Armenian Living in Turkey: Advocacy for Brotherhood Should Be Done at the State Level to Sound More Convincing

• 05.16.2017, 17:16
•  Region,  World,  Interview

"Armedia" IAA talked to an Armenian living in Turkey,Teacher Aras Saricoban. During the talk the latter briefly presented the story of his family, referred to the problems, that the Armenians today face in Turkey. Below is the story of Aras Saricoban.

I was born in Istanbul. I am a teacher and now teach Armenian language, literature and religion at an Armenian school. I know the story of my family only to some extent: the story of my father’s side better than that of my mother’s side. Before the exile the father of my paternal grandmother was forcibly taken to a labor colony (at that time all the representatives of the minorities, who were not able to pay a wealth tax, were send to labor colonies) from where he returned with health problems and shortly after died. During the exile my grandmother was orphaned and was taken to an orphanage in Ethiopia. Later on her grandmother found her there.

15 years ago, when I was still at the high school it was much more difficult for us to discuss our history. The teachers were speaking in a low voice in order nobody around could hear them. It was a hard topic to speak even in the family. Although each parent passed to his child the history of their family, they always had fears that their children could speak with their friends about it openly and thus it would cause problems for them.

During my years at the University and after graduation I myself tried to get informed about our history reading from different sources and travelling around, as we were told about it neither at the school, nor at the University. 

Today, however, we can discuss this topic more openly. I, as a teacher of the same high school I studied myself, I can see that today my pupils  feel freer to ask questions while I am freer in my answers.

Although today we speak more freely and courageously about our history, I should say that during last two years our hopes were not fulfilled.  Today we do not have great expectations from the reconciliation process, as the anti-Armenian propaganda is active among Turkish nationalists and at the state level.

I remember how our mothers, grandmothers warned us not to speak Armenian outdoors. Although today our fears are not so serious, we are not optimistic about the future. We have worries that in the future the situation will become even worse. We have worries that in the future we will pass through the same prosecution, which were carried out in the past against the Armenians and Greeks. Although today we are not a subject of a direct physical prosecution, verbal threats are very frequent.

Today in Turkey, if we do not discuss our past and do not voice our rights, we can live happily. Of course, there are issues that are being solved. For example, in Istanbul there were nationalized and confiscated estates belonging to the Armenians and to other minorities that were returned.  

However, other issues connected with the minorities continue to remain unresolved.  For example, in Turkey there is no law, which will maintain the schools of minorities. I, as a teacher at a national school, see with my own eyes how difficult it is for us to balance the annual budget of the school.  There are years that we are even not able to balance it, as our school is a charitable institution and we cannot charge money from the pupils. However, we are forced to survive and compete with other non-Armenian educational institutions in Turkey to give an opportunity to our children to receive an Armenian education and upbringing.

Negative and prejudiced attitude towards Armenians is widespread among common people in Turkey. If this attitude is not so obvious in Istanbul, then outside it the Armenians cannot live without prosecution and pressure. Such a negative and prejudiced attitude towards Armenians cannot change, when the Turks learn from their history that it was not them, who prosecuted Armenians, but they themselves were prosecuted by Armenians.

The Armenians living in Turkey, being religious and national minority, come across double obstacles. The country already has problems connected with human rights and freedom of expression, which for Armenians are doubled. If an Armenian and a Turk have the same problem and voice about it simultaneously, both of them will be prosecuted, however, the prosecution of an Armenian will be doubled, because of his/her nationality. Besides, the possibility of the Armenians to become a state official is very low in Turkey. Although the Armenians can work as teachers at state schools, they feel under pressure there as they cannot voice the truth.

The staff at our school is mainly Armenians. However, of course, there are teachers of history, geography, Turkish language and others sent by the government, who, fortunately, more or less know the truth.

What refers to the future, I should state that I myself feel quite pessimistic about it. The country seems to step by step turn into an autocracy. In the future we will not become more democratic, while our freedoms will become more limited.

As for the reconciliation of Armenians and Turks, it could happen if the education system changes in Turkey, if they stop propaganda through textbooks and other means, which are obstacles to reconciliation. Besides, the people should be brought up in a way to become more conscientious. Advocacy for brotherhood should be done at the state level to sound more convincing.