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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 16 2013
Thousands of 'secret Armenians' living in Anatolia, Argentine journalist writes
ISTANBUL
Hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens living in Istanbul and in
eastern Anatolia are concealing their Armenian roots, an Argentine
journalist of Armenian origin has said.
Avedis Hadjian, a reporter for La Nacion, one of the biggest
newspapers in Argentina, said there was a significant community of a
`mysterious minority known as secret Armenians' that have converted to
Sunni Islam or Alevism in an effort to blend into society.
Hadjian said no one knew the precise number of `secret Armenians' in
the country since a majority of them are afraid to reveal their true
identity.
`A secret Armenian in Palu [in the eastern province of Elaz?Ä?±?Ä?] told me
that that `Turkey is still a dangerous place for Armenians,'' he said,
adding the secret Armenians typically chose to eschew contact with
members of the Armenian community that are especially active in
Istanbul.
Some of them reject their identity even though they know and accept
that their grandfather or grandmother was an Armenian, while others
hide it from their children, Hadjian said.
Many of the secret Armenians live difficult lives, he said, recounting
the story of Rafael Alt?Ä?±nc?Ä?±, `the last Armenian' of the northern
province of Amasya, who was brought up as a Christian. Alt?Ä?±nc?Ä?±, who
studied in the same Armenian secondary school as slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, later converted to Islam and
raised his daughter as a Turk despite considering himself an Armenian.
Another `secret Armenian,' Mehmet Arkan, a lawyer in the southeastern
province of Diyarbak?Ä?±r, told Hadjian that he did not know his roots
until he was 7 years old.
`He fought with a Kurdish child and returned home telling his father
that he had been called `Armenian.' That's when his father mentioned
that, as a matter of fact, they were Armenians but that he could not
tell it outside the home,' the journalist said.
`It is less dangerous to live as an Armenian [now] compared to 10
years ago in Diyarbak?Ä?±r,' says Arkan, noting that Diyarbak?Ä?±r
Metropolitan Municipality had paid for the restoration of the
historical Surp Giragos Armenian Church in the old city.
Hadjian also noted the story of the Ogassian family, which lived in
the Bagin village in Palu before emigrating to the United States
following the events of 1915. But one of their little children,
Kirkor, stayed in the village after perhaps being abducted by a
Kurdish family.
Kirkor later married another orphan of Armenian origin and converted
to Islam. After a number of years, however, their relatives made
contact with them. Nowadays, Kirkor and his wife have a son who is an
imam in the town of Harput, while their nephew is the archbishop of
the Armenian church in New York, Hadjian said.
February/16/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/thousands-of-secret-armenians-living-in-anatolia-argentine-journalist-writes.aspx?pageID=238&nID=41263&NewsCatID=341
Feb 16 2013
Thousands of 'secret Armenians' living in Anatolia, Argentine journalist writes
ISTANBUL
Hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens living in Istanbul and in
eastern Anatolia are concealing their Armenian roots, an Argentine
journalist of Armenian origin has said.
Avedis Hadjian, a reporter for La Nacion, one of the biggest
newspapers in Argentina, said there was a significant community of a
`mysterious minority known as secret Armenians' that have converted to
Sunni Islam or Alevism in an effort to blend into society.
Hadjian said no one knew the precise number of `secret Armenians' in
the country since a majority of them are afraid to reveal their true
identity.
`A secret Armenian in Palu [in the eastern province of Elaz?Ä?±?Ä?] told me
that that `Turkey is still a dangerous place for Armenians,'' he said,
adding the secret Armenians typically chose to eschew contact with
members of the Armenian community that are especially active in
Istanbul.
Some of them reject their identity even though they know and accept
that their grandfather or grandmother was an Armenian, while others
hide it from their children, Hadjian said.
Many of the secret Armenians live difficult lives, he said, recounting
the story of Rafael Alt?Ä?±nc?Ä?±, `the last Armenian' of the northern
province of Amasya, who was brought up as a Christian. Alt?Ä?±nc?Ä?±, who
studied in the same Armenian secondary school as slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, later converted to Islam and
raised his daughter as a Turk despite considering himself an Armenian.
Another `secret Armenian,' Mehmet Arkan, a lawyer in the southeastern
province of Diyarbak?Ä?±r, told Hadjian that he did not know his roots
until he was 7 years old.
`He fought with a Kurdish child and returned home telling his father
that he had been called `Armenian.' That's when his father mentioned
that, as a matter of fact, they were Armenians but that he could not
tell it outside the home,' the journalist said.
`It is less dangerous to live as an Armenian [now] compared to 10
years ago in Diyarbak?Ä?±r,' says Arkan, noting that Diyarbak?Ä?±r
Metropolitan Municipality had paid for the restoration of the
historical Surp Giragos Armenian Church in the old city.
Hadjian also noted the story of the Ogassian family, which lived in
the Bagin village in Palu before emigrating to the United States
following the events of 1915. But one of their little children,
Kirkor, stayed in the village after perhaps being abducted by a
Kurdish family.
Kirkor later married another orphan of Armenian origin and converted
to Islam. After a number of years, however, their relatives made
contact with them. Nowadays, Kirkor and his wife have a son who is an
imam in the town of Harput, while their nephew is the archbishop of
the Armenian church in New York, Hadjian said.
February/16/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/thousands-of-secret-armenians-living-in-anatolia-argentine-journalist-writes.aspx?pageID=238&nID=41263&NewsCatID=341