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\u2018I would have died when I was nine years old; this <\/span>life is the grace of God to me. I am playing <\/span>in \u2018overtime,’ says Kerkyasharian <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n EM\u0130NE KART <\/span>ANKARA – Turkish Daily News <\/span><\/p>\n Without memory, a human being would not be able t<\/span>o construct his humanity or sustain cultural <\/span>heritage. Given that memory lapses lead to irrevers<\/span>ible trauma, what would happen if there were any <\/span>interruption or blow to the collective memory? <\/span><\/p>\n An ongoing discussion concerning the tragic event<\/span>s in Anatolia during World War I that cost Turkish <\/span>and Armenian lives has focused on the term \u201cgenocid<\/span>e,\u201d a blind and harsh term that makes discussing <\/span>the issue almost impossible. However, one essential<\/span> point seems forgotten during this hopeless debate:<\/span>The tragic events of World War I, whatever you want<\/span> to call it, belong to the Turkish collective memor<\/span>y <\/span>as much as they belong to the Armenian memory. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen this book is published it will be an obliga<\/span>tion to accept that Armenians really suffered a lot<\/span>because of Armenian emigration. This is so signific<\/span>ant because one of the most important reasons, <\/span>maybe the primary reason, for Armenian pressure on <\/span>Turkey is Turkey’s explanation of the events as, <\/span>\u2018We took Armenians to safer places so they wouldn’t<\/span> suffer,’\u201d political scientist Bask\u0131n Oran said in <\/span>an <\/span>interview with the Turkish Daily News. <\/span><\/p>\n Oran was referring to a book published by the \u0130le<\/span>ti\u015fim Publishing House that has been on the market <\/span>since last Friday. He spoke to the TDN as the edito<\/span>r of the book prior to its publication.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Emigration Memories of a Child Called M.K., 1915 a<\/span>nd Following Years’: <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Manuel Kerkyasharian (K\u0131rkya\u015faryan in Turkish) wa<\/span>s nine years old and living in Adana in 1915. He <\/span>emigrated with his parents, whom he lost along the <\/span>way. His mother committed suicide before his eyes <\/span>and his father died soon after. The following 10 ye<\/span>ars of his life passed with him desperately seeking<\/span>other members of his family, moving through village<\/span>s of southeast Anatolia, Mosul and Aleppo before <\/span>finding relatives in Cyprus. <\/span> Before his death, he decided to relive his 10-yea<\/span>r-long journey. He did this in 1980 when he was 74 <\/span>and recorded his travels on audiotape. He requested<\/span> that his children, Stepan and Madiana, listen to t<\/span>he <\/span>tapes only after his death. Kerkyasharian passed aw<\/span>ay in Sydney in 1997. <\/span> Stepan Kerkyasharian, 62, contacted Oran, sent hi<\/span>m the tapes and subsequently decided to publish <\/span>Kerkyasharian’s memories. \u201cEmigration Memories of a<\/span> Child Called M.K., 1915 and Following Years\u201d is a <\/span>collection of these memories without any correction<\/span>s or proofreading. A former student of Oran, Dilek <\/span>Ert\u00fcrk G\u00fczeler, who is blind, typed the transcript <\/span>using her strong sense of hearing. \u0130leti\u015fim, togeth<\/span>er <\/span>with purchase of the book, includes a CD containing<\/span> Kerkyasharian’s recordings. <\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Finding his family almost by smelling’:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy name is M.K.,\u201d he says while starting to reco<\/span>unt his memories and is why the book’s title does n<\/span>ot <\/span>contain his full name, Kerkyasharian. Oran wrote a <\/span>preface to the book and preferred to stick to <\/span>Kerkyasharian’s explanation on choosing the title. <\/span><\/p>\n Kerkyasharian’s explanation of calling himself on<\/span>ly by his initials makes one think that he was stil<\/span>l <\/span>under the influence of bitter childhood memories wh<\/span>en he was speaking into a tape recorder in Sydney, <\/span>even at the age of 74. However, it is difficult to <\/span>find in his memories long explanations about the <\/span>violence he witnessed during his journey. He relate<\/span>s the most tragic moment of his life, his mother’s <\/span>suicide, in only a few lines. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat impressed me the most about these memories <\/span>is that Kerkyasharian did not bear a grudge, <\/span>although he had experienced deep grief,\u201d said Oran.