Eastern U.S. edition - Armenian Reporter

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Armenian fighter in French Resistance is focus of Robert Guediguian’s movie screened in Cannes Set in the Second World War, The Army of Crime highlights the life of poet Missak Manouchian French-Armenian filmmaker Robert Guediguian’s new movie The Army of Crime was screened at the Cannes Film Festival last month. Starring Simon Abkarian (Ararat, Casino Royale, Persepolis), Virginie Ledoyen and Gregoire Leprince- Ringuet, The Army of Crime retraces the life of Armenian poet and worker Missak Manouchian, who led a real-life army of foreigners (Jews, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians, Spaniards, Italians, and Armenians) who fought for the French Resistance during the Second World War and died for it. Guediguian’s film honors the memory of the sacrifices made for the Resistance by foreigners living in France. The Parisian Resistance fighters of the ftp-moi (Francs-Tireurs et Robert Guediguian Partisans de la Main d’Oeuvre Immigrée) led by Manouchian, carried out about 30 operations against the Nazis between August and November 1943. The group was handed over to the Germans by French police. The Nazis themselves A scene from The Army of Crime. christened the group the “Army of Crime” in an effort to cast doubt upon their heroism. Manouchian, along with 21 other men and one woman were condemned to death in February 1944. Just a few short months later, Paris was liberated for good. Missak Manouchian’s final letter This letter from Missak Manouchian inspired the poet Louis Aragon to write a poem about the group, which was later set to music by Leo Ferré. Source: Lettres des Fusillés (Paris: Editions Sociales, 1970) My dear Melinée, my beloved little orphan, In a few hours I will no longer be of this world. We are going to be executed today at 3:00. This is happening to me like an accident in my life; I don’t believe it, but I nevertheless know that I will never see you again. What can I write you? Everything inside me is confused, yet clear at the same time. I joined the Army of Liberation as a volunteer, and I die within inches of Victory and the final goal. I wish for happiness for all those who will survive and taste the sweetness of the freedom and peace of tomorrow. I’m sure that the French people, and all those who fight for freedom, will know how to honor our memory with dignity. At the moment of death, I proclaim that I have no hatred for the German people, or for anyone at all; everyone will receive what he is due, as punishment and as reward. The German people, and all other people will leave in peace This poster was distributed by the Nazis during the World War II in France in an effort to cast doubt upon the heroism of the resistance fighters. and brotherhood after the war, which will not last much longer. Happiness for all.... I have one profound regret, and that’s of not having made you happy; I would so much have liked to have a child with you, as you always wished. So I’d absolutely like you to marry after the war, and, for my happiness, to have a child and, to fulfill my last wish, marry someone who will make you happy. All my goods and all my affairs, I leave them to you and to my nephews. After the war you can request your right to a war pension as my wife, for I die as a regular soldier in the French army of liberation. With the help of friends who’d like to honor me, you should publish my poems and writings that are worth being read. If possible, you should take my memory to my parents in Armenia. I will soon die with 23 of my comrades, with the courage and the serenity of a man with a peaceful conscience; for, personally, I’ve done no one ill, and if I have, it was without hatred. Today is sunny. It’s in looking at the sun and the beauties of nature that I loved so much that I will say farewell to life and to all of you, my beloved wife, and my beloved friends. I forgive all those who did me evil, or who wanted to do so, with the exception of he who betrayed us to redeem his skin, and those who sold us out. I ardently kiss you, as well as your sister and all those who know me, near and far; I hold you all against my heart. Farewell. Your friend, your comrade, your husband. Manouchian Michel P.S. I have 15,000 francs in the valise on the rue de Plaisance. If you can get it, pay off all my debts and give the rest to Arméne. MM Missak Manouchian, a biography Missak Manouchian. Photo: German federal archives. Poster of the The Army of Crime . Missak Manouchian was born in 1906 in Adiyaman in the Ottoman Empire. His father was killed during the Armenian Genocide and his mother, already ill, died a short time after the deportations. Missak and his brother were placed in an orphanage in French Syria. In 1925, the brothers left for France, settling in Marseilles, and then eventually in Paris, where Missak worked in the Citroen plant. In Paris he became a member of the French Communist Party, wrote poetry, and edited political and literary journals. Head of the Armenian section of the ftpmoi, he was promoted to chief of the Parisian unit in 1943. 12 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | June 13, 2009
