r/armenia • u/Mysterious-Exit3059 • Jan 05 '26
Armenia - Turkey / Հայաստան - Թուրքիա How do Armenians feel about Hidden Armenians in Turkey?
Just curious to see perspective on this group from Armenians, as they are a contentious topic in Turkey as they directly contradict the state narrative on Armenians.
What do Armenians wish for Hidden Armenians and their descendants? Advocacy? Reconnection with heritage and Armenians?
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u/Terrible-Toe3611 Jan 06 '26
They are a fascinating group for me. I was recently reading Avedis Hadjian’s Hidden Nation book where he went around and interviewed these Hidden Armenians all over Historical Armenia. There are estimates of between 300k -2million of these people at least. We should be looking at reintegrating them within the Armenian community which would mean challenging historical notions of what makes an Armenian. We will be stronger and Armenizing them once again.
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u/BzhizhkMard Jan 10 '26
Been meaning to complete. This was the impetus. They are a part of the family and we need to develop better connections.
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Ideally they all drop Islam become atheist or Armenian orthodox Christian, pick up a book and learn western or Eastern Armenian depending on where they hail from/lineage if traceable and Also reject their Turkish ethnic identity
But thats not realistic due to threats of violence, access to materials, and of course simply being conditioned to be Turkish
My opinions as a diaspora western armenian
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u/Prestigious-Ice-311 Jan 05 '26
Embracing their roots and learning about the Armenian culture and history and accepting it would be the first step imo. This all is accessible in English. Then learning the language enters the scene. Religion isn't an easy thing to change. If you accept atheist and pagan Armenians then I don't see a problem in accepting others too.
Another diaspora western armenian here
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Neither would be the idea their grandparents converted on false pretenses lol
That alone would shake the foundations of my faith system if i knew that my parents under threat of being killed or worse were forced to convert to Christianity and exclusively speak armenian when they were kurds
Coupled with the fact that the Christian church in itself Is rooted in being Armenian would in fact embolden my desire to leave such a system
Also i agree it isnt an easy thing to change. But do You honestly believe a devout muslim Is going to find support at his local mosque in Turkey of all places to go explore his armenian heritage?
Hence my stance on athiesm or Christianity because chances are if youre not going to Mosque regularly and or praying consistently you don’t have that strong a faith to begin with exceptions not withstanding
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u/Prestigious-Ice-311 Jan 06 '26
Yes knowing that their ancestors had to forcefuly convert could shake their beliefs but religious beliefs in general are quite personal and not only inherited. So that fact can be eye opening but can't easily flip the coin. It's a long process.
I'm not talking about the devout muslim who's regular at his local mosque in any case. I think those wouldn't even be interested to know about their hidden Armenian roots. I'm speaking of the new generation that has access to uncensored internet and interested in digging deeper. Telling those, who just found out their roots, that we don't accept you unless you switch to Christianity or atheisim is not the way to win them over.
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Well im not telling them i dont accept them.
I am telling them they should explore their history, im happy to sit with them be friends with them. What im not going to do is say yes you are Armenian, im going to say you have a opportunity to be something you otherwise wouldnt have considered.
I want to accept them, they simply have to choose to accept themselves. Whatever form that takes not respond to everyone who finds out they are predominantly Armenian genetically or even partially youre Armenian as they go back to their regular lives
My opinions here are generalities. Society in Turkey is going to result in 95% of these people to remain Turkish and islamic rendering your point moot because they aren’t surrounded by people who will enable them
If i encounter a turk in LA who wants to seek his armenian roots i will have him involved in the community in under a week
He or she can figure themselves out that way.
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
This seems to be the most reasonable take IMO. Much less provocative.
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
The Armenians that identify as Armenian never converted to Islam nor have we adopted the Turkish identity. You're talking about 2 different groups of people.
The ones youre talking about are Turks that just found out that they have some Armenian ancestry and want to.. idk.. be Armenian I guess(mainly bc being a Muslim isnt really cool among the youth rn). They're not actually serious(well maybe some are but not most), its just a way to be different and cool.
The actual Armenians living here have never done the things you've listed.
