Comments on: A Lost Map on the Tramway in Istanbul

By: Tezeta: nostalgia armena in terra d’Etiopia | Palm Wine

Tezeta: nostalgia armena in terra d’Etiopia | Palm Wine — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 23:26:48 +0000

[…] dal genocidio del 24 aprile. Iniziative in questo senso possono continuare a tentare di smuovere il silenzio che vige ancora in Turchia in merito alle violenze e ad una componente sociale andata perduta, che […]

By: Love

Love — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 05:21:36 +0000

Sí, es muy cierto!! También es importante llevar seguridad y libertad a estas personas a no tener miedo de ser quienes quieren ser.

By: Love

Love — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 05:14:56 +0000

Jack Kalpakian…. I’m getting the feeling you may truly not be an Armenian, but whatever is your nationality it’s just dandy with me…

if this article didn’t make it clear..let’s make it clearer… these “hidden” Armenians chose to live instead of death, hence, they chose to convert into Islam.. those who chose to stay Christian were killed in a very brutal way!! (most were not even given a choice!!!)

only God can make a judgement on us, us humans when we want to make judgements it’s b/c we need to say I’m better than you, etc..

I am glad these people chose life!! I will call them my brother and sister, even if they choose to stay Muslim or Turkish. (Yes, I have been raised to stay wary of Turks, but when the time is right…I will make the choice to think otherwise). If the individual makes a choice and converts to Christianity and/or begins to call themselves Armenians, it is their choice.

By: Sharing a Story from My Father: In Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide | Conspiracy Theories

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:29:57 +0000

[…] I began to let go of the hate. I began to understand that the people of an entire nation could not be held accountable for what those in power orchestrated – that […]

By: IANYAN Magazine – Watertown: Armenian-American Stronghold Becomes Tangled in Shootout

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 04:12:00 +0000

[…] Say what? This little nugget, while has yet to be expanded upon, is at this point in time, very strange. Armenians are generally Orthodox Christian and belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. In fact, if you happen to come across one in any part of the world, rest assured one of the first five things out of their mouths is the fact that Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion – a source of national pride. The Armenian Diaspora is of course, not a monolith and there exists a group of ethnic Armenians, known as Hemshin, the majority of whom, are Muslim. There are also ‘hidden’ Armenians, that is, ethnic Armenians of Turkey who acknowledge their Armenian descent but keep a very low profile (Tip: See our widely popular piece on this issue by journalist Avedis Hadjian, “A Lost Map on the Tramway in Istanbul.”) […]

By: Jack Kalpakian

Jack Kalpakian — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:06:36 +0000

No responses to Andrew until he withdraws his personal attacks.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:11:51 +0000

The reason Jack Kalpakian’s claim to Japanese identity would ring hollow is because presumably he has no link whatsoever to the Japanese nation. Unlike him, the hidden Armenians have a strong claim to Armenian identity: they are descended from Armenians, they are aware of their national identity and have been preserving it and, crucially, they live on our historical lands, UNLIKE most Armenians who speak the language -declining numbers in the Diaspora- and nominally are members of the Church (even though very few attend badarak.) The rigid -and brittle at that- notion put forth by Jack Topalian is hinged on an Ottoman definition of identity by which Armenian and Christian are mutually interchangeable. In other words, he has no use whatsoever for evolution, and he insists on a very narrow definition of “community.”

By: Jack Kalpakian

Jack Kalpakian — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:49:15 +0000

Let us be very clear, there is nothing in my arguments that give me personally any right to define anyone. People define who they are, but these definitions must be congruent with how groups define themselves. They do so through ritual in our region of the world. All human communities have criteria for exclusion and inclusion — sorry, this is real life. As I said repeatedly and was deliberately misinterpreted and had words put in my mouth, constructing communities is not a warrant for harming anyone. I also think that we have to accept a very close relationship with Turkish people — as the genetic research is showing beyond any doubt: Turks are Muslim descendants of Armenians, for all intents and purposes. The implications of all this are detailed above. No, I do not think that the collective identity should actively exclude anyone, but belonging must be confirmed beyond mere assertion. Saying you are X is not enough, since X is a community with its own socially constructed criteria. I could call myself Japanese, but would ring hollow wouldn’t it.

By: Jack Kalpakian

Jack Kalpakian — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:27:58 +0000

Andrew,
Please do not address me. I do not wish to talk to you or know you.