With the Tokyo Olympics now in the rear view mirror, the world’s attention has turned to the political, economic and human tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan. The calls from Afghanistan’s population sound eerily familiar: The world is watching our country fall apart and doing nothing. This tweet is a reminder that, besides the better known Armenian communities of the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan has hosted small Armenian communities as well.
The world.. and social media… and Armenian social media were taken by surprise when American basketball star player Enes Kanter, from Turkey, tweeted “it was eye-opening to learn more about Armenian Genocide and face my ignorance.” Kanter fell afoul of the Armenian Internet in December 2020 when prior to a game between his then-team the Portland Trailblazers and the Houston Rockets, a photo appeared in which Kanter flashed what appeared to be the hand sign of the notorious Turkish Grey Wolves terrorist organization. In the Rockets’ home state of Texas, the same sign represents the state’s flagship team the University of Texas Longhorns and the Longhorn Grinch, which Kanter later clarified was his intention when making it. The replies were many and filled with outrage, and the photo was taken down. Now with the Boston Celtics, Kanter’s very long (by social media standards) statement is in the context of a desire to “stand up for human rights for all people,” saying Turkey must face its past and present crimes. Kanter is well known as an outspoken critic of the Erdogan regime, calling him a threat to regional peace.
Amidst the fallout from last year’s war and continued tensions on the borders, Armenians have also been on French President Emmanuel Macron’s mind. He tweeted “with friendship and solidarity”, France will always be at Armenia’s side, and that it will be sending 200,000 doses of the COVID vaccine. With the Delta variant spreading and much more virulent than the original COVID-19, here’s some gentle encouragement from the Soviet past:
Did you know this interesting fact about the design of the Matenadaran?
Because we sure didn’t! Sounds like the perfect reason to dive into centuries of Armenian artistic tradition with this online version of the catalogue from the 2018 exhibit “Armenia!” at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Spread the gift of Armenian historic beauty:
From treasures to trash, an interesting hidden camera video takes a look at how Yerevantsis react to litter:
Finally, check out Yerevan’s newest public recreation structure, a skate park donated by the Ukrainian-Armenian community. It can be an important outlet to members of Armenia’s skateboarding and extreme sports subculture, as well as a healthy way to exercise and blow off stress at a time when we all could use it. With the Armenian government discussing how it can greatly increase its number of gold medals in the coming decades, it is worth noting the Tokyo games saw the debut of skateboarding as an Olympic sport. Could this be the training grounds of future Armenian Olympians?