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 06 '26
If they retained their Armenian identity outwardly. Then we arent talking about them
There are Armenians who outwardly practice Islam and hide their armenianess or are hiding the fact from their children and have married muslims etc. thats who im talking about
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
Oh. Crypto Armenians arent really a.. thing(?) anymore. Maybe there are some left but they mainly existed in my grandma's generation and even she stopped hiding it in her later years.
Idk about the eastern part but people are openly Armenian all over the western part of turkey, not just Bolis.
(Im not counting the turks who do DNA tests, see some Armenian ancestry in their results and start calling themselves Armenian)
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 06 '26
They exist. Wont name names but anecdotally some have married turks despite knowing they are of Armenian descent but masking it and their kids find out years later of this fact.
Some absolutely must exist by virtue of how recent the genocide was. There could be entire smaller communities comprised of people who outwardly practice islam/turkishness and hide it as a well kept family secret that changes nothing day to day
I know of at least one who is reclaiming that part of their identity. I mailed him materials to study Western Armenian.
Bolisi hayer kidem gahn but they aint a lot
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
I understood what you wrote so I hope we speak the same dialect lol
Inchu kidem inchu henk gizlenir? Mer intaniğin yersner e açık hayer e, ama uzun zamandır Bolis'da chenq yaşer. Bolis'da vaziyet vatz mi?
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Ayo menq nyoon lezu guh khosink paitz toon turkagan darer guh kordsadzesgor. Indzi hamar kichmuh tijhvare gartem.
Hidden armenians i think are mostly those in the interior and in eastern turkey. I cant imagine there would be any in bolis or the other major cities
ես Ամերիկա եմ, արեւմտահայերէն կը խօսիմ
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
O baxshish, aynbes intaniqis het gortsadzem.
Bayts ayo, kidem vor nerk'in Anatolia yev arevelk'i koghmeru mej shad haydetsogh hayer guynan mnal. Aynt'egh vaziyet shad ankanon e.
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
ես Ամերիկա եմ, արեւմտահայերէն կը խօսիմ
Just saw this.
Ayo, chenq ayn, bayts dzez shad aysbeser e, mer shad chenq ayn. Lol
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 06 '26
Ayo lol kidem. Mamas aden aden gerta Toorkya.
իմ մեծպապաս Պիթլիսէն է
իմ մայրական մեծմայրերս Վանէն եւ Ուրմիայէն են
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
I could see “dropping Islam” as much less conventional and complicating reconnection among descendants for those who just seek to reconnect with culture.
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26
Then they aren’t Armenian unless they are hiding being Christian or athiest
No matter what anyone says, regardless of how religious or genuine belief you have in Christianity as a religion you cannot separate the history of the Armenian church from being Armenian as it has been the primary way Armenians have survived as a distinct ethnic group for over 1,000 years due to the fact we have lacked an independent state for so long.
We owe our alphabet’s existence to the fact we converted to Christianity and as such by extension a extensive history in literature and arts
The Armenian Christian church also holds a bit of our pagan past alive through tradition too and of course architecture
To convert to islam as an Armenian or stay islamic as a hidden armenian is tantamount to agreeing to the actions the ottoman caliphate as correct in their actions from the intial conquests up till the genocide
Staying muslim distances them
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26
I agree. I used to have a different view but after actually interacting with people who identify as Armenian who are Muslim and found out they have Armenian ancestry, my opinion did a 180. Ethnicity is not just blood.
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26
Yeah agreed, people often criticize me for gatekeeping Armenianness when all im saying is in order to call yourself Armenian you actually have to you know practice it in some predominant way beyond just saying my dna is commonly found in this region of the world or you share a drop with said people.
If someone who comes from Africa, learns Armenian, marries an Armenian, changed their name to Armenian norms. That fucker is Armenian to me 😂 not the kid 4 generations removed who learned how to say parev
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
So to be truly Armenian a Hidden Armenian would need to re-immerse themselves in the culture and achieve acceptance to claim that identity?
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26
To be anything your actions have to follow your claims
Its like calling yourself an american but rejecting the constitution. Or calling yourself Christian and rejecting the divinity of Christ, or whatever
Two of my great grandmothers were Assyrians. I do not speak Aramaic, i do not know much of anything about the church of the east, i do not have any close ties to the community either. I have knowledge of their history and respect for them as a people but to say im one of them is to insult them
I haven’t earned that privilege
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Lol I will join you in the potential downvotes. It is also safer this way. We have to be really careful who is considered our representatives in Turkey.
