concert, part of the “Wake Up the Souls” tour. The band was enthusiastically greeted by the audience, unfazed by the rain.
System of a Down played a two-hour show which included portions of Armenian songs. Before the start of the concert, as people started to gather in the square, two outdoor projection screens, streamed live the canonization ceremony of the 1.5 million victims at the outdoor altar of the Holy See Etchmiadzin Church Complex.
After the ceremony, at 7:15 p.m., a moment of silence was followed by the simultaneous ringing of bells at Armenian churches across the world, including Paris, Moscow, Cairo, Damascus and Athens.
On April 24, throngs of people, including dignitaries, placed flowers at the eternal flame at Tsitsernakaberd (Swallow’s Fortress), the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex, in honor of the 1.5 million victims.
I was grateful to be able to travel back to Armenia and introduce a close friend to “the homeland” for the very first time, and during this crucial time, to suggest that all life is not lost.
Also, due to the instability in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, many have immigrated to Yerevan for a new start. They bring with them new flavors in cuisine and dialect, while increasing the population of Armenia; the opposite reality of the genocide.
On Monday, April 20, I planted 20 trees in my uncle’s memory with the nonprofit Armenia Tree Project. The trees were planted in the garden at the Little Mher Military Academy. The Academy takes in children from poor households, giving them a roof over their heads, nourishment, along with an academic and military education. Perhaps this an echo of the resiliency of the Armenian orphans who broke through the genocidal shroud.
I felt it was essential for me to visit Armenia to directly participate in the centennial events commemorating the Armenian Genocide, but I came to realize that my purpose was beyond my initial goal. I came to Armenia to witness firsthand what it meant to be a grandchild of genocide survivors.What I found is that regardless of the pain and the horrible loss brought on by genocide, life — with all its dynamic elements — continues.
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NARE GARIBYAN is a Glendale resident and an academic counselor at Glendale Community College. She and her family immigrated to the Jewel City in 1988.