To Baptize or Not to Baptize the Hidden Armenians in Turkey

August 15, 2015 By administrator

Diyarbakir Armenians baptized at Etchmiadzin in August 2014 (Photo by Gulisor Akkum/The Armenian Weekly)

BY RAFFI BEDROSYAN

Along with the many high points experienced during the historic Armenia trip of the 80 hidden Armenians from Turkey, there were also a few low points. The highs included warm welcomes by both Armenian government officials and common people on the street, emotional triumphs at Sardarabad, feelings of grief at the Genocide Museum, new-found friendships, accomplishments like spelling the alphabet during Armenian language classes, or simply being able to order food in Armenian at a restaurant. However, I want to point out a few of the lows our hidden Armenians encountered—all related to baptism.

Among the members of our group, two girls from Dersim and a young man from Diyarbakir wished to be baptized. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, their wish did not come true.

In recent days, Armenian media—both in the Diaspora and in Armenia—ran headline news and opinion pieces on this topic. Various individuals gave press conferences; people opined on TV; statements were released by the church, government, Diaspora organizations, and political parties; while heated debates on social media argued both for and against the decision to refuse the baptisms.

As the organizer of the group whose three members wished to be baptized, and as the designated godfather or “gnkahayr” for these baptisms, I would like to provide a first-hand account of what really happened, why it happened, and what we should do to avoid such scandals in the future.

One may recall that during the trip I organized last year for the 50 hidden Armenians from Diyarbakir to Armenia, we witnessed the baptisms of a man and a woman in Etchmiadzin. The man was a teacher in a public school in Diyarbakir. This year, he brought his son to Armenia to extend the process of returning to Armenian roots to the next generation. The woman baptized last year, on the other hand, had an even more ominous challenge. Her husband, a devout Moslem Kurd, had forbidden her from taking such a step. She nevertheless decided to convert to Christianity to keep her promise to her hidden Armenian father, who had asked her to become a Christian Armenian at his deathbed. I am also pleased to report that she and her husband are still happily married, and are now bravely facing the challenge of how to raise their child together—whether as an Armenian, a Kurd, a Christian, or a Moslem.

Therefore, this year when three members of our group approached me with their wish to be baptized, I thought—perhaps naively—that again I can go ahead and arrange the baptisms for the day we visit Etchmiadzin. The two Dersimtsi girls would take the names Anahit and Nairi, and the Dikranagerdtsi man from Diyarbakir would become Madteos Paramaz. One of the Dersim girls had a brother who was already baptized last year. The Dikranagerdsi man was a distant relative of the family involved in the reconstruction of the Surp Giragos Church in Diyarbakir.

Unfortunately, the baptisms could neither happen in Echmiadzin, nor in the Khor Virab Church the next day, nor in Surp Hovhannes Church in Yerevan the following day. The explanations given to us were as varied as the clerics involved. Some said we had to apply in writing months in advance; then, the applications would be reviewed by a religious council before permission could be considered. Others said we needed to bring a letter from the Istanbul Acting Patriarch Archbisop Aram Atesyan granting permission for the baptisms. One cleric suggested the candidates must visit Armenia at least three times before being eligible. An even more preposterous suggestion came from a cleric who wondered why we don’t go to churches in Turkey since those wishing to be baptized are all from Turkey, instead of causing headaches for him and his superiors. I didn’t bother telling him that although there are churches in Istanbul, no churches are left in historic Armenia except the one we reconstructed in Diyarbakir. Overall, these clerics seemed to be unprepared as to how to deal with the baptism requests and had to make endless calls to their superiors for a decision, which either did not come or was ultimately negative. In any case, they would still lead us on, that by tomorrow, there may be a positive decision. So, each day—with our hopes high, after buying the required towels, crosses, and headscarves for the girls—we would face renewed disappointment. Even the intervention of the Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan did not achieve the desired outcome.

