Martuni or Bust
Morality????
Vision?????
Self-Sacrifice?????????
We have , in the immortal words of Gostan Zarian, become a nation of shopkeepers with petty interests.
THERE IS NO REAL ARMENIAN DIASPORA, IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD.
There is a connection between a dispersed diasporan people and the country which they view as their nationa nexus.
This is no the case for Armenians. We speak of the diaspora as if it is an involuntary existence we are living. Rather IT IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE.
Kashatagh, Human Trafficking, Political Corruption , Lack of Moral Vision.... THE LIST GOES ON....
AND WHO GIVES A DAMN...It would seem that neither the Diaspora nor the officialdom in Armenia is up to the task. Neither exudes leadership nor a national vision to galvanize Armenians in Armenia, let alone globally.
We just might be doomed to a mundane existence leading towards eventual disintegration ...
Ara,
What's your view on the armenianow.com article today:
Selling Souls: Officials under pressure to step up the fight against people trafficking
By Marianna Grigoryan & Sara Khojoyan
?
Is this steps towards making a difference or just (at the least) more exposure of the problem?
I linked your excellent blog to my blog too, 'cause it'¿s excellent, really!!!
check it on http://boggito.blogspot.com
bye bye
fernando from chile
Support from church where priests are clientele?
Posted at www.blogian.hayastan.com:
Ara Manoogian at Martuni or Bust!!! has posted a vibrant letter in response to the unresponsive Armenian world regarding the sexual slavery of Armenian children and women.
He quotes a reader as saying, “Trafficking is directly proportional to the level of corruption in Armenia. The fact that Diaspora organizations and churches have done little or nothing to stop trafficking and help trafficked victims is proof of their moral bankruptcy.”
Ara’s post describes well an experience that happened with me earlier this year. A couple of months ago I gave a letter to a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Greater Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. I was asking this non-profit organization to collect funds for Hetq.am to continue investigating and fighting human trafficking (actually they would only let us use their bank account). There was a donor from Georgia (a senior friend of mine who is not actually Armenian) who had promised to match the donations that would be collected. There were people who were willing to donate, but we needed a non-profit to send the initial donations to. Basically, the Church would only let us use their bank account and that would complete their involvement.
I soon received a call from the mentioned individual who basically said (I am not kidding) that “H” “E” “T” “Q” (the poor “Armenian” did not know that Hetq meant “Trace” in Armenian) might sound like a terrorist organization to the American government and that the latter fact might stop the activities of the Armenian Church. Aside from being complete B.S., what he said was ignorant and stupid, but this is generally, as Ara Manoogian writes, our behavior toward human trafficking. Sometimes I wonder I should have let the Church headquarters (it was the Prelacy, the Cilicia seat) know about their “regional leader’s” words, but I was really disappointed and did not want to do anything. Soon Hetq.am opened a PayPal account, and I just asked the people to send their donations online, although I don’t think it had the outcome we were hoping for and of course the donor did not get an estimated amount he could match.
Anyhow, read Ara’s letter and think what you would do if your sister or daughter were in the situation of these children and women. And…
p.s. 2007 Oxford dictionary’s definition of “Armenians.” People exclusively concerned about the official recognition of the Armenian genocide.
p.s.s. I think there is another reason Armenians don’t care about human trafficking - Child molestation and sex/rape with minors is not persecuted in Armenia and people either do it or have no idea that such a thing is happening.
Diaspora organizations might think they have the edge on Armenian authorities in terms of being more responsive to social and human rights problems but in practise there is little difference.
I personally know of cases where weaker members of a diaspora community are hounded and persecuted, not by marginal or thug elements but by respected "leaders" including churchmen. 100 years ago in Istanbul Armenian clergy who used the services of Armenian prostitutes would refuse them a Christian funeral service when they got killed
What can be done? Probably mainstream newspapers will continue to ignore this problem but with the internet, free speech cannot be censored. It is necessary to constantly expose the callous behavior of Armenians in position of authority.If Catholicos Aram I, Karekin etc really care for 1915 genocide victims they cannot remain silent about the destruction and humiliation of Armenian lives today
Ara,
Please let us know what you have in mind when you speak of getting involved and working towards some sort of solution to the problems faced by Armenia
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