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Armenian Church Aims to Heal Past in Kurdish Region of Turkey

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  • Armenian Church Aims to Heal Past in Kurdish Region of Turkey

    Voice of America
    Dec 31 2013

    Armenian Church Aims to Heal Past in Kurdish Region of Turkey

    Dorian Jones
    December 31, 2013


    DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY - A recently restored church has become a focal
    point for ethnic Armenians seeking to rediscover their cultural
    identity and faith in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. The
    region was once home to a large Armenian population. Most perished
    during mass expulsions and pogroms during World War I by Turkey's
    Ottoman rulers.

    The St. Giragos Armenian Orthodox Church is located in the back
    streets of Diyarbakır's ancient Sur quarter. It was derelict and
    abandoned for decades until restored to its full splendor two years
    ago.

    Hundreds attended the celebration of the church's saint's day in
    September. Even though the church is awaiting an appointment of a
    priest, Armin Demirciyan, who looks after the church, claims it has
    already become an important symbol of ethnic Armenian identity.

    "It means everything to me. It's our history. It's our culture and
    it's our legacy,' he said. `It's the gift of our ancestors to us. As
    an Armenian I can see myself here. I was raised as a Kurd, I knew
    nothing of my Armenian identity.'

    Tragic history

    Demirciyan's family history is a familiar one. His father was only a
    child when his parents were killed in mass pogroms against ethnic
    Armenians during World War I, by then-Turkey's Ottoman rulers.
    Demirciyan's father, like many other Armenian children, was taken in
    by local families, and brought up as a Muslim.

    Some ethnic Armenians are now converting to Christianity, like Melike
    Gunal, who regularly visits the church. For years, she said she hid
    her identity, but that the re-opening of the church helped her to
    publicly embrace her identity and faith.

    `I come here three or four times a week to light a candle. It's a
    Christmas miracle for me to find Christianity and this church,' she
    said. `Even before, when there was no roof, I would come here and sit
    and cry. But now there is a roof and it's restored; it's so special
    for me.'

    Gunal's father - a political activist - was killed in the 1990s during
    the Turkish state's war against the Kurdish rebel group the PKK. Gunal
    said it was that fight by Kurds for greater minority rights, though,
    that gave the chance for Armenians to assert their identity

    "It all came out with the Kurdish struggle for there identify, that
    opened the door to us," she said. "How could they deny our identity
    when fighting for theirs? Before we could only utter our grandparent's
    Armenian names at home, from a very early age we understood to hide
    our identity."

    The local mayor, Abdullah Demirtas of the pro-Kurdish BDP, contributed
    $600,000 of municipal funds to the church's restoration. He said it
    was part of a policy of encouraging diversity.

    `In past years, the state wanted to turn this region, this area, into
    a single Turkish Muslim identity, by not only suppressing Kurds, but
    all these communities, all these religions and languages,' he said.
    `We want to show this diversity can live together.'

    Symbol of ethnic heritage

    But St. Giragos church, as a symbol of the region's ethnic Armenian
    heritage, raises difficult questions for Kurds. That's because some
    Kurds then played a prominent role in the killings of Armenians.

    Armenia says 1.5 million Armenians were killed during World War I by
    troops of Turkey's Ottoman Empire. Turkey says Armenians were killed
    as part of a civil war and maintains the death toll is exaggerated. It
    says the deaths do not constitute genocide.

    At St. Giragos there is a small photo exhibition recording the once
    vibrant Armenian community. It includes family portraits and photos of
    people drinking wine and smoking water pipes. A group of Kurdish and
    ethnic Armenian teenagers is looking at the images, aware most of
    those pictured probably perished in a mass killing.

    For Baran Dogan, a Kurd, the church is a place to face up to the past.
    `We are very much aware what happened to the Armenians by Kurds under
    the order of the Ottoman state,' he said. `I did not know my close
    friend was Armenian, and he did not know either until recently. When I
    come to this church I feel it as a small apology, although it never
    can compensate for what they've been through.'

    By 2015, a full time priest will be appointed to St. Giragos. That's
    another small step in helping to re-establish the city's once diverse
    society.

    http://www.voanews.com/content/armenian-church-aims-to-heal-past-in-kurdish-region-of-turkey/1820809.html

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