At no instance during its existence has the Olive Tree Initiative, as an organization, denied the 1915 Armenian genocide.
As an Armenian myself, this organization expanded my knowledge of the real consequences of the Armenian genocide. Thus, I am deeply disturbed by the recent article by Aram Ghoogasian on Nov. 24 regarding OTI – an article which neglects the comprehensive educational philosophy of how we address the genocide, and instead presents an opinion based on previously held assumptions.
As a university-based educational organization, we draw upon students with a range of knowledge on the Armenian genocide to partake in learning about the genocide and its effect on relations between Armenia and Turkey. If a student walks into our meeting, unsure of a history he or she has not been taught, should we shut the door on his or her curiosity and willingness to learn? If OTI were to deny those who know no better, what good would that do?
We, Armenians, have a strong connection to the genocide, making it difficult for us to speak to those who deny the history of our nation and people. However, we should know better than others that there are students who haven’t been educated about the genocide.
It is true that there is an abundance of academic resources and means through which an individual can learn about the Armenian genocide, but can we really expect students who have been taught a completely different history their entire lives to suddenly accept the facts as we know them? What we can do, instead, is provide students with pathways to learn.
OTI shows students the tangible effects of the Armenian genocide through its annual trip to Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. We visit the genocide memorial in Yerevan, Armenia. We speak with scholars who have risked their careers and lives to write and teach about the genocide. We visit Eastern Turkey where we see and feel the remnants of Armenian heritage scattered throughout. How many Armenians can say they have spoken to the (un)hidden Armenians of Turkey – on whom the genocide still has a direct impact? How many Armenians can say they have walked through Diyarbakir and felt the ghosts of the shattered ruins of Surp Sarkis? How many have seen Akhtamar Vank perched upon an island on Lake Van, or walked through the ruins of Ani?
As an Armenian who has been involved with this work for years, I find this article’s depiction of the OTI to be misguided and willfully simplistic.
Hmayakyan is a third-year political science student and co-president of the Olive Tree Initiative at UCLA, Turkey/Armenia.
I am proud to have helped start this “Olive Tree Initiative: Armenia-Turkey” group back in 2011 because it included diverse Turkish, Azeri, Armenian & American members at the outset. How can we have a dialogue if we don’t incorporate all narratives? As Salpi Ghazarian of Civiltas and USC said, being a maximalist by demanding genocide recognition & punitive reparations before any dialogue is the “easy way out” of the hard discussion of what actions can we take to support historic #restoration, inclusionary #education reform, #collaborative regional planning for #sustainability… piece by piece, the complexity of the Turkish-Armenian (nearly) 1000 year history can be explored.