German-Armenian philosopher and speechwriter Vazrik Bazil is the Diaspora who has not lived in the homeland but knows it completely. (The generic name that is not used for already two generations: Ter-Barseghyan. The ancestors migrated from Ani to Persia and served as priests in Julfa monastery. His father – famous composer and violinist Ludwig Basil – was born in Hamadan, then moved to Italy to study and settled in Munich. He was born in Munich and then lived in Iran for a few years, educated in Mkhitarian and continued his education in Munich. Now, he lives in Berlin).
Vazrik Basil was the president of speechwriters in German for six years, he has worked in the Bundestag as an adviser and speechwriter. Now, he is an advisor to one of the German ministers, and a professor of communication sciences at Frankfurt, Karlsruhe Mannheim universities. My interlocutor is also well aware of the Armenian communities in Germany and the problems facing them. He has offered solutions often but to no avail. “The German community is not large. There are only a few dedicated individuals who know what to do. Works should be done in the communities so that people would know how to work especially with the local forces. One of the disadvantages of the German community, certainly it has many disadvantages, is this. Today, what the Armenian man should do and what to see by going to the Armenian community in Berlin, there is no relevant programs for him. The situation must be analyzed also from a psychological aspect. All this is important for preserving the national identity,” – said Mr. Basil. My interlocutor is telling that it is impossible to work in Germany without public opinion. Politicians are always watching not very high levels of programs and read newspapers because they mirror the instinctive passions of the people and they take it into account. As estimated by Vazrik Basil, there is a smart thing in Germany: the inclination to prevent possible difficulties is expressive here. “Living here, you should know better Germans than the Germans to be able to solve questions. Therefore, one must always walk with question marks rather than with a full stop as it is in Armenia. There is no question mark in Armenia and it prevents the reflection and everything is spoilt. The substance in Armenia that slightly deviates from the tradition is not accepted. One needs to know its origins and take them into account but be guided by innovative ideas. This is a Soviet mentality that suspends a lot of things. Unfortunately, many of today’s functionaries are walking by the Soviet breadth. I do not know whether the Ministry of Diaspora knows what Diaspora is. The church is busy with self-museum, which means that it is dead. This new world needs a new culture, it is necessary for the old Armenian culture to become a timber for innovation of mindset,”- says Mr. Bazil in confidence. Since 1968, he regularly visits Armenia. He opines that almost nothing has been changed ion Armenia from ideological point of view, the same way of thinking again. “For example, now Armenia is already 25 years old. No meeting was organized here on this topic. They could have invited Armenians from Armenia and Diaspora to talk about our plans, expectations, hopes, how we see the developments and so on. Once, I offered to develop inter-community ties in Europe, to discuss and strengthen the role of Europe. It is possible for all to unite around one program,” – opines our interlocutor. The German-Armenian philosopher is convinced that in this case, the RA government must reinforce the ties with the Diaspora, trying to attract not the material but the intellectual force. As a result, Armenia’s intellectual force will get acquainted with West to be able to think realistically. He believes that because of this gap we are unable to use the Diaspora and even the Diaspora is not getting the use of the Diaspora, “There is no universal idea, only small projects, dancing, awards and alike, these are important too but yet they are not the key point. There is one single question: Socialization and Armenian culture.” Who is dealing with this issue: Etchmiadzin? Where is the official opinion of Etchmiadzin about socialization? Does the Armenian Church have an official committee dealing with these issues? The important task has become quaternary. There is not intellectual work, a feedback in our country.”
My interlocutor opines that Armenia does not understand the Diaspora and does not perceive that the Armenians living outside of the homeland are different from each other. Not all of them are Diaspora, some of them are just foreigners. If all these nuances are not noticed, we lost a lot of things. “People should see that they are not neglected, the citizen’s letter must be answered within 24 hours, make a phone call right away, the reforms must begin from here. The RA Government must donate dignity to its citizen. Money is not yet important, justice is important. The rest will be settled by itself,” – assures Mr. Bazil.
Gayane ARAKELYAN