An even more upsetting development was the zeal of critics to use this incident to start misguided attacks. Rather than criticize the decision itself or the persons who made the decision, we have individuals appearing at press conferences and on TV, or writing articles in newspapers, attacking the Armenian Church, the Ministry of Diaspora, and the government in general. One organization called Republic of Western Armenia even went as far as issuing fictitious citizenship and identification cards with the baptized names printed on them, displaying the cards with a fictitious flag, name, and photo at press conferences and on TV. It seems these people forget or don’t care that the two Dersim girls and the Diyarbakir man will return to Turkey, will continue living among Moslem Turks and Kurds, with their names paraded on a fictitious republic’s fake citizenship cards. Do they have the right to jeopardize the lives of these already endangered persons? Or for that matter, do any of these opinion makers, who pass along all sorts of judgment in the media, care about the emotions of these three young people who had made such a personal decision as changing their faith, their religion?

The hidden Armenians have no control over their ethnic roots, their genetic identity—they were given no choice. They were born as Armenians, even though the fact that they are Armenians was not revealed to them until later in life. Some of them have now made a conscious decision to return to their ethnic roots. But changing religion by converting to Christianity is an entirely different matter. No one is born with a religion—Christian or Moslem. Religion is not a genetic identity but a faith acquired by personal choice and through family. If someone has made the decision to become Christian through baptism, there should be no individual, no institution, or no force to prevent that from happening—especially in the case of hidden Armenians, who are taking a risk by revealing their Armenian identity, and by converting to Christianity. If the reason for these increasingly difficult barriers that prevent baptisms is misgivings of abuse, there should be other ways of dealing with them quickly and without delay. Sure, there could be some Moslem Turks or Kurds just pretending to be hidden Armenians. There could be others who have no intention of becoming Christian Armenian and who are getting baptized to gain some sort of advantage, such as employment or a way out of Turkey and into Europe or the Americas. However, these exceptions should not lead to draconian rules and regulations for all others who genuinely want to become Christian. Moreover, why do we have godfathers? The role of the godfather is to assure the Church that the person being baptized is eligible and worthy of baptism, and there should be no excuse or delay by the cleric for further investigation.

The objective of Project Rebirth is to help the hidden Armenians think, feel, and act as Armenians. Our work will continue regardless of the barriers placed by certain people. Whether these hidden Armenians become Christian or not, they have decided to return to their Armenian roots, and we will continue encouraging them. It would be ideal if the Church also fulfils its duty in encouraging them to become Christian Armenians, but if not, it is still alright. After all, Armenians were Armenians for centuries before they adopted Christianity.

“Hidden Armenians” family secret, state secret “crypto-Armenians,”

February 13, 2015 By administrator

By Ariane Bonzon Reporter

Armenian Church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van. REUTERS / Umit Bektas.

During the 1915 genocide, tens of thousands of Armenians, women and children were kidnapped, converted and married by force. Many Turks are now discovering that one of their grandmother was Armenian. published on slate France

U n state secret, the existence of these “hidden Armenians”. The talk is undermining the national myth of “the Turkish and Muslim identity” foundation of the Turkish Republic. The first time I heard of “crypto-Armenians,” I did not really believe elsewhere. Published on slate France

It was the early 2000s, Mesrob II Mutafyan , Patriarch of Turkish Armenians, received the solemn setting and slightly kitsch of his residence in Kumkapi on the Golden Horn in Istanbul. Carrying the cross and the ecclesiastical dress, copy the holding of its predecessors for five centuries -whose long series of portraits, not always endorsements, adorned the murs- His Beatitude evoked touring Anatolian. He recounted his visit to the village of “Cibinli near Urfa where Armenians fled in 1915 had abandoned their girls, teenagers from 12 -14 years.”

Mesrob II Mutafyan it had spoken to a man and many grandchildren from forced marriages contracted by these young girls with Turks.

The historian Ara Sarafian estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 Armenian women and children escaped death or deportation in the desert during the genocide of 1915. The hidden one -by “Righteous” Turkish – others kidnapped, adopted or espoused. To speak of these survivors, the Ottomans used a chilling phrase: “the remains of the sword.” But for years, Turkish and Armenian historians have said not a word of these “crypto-Armenians.”

My research crypto-Armenians

“Until there is 10-15 years, it was a kind of taboo, confirms the researcher Bared Manok. Matter of dignity for the Armenians; mistrust and contempt converted by the Turks. On both sides, it did not evoke this disturbing reality. “” It is not known but it is thought that it was not as important and perhaps we would not know either, “recognizes the French philosopher of Armenian Michel Marian. Because admit that there may be Muslim Armenians is very disconcerting for those in the diaspora whose identity was previously closely related to Christianity.

