Diasporan Until When? Living in the Homeland

I was born and raised in Chicago, IL to first-generation Armenians from Aleppo, Syria. My mother was an Armenian school principal and teacher in Chicago for over 25 years. My father is an Armenian musician and artist, and the nicest man anyone can meet; he wouldn’t even kill a fly if it got into the house. This is until he heard one of his children speaking English, and not Armenian, and after that point, he would turn the house upside down. My grandmother refused to learn English despite living in America for over 30 years, so that her grandchildren would have no choice but to speak in Armenian. I have been raised completely Armenian in the diaspora, with immense effort being put in by my family, and in large part to my involvement in the Armenian community.

However this all came at a great sacrifice, enormous amounts of time, money, and effort that goes into raising one's kids within the Armenian community, let alone speaking the Armenian language. More importantly, our compatriots raised in the diaspora will struggle with deep questions of self-identity. This is especially true for the old’ diaspora; whose forefathers escaped the Armenian Genocide only to find themselves scattered all over the world, without a single tie to what is left of the Armenian homeland.

Questions of Identity for the Armenian Diaspora

How can someone hold such love for a country they are so far from? What is the future of Armenians outside of Armenia? What does it mean to be truly Armenian? These are all questions I have long held for myself. I suppose the answer will be different for everybody. But after living and working in Armenia for 6 months, I truly believe the following:

The diaspora does not survive without Armenia, and Armenia does not survive without its diaspora.

Without a homeland, diasporan communities will continue to struggle to preserve whatever they know of Armenianness while growing ever-smaller with time due to assimilation. For diasporans without any Armenian community, we see this loss accelerate even faster.

Without a diaspora, Armenia loses their greatest asset: their human capital. This spells disaster for a nation with a greater population in the diaspora than in the country.

A Call to Return to the Homeland

My message to all my friends, family, and compatriots is: come to Armenia, live in Armenia, work in Armenia, and make Armenia yours. You have so much to offer Armenia, and it has so much to offer you. My time here has given me a much deeper appreciation and understanding of our nation's history, identity, culture, and language. William Saroyan correctly said, “for whenever two Armenians meet, see if they will not create a new Armenia.” My addition to Saryoan is to create that new Armenia here in Armenia. The horizons of my world have expanded in a way I never would have imagined, and I could not be more grateful. Your experience will inevitably be different, but no matter how far you are from home, just know:

Հողը երեխայի պէս է, ոտքերդ կը բռնէ եւ կաղաչէ որ երբեք չի թողնես։