Garen Yegparian
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
While we’ve done well on our actual, physical, battlefields on both the eastern (Azerbaijani, Artsakh along with its surrounding lowlands) and western (Turkish, remember Sartarabad, Bash Abaran, and Gharakilisseh) fronts, when it comes to the hollows of the heart and plane of the brain, we have not been quite as successful, especially the latter, on which this piece concentrates.
A few recent examples reminded of this yawning gap in our efforts. On Roku, one of the TV network aggregators, there is an option where programming in various languages is broadcast. These include Armenian, Assyrian, English, Farsi, French, Hebrew, Kurdish, Turkish (Azerbaijan and Turkey), and probably a few others I’m forgetting. This includes news broadcasts, which, in the Turkic cases, more resembles propaganda, judging by the few times I’ve seen the English versions. All of this is normal. But, it turns out that in recent months, the Armenian options have decreased. The Farsi seems inaccessible, while the Turkish ones are going strong. Not many non-Turks are likely to view that stuff, but those that do will take away the wrong information.
This reflects our insufficient attention to the world of the media, news and otherwise. We, Armenians, have talked about this for at least three or four decades, yet have not done anything coherent on this front. Fortunately, a few of us have made some inroads when it comes to news, and others in entertainment. Now, these folks should be organized and assisted in supporting a new generation from our community to enter these fields that influence people’s perceptions and understanding of the world. Otherwise, we will forever be angered by items such as this one, “The Armenian Lobby’s Tenuous Relations with President-elect Trumpâ€
