Assyrians In Armenia, for tough armenian 98263498 Options

[Danno]

AssyrianS IN ARMENIA

In his inaugural speech, President Robert Kocharian declared his intention to make Armenia a "dear home" for all ethnic minorities living within the borders of the newly independent republic. Despite the expulsion of the largest - the Azerbaijanis - at the beginning of the Karabagh conflict, three per cent of the population still consists of a variety of ethnic groups ranging from the Yezidi and the Molokans to the Jews and the Greeks.

Armenia is also home to an estimated 7,000 Assyrians who - like the Kurds - are a nation without their own state and who have experienced a history that closely mirrors that of the Armenians. Indeed, according to Pavel Tanrazov - President of the 'Assyrians of Armenia' - not only did the Assyrians adopt Christianity in the 1st Century but they were also the main disseminators of the religion in pagan Armenia and elsewhere. In the aftermath of the Russo-Persian war of 1826-28 the Russian government allowed one hundred Assyrian families to resettle in transcaucasia, and in Armenia these families settled in Dimitrov, Dvin, Arzni, Yerevan Province and other regions. Descendents of these families - and other Assyrians that joined them after fleeing persecution, massacre and genocide - are still to be found in these locations, and the community has evolved to form a vibrant component of a cultural diversity that every country requires in order to develop maturely.

However, that is not to say that problems do not exist for the community. As with other minorities in the republic - and for Armenians themselves - the period of Soviet rule and the economic problems now faced by the country today have had their effect. Like the rest of the population one key concern is in the area of education. In 1924, primary schools taught Assyrian children their own language - albeit in Latin script - but in 1936-38 repression of the Assyrian intelligentsia saw the closure of these classes and the Assyrians became a Russian-speaking people. The re-introduction of the Assyrian language into the school curriculum only came about in 1972, according to Irina Sagradova Gasparyan - President of the Assyrian Youth Association - but problems still remain with regards to an absence of teachers and textbooks.

"The situation was very serious in Armenia for so many years," explains Gasparyan. "There were no teachers and no concern with the preservation of the Assyrian language. Faced with the same financial problems as Armenian schools, the only way to protect the language was through self-preservation. For example, as a child I was sent to stay with my grandmother in her village - and only Assyrian was spoken." Indeed, in earlier years, many children were sent abroad in order to learn their mother tongue, but now classes have been established in the Pushkin school in Yerevan, and in schools in the regions. As a result, in villages such as Dimitrov with a mixed population of Assyrians and Armenians, not only do the Assyrians speak Armenian fluently, but so too do many Armenians speak Assyrian. Marriage between the two communities is also common, and at the recent Shekhane festival in Dimitrov towards the end of July both Assyrians and Armenians were in attendance. One other problem for the Assyrian community however, is the absence of an Assyrian priest in the country - priests from the Russian Orthodox Church conduct services instead. However, attempts to preserve Assyrian culture are very much alive, and the Assyrian dance group in the village even has Armenian members.

The Assyrians - like the Armenians - are an ancient nation, and despite the emigration of an estimated 3,000 from the country the Assyrian community has a great deal to offer Armenia. Not only through the continuation of centuries of coexistence, cooperation and mutual friendship, but also by offering an extra-dimension to any development of tourism to the republic. The music, culture and hospitality of the Assyrian community in the Republic of Armenia has an important role to play in the development of a truly independent, democratic and culturally diverse society as the country prepares to enter the new millennium and seeks admission into the Council of Europe.

[blixa]

Your saying this cause....
Look at the genetic map that danno posted in the Assyrian section,the genetic distance between average armenians and Assyrians is as big as the genetic distanance between armenians and saudian arabians.
Let me show you his post if you escaped it.

And dont let me laugh when your saying that you met Assyrians in armenia.

Most of Assyrians in armenia are peasanst/shephards and live in arzni/ararat regions just like yezidi kurds and half of them have migrated to russia after the breaking up of soviet union,their school is closed now,cause no Assyrian ###### skin is interrested about learning his own language.

And those regions are very isolated regions and tourists never go there,there is no normal road for cars.If you visited that region during your visit in armenia then im Geoge W bush.
Lol

Actually there is one Assyrian girl in my university,she looks somehow lighter than average Assyrians,
shes giving me every sign to f*** with her,she even gave me her phone number(exactly this morning).
She doesnt know that i have pure bloood armenian like me as my girlfriend and what kind of bonehead armenian racist/seperatist am i.

But i personaly did not decide wether if i will bash her by making racist comments and showing that
im not interrested in her cause of her ethnicity,or if i will have some fun then do the same thing in the end

Do you know how much money it costs to maintain a school? I went to an Assyrian school for three years and I can tell you, it's bucketloads of money. I was lucky enough to leave it with a better understanding of the Assyrian language and the writing system. As you say, most of these Assyrians are peasants and farmers, they don't have that sort of money. I know that every Assyrian who had that sort of lifestyle already knows how to read and write their own language. I know that my mothers and fathers entire side know how to read and write their own language. They were taught from an early age at home by their parents and granparents. So was I. I knew a lot before I enrolled at a school just to see where I could go with it. Oh yeah, my grandfather was a farmer in Northern Iraq as well. He had Armenians and Kurds working under him so your race isn't master to ours.

I'd rather be a peasant and farmer than be rich because that is the most satisfying lifestyle and if that's how Assyrian people in Armenia want to pass their time then so be it. My uncle owned a farm in Tasmania for all his life before he passed away two years ago. He lived the simplest life. You don't have to live in rural areas that you're talking about these Assyrian people living to experience the life of a peasant. Sometimes that's just how people want to live. And out of everyone you pick to be, you pick George W. Bush. Wow, it says a lot about your character.

It's funny you mention that Assyrian girl. All the Armenian girls here are dating Assyrian boys and vice versa. I'm not saying that to get a rise out of you. I'm just telling what I'm seeing. It's about time you took a good long look at yourself in the mirror and saw that you are not the only one with flesh, eyes and a heart. We all have those things and if you are placing differences between human beings and choosing not to 'date' someone because of their ethnicity then you have a serious problem that you need to address. I'm not even picking on you because you are saying stuff about my heritage. A part of me still thinks you are joking with these posts but I don't feel like giving it any more thought. You are free to think what you want but you have to have very good reasonings, besides the ones you've already mentioned, for hating an entire racial line of people. I really don't think there is a reason to hate an entire race of people actually but I'll be very amused as to what you can think up.