By Aram Margarian in Diaspora
Dear Mr. Erdogan,
In 50 days it will be 100 years since the Armenian Genocide began. What then happened cannot be simply explained as a war. What then happened was not a series of provincial skirmishes. What then happened was not the unfortunate death of 1.5 million people through starvation and disease. No, Mr. Erdogan. What then happened was a barbaric attempt by the Ottoman Turkish regime to eviscerate the Armenians. It was a fully orchestrated, fully sanctioned massacre of civilians. It was a genocide and it happened.
The author’s grandmother on the far left with her family
in Aintab (Gaziantep), circa 1911. The family fled Turkey during the Armenian
Genocide./Courtesy Aram Margarian
Dear Mr. Erdogan,
In 50 days it will be 100 years since the Armenian
Genocide began.
What then happened cannot be simply explained as a war.
What then happened was not a series of provincial skirmishes. What then
happened was not the unfortunate death of 1.5 million people through starvation
and disease.
No, Mr. Erdogan. What then happened was a barbaric
attempt by the Ottoman Turkish regime to eviscerate the Armenians. It was a
fully orchestrated, fully sanctioned massacre of civilians. It was a genocide
and it happened.
How do I know it happened?
My maternal grandmother was 14-years-old at the time.
When her family was forced to leave their home in Aintab (Gazaintep), she took
books with her. She was told they would return in three months. She told me of
her excitement at the thought of returning to school one day to resume her
education.
That day never came.
She told me of those terrifying days, Mr. Erdogan. Of how
relatives and friends would disappear and never return. Of how others didn’t
disappear, but instead perished before her eyes on the side of the road, of how
Ottoman soldiers struck people with their weapons because they could, how her
family held a secret memorial for her eldest brother and a mysterious cloud of
incense filled the makeshift tent, how her pious father never recovered from
this loss and died weeks later, how those in her group were forced to rely on
instinct to survive and how everyone knew that those shunted towards Deir Zor
never stood a chance.
I know it happened Mr. Erdogan because the same stories,
often more gruesome, were also told by the grandparents of every other Armenian
child of my generation in the Diaspora. There would have been more stories too,
had there been more survivors.
Do you ever wonder why the numbers in the Armenian
Diaspora dwarf the population of Armenia today? Do you ever wonder what
motivated Armenians to leave their historic homeland en masse in the throes of
the Ottoman Empire? Can you think of another race of people in the history of
the world that voluntarily decided to leave its homeland?
I am writing to you from Australia. I have relatives in
Jordan, Jerusalem, Turkey, Armenia, France, Canada and the U.S. This is not
atypical nor is it a coincidence.
Do you ever wonder, Mr. Erdogan, why there were around 2
million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 and there are less than
50,000 living in Turkey today? It’s not the fertility rate Mr. Erdogan.
I’m guessing you have fairly good access to the Ottoman
Turkish archives so I won’t cite the primary evidence. I won’t cite the
countless accounts from journalists at the time, or the memoirs of Ambassadors
and diplomats from all corners of the world that were stationed in Turkey
during those horrendous years.
I won’t even mention that countries like France, Canada,
Uruguay, Switzerland, Cyprus, Netherlands, Slovakia, Argentina, Lithuania,
Germany, Chile, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Venezuela, Lebanon, Poland, Greece,
Sweden and Bolivia have all recognized that the Armenian Genocide was
perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish regime from 1915.
The names of Armenian-populated cities including
“Hadjin,” “Aintab” and “Urfa” in the Ottoman Empire written in Armenian at the
Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia/ Courtesy Aram Margarian
Mr. Erdogan, this may not be immediately obvious, but an
admission by your Government that the Ottoman Turks were fully responsible for
the Armenian Genocide would have a huge and lasting impact.
Turkey and Armenia, and the relationship between the two
would benefit enormously. The people of Turkey today have nothing to lose,
nothing to fear. Indeed, an official recognition of and apology for the
Armenian Genocide by you can only be positive. It would lift the shadow of the
albatross.
There are important differences between Armenians and
Turks but there are also similarities. Armenians and Turks both have a European
aspect to their way of life intertwined with strong ties to their respective
heritages. Both Armenians and Turks are hospitable by nature and readily
welcome strangers into their home; they often share similar physical
characteristics, share a similar cuisine and share a similar sense of humor. We
all know Armenians call the coffee they drink Armenian coffee and the Turks
call the exact same coffee Turkish coffee. We can all laugh about this.
My mother, who grew up speaking Turkish and Armenian in
her home, still quotes Turkish proverbs. I still call my uncle “dai dai,” the
Turkish word for a maternal uncle.
Mr Erdogan, two peoples cannot survive and flourish for
centuries and in relative harmony without an appreciation of and a deep respect
for each other’s culture.
I’d like you to put yourself in the shoes of an Armenian.
You’re the same person, you’re the same age, have the same siblings but you’re
Armenian and you live outside of Turkey. Which means the horrific accounts from
your relatives would be seared into your memory. Which means you probably have
family spread across Armenia, Lebanon, the US, France or Australia. Which means
you heard how your mother’s family was decimated in the desert plains of Syria
and how your father’s family tried to flee but that only he and his baby
sister, your delightful “tantig” or aunt Anahide, survived.
You develop a thing for Turks. Every time you meet a Turk
or hear a Turk speak on television, your mind instinctively goes back to 1915.
It was a long time ago, you weren’t there and they weren’t there, but you can’t
control how you think.
Growing up in Australia, there was a Turkish boy in my
year at school. My mother knew from his surname that he was Turkish. He and I
got on well enough and were polite to each other but even as an 8-year-old I
could feel a barrier between us. One afternoon, he invited me over to his place
to play. We walked inside and it looked and smelled like our house except
darker. I was petrified.
Years later, on starting a new job I was introduced to a
colleague. I knew instantly from his name that he was Turkish. Again, we were
civil and polite to each other but that barrier was there again; there was a
distance between us, a lack of natural warmth.
It doesn’t have to be like this Mr. Erdogan.
There are 50 days to go. In 50 days, Armenians and
non-Armenians the world over will stop to commemorate the 100-year anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.
With a few simple words as the President of Turkey, you
have the power to do what is right, to change the course of history and to make
a real difference.
The choice is yours.
Be brave Mr. President.
Best regards,
Aram Margarian
Aram Margarian is an amateur writer who writes mainly
about sport but occasionally branches out into other areas. He is as proud to
be Armenian as he is to be Australian. He has discovered that shaving before
catching a flight in the US still makes him the randomly searched guy 100% of
the time. He drinks lattes, always adds bacon and rants as @LordAram on
Twitter.
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