MORE PROBABLY I’M ARMENIAN...
It has been repeatedly mentioned that one of the most important problems of the contemporary Turkish society is the so called “crisis of identity.” The people who were subject to assimilation in different historical periods and their generations have serious suspicions about their ethnic belonging, which aggravates into crisis by time. In this aspect one should just reveal the research results of English and German specialists, according to which 38-40% of the population in Turkey don’t consider themselves to be Turks. “Crisis of identity” has different ways of development and denouement conditioned by a certain individual or his surrounding. There are many theories on it; however, it is not of little interest to see this phenomenon by the examples of certain people. Thus, the popular singer and musician in Turkey Yasar Kurt told about his Armenian identity in his interview given to the Istanbul newspaper “Agos” (N29, 2008г.). It is noteworthy that in his confession he was much influenced by the acquaintance and cooperation with Arto Tuncboyajan and his group Armenian Navy Band. Yasar Kurt made the second grateful announcement about his ethnic origin: “More probably I’m Armenian....” Below you may read the translation of the interview with some shortening.
R. M.
- Can you tell us how you discovered it to yourself?
- I was born and grown up in Istanbul, but my family is from Rize. We have never asked a question about our origin. At the same time, still in my childhood I felt that we were somehow different from the others. At first I thought that we were probably Georgians. When I asked my father where our ancestors came to Antalya from, he answered “From Batumi.” Maybe very long ago we really came from Batumi, but at family conversations it was often mentioned the word “Van”. My father always answered me that we were Turks, but I more perceived it as the question of cultural belonging and not genetic ties. Besides, if we are from Asia, why we aren’t squint-eyed? Then I got acquainted with Arto and we had long talks together. He made it clean how it was to be an Armenia in Turkey. I had a real shock. Arto is local, for about 20 years he lived in America but he didn’t become an American. And I lived in Germany for a long time and was far away from such problems. Since my views on life and my family have changed.
- What kinds of feelings does a person, who considered himself to be a Turk such a long time, have: shame, anger?
- I felt shame, anger and I was confused... If you have practical skills in the issues of cause-and-effect ties, than you ask yourself a question: How all this could possibly escape your attention or the attention of a whole society? Moreover, why this question is so important? What can change the Armenian blood flowing in my veins?
- Do you feel that you really have Armenian roots?
- I’ve been thinking for months what I must say, how I must think not to harm anybody. I was told, “You will suffer and maybe put your life under threat.” “Than I must make that step,” I told myself. I should say that this interview also gave cause for mediation. Now I’m certain in one thing: I want to know the Armenians better: what they eat, how they live and their world view. This is an absolutely new world for me. I want to learn Armenian and visit the country frequently.
- Have you ever been to Van?
- One day I asked one of the elderly members of our family when they had moved to the Black Sea. He answered that at the end of 1800s a boy called Ismail from the Van village Berkri found a shelter in a family living at the Black Sea coast. At the age of 19 he was taken ill with the tuberculoses of lungs and a man living at the mountainside took the boy to his place and promised to cure him. Ismail recovered, moreover, he married that man’s daughter and they had four sons. One of them was the grandfather of my father. I’ve never seen my grandparents, but the death of the grandfather from my father’s side always seemed to me doubtful. He died in the forest, when he was cutting down a cherry-tree. The same is told about his brother. It is also very strange that we didn’t have any property at the black Sea. Under the burden of suchlike questions I went to my uncle. According to him our ancestors lived in the Van province called Muratil. Our relations with the Ottomans aggravated and we moved to the Black Sea, far from Van. We passed the way through mountains on foot, and many perished on the way. That’s to say the history of my family changed at once, from Ismail to Ottomans... Than I found out that by that time Muratil was called Barkri and that the deportation of all the Armenians passed through the territory of this province.
- Making such a discovery concerning to your identity you revel the whole reality relating to your family and it is not possible to account only for yourself. What was the reaction of your family?
- There was no negative reaction. They only asked where I had found out all that and added, “Even if it is so, nothing will change for us any more.” After all everybody has a family, their own world. But think that everybody seemed to be relieved.
- It should have been very difficult for you to add one more page to your history connected with your identity? What are you going to do? What the others must do after they have found out that they are Armenians?
- I’ve opened only a little gleam of my national identity and speak only from myself. There is a door that you have found out, but you can’t enter: there is a barrier. Maybe the subjects of my songs will change. I’m forty and I don’t have much time to get accustomed to the new identity, but little by little I’m taking new steps. Foe example, when in Turkey I was doing translations for Armenian Navy Band, something strange happened: a man in the shop asked: “Where are your friends from?” And when I answered that from Armenia he asked: “Are you also from Armenia?” This question was asked to me for the first time and I answered: “Yes, I’m Armenian.”
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