quote:
Originally posted by edward demian:
We have had the same diverse reaction from our own members as well. Some of us are practicalists and some of us are purists.
We want to build something that would reawaken the Armenianess of the community. Allready this area of Southern California is all Spanish. Our chilldren are being absorbed in the Mexican community. Thete are few Native English speakers. If this last generation is lost to our culture, we will be here no more. Armenia has no future without the Diaspora. If we would have sent the money during the Communist times, it would have been sequestered by the Communists.
Now we do send money to Armenia. However, If you want to talk about a waste. Talk about the Gulbenkian Millions left to charity. The Armenians get very little of it. We need churches,schools, cultural centers, cemetaries, Printing houses, libraries and Theters. Since Armenia does not really want the Diasporan Armenians, we need to think of our own survival.
It is not by building an ersatz Ste. Hripsime that you will survive. Not a cemetery, library, printing house or whatever. You will not survive. The diaspora will die, at different speeds to be sure, but it will die. There are a few Armenian churches scattered all over the world where there are no Armenians anymore: Myanmar, Singapore for example. There is a nice Hay Doon in Santiago, Chile, it is almost abandoned. Where are the Armenians from Poland and Hungary ? In museums or written up in books, or at the most they are some kind of peculiar subject for a magazine.
Of course there are some that consider themselves Armenians, and even fierce nationalists, that cannot accept that. But they are just fooling themselves. I am a second generation Armenian, speak the language, have been to Armenia, own numerous books on it, etc. In two or three generations this will be transformed into almost nothing, or merely a curiousity.
Whatīs the point in building something that everybody will attend essentially only the inauguration party. We have more than enough white elephants.
You donīt need to send the money to Armenia or Karabagh. But for example an endowment to support graduate studies for Armenians from Armenia at a US university will be much more useful. Actually I can think of tens of better projects. We donīt need more churches, we need more faithful people.