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  • Freedom rings for Armenia

    UCLA Daily Bruin
    Tuesday, July 6, 2004

    Freedom rings for Armenia
    By Garin Hovannisian
    DAILY BRUIN COLUMNIST
    [email protected]

    YEREVAN, Armenia - On July 4th Americans celebrate the signing of the
    original document that sparked and symbolizes the fight for
    U.S. independence. It is the celebration of a people's independence
    from the oppressive rule of a foreign government.

    But on the opposite side of the globe, in a land-locked country called
    Armenia and in its immediate and distant neighboring countries, there
    is a different type of independence that cannot yet be celebrated. It
    is the individual's independence from the oppressive rule of his own
    government.

    The fall of the Soviet Union gave the various countries of Eastern
    Europe the national independence that is necessary for a strong
    society, but that did not guarantee the individual independence
    necessary for the strong citizen.

    This is the unfortunate reality that I have come to accept (but not
    agree with) during the course of my stay in Armenia where facts of
    family and heritage bring me every summer. Armenia, a small country
    between the Black and Caspian seas, is the historic homeland of
    Mt. Ararat, where Noah's Ark is said to have landed. Its people have
    survived genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government and
    oppression in Soviet gulags. But it often appears that the Armenian
    people might not survive the corruption and thuggery of its government
    - a government run by a terrible president, adjudicated by a crooked
    justice system and sponsored by the mafia.

    I believe strongly however, that a sense of, or want for freedom is
    fundamental to human nature. So on the 4th of July, at 6 "o'clock", I
    set out on my mission to find freedom in Armenia.

    My younger sister and I picked up my friend Ruben, a tall, dry-humored
    law student, and went to a play named "David of Sassoon Copperfield,"
    which satirized the fact that Armenians like to believe, if only
    jokingly, that all important people are Armenians.

    The play revolved around the imagining that David Copperfield the
    magician was in reality David of Sassoon, an Armenian folk hero. There
    was a bit of freedom there, but surely there was more to be found. So
    we took a 20-minute drive to Ararat golfing range where a prominent
    Armenian American family was hosting an Independence Day
    celebration. The gathering was complete with hamburgers, hotdogs,
    jazz, U.N. and U.S. ambassadors and late-night fireworks. Freedom
    could be felt here too. But was it a bit forced?

    After dropping my sister back at home, Ruben and I met up with some
    friends at Armenia's striking Opera House, which is surrounded on all
    sides with booming cafes and outdoor restaurants. It is the heart of
    Armenia's nightlife.

    At midnight, hundreds of people gathered around the projection TV of
    one of those cafes to watch the European Cup soccer championships
    between Portugal and Greece. The Armenian people are wholly different
    from Americans in their approach to sports. Instead of rooting for the
    underdog, Armenians cheer for the favored team. Though Greece and
    Armenia share a common history and culture (which is why I was rooting
    for them), the viewers at first cheered on the Portuguese. But time
    would change that.

    Almost an hour into the match, Greece scored the only goal of the
    game. The reaction of the crowd was indescribable, but I'll describe
    it anyway. It was as if, for that moment, nothing else mattered or
    existed. It was as if for that moment those Armenians were bound
    neither to state nor shady laws. It was as if for that moment
    everything was free in Armenia. In the victory of a foreign team, the
    Armenians of the Opera House saw a reason to celebrate.

    Even the Portuguese fans now put their glasses with ours and made
    toasts. To Greece. To Armenia. To Independence. Ah, sweet
    independence.

    In the first hours of the new day, we walked the streets of Armenia
    which at night seem like they come from a Disneyland ride.

    We ended up at Republic Square, the cross-section of several major
    streets and the site of government buildings, banks, water fountains
    and the Armenia Marriott.

    At the center of the square, dozens of people had gathered with Greek
    and Armenian flags. The Syrian-Armenian Hovik, who was the big
    Portugal guy at our viewing at the Opera, led the Greek fans in a
    chant and run around the square.

    Overhead, a full moon peaked at the Armenians through a clouded
    sky. It saw scores of cars circling around the center strip and
    honking horns, a group of winners and more winners singing anthems and
    yelling in joy and a philosophical author who had found what he was
    looking for.

    I knew that the next day Armenia would be dismayed again. But in that
    moment, I did not care. For while the United States celebrated
    independence on one continent, Armenia experienced the exact same
    thing on another.

    It celebrated the most important meaning of Independence Day - the
    independence of the individual.

    What will happen to these lonely countries here on the other side of
    the world, I do not pretend to know. But as long as there is hope and
    a will to be free, freedom will be.


    Hovannisian is a second-year history and philosophy student. E-mail
    him at [email protected]. Send general comments to
    [email protected].
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