Shortly after my conversation with Mesrob II Mutafyan, I went to Hrant Dink, who led the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, founded five years earlier, in 1996 -it was assassinated in 2007. The page of ads from Agos meets a great success. It allows members of the Armenian diaspora to launch a “wanted poster” to try to find a distant relative who still live in Turkey and whose ancestors have survived the genocide.

I explained my project to Hrant Dink: go to Anatolia to find them and shoot Islamized Armenians. It was not very encouraging. According to him, it would be very difficult to find these “crypto-Armenians” who absolutely do not want to reveal. They will never accept to talk on camera, for fear of reprisals, he warned me.

He himself had not dared to publish Agos in its investigation of Sabiha Gökçen , the adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, an Armenian who had lost their parents during the genocide. A state secret, like the still supposed Christian roots of President Abdullah Gul , an Islamic-conservative, whose grandmother was, too, Armenian.

Armenians who go to the mosque

“An Armenian convert, suggests the university Etienne chips, one of the best connoisseurs of Turkish nationalism is seen as a traitor since it is the epithet that sticks to the Armenians. “Insult” Ermeni Dolu “(” seed of “Armenian”) is common. “Given the contempt contained in this insult, says Etienne chips, it is certain that if it turned out that a significant part of the Turkish population is descended from Armenians (converted or not), this would be a shock, a hardly acceptable truth. “

A bit like a common ethnic lie of apartheid in the 90s, when it was so difficult to white Afrikaners to recognize that they also had black blood, that of the employee of the farm seduced by the grandfather for example.

After wiping tens of refusal, I was finally able to pull this off in 2007. For the first time, an Islamized Armenian family spoke openly on camera. As seen in this video , nothing distinguishes these “hidden Armenians” other villagers same baggy pants, even scarf on the hair for women, even food.

They do not even speak Armenian, Turkish and barely above Kurdish. They go to the mosque, their children attending schools in the Republic of Turkey and their dead are buried in Muslim cemeteries. But sometimes their graves desecrated, not to mention stubborn jealousy vis-à-vis this family of “infidels”, richer than others.

“The remains of the sword”

As an extension of this singular history, other Islamized Armenians began to speak. In the remains of the sword (Thaddeus Publishing, 2012), French journalist Laurence Ritter investigates. Portraits and stories she has collected finally break the silence, the “basic rule of survival” in which these hidden Armenians were walled up. While in the center of the book, photos of Max Sivaslian give a face to the memory, lived or transmitted genocide.

Turks and Armenians still compete on the number of victims in 1915: 300,000 dead, say the first, more than a million, say the latter. Should we count the survivors, the ancestors of these crypto-Armenians? And if so, where, in which category?

“The dead” since they are recognized nowhere suggests the Turkish sociologist Ayse Gül Altinay in the afterword of the book Small children (Actes Sud, 2011). The one missing? Forced Islamization comes she strengthen the thesis of genocide? Or otherwise mitigate? Sensitive issues that explain why these family secrets have become a state secret.

Another question: in 2012, how much are these Muslim Turks who have Armenian roots, sometimes even without knowing it? In Turkey, at least 10 million, according to a series of historians cited by Bared Manok:

“Encryption is all the more difficult as the Islamization did not only Armenians […] [and that] Muslim minorities, Arabs, Kurds and Alevis, turn have undergone imposed turkification. […] The official discourse in Turkey is that there is one people, characterized by Islam and Sunni. All others had to go one way or another in this context “

One of the son of the Armenian family hidden that I filmed in 2007 no longer lives in the village but in Istanbul. In the anonymity of the big city, he decided to “convert” to Christianity. Which would be impossible, too risky for his life remained in the Anatolian countryside.

“The number of” re-conversions “increased,” confirms me Luiz Bakar, Turkish-Armenian lawyer who lives in Istanbul. It calls for these converted Armenians resume Armenian names keeps their own language, their religion and can thus revive their identity openly in Turkey.