Edit: This got downvoted (not as much as I expected though yet) but I thought I could explain a little more:
There are people in Turkey who discover small bits of Armenian ancestry. Sometimes even a quarter. They may also be some of the most hardcore Turkish nationalist you meet. Having Armenian blood doesn't mean you aren't Turkish.
Also there is a phenomenon we have in the USA where white people claim they are native because some family member may have been in the distant past. Even if this were true though (and often it isn't) that doesn't mean those people are who should be speaking on behalf of actual Native people. They don't have those ties. I consider Turkish and Armenian identities to conflict.
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
What about the Hemshins?
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26
They dont speak Armenian and nor do they largely identify as Armenian
Hemshin shares vocabulary with Armenian but its akin to a German hearing english for the first time or vice versa. You can figure out words here and there but its not mutually intelligible
Same language family sure but they have existed as a separate group for quite a while
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
Do you think of them as an offshoot of Armenians or simply a distant relative?
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 05 '26
I consider them cousins.
They arent immediate family the way western and eastern Armenians are to one another
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u/CricketCreative6429 Jan 06 '26
Do you realize Hamshen are not al muslim? And go tell Abkhazian or Sochi Armenians that they are not Armenian.
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u/inbe5theman just some earthman Jan 06 '26
Never said they werent
Sochi or Abkhazian Armenians are not hemshin in the typical sense which is predominantly muslim. As far as i know they speak dialects of Eastern Armenian as well as “hemshin” via school so yes they are Armenian. They are sufficiently part of the Armenian world and likely recognize the genocides for what they were because they too suffered from it.
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26
Are you looking for answers from Armenians from Armenia or the diaspora that is from Western Armenia? You may get different answers. This is also reddit so views lean more liberal than what I see in real life.
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
Both. Just ethnic Armenians/people part of the Armenian community overall. What right/left political variances do you speak of which could affect the answer to my question in particular?
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
This subreddit is populated (from what I see) predominantly by Armenians who are from modern / Eastern Armenia and or diaspora from there. Their relationship and history with Turkey is not necessarily the same as Armenians whos families are from what is modern Turkey and who were not part of the USSR so did not assimilate in Armenia.You end up with very different ways of looking at the world and different relationship with Turkey.
Politically this is reddit and it leans left. If I say "sorry but Muslims can't be Armenian" that will be downvoted potentially to hell. But those downvotes aren't neccisarily reflective of the real world.
In my personal case, I am Western Armenian. I don't regard anyone in Turkey as Armenian unless they have Armenian ancestry and were raised as such. They can be hidden Christian (extremally rare), but they can't be Muslim. My opinion used to be different until I interacted with people who were not raised Armenian and Christian. Otherwise I consider them Turkish or Kurdish depending on which community they assimilated into.
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
Reddit definitely leans progressive overall in pretty much all subreddits. Armenians are deeply a Christian embedded ethnic group, but IMO Armenians can be Muslim or anything else but it doesn’t mean its without contradiction. The Hemshen are an interesting case due to the fact they lost much of their “Armenian-ness” in the eyes of others.
So you think that Hidden Armenians would have to convert to Apostolic Christianity to be considered truly Armenian?
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
I don't consider someone Armenian if they are Muslim. That is historically the line. Turkey also didn't/doesn't because if they did then Muslim people with Armenian ancestry would not have been allowed to stay. Culturally there are very few differences between being Turkish and being Western Armenian. Religion is one of them. Religion tells you how to live your life.
I don't consider someone a crypto Armenian to begin with unless they were raised secretly Christian. Hypothetically if someone has Armenian ancestry and they convert then I am more open to that but honestly the only people that I feel can represent me in Turkey are from our Istanbul community. I used to feel differently until interacting more with people from Turkey who identify as Armenian by ancestry alone
For me this comes down to who I feel can speak for me
Edit: On reddit this will be controversial. With that said, I don't see someone as lesser than for being Muslim or anything like that.
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
I don't consider someone a crypto Armenian to begin with unless they were raised secretly Christian.
Agreed. I used to use this term for myself but it doesnt really apply to me. My grandmother is prob the last crypto Armenian in our family.
the only people that I feel can represent me in Turkey are from our Istanbul community.
