#armenian diaspora

[palipunk]

Armenians have lived in Jerusalem for 1,600 years and Armenian Palestinians are the oldest group in the Armenian diaspora. From their indigenous land in Artsakh to the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem, Armenians have been facing ethnic cleansing and persecution on multiple fronts. With the escalating genocidal violence in Gaza and the West Bank, armed settler encroachment into Armenian holdings in Jerusalem has fallen under the radar of some pro-Palestine activism and it is critical we do not allow this to happen.

Some context:

( In 1948, Armenians in Jerusalem numbered about 16,000. Today, that number has shrunk; estimates range from 700-1000, with a smaller community in Bethlehem. )

“We are not the objectives of the Israelis, but we occupy a huge chunk of Jerusalem. The fact that we’re here is an obstacle for them, but we’ve been here for 1,600 years and we’re not going anywhere.” "These are only the most visible of the challenges facing the community....Israeli discrimination, economic decline, and political insecurity have taken a toll on Armenians, encouraging emigration. A century after the community was nearly annihilated, Armenian Palestinians today say they feel deeply at home in the Holy Land, but fear how much longer they will be able to hold on."

“Don’t ask me about the massacres that happened 100 years ago [1915],” Annie Guluzian said when asked about her experiences as an Armenian Palestinian. “I won’t open [up about] those topics. Because if I do, I will start talking about my brother who was martyred by the Israelis in the [second] Intifada.” The toll of the Israeli occupation in Palestine is what defines her life today, Guluzian added. Source

Since October 26th, 2023, when the leader of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced it would cancel a once-secret 2021 land lease deal with a real estate company that has alleged links to settler interests, the company, Xana Gardens, has sent in armed settlers and bulldozers to steal the land (including Armenian Chruch property and several Armenian families). Armenians have been resisting the occupational forces day in and day out.

From November 5th:

Link to tweet and video

November 5th:

Link to tweet and video

November 22nd:

Link to tweet and thread

November 25th:

Link to tweet and thread

In response, Armenians have created an account on Twitter called SaveTheArq which has been documenting and updating on social media the recent land demolitions by Israeli settlers in the Armenian quarter, they have also launched a fundraiser for legal actions to protect the Armenian quarter and I highly recommend donating, if you can't, please share it around:

[sayruq]

[haykhighland]

Armenian family from the village of Gharaghan (Ղարաղան) in Markazi, Iran, 1939.

Family archive

[riversidewings]

One of the things River contends with, amidst the events of Confluence Book 2, Path of the Straw Thief, is refining her sense of who she is, both as a cybernetic being as well as an Armenian in exile. And although the mountains of Anatolia are where her roots are, River herself belongs to the Ōu Mountains, Japan's longest range, which forms the spine bisecting the Pacific and Sea of Japan sides of the Tohoku region.

With Karabagh's We Are Our Mountains and Yerevan's Mother Armenia statues in mind, and with the Ōu Mountains as my backdrop, I drew this portrait of River with kimono sleeves tied back, standing in a rice paddy in Naruko Gorge, holding the Shirakami SBR whose development we saw in Book 1.

Full size version and before/after at https://www.patreon.com/posts/confluence-we-84584518

[jamiethenerd]

[dougielombax]

Just leaving this here.

Feel free to reblog.

[balancing-inbetween]

I had always hoped the Armenian quarter would help prevent extremist Jews from going too far in Jerusalem. After all, learning about their existence in classes talking about modern Jerusalem is how I learned about the Armenian genocide.

This just makes me sad.

[liiitza]

My Scandi friend: ‘I’ve managed to trace my family tree back to the 19th century. I’ve even been able to find photos and documents about them! You should do the same! 😍’

Me, with Greek and Armenian ancestry with no knowledge of either language and with a dysfunctional family on one side: ‘absolutely 🥲🥲🥲💔’

[trouvezcharly]

Plus je découvre de choses sur l’Italie et l’armée nie plus mon cœur fleurit, plus la déchirure de mes ancêtres se referme

[head-post]

Armenian PM: “Some circles” from Karabakh threaten country’s national security

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Thursday that “some circles” who left Azerbaijan’s East Karabakh region threatened Armenia’s national security.