Ariane Bonzon

Independent journalist. Works on Turkey, the Middle East and Southern Africa where it was relevant for 20 years. Written sometimes on France. His blog (in English): http://arianebonzon.fr

What’s Next for the ‘Hidden Armenians’ of Dikranagerd?

August 29, 2014 By administrator

BY ABOUT RAFFI BEDROSYAN
From the Armenian Weekly

The historic first trip to Armenia of Diyarbakir’s “hidden Armenians” is coming to an end and it is time for us to assess its impact, consequences, and next steps.

At the end of the first week, we organized a “Dikranagerd Night” at a beautiful location called the HyeLandz Eco Village in the village of Keghatir. We invited government officials, academicians, and researchers following our group, as well as some of the new-found relatives of the hidden Armenians, whose ancestors had managed to escape to Armenia after 1915. This reunion between the Islamicized Armenians of Diyarbakir and their Christian-Armenian relatives was a special one. Needless to say, the dancing and singing kept the whole village awake until the early hours of the morning. During the last few days, the group visited Lake Sevan and there—whether Muslim or Christian—they all reinforced their “Armenianness” by dipping into the holy waters, some just their toes, some their entire bodies… Then they were off to a government camping facility in Dzaghgatsor for a few days, where they had a chance to rest after a whirlwind tour of Armenia, and learn more of the Armenian language, songs, and dances. They all enjoyed the camp, except for the morning gym classes and the “beds from the Stalin era.”

On this drive back home to Diyarbakir to resume their lives, perhaps a bit apprehensive about their emerging new identities, I would like to share some of the life stories of these no-more-hidden Armenians. There is enough material for a book or movie for each of the 50 members of the group. Through interviews by the media or Ministry of Diaspora officials, the Armenians of Armenia have started to find out about them. The most interesting responses have been to the question, “When did you realize you had Armenian roots?” Some of them found out they were Armenian when they were already adults, at the deathbed of their parents or grandparents. Some discovered when they were in compulsory military service in the Turkish Army, when their commanders told them they couldn’t be trusted because of their “background.” Some found out when they were little, when other kids shouted “Armenian” to them in the street or at school; they knew it was a swear word, without knowing its meaning. As they rushed home crying, their parents had to explain that Armenian is not a swear word, but their identity. Some hidden Armenians tried hard to appear as devout Muslims; one even became an imam, a Muslim religious leader, while keeping his identity hidden. However, most hidden Armenians tried to ensure that their children married into other hidden Armenian families. Even the imam gave his daughter to another Islamicized Armenian boy, raising questions among his Muslim followers. No matter how much these people tried to hide their Armenian roots, however, it seems that their neighbors or government officials knew about their origins. During disagreements with shopkeepers, businesses, neighboring women or kids at school, the insult of “gavur” (infidel) or “devil-rooted Armenian” easily came out, no matter how devout they appeared to be.

One tragicomic story involves three Muslim-Kurdish boys about 8-9 years old; one of them was from a hidden Armenian family, but unaware of his roots at the time. They stole some of those famous Diyarbakir watermelons from the orchard of a hidden Armenian Islamicized man. The man caught the three little thieves, but let the two real Muslim-Kurdish boys go and gave a good beating to the hidden Armenian boy. I leave it to the psychologists to ponder the reasons for this man’s actions. Years later, this hidden Armenian boy found out about his real identity, and still thinks about this incident.

Another interesting fact that emerged from the interviews is the special place Yerevan Radio has in all Kurdish families’ lives, including our hidden Armenians group. As the Kurdish language was banned—and even possessing a Kurdish music tape was a punishable crime in Turkey for several decades—all Kurds tuned in to Yerevan Radio, which broadcast Kurdish news and music for a couple of hours each day. The members of our group all remembered how, when they were growing up, everyone would stop work at their homes or at shops to gather around the radio and hear Yerevan Radio’s Kurdish news.

I am confident that the groundbreaking nature of this historic first trip will open the road for other hidden Armenians to follow, but I would like to report on three additional successful outcomes resulting from this trip.

Firstly, two university graduates in our group who wanted to further their graduate studies in Armenia will be able to fulfill their dreams. Through an agreement with Armenian government officials, they will attend Armenian universities with free tuition, mastering the Armenian language during the first year and continuing on in their desired field of study.