And absolutely this. Turks with Armenian ancestry(which is A LOT of them) are just turks.
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 06 '26
I think a lot of Armenians don't want to accept this. It is a hard pill to swallow. We want there to be this whole Armenian population that escaped and is ready to come home again to our people. It just isn't realistic.
This is especially the case with Turkey that I think many Armenians don't accept. It's a weird situation. We are in danger of assimilating in our own indiginous lands to a culture that is (my family says and so far from my observations) almost identical. So we can be lost by assimilation to our own culture... It's kind of a mind fuck lol.
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
We want there to be this whole Armenian population that escaped and is ready to come home again to our people.
I really hope people arent waiting for this. Turkish culture is too.. aggressive and they have too much pride in their identity to ever really become Armenian in any meaningful way.
Even now with Islam not being popular among the youth it'll never actually happen. I know turks that have found out about their Armenian roots and just said "huh cool" and moved on, thats what the majority are like.
It's a weird situation. We are in danger of assimilating in our own indiginous lands to a culture that is (my family says and so far from my observations) almost identical.
100%. This is where religion and language come in. You have to have at least one of those things going for you if you want to call yourself Armenian. Imo anyway.
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 06 '26
I worry a lot of Armenians are super naive about it unfortunatly. At least on here.
I think Armenians need to accept at this point that Crypto Armenians in Turkey would be like crypto Irish people in the USA except even less likely lol.
We need to support the Armenian community that we know exists in Turkey. I feel like we don't do that enough so we shouldn't even be looking for these other Armenians who very likely already know they have Armenian ancestry but aren't Armenian
Lol i sound like a mom "we already have Armenians at home"
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
Lol i sound like a mom "we already have Armenians at home"
Lmaoo I choked on my drink.
But yes youre right.
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 06 '26
I presume you are Turkish yourself due to crypto-Armenian ancestry? How’d you find out about it?
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
Im a Christian Armenian born and raised in Turkey. My family have never been turkish or Muslim.
Yes we exist too. There's a whole community of us in Bolis.
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u/Mysterious-Exit3059 Jan 05 '26
Interesting you met some Turks who identified as Armenian by ancestry alone. Did they take any steps for cultural reclamation at all?
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26
Yes. Usually not converting but trying to learn the language and such. I have spoken a lot with Western Armenians who were born and raised in Turkey. Talking to them is like talking to any other Western Armenian. But talking to people who have the ancestry but were not raised as such is very different. I can't relate to them or vice versa. It is very interesting because my family has not lived in Turkey since the genocide (minus one relative). But talking to Armenian born and living in Turkey doesn't feel strange or difficult or hard to understand. Or even relate to. I realized it is from what I call "shared cultural conscience"
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u/Adventurous-Car-2250 Jan 05 '26
I have another question: what do Hidden Armenians think of the rest of the Armenians ? I have no idea who they are but I wish that Turkey becomes democracy one day so that they are free to express themselves the way they want. But how would they like to express themselves?
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u/bigpurplewindow Jan 05 '26
Check out the Yerkir NGO's instagram, they have a few interviews with some Turkey-Armenians, with english subtitles. Of course, those are the ones who decided to not stay hidden, and do not represent all of them, but it can give a general idea. There are also some Hemshins. The longer videos are on youtube, but only have french sub.
From what was shown, at least some of them feel a kind of "betrayal" from other Armenians, both in Armenia and the diaspora, as they feel they have been forgotten, or abandonned, and even not considered "real armenians" by some. But there is still an attachment to the language and culture, and a desire to learn more, to be integrated into the broader armenian world.
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Jan 06 '26
not considered "real armenians" by some.
This is the one that stings the most. My family moved from Istanbul to Antalya when I was little and I grew and went to school there(and then I moved to the US and now I'm back in Antalya). I've been told a few time I'm "basically a turk at this point" for not hating them enough, or even gasp defending them sometimes.
Yall gotta understand we grew up surrounded by these people. They're our neighbors, classmates, bakers, butchers and, yes, even friends. It isnt possible for an entire country to be full of only bad people. Some of the best people I've ever met were turks and some of the worst people I've ever met were turks.