“I cannot help but note that some circles forcibly resettled from Nagorno-Karabakh are, wittingly or unwittingly, taking actions and steps that pose a threat to the national security of the Republic of Armenia.”

Pashinyan specified that the “circle” under discussion declared itself “some kind of government in exile,” adding that the only government in the country was “the one sitting in the room they are present in.”

If anyone in Armenia identifies itself as the government, it is a matter of national security. This is not a simple statement, it is a clear message.

The Prime Minister also warned that necessary and appropriate steps would be taken to prevent the use of certain circles by foreign forces to threaten Armenia’s national security.

Read more HERE

[archiveofcyp]

15 February 1924 - 100 years since High Commissioner Sir Malcolm Stevenson laid the foundation stone for the Melkonian Educational Institute at the “Spilios tou Kaloyerou” (Cave of the monk) just south of Nicosia. Present at the ceremony were Bishop Bedros Saradjian, Moushegh Seropian, architect Garo Balian, a multitude of officials and many members of the Armenian community of Nicosia.

“The great benefactor, Garabed Melkonian, was unable to attend the ceremony due to his health and sent a telegram instead. In less than two years later, the huge estate would become home to the first 78 students, all of them Armenian Genocide orphans.

The realisation of this unique achievement was the result of combining the vision of Moushegh Seropian (formerly Archbishop of Adana) and the wishes of Garabed Melkonian, who bequeathed his and his late brother’s, Krikor, immense wealth for the construction and maintenance of the Melkonian Educational Institute, an unparalleled school with a boarding house across the Armenian Diaspora.

After the barren hill on which the Melkonian was built was cleared out of the many foxes and was cultivated, it was euphemistically called “Ծաղկաբլուր” (Flower Hill) by Moushegh Seropian, who - together with Archbishops Zaven Der Yeghiayan and Bedros Saradjian - was in many ways responsible for realising this noble goal.

The iconic buildings, together with the legendary water tower, soon became a landmark for Nicosia, Cyprus and the Armenians around the world.”

Information and photos courtesy of Gibrahayer Magazine.

[sayruq]

[haykhighland]

I think some of the craziest hate I’ve gotten are Armenian nationalists trying to question my Armenianness because I have one non-Armenian parent (Spanish&Amazigh).

I’ve had to prove I speak Armenian— then get ridiculed by said nationalists because I “don’t speak proper Armenian”. The “proper Armenian” in question is Standardized Eastern Armenian. Despite the fact that most Armenians, over 90%, did not speak a dialect even near what is now the standardized Armenian.

It’s extremely sad that the same nationalists that will advocate for genocide recognition, will willfully contribute to the erasure of pre-genocide Armenian dialects that are ENDANGERED and rapidly dying.

I speak the dialect from Nakhchivan (now under Azerbaijani occupation— ironically they kept the Armenian name). My family was forcefully displaced by Shah Abbas in the 1600s— from this day forward our dialect has remained unchanged for 400 years.

Also adding onto the fact that most Armenians who have one none Armenian parent, also speak Armenian. My cousins are white and Armenian, and their white mother learned our village’s dialect. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be fluent, because as she was learning Armenian, I was being taught alongside her. She speaks exactly as I do, and has tried to replace every loan word from Farsi, into Armenian for us. When someone asks what language she speaks she says “we are Armenian”. She calls herself Armenian and I will never deny her of that because she has preserved our heritage and dialect. She wouldn’t even let us speak English at home!

[riversidewings]

The story of melonpan, a ubiquitous and beloved Japanese sweet bread invented by an Armenian immigrant to Japan, is a tale that I chased for two decades, and which brings together his story and my own.

Read on in one of my most popular articles for Unseen Japan!

(enjoy my work? Consider subscribing to support it at komaneko.gay)

[dougielombax]

Also leaving a few more links here I couldn’t fit in the previous post.

Feel free to reblog.

Reblog the shit out of this.

[harminuya]

Armenian women painting ceramics at the workshop of David Ohanessian, Jerusalem, Palestine, 1920s.