<\/span><\/p>\n The word \u2018genocide’ startles Turkish people:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Referring to the ongoing debate on what Armenians<\/span> experienced during World War I as \u201cgenocide\u201d or <\/span>not, Oran emphasized the term genocide is a non-sta<\/span>rter for such a discussion, the non-use of which <\/span>would have actually created an environment of dialo<\/span>gue between the Turkish and Armenian peoples. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe term genocide triggers a defense mechanism i<\/span>n Turkish people. The Turks had no idea about <\/span>these events, and when they were told that the even<\/span>ts were similar to the Jewish genocide, whereas <\/span>there is no similarity between the two cases, the T<\/span>urks could not take it. It was too much for them,\u201d <\/span>Oran said. <\/span><\/p>\n However, Kerkyasharian’s memories have nothing to d<\/span>o with today’s debate as it is not possible to look<\/span>for a \u201cconsciousness of ‘Armenian-ness’,\u201d emphasize<\/span>d Oran. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe child’s age prevents us from seeking any con<\/span>sciousness. He is a pre-pubescent who cannot even <\/span>speak Armenian,\u201d he said, recalling that the only l<\/span>anguage Kerkyasharian could speak was Turkish until<\/span>he arrived in Cyprus, where he found relatives and <\/span>eventually learned Armenian. <\/span><\/p>\n Conflicting nationalities:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n While talking about the pre-publishing process of<\/span> the book, Oran said there was only one point that <\/span>Kerkyasharian’s son Stepan interfered with concerni<\/span>ng the content. Stepan’s objection was, surprisingl<\/span>y, <\/span>not about the wording of his father’s memories but <\/span>about the dedication Oran wrote in the foreword. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTo the saint memory of Kerkyasharian, who did no<\/span>t bear any grudge, despite all he suffered, and of <\/span>the sinless hundred thousands of people who lost th<\/span>eir lives during, before and after that tragedy of <\/span>humanity due to Turkish and Armenian nationalities,<\/span>\u201d Oran wrote at the beginning of the dedication. <\/span><\/p>\n Stepan Kerkyasharian’s objection was to the \u201cTurk<\/span>ish and Armenian nationalities\u201d phrase because he <\/span>believed his father would not like to see the words<\/span> \u201cTurkish\u201d and \u201cArmenian\u201d opposing each other. Oran<\/span>changed the phrase to \u201cconflicting nationalities\u201d i<\/span>nstead of \u201cTurkish and Armenian nationalities.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n A life that is the grace of God: <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n It is interesting to hear that the son of a fathe<\/span>r who was a victim of ethnic conflict has been work<\/span>ing as <\/span>a commissioner in the Community Relations Commissio<\/span>n for a Multicultural New South Wales in <\/span>Australia. <\/span><\/p>\n Stepan Kerkyasharian is the head of a commission <\/span>that promotes multiculturalism, ethnic affairs, <\/span>cultural diversity, community unity and harmony in <\/span>one of the most culturally diverse states in the <\/span>world. <\/span><\/p>\n When one reads his father’s memories, and knowing<\/span> Stepan’s good character, one cannot help <\/span>but think that it is maybe because of the motto Ste<\/span>pan heard several times from his father: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI could have died when I was nine years old; thi<\/span>s life is the grace of God to me. I am playing <\/span>in \u2018overtime’.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Reading the memories of those bitter times from a<\/span> child’s point of view may refresh the collective <\/span>memory of people living in Turkey, which is a colle<\/span>ctive memory lacking knowledge. Oran referred to a <\/span>maxim by the Greek philosopher Epictetus, who was b<\/span>orn in Anatolia in A.D. 55: \u201cIt is impossible to <\/span>begin to learn that which one thinks one already kn<\/span>ows.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018I would have died when I was nine years old; this life is the grace of God to me. I am playing in \u2018overtime,’ says Kerkyasharian EM\u0130NE KART ANKARA – Turkish Daily News Without memory, a human being would not be able to construct his humanity or sustain cultural heritage. Given that memory lapses lead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[144],"class_list":["post-5711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-2005-en"],"yoast_head":"\n