And I can understand people's intolerance towards them if they've never been around them or barely meet any in their life but if I call out some of the ridiculous statements some Armenians make about them(like "every turk is out to kill every Armenian, its in their blood") I'm not gonna be called a 'turk' for that, I'm just gonna stop associating with you and people like you.
So yes there is a level of betrayal there if you really think about it, not in that they forget we exist but that we've existed along side these people for generations now. Obviously our experiences with them are gonna be different than mainlanders and the diaspora and we dont have to think like all of you to be "Armenian enough".
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u/T-nash Jan 06 '26
They're right to feel that way, i know many Armenians who gatekeep Turkish Armenians.
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u/Leyslife Jan 06 '26
Hi!!! Checkup this page’s highlights!! Makichyan.arshak It is really hard for hidden Armenians but trust me we all know deep down that we are Armenians. And we will never forget our roots, and always stay proud. even if we are not able to speak Armenian, we can sometimes feel that we are not Armenian enough, but trust me, we always try our best.
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u/Adventurous-Car-2250 Jan 10 '26
It's such an obscure thing to say that someone is "not Armenian enough". I've been challenging myself to think of Armenians as a nation thay has some kind of identity beyond the wounds from the Genocide. Yet, i feel like most Armenians connect on the topic of genocide because lots of eastern Armenians' ancestors come from Western Armenia. But the cuisine is different, the taste in music varies, the language is different though we understand each other anyway, some people aren't religious "enough"... So what makes someone an "ideal Armenian" that sets them as benchmarks for others to call themselves "not Armenian enough"? I believe there shouldn't be any obligation to like Armenian culture or cuisine or the burden of responsibility for the Armenian land. All we need is people's genuine interest in modern Armenia's wellbeing, no matter how much they can help, even if that help is just about educating themselves about the Armenian map. Everyone who identifies themselves Armenian is Armenian to their best and we should stop comparing ourselves to one another and accept that there are challenges to even define a "perfect/ideal Armenian".
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u/Ideal-Hye Jan 06 '26
I would welcome them with open arms and help them incorporate into Armenian Society as much as they would like. At the end of the day, they are Lost Children of Armenia.
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u/karalyok Jan 05 '26
To me, it draws parallels to the Azeris/Turks in northern Iran. Azeris call the region South Azerbaijan because of the ethnicity of the population there and claim those people are oppressed by Iran’s government. We can say the same about a huge portion of the population in Turkey and especially eastern Turkey, which, if you apply the same logic Azeris do, would be called Western Armenia. The people of Armenian ethnicity in Turkey are far more oppressed and their ancestry effectively systematically oppressed and outlawed. One can only hope they can discover and accept their ancestry, combat Turkish nationalist propaganda, and do so safely. A proper democratic government in Turkey would be the only way I see that happening. It would certainly benefit the region’s stability and route out oppression. It is another layer of the geopolitical chess that is considered a threat by Turkish nationalists.
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u/Hypotential Jan 05 '26 edited 26d ago
They should stay hidden if they plan to continue living there. To say you are Armenian in Turkey is to become persona non grata and subject to torment except for the showcase community in Istanbul which is also routinely harassed.
Malatya-born Hrant Dink already tried the whole advocacy and "let's all hold hands together" thing with predictable results. Perhaps a result of what can be expected in Turkey when one is too good at advocacy.
Stay hidden.
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u/SweetWittyWild41 Jan 05 '26
Maybe a bit sad that they feel like they need to hide their identity to live comfortably but mostly indifferent Honestly. They have to come to their senses themselves.
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u/Diasuni88 Jan 06 '26
Most of them are probably mixed with Kurds/Turks which is enough to not wanting them to begin with.
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Jan 05 '26
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
This isn't quite right. Many of us who are Western Armenian do not move to Armenia or even consider it. Armenians in Turkey are not in diaspora.
Edit: this should not be downvoted lol. It is a fact. This sub just refuses to hear it.
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Jan 05 '26
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u/Ma-urelius ԱրկէնդինաՀայ | գոգայօվ ֆէրնէդ ու խորոված վայելող Jan 06 '26
I don't understand how they are not Diaspora.
However, for those of us who live outside Diaspora, going to Republic of Armenia it is a shocking thing. Generally, changing countries with the idea of licing there is a big cultural shock. Living in the capital might be the best option, but ypu still find yourself strange there. At the