Indra

Why did our national leaders choose the way into the abyss? Is the answer our psyche? Our wish for revenge? ’’...calls for justice could not be of any use in the end, since they were also appeals to fine feelings. They had but one effect: to delay mourning again and always to put it off, indefinitely, until later. Today, we can formulate in one sentence the deferred action of these two events, the pogroms of 1895 and those of 1909: The Armenians of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, collective murder imposed on the collective psyche of the victims a generalized interdiction of mourning. Only this old interdiction explains the modalities and the illusions of the political action of Armenians and, in particular, the development of a movement of ’’national liberation,’’ which has been only a long movement of national suicide. I won’t push this point; these matters are too painful.“ Marc Nichanian: Catastrophic Mourning, in: David L. Eng and David Kazanjian: Loss. 2003, p.100

Turks are not ahead of us but Armenians are much more afraid. We are so terrified and fearful. We don't dare to speak out. Is it passed from generation to generation or are we simply the way we are? I don't know. But we are much more afraid to speak out than Serbs, Albanians, Turks, Ukrainians. It is not necessary to think about farfetched conspiracy theories. Numbers and values count as well! To get quality (Nobel Prizes) you have to have some quantity (considerable set of outstanding scientists). Definitely there are more Jews on earth than Armenians. In matters of values it is hard to prove something with hard facts. But numbers count much more than we Armenians would like to see. I strongly recommend a book about Sons and World Power (Söhne und Weltmacht, Gunnar Heinsohn, 2003). Sloterdijk loves it. And I can't resist it. It's very simple: Wars, conflicts, genocidal massacres, holocausts arise necessarily if the percentage of 0-15 years old surpasses 30 % or 15-25 years olds surpasses 20 % of the total population. The more (male) youngsters there are (="youth bulge") who can't find a decent positon for a living in society the more conflicts will arise. This Turkish youth bulge grew with the Muslim refugees in the 1910s after the Balkan wars. I'd like to research how this youth bulge changed during the 1800s in the Ottoman Empire. Why have oppressive policies become genocidal policies? Your thoughts are very, very, very inspiring!!! And I really enjoy reading all of your entries! Please, never think about stopping to write! Indra