here - Armenian Weekly

Mayissian
Moving forward, having a strong, sustainable
Armenia must be a part of the equation
alongside the ongoing struggle for genocide
recognition and reparations.
Central to our objective of seeking justice has been the unrelenting
dream of an independent Armenian homeland.
Today that dream is a reality, albeit a fragile one that faces serious
challenges: blockaded borders and hostile neighbors externally;
widespread corruption, the lack of rule of law, poverty, and
emigration internally.
Today’s Armenia is not the Western Armenia of 1915. It is not
land “returned” to us by Turkey as compensation for the
Armenian Genocide. However, today’s Armenia is itself a legacy of
the genocide. Miraculously established as an independent country
after hard-fought battles in 1918, it represented the will of a massacred
nation to survive. As a re-emerged independent republic in
1991, this tiny parcel of land is the guarantor of the security and
sustainability of a nation spread the world over.
My roots as a diasporan cannot be traced to Yerevan or Lori or
Gyumri, but for me today’s Armenia is very much a homeland. It
is very much a part of our “Free, Independent, and United
Armenia” dream, which itself is the essence of a just resolution of
the Armenian Genocide.
As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, there will be much discussion about what we have
achieved in our struggle for a just resolution and where we go
from here. Moving forward, having a strong, sustainable Armenia
must be a part of the equation alongside the ongoing struggle for
genocide recognition and reparations.
As post-election events continue to unfold in Armenia and
echo in the diaspora, we already seem to be on the brink of a
qualitatively new phase in Armenia-Diaspora relations. One
where relations are not limited to only providing financial support,
or to formal activities such as government-organized
Armenia-Diaspora conferences.
Today, Armenians in the diaspora seem more willing and ready
than ever to engage with Armenia in a new light, and the momentum
must build further. This requires diasporan institutions and
organizations, from political parties to schools, to be active proponents
for better informed, and therefore more purposefully
engaged, communities.
From funding reform-oriented organizations in Armenia, to
volunteering their time to them, there is a lot that individual
diasporans can do to bring positive change to Armenia. At the
same time, by being more critical of the Armenian authorities
and maintaining pressure on them, leading diaspora organizations
can go a long way to trigger change.
Ninety-eight years after the Armenian Genocide and we are still
fighting to secure an acknowledgement, an apology, and reparations.
These are essential components of a just resolution of the Armenian
Genocide and we must continue to pursue these objectives. At the
same time, however, we are fortunate enough to have a homeland.
That homeland itself is a part of the solution. As Diaspora
Armenians, we must recognize this and ensure that our political
agendas are widened in scope to pursue a Just, Democratic, and
Sustainable, as well as a Free, Independent, and United Armenia. a
32 | THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY | APRIL 2013
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