It was a taboo till recently to write of the Armenianswho were forcibly turned into Turks and Kurds duringthe Ottoman reign. Most of them, living today inWestern Europe, Western Armenia and Cilicia(modern-day Turkey), are going through a revival ofnational identification. After the Armenians ofHamshen, those from Sassoon, Mush and Taron, who wereforcibly converted into Islam, are especially easy totalk with about their past and present. They try toreturn to the bosom of their nation by overcomingtheir "guise", the names and surnames, and to fightfor their rights and to recover the historic legacy oftheir forefathers massacred by the Turks.
One can meet those Armenians returning to their rootsin Germany as well as in Armenia especially after thewar in Iraq and the vents at the Turkish border. Some"Kurdish" Armenians fought in the ranks of the PKK(Kurdish Workers’ Party) and got disappointed afterOjalan’s capture and left for Germany where they couldfind a wide field for political and national activity.They settled in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Mainzand elsewhere.
"I was born in Karmir Khach (Kzl Akhach) village ofTaron. We shunned the Armenian Genocide as we acceptedIslam feigningly and were Kurdish-speaking. My fatherand brother enrolled in the PKK to fight againstTurkish fascism, they were imprisoned and torturednumerous times. I’ve been studying and working here inGermany for a long time and am in touch with theArmenian community and the progressive forces. But inWestern Armenia, especially in originally ArmenianVardo town, which was stricken by an earthquake in 60sand where my relatives live, human rights violationsare rampant", Simon Kostanian (Sardet Kosdun), whoregained his Armenian identity today, tells.
Razmik Hakobian (Nureddin Yagub) from one of Ciliciavillages was a PKK warrior but was arrested and jailedin one of Ankara’s horrific prisons. He is a writerand a film director who is planning to shoot a filmabout the life of Diaspora Armenians.
"My parents concealed our identity particularlybecause being an Armenian was an unforgettable affrontin Adiamani where I am coming from. Despite this, many"Kurdish" and "Turkish" Armenians were called"gyavur". The film I am trying to shoot is about anArmenian outcast and also is an odyssey of a WesternArmenians who survived the Genocide. I shall realizemy plans if I find necessary support in Armenia and bythe help of our confederates in Western Europe",Razmik tells.
The number of Armenians, who only now discover theiridentity, above all in Sassoon and Mush, amounts tothousands.
"There are around 1000 Armenians in Mush. The Turkishgovernment has forgotten us for a while, as there arethe Kurds to deal with. The sons of the Kurdish peoplesay sorry for their fathers’ deeds who were killingArmenians together with the Turks", Armen from Mushsays.
By Hamo Moskofian in Wiesbaden-Marseilles
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