Secondly, some members of the group inquired about obtaining Armenian citizenship, perhaps with future plans of retiring in Armenia. As per the existing citizenship requirements, the Armenian government demands documents and proof of Armenian ethnic origin; of course, no such documents exist among our hidden Armenians, except the memories passed on from their parents and grandparents. In discussions with government officials, I proposed the possibility of a baptism document as proof of Armenian origin. I suggested that if a hidden Armenian “comes out” and gets baptized in Armenia—similar to our two members who got baptized in Etchmiadzin (see previous article)—then this should be sufficient proof to apply for Armenian citizenship. The proposal was received favorably and will now be discussed in Cabinet, hopefully leading to approval by the government.

Thirdly, learning the Armenian language, history, and culture is essential to re-discovering Armenian roots. The Virtual University run by the AGBU in Yerevan is offering online courses in these subjects. The administrators have agreed to offer these courses for free to all applicants from Turkey. This will have a huge impact on the hidden Armenians of Turkey, wherever they are—in Dersim, Van, Mush, or Diyarbakir—as they can start learning on their own, and in their own homes, even in the absence of organized language courses.

Although this trip was the start of a new reality within the Armenian world, and was received with great enthusiasm by both government officials and the public in Armenia, I must admit that not everyone is on board. There are still quite a few Armenians who disapprove of the time and effort in bringing out the hidden Armenians. Perhaps it is untimely to air our dirty laundry, but I believe the arguments put forth by these disapproving Armenians must be discussed, as some of these people hold important posts within the Armenian Church and in political organizations in the diaspora and in Istanbul. These disapprovers argue that Muslim Armenians are not really Armenian until they convert to Christianity by getting baptized. But then, they argue that they cannot get baptized unless they show proof or documentation of their Armenian origins, until they speak fluent Armenian and “pass tests of being a good Armenian.” I believe it is shortsighted and unrealistic to have such requirements for hidden Armenians living in Van or Dersim, who are surrounded by Muslim Turks and Kurds, working in government jobs. The other argument I find incomprehensible is that the emergence of hidden Armenians in large numbers lessens the claims of the 1915 genocide, and that it is tantamount to strengthening the Turkish case for denial. I have even received comments that Turks will now use the hidden Armenians as proof that the genocide never happened. I should stick to engineering or music, they say, instead of getting involved in these issues. These comments can be dismissed, were it not for the fact that they come from individuals in undeservedly responsible positions in the diaspora and in Istanbul.

Regardless, we will keep on expanding our efforts in Diyarbakir and in other regions of Turkey, pushing the envelope on rules and regulations in order to facilitate the “coming out” of our hidden Armenian brothers and sisters—the grandchildren of the “living” victims of the genocide. There is a Turkish term for these hapless survivors: kilic artigi, meaning “remnants of the sword.” The attempted murder of a nation and the total confiscation of its wealth took place within Turkey, and as we approach the Centennial, we must realize that its resolution will also take place within Turkey. No matter how many events we organize in the Armenian Diaspora or in Armenia, no matter how many third-country parliaments and politicians appear to sympathize with our cause, at the end of the day, the only change will come from within Turkey when the peoples of Turkey realize the truth about 1915 and force their government to stop the denial and deal with the consequences. One of the key components toward this goal will be to re-create an Armenian presence within Turkey. The continuing dialogue between Armenian and Turkish civil societies and opinion makers, combined with the emergence of hidden Armenians within Turkey, are essential toward eliminating both past and present barriers.

I will conclude this series of articles with a tribute to the courage and determination of our hidden Armenians, and a few questions for readers to ponder: How will they be received back in Turkey? How will their families, neighbors, employers, and employees react to their new identity? Just consider Stepan’s case, the newly baptized man who works as a teacher at a government school. All of his students are Muslim. He told me he knows there are several kids in his class who come from hidden Armenian Islamicized families, but he doesn’t know if the kids know about their roots. How will the Muslim kids (or their parents) react to him coming out? How will the hidden Armenian kids (or their parents) react? How will his own kids react?

We are in uncharted waters, but sooner or later, truth and justice will prevail.