“…coming out of the ghetto…”

What does it mean to be “Armenian” living in the Diaspora in the 21st century?

In the past the Diaspora referred to those of Armenian heritage living outside of the traditional “homeland” of Armenia. Yet the current state of Diaspora is evolving into something very different, with different needs and goals.        

Said one Lebanese-Armenian interviewee: “For me, being Armenian is a package” - being Lebanese in some instances, being Armenian in others, and being Lebanese-Armenian in yet other circles. Those in the Diaspora at times feel the need to present different faces, express differing hopes, and take on local fears for and from different diasporan existences.

Such was the discussion we heard on Thursday night by Prof. Hratch Tchilingirian, Associate Professor of Armenian Studies (IMAS) at Inalco in Paris in addition to teaching positions at the University of Oxford (2012–2024) and the University of Cambridge (2002–2012). Recently the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church, under the direction of Abp Hovnan Derderian, appointed Prof. Tchilingirian as Director of Institutional Innovation “aimed at reshaping the Diocese in order for it to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”

Prof. Tchilingirian shared with the group the results of a Diasporan survey that encompassed 13,000 participants with 400+ in-depth interviews around the world, including large Armenian communities on the West and East coast of the US, Argentina, France, UK, Lebanon, Egypt, and Southwest Russia.

The results were intriguing.

My takeaways:

The general consensus is a Diaspora which feels proud of its Armenian heritage, values learning Armenian as a language, and would like to participate in the Armenian institutions, be it school for kids, after-school or weekend programs, or other cultural endeavors. The wish list includes better communication about events, programs, or opportunities to participate in their local Armenian communities - yet our task is ensuring that what is being built in the community is actually in line with what is desired by the younger generation.

Are we listening to the younger generation of the Diaspora? Indeed, are we making it fun instead of feeling like an obligation?

One of Prof. Tchilingirian’s last slides hit me with a strong sense of personal sorrow - the slide entitled “1960’s - coming out of the ghetto...”

The 1915 Armenian Genocide saw populations of ethnic Armenians living in Ottoman Turkey being dispossessed of their homes, businesses, schools, and churches, those left alive being forced to flee to refugee camps around the world. These refugees included my grandparents, who settled in Karantina (a quarantine camp) in Lebanon where my parents were born. Prof. Tchilingirian remarked that these first arrivals held on to the belief, the hope, that they would go back to their ancestral homes. It didn’t really hit them until the 1960s that this was not temporary, that they needed to adapt to their new home countries, a process that is still in full force today. This process had produced new identities, new desires, and new directions unforeseen by previous generations. These are the challenges facing traditional Armenian institutions and ways of thinking today.

Prof. Tchilingirian ended his insightful presentation by reminding us that despite the challenges ahead we need to remember the Diaspora has many positive attributes that will serve as the basis of the changes which need to occur if our current institutions want to stay relevant and engaged for generations to come.

As I was leaving I saw the khatchkar (cross stone) honoring my father on the church wall. He was one of many young Armenian children born and raised in a refugee camp. At some point hope overcame that uncertainty and allowed him to get an education, leading him literally to move mountains in the desert, allowing him to build beautiful structures bringing people together for a better tomorrow. I can’t think of a more fitting metaphor.