Far from the monoethnic state Armenia is sometimes accused of being, Armenia contains a rich tapestry within its borders. In the past week, social media had multiple examples of celebrations by different ethnic groups who call Armenia home:
Yazidi New Year
Assyrian New Year
Ramadan starts at Yerevan’s Blue Mosque
The past week has seen the passing of several leading American-Armenian figures, including Hirair Hovnanian and Set Momjian. Social media saw an outpouring of tributes for beloved academic and Aurora Prize co-founder Vartan Gregorian.
NYT article… note Haberman is also his daughter-in-law
Another important tweet from Samantha Power tells it like it is, that Biden’s planned recognition of the genocide on April 24 is of paramount importance. News has been coming fast and furious that Biden will in fact recognize, though Armenians are waiting to hear it to believe it. High hopes were dashed first by President George W. Bush and then President Obama, a huge disappointment which both Power and Obama recently recounted in their respective memoirs.
In this final countdown to April 24, this tweet reminds us that the genocide also consists of events leading up to April 24, and its roots go back nearly a century:
It also notes this fascinating parallel between the Defense of Van and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which were linked through Franz Werfel’s novel The Forty Days of Musa Dagh:
In light of the refusal of Azerbaijan to allow UNESCO monitors into the area, we will be keeping an eye on is the new Caucasus Heritage Watch project, which will be using satellite imagery to monitor the state of Armenian cultural heritage in the regions which have come under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the recent war. The dark track record of the complete annihilation of Armenian sites by Azerbaijan over the past decades, most notably medieval Jugha Cemetery and all the Armenian churches of Nakhichevan:
Speaking of Armenian cultural heritage, it has never been limited to just the Caucasus and Anatolia. Check out Diana Yayloyan’s deep dive into the Armenian traces in Afghanistan:
Take a journey to the Armenian-Turkish border with Argun Konuk, the latest series of his experiences as a Turk traveling in Armenia. While visiting landmarks along the border he describes the surreal feeling of being right next to his country and yet so far away, at least as long as the border is closed. He finishes off this excursion by being blown away by the magic of Gyumri:
Like Armenians all over the world, it seems his mind is in Tsitsernakaberd this week:
