1980_06 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper June 1980

              June 1980
Hye Sharzhoom
Page 7
Armenian Culture
Day of the Phillistines
(April 24, 1980)
Loudly and hilariously,
"He who does not learn
the cow-chip tossers and
history, is condemned
tricycle racers are inventing a
to repeat history."
frivilous joy-the spirit
(Santayana)
of Festival, spirit of the
innocent eros, all suppressed!
Shall we forget?
But in a semicircle, more
These Phillistines are in
serious players listen to
their own hands, which is their
a man who is searching out
worst possible case. Apathetic,
a Turk, a retribution sought
except to violence, they allow any
in acknowledgement, a call to
crime to their neighbor:
consciousness and conscience:
a call to order from the world.
"We have met the Enemy,
It falls nearly dumb on the
and He is Us."
ambient din.
(Pogo)
A black arm band 1 wear
1 am a citizen in a world
for all oppressed people.
of citizens, equally actual, genuine,
"Are you Armenian ?"
and ersatz, alike. But we
I am American.
have a choice. We...
"Yes, but Armenian ?"
may either listen,
His insistence rankles me to speech.
or forget. Or destroy.
1 am at least Armenian, and
Polish also; Jewish too; 1 am
Loudly and hilariously
Nicaraguan, and El Salvidorian,
the crowd yells for more:
/ am Chicano from the centuries
recognition of the irrevelant,
of Hispanic oppression in Mexico;
elevation of the inane, and for
1 am proudly Black, full tribal
fun, just for fun!
Negro of Great Afrika,
enslaved, colonized and humiliated by
Let's burn some damn
marauding Whites from the west;
Polecat-outcaste-scapegoat, as
1 am deeply Iranian, oppressed,
a sacrifice:
tortured and bereaved of my loved ones
just for fun, for America,
now dead.
just for fun, for John Wayne,
just for the hell of it,
1 am also the future of these
Let's go to war:
masses who will not listen
to me today, will not learn
It's good for business.
and cannot emphathize-
they who wish so to avoid
ev/7 with denial and usual
indifference, and now who will
surely come to torture, rape and
death, themselves...
Gary Simpson
CSUF Student
Iranian Hyes in the U.S.
MY GRANDMOTHER'S HANDS
Your hands bathed me
spanked me
pulled me back under the shower
dried my tears and my limbs.
In your hands
the soap looked like a swan.
J grew up shaded by the palms
of your hands.
My feet
were the extensions of your fingers
— nine and a half —
one amputated
after a scorpion had kissed it
under the summer night
ofDier ez-Zor,
the rest
fat, wrinkled, short,
one
squeezed into a tight wedding ring
it could never escape from,
the rest
lamp-posts with broken lamps.
Your hands
were daughters of sleep
and messengers of morning.
One Sunday
when your fingers ran into eachother
like frightened children in the dark,
and your forehead leaned against
your fingers,
like a mountain leans against its trees,
Ifelt
prayers were black gloves
a god had made for your hands.
Then,
your finger thin as a bone
released the ring,
the lake dropped the swan,
a mountain fell on its head,
a book and an alarm clock
became the guards
of sleep and awakening,
feet turned into trees,
nothing was left
but a scorpion, slowly digging the
earth,
and a crucifix, staring
at your empty place in the church.
grannie jan,
your hands
were the only ugly women
I have ever loved.
Leonardo P. Alishan
By Bryan Bedrosian
The Iranian crisis is not limited to the evening news for Iranian Armenian students studying in the United States.
The tension is part of their lives. Their plight has become particularly precarious in recent weeks, due to President Carter's sanctions against Iranian
students. Iranian-Armenians, of course, constitute a small minority within Iran,
generally beyond the Iranian mainstream. When Carter imposed his visa restrictions, however, no exception was made for Iranian-Armenians. Their future now
drifts in a state of limbo.
No Iranian citizens are currently being given visas to enter the United States.
The White House has threatened to cancel student visas, if the students leave the
U.S. to visit home. Students who are near graduation may complete their course
of study but then they must also return home. American policy, however, has
varied as the hostage crisis itself has fluctuated and current directives will most
likely change in the coming months.
Regardless of what the future holds, the crisis has already disrupted the family
relationships of many Iranian-Armenians. The parents of one student were planning to visit the U.S. this summer but now must cancel their trip because of Carter's restrictions on tourist visas. Eventually, the family hopes to be reunited in
the U.S. on a permanent basis but as of now they remain 10,000 miles apart.
Likewise, the Iranian Revolution has also altered the career plans of many Iranian-
Armenian students. Many students do not plan to return to Iran in the near future
because of the high rate of unemployment and economic disorder. Of course,
if the situation stabilizes and the economy improves, most of the students would
go back. Iran is their home.
The hostage crisis, which has inflamed anger in the U.S., is also a topic of debate
among Iranian-Armenians. Generally, they feel the act of seizing hostages was
wrong, but they understand why this action occurred. The Shah, backed by American power, abused the Iranian people during his reign, according to the students.
The U.S. imported cheap oil from Iran under the Shah, they added. Iranians were
paid extremely low wages by American oil companies and the U.S. maintained
many military outposts in Iran - all with the blessing of the Shah.
Claims that the Shah modernized Iran are baseless, the students said. In fact,
the Shah and the U.S. only helped the rich become richer, while the rest of the
country suffered, according to some students. Now, Iranians are demanding their
rights to control their own destiny without American interference.
Misconceptions of America also played a factor in Iranian-American's views of
American-Armenians.   Most had expected to find Armenians in the U.S.almost
completely Americanized ignorant of their language and heritage, and largely
intermarried. They found, though, that this was far from the truth. The students
have observed that more and more Armenians are rediscovering their rich culture
and 3,000-year-old history.
Particularly encouraging was the march of 15,000 Armenians in Los Angeles on
April 24th. They feel that if the present trend continues, the Armenian community
in America can retain its unique identity, much as Armenians in Iran.
FRAGMENTED ARITHMETIC
Where there are fourArmens
There are four churches,
Four parties,
Four societies,
Four newspapers,
Four kings,
Four black eyes,
Four broken heads!
And what is more,
They seem to spare no effort
To ensure that these fragments
Are further fragmented!
When, if ever,
Will they learn
That one,
Plus one,
Plus one,
Plus one:
Make one,
Not ibur people?
Or do you not understand
Such arithmetic?
YEREVAN
Yerevan,
you are the point
of my compass
on this colossal, colorful map.
My compass
draws a huge circle
travelling through many
colors of the map.
We hold hands
and dance our circular dance,
we are so dependent on you Yerevan
to make our circle firm
so many thousands of miles apart...
Leonardo P. Alishan
Mischa Kudian
London. 1980
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