SITUATIONAL ETHICS Taxis drivers and their meters Join the discussion with a question or an answer – or both. When I visit the homeland, taxi drivers often fail to turn on their meters. I know they are thus cheating the taxi service out of its cut and the government out of its tax revenues. But I also know they are struggling to make ends meet. Should I insist that they turn on their meters? Should I report them to the service if they don’t? Signed, Policing Armenia’s Taxis Dear pat, It’s funny with taxis in Armenia. You can go to a street corner and get into an aging Russian sedan with no meter, travel 5 km, and get charged 1,500 drams ($4) or more. By the same token, you can call a taxi service, have a new European-manufactured cab sent to you, travel the same 5 km, and get charged 600 or 700 drams. You would think the old car on the corner would cost less than the radio-dispatched car with airbags and seatbelts, but that’s not how things work out. As far as I can tell, the taxi market has developed in this way for historic reasons. The aging sedans tend to belong to old-timers, career chauffeurs, and they laid claim to their particular corners years ago. They also set their rates when there was a lot less competition. They tend to own their cars, so they don’t have to split their income with an owner. They go for less volume at higher prices. The services, on the other hand, go for higher volume at more competitive prices. Slowly but surely, the nonservice cabbies are succumbing to market pressures and agreeing to charge the lower rates set by their competitors. Nowadays you will see a lot of non-service cabs charging the lower rates. Okay, on to your concerns. First, about taxes: The Armenian government taxes taxicabs at a flat annual rate. If the cab has yellow plates, as it is required to have, it is paying its taxes. So take cabs with yellow plates and don’t worry about cheating the state. Second, the meter is there not only to protect the service (if the cab is a service taxi) but also to protect you. You are not the service’s agent or enforcer, so you don’t have to ask for the meter to be turned on. But you are well within your rights to insist. You note that drivers are struggling to make ends meet. That is generally true. You don’t want to encourage the driver to make ends meet by cheating his service. You shouldn’t abet fraud, and anyway, the service may also be struggling to make payments on the fleet of cabs that you rely on. So what to do about the fact that the driver may be struggling? If you can afford to leave a generous tip, that’s an option, though it certainly doesn’t solve the problem. If you are a frequent user of taxicabs in Armenia, you may want to experiment with different services and give your business to one whose drivers say they do not feel ill-used by the service. As for reporting drivers who don’t play by the rules: If the driver drives recklessly, I have no compunctions about calling the service and voicing my concern, even if that leaves the driver without work. I would weed out bad drivers (before they weed out themselves and others with their criminal recklessness), so I can’t fault you for trying to weed out dishonest drivers. “Always expose wrongdoing” is one approach to ethics, and you’re welcome to take that approach. I wouldn’t do it. I’d prefer to insist the driver play by the rules and if he declines, switch to another taxi. The switch has a consequence for the driver – one lost fare – but it is not as drastic a consequence as tattling could bring about. Avak Yeterian Agree? Disagree? Have something to add? Have a question of your own? Write ethics@reporter.am today. Next week’s question My sister stays in my spare apartment whenever she visits our city, which is every three or four months. I love hosting her. But I know that on the next visit she plans to use my pad to cheat on her significant other. I don’t make her personal life my business, but I feel I’ll be implicated if my apartment is used for the purpose. Am I ethically obligated to make my spare apartment unavailable during the next visit? Visit us at reporter.am Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | June 13, 2009 13
Page 1 and 2: U.S. urges no Karabakh link for Tur
Page 3 and 4: Number 118 June 13, 2009 the armeni
Page 5 and 6: The Armenian Reporter | June 13, 20
Page 13: arka Ballet’s mission is to nurtu
Page 17 and 18: Sam Saghatelian and friends exhibit
Page 19 and 20: Watch Armenia TV on Dish Network. T

Eastern U.S. edition - Armenian Reporter

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?