Greek Armenian Community: the struggle continues

Forming of the Greek Armenian community

ATHENS, Greece – Kareas is one of three districts in Athens where many Armenians live. In this clean and beautiful district, representatives of different nationalities live side by side: Armenians, Russians, and Romanians. Here for sure you will hear familiar words and expressions, Greeks have also learnt several Armenian words which they will surely say when they find out that you are from Armenia. One of the Armenian clubs and the editorial office of the monthly journal Armenika published in Armenian and Greek are in Kareas. Today the Greek Armenian community is one of the most organized and developed colonies. There are schools, churches, a nursing home, newspapers and clubs.

Settling Armenian refugees on Greek territory in the period 1921-1922

In spite of historical Greek-Armenian cultural and political connections, the formation of the first Armenian community in Greece is mentioned only by the end of the 19^th century. Nearly 150 Armenians lived in Athens and Pirea in 1890. The flow of Armenians to Greece increased after the Genocide and especially in 1922, after the Zmyurnia massacres, when according to different calculations 80,000-100,000 Armenians together with hundred of thousands of Greeks found shelter in Greece. The second significant historical event for the community was in 1946-1947, when thousands of Greek Armenians immigrated to Soviet Armenia.

The new inflow of Armenians to Greece began in the 1990s. 30,000-40,000 Armenians immigrated to Greece from newly independent Armenia. This third stage of the history of the community hasn’t finished yet as the inflow of Armenians is still continuing, albeit not its previous pace. Today in Greece Armenians are mainly concentrated in Athens and Salonika.

There is no definitive answer as to the number of Armenians living today in Greece. According to the facts given by the Armenian Church in Greece, the number of Armenians in Greece is 50,000-70,000, 15,000 of which are traditional Diasporas. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Greece, the number of Armenians is 80,000-100,000.

The struggle to preserve Armenian identity

The editorial office of Azat or newspaper

The Azat or (Free day) Armenian-language daily newspaper is the link connecting the community and Armenia. More than two thousand subscribers stay informed not only about the latest news of Armenia but also about community life. The ancestors of Hripsime Harutyunyan, who is the editor of the Azat or newspaper, which has been published for 66 years, immigrated to Greece in 1922. Hripsime speaks perfect Armenian, she sends her son to Armenian school. “We speak only Armenian at home. Of course, it is difficult to preserve your identity, when you represent the third or the forth generation of the Greek Armenian community but if you go to Armenian school, are involved in community life, have a strong will to stay Armenian and not to be assimilated, you can achieve success,” said Hripsime.

Sargis Karavani is 26 years old. His father is Greek, his mother is Armenian. But Sargis considers himself to be Armenian. He graduated from Armenian school, was involved in the juvenile union and now is the head of the central youth department of the Armenian Revolutionary Party in Greece. Three years ago he visited Armenia. “It was wonderful. In our school, photos of Ararat, Sardarapat and Tsiternakaberd are hung on the walls. But it is a completely different feeling to see these places in reality. In Armenia I feel at home,” said Sargis. He says that it is more difficult to stay Armenian and keep your language when you are young. “It is difficult to keep the language. When you go to Armenian school and Armenian is spoken in your family it is easier to do. But now young people aren’t trying to protect Armenian identity much. We are really united only on April 24, when we gather in the main square of Athens and organize demonstrations,” said Sargis.

It is also difficult to avoid mixed marriages, especially for youth. 62-year-old Tigran Abasyan was born in Armenia. His parents emigrated from Adana. He is the head of the Armenian General Benevolent Union in Greece and he was also the editor of the weekly newspaper New world. He says that in Diasporas the most important thing is to keep the consciousness of being Armenian even if you don’t know the native language. His two sons visited Armenia and today Tigran Abasyan’s only dream is to see his sons married to Armenian girls. “If they don’t marry Armenian girls, I will accept their decision but for me it will be a disaster,” said Tigran Abasyan.

In Greece the danger of mixed marriages is higher than in Muslim countries. Armenians are treated well here; the differences among two Christian nations aren’t so big. The Reverend Father, priest Bared Khacherian of St. Gregory the Illuminator Church mentioned: “In Islamic countries, marriages of Armenians to Armenians are stressed but in Christian countries the situation is different and even sad”.

Greek Armenians and Armenians from the Republic of Armenia

Armenian souvenirs in Armenia club

Armenia club is on the third floor of a residential building in one of the central districts in Athens. Those who gather here are mainly people who emigrated from Armenia in the 1990s and whom Greek Armenians call Armenian Armenians. Pictures of Armenia are hung on the walls, and there are souvenir and Armenian cognac on the tables. After work they gather here, exchange news, watch TV, read the Armenia newspaper published by the club and discuss what events they can organize. Traditional Diaspora representatives rarely come here. Greek Armenians have their clubs. Relations between traditional Diasporas and those who emigrated from the Republic of Armenia are tolerant outwardly, but evasive in reality.

“For decades our aim has been the protection of Armenian identity, our struggle for existence is directed to that. We hoped that Armenian Armenians would come and join our struggle. But it didn’t happen. Many of them were artists and if they gave some of their abilities to us, we would be pleased. But many of them say that they come to Greece to become Greeks. They even change their names and surnames,” said Reverend Father, priest Bared Khacherian of Athens. Photo journalist Mayq Chilingaryan said, “Armenia is the country of our dreams and one can go mad when Armenian Armenians say that they hate Armenia”. “We weren’t ready for this big wave. At the beginning it was difficult to understand how it was possible to leave the motherland for economic reasons,” said teacher Taguhi Minasyan.

Minas Sahakyan, who moved to Greece 13 years ago, says that they were waiting for help from Greek Armenians but it wasn’t offered. “When I had just come here, I took my children to the Armenian Sofi Hakobyan School. Greek Armenians didn’t admit my children as they didn’t know Greek. I had to take them to Greek school where they were admitted though they didn’t know Greek. Then when we went to clubs they didn’t associate with us, secluded themselves from us,” said Minas Sahakyan. Davit Ayvazyan, an Armenian from Tehran and the editor of Armenia newspaper, who has been living in Athens for 9 years, said that they invited Greek Armenians to the events organized by the club but they rarely accepted the invitations.

Armenia club was opened in 2001 uniting almost 1500 Armenians. Davit Ayvazyan, who is also one of the founders of

Davit Ayvazyan

the club, shows photo albums where the best episodes of club history are collected. “We held free courses of the mother tongue, we teach Greek and English, organize meetings and roundtables,” said Davit Ayvazyan.

Tigran Abasyan says that there was great disappointment in the Greek Armenian colony when after Armenia became independent, economic migrants immigrated to Greece. “While years ago only the father of a family came here to work, now they come with the whole family which means that the road back is closed. Here they get by somehow but don’t want to return to Armenia,” said Tigran Abasyan.

Dreams of easy life are clashing with reality

Greece doesn’t’ give any privileges to emigrants, they receive no benefits. It has become more difficult to find a job especially during the economic crisis. And when absence of documents adds to this, “get by” is really no exaggeration.

Minas Sahakyan is 54 years old. In Yerevan he did wire bonding in the Physics Institute. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he couldn’t find a job and decided to move to Greece. He came here as a tourist, stayed and has lived in Athens for 14 years. Today his wife works in a confectionery, his daughter is a hairdresser and his son came back to Armenia to serve in the army after which he got married and stayed in the motherland. Minas often thinks about going back to Armenia. “I can find a job in Armenia. For my work in Armenia I am paid only 30,000 AMD. How can I live on this salary and still help my son’s family?” asked Minas Sahakyan. He misses Armenia, his home in Yerevan and his grandchild, but still he hasn’t decided to go back.  ‘If there is work and rule of law, nobody will leave Armenia. In Greece you are a foreigner anyway,” said Minas Sahakyan.

29-year-old Armen Muradyan hasn’t been able to find a job for a year. The same was in Armenia. Two years ago he decided to move to Greece because his mother and brother had come here before him. Armen doesn’t have residence or permit of work in Greece. He is a jeweler by profession and can find work sometimes. He wants to visit the motherland but doesn’t want to stay in Armenia forever. “I miss Armenia very much. I will go back and come again. I don’t have faith in my future in Armenia, I can see no prospects for myself there,” said Armen.

21-year-old Lia Qosakyan doesn’t think about returning to Armenia anymore. She came here when she was 12 years old. Her parents had been working in Greece for several years and then decided to move the children too. She has already entered University, works in the Azat or Armenian-language newspaper. “I have already created a foundation for myself here. What will I do in Armenia? Of course I miss my relatives in Armenia but I lived here for a long time so it is difficult for me to leave everything and go back. My parents, on the contrary, want to be back, but I and my brother don’t,” said Lia.

School as the center of protection of Armenian identity

There are three Armenian schools functioning in Athens: Levon and Sofi Hakobyan Armenian blue cross School, Simon Zavaryan School and Galpaqean Armenian General Benevolent Union School. Children first go to kindergarten, then they move to preparatory school and afterward primary school. All the schools offer kindergarten, preparatory and primary schools and there is only one secondary school in Levon and Sofi Hakobyan School.

School is the second place after family where children can learn Armenian. The schools are paid starting from 50 to 150 Euros monthly. Moreover, as the directors point out, the sum is often reduced and even can waived if parents aren’t able to pay. “Only children grow up as Armenians,” said the directors of the schools. In 2009, 40 students were admitted for the first class of primary school of Levon and Sofi Hakobyan Armenian blue cross School. “The number is good,” said the director Rikardo Yerkanyan. 101 students are studying in grades 1-6 of primary school. “The number of students is increasing but together with kindergarten we can admit a maximum of 140 students. Sometimes we have to turn parents down and not admit children but we do our best to avoid such situations,” said Rikardo Yerkanyan.

Levon and Sofi Hakobyan School

Simon Ter-Sahakyan, the director of the secondary school, is from Lebanon and has lived in Greece for 7 years. 34-year-old Ter-Sahakyan has been the director of the secondary school, which includes grades 7-9, for 4 years. Together with the Greek state program students study the Armenian language, history, geography, literature and religion. There are 56 students at the secondary school. “Unfortunately there is no high school in the community. After graduating from secondary school students go to Greek school,” said Simon Ter-Sahakyan.

Children start to go to the kindergarten of Simon Zavaryan School when they are 3 years old. At first kids go to the ‘sprout ‘ section, then they are moved to the ‘bud’ part and after they learnt Armenian letters in the ‘flower’ class, they are transferred to primary school. “There are 110 students in the primary school, 40% of them are from Armenia,” said Taguhi Minasyan, the primary school teacher.

Galpaqean School

There are 77 children study in the kindergarten and Primary school of Galpaqean Armenian General Benevolent Union School.  In 2008 there were 65 students. “We can admit up to a hundred students,” said Hilda Yesayan, the director of the Galpaqean School.

The three Armenian schools were founded in the districts where many Armenians live and are recognized by the government of Greece.

The Church: the separation continues

There are 12 Armenian churches functioning in Greece. 10 of them are under the subordination of Holy See Cilicia in Antilles and only 2 churches are under the subordination of the Cathedral Church St. Ejmiadzin.

Two patriarchates appoint the leaders of two dioceses in Greece. Bishop Khoren Toghramchyan is the primate of the churches belonging to Holy See Cilicia and Archbishop Voskan Galpakhyan is the primate of the churches under the subordination of the Cathedral Church St. Ejmiadzin.

And even if the pastors of these two patriarchates speak about a respectable attitude to each other, the coldness of the years and the presence of unsolved issues are expressed.

In the 15^th century, the supreme patriarchate of all Armenians was moved from Cilicia to St. Ejmiadzin. But after the death of the last supreme patriarch of all Armenians, who gave permission to move the cathedra from Cilicia to Ejmiadzin, the inhabitants of Cilicia laid down the foundation of new patriarchate, with local authorities and the borders of Cilicia. After the Genocide the Cathedra of Cilicia headed by patriarch Sahak began to wander, moving to Jerusalem, Aleppo, and Damascus and in the end establishing itself in Antilles, in Lebanon. With the permission of patriarch Gevorg 5^th, the Armenian patriarchate in Jerusalem gave the dioceses of Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus from the lands under its subordination to Antilles. These dioceses became legal holy properties of the patriarchate of Antilles.

However, in 1957, the patriarchate of Antilles, parallel to dioceses of Cathedral Church St. Ejmiadzin, established the dioceses of Eastern states of Northern America and Canada and later also Western dioceses of Northern America. In 1958 it owned three dioceses in Iran and created a parallel diocese in Greece. The supreme patriarchate of all Armenians, considered this step a direct violation of its authority.

Grigor Lusavorich church belonging to the Cilicia House Armenian Catholicos

Still today there is no final consent between the two Cathedras. Ejmiadzin is against equating between two Cathedras. Antilles, in order to justify its authority, points out that the two patriarchates serve different planes: Soviet Armenia and Diaspora.

“Ejmiadzin wants to have one common church. The reason for separation was the Soviet Union. Today there is no such reason but the issue still remains. The struggle in Greece began in 1958. At that time a deputy assembly took place. From the beginning, there was no question of changing the affiliation of the diocese. After the assembly, the Greek-Armenian diocese became Antilles. The supporters of Ejmiadzin took the matter to court and only in 1962 did they establish their church. Today there are relations with the priests of Antilles but I don’t look forward to meeting them”, said Archbishop Voskan Galpakhyan.

“I think that the government of Armenia must work and develop a programme to make these 2 Cathedras close to each other”, said Reverend Father priest Bared Khacherean, who serves a church belonging to the Cilicia House Armenian Catholicos.

“The church is separated de facto; we have a problem of unity. In Greece we cooperate only on April 24 but by cooperating with them we give legitimacy to their illegal condition,” said his Holiness Voskan.

“I think the churches could have one common head only in the distant future as differences and diversities, in my opinion, are advantages. Cathedras and dioceses are power as they gather people next to them. The first preference is given to Ejmiadzin. That is clear. Our patriarchs wrote so in psalms”, said Reverend Father priest Bared Khacherean.

In the Diaspora the struggle between Antilles and Ejmiadzin is going on not only on the church level. There are political parties behind both Cathedras. The Armenian Revolutionary Party supports the patriarchate of Antilles. The Armenian Liberal Democratic party and somehow also the Hnchakyan party supports Ejmiadzin.

Genocide recognition

In 1996 the Armenian question committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Party presented to the parliament of Greece the initiative to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The initiative was legally adopted by the parliament under the chairmanship of speaker Apostolos Gaklamanis. It’s already 14 years that Greek government officials have participated in the events organized on April 24.

Demonstration on April 24

The Armenian question committee didn’t stop with the recognition of the Genocide. Not only in Athens, but also in Salonika, Ksanti and Komotini, the committee has its offices whose representatives cooperate with Greek political parties and present the political attitude of the community to them. “The solution of the Armenian question for us means the recognition of the Genocide by Turkey and the return of Armenian lands. Turkey today is trying to enter the European Union and as Greece is a member of this structure we are trying to prevent Turkey from entering the EU using the influence of Greece”, said Davit Petrosyan, a member of the committee.

Over decades, the Greek Armenian community has become a constituency which can’t be ignored by political parties, especially during the elections. Davit Petrosyan assures the political sympathy of the community is on the side of the political party having a harsh attitude towards Turkey. “Parliament recognized the Genocide but in Greece not only many citizens, but political figures as well don’t know about the Armenian Genocide. Therefore our work is endless,” said Davit Petrosyan.

Michael Mkrtchyan

I am a soldier of Brave Vardan

Michael Mkrtchyan, with a broad smile and aristocratic manners, speaks perfect Armenian. He lives in Kareas district, where many Armenians live. Every evening in the cafe they speak with friends about Armenia.

Michael Mkrtchyan is 79 years old; his parents immigrated to Greece in 1922. His children and today also his grandchildren study in Armenian school. “I have never been to Armenia. I was working all the time but now I am retired and will visit Armenia for sure”, said Michael, then he smiled and continued: “I am Armenian, a soldier of brave Vardan, aren’t I?”.

By Arevik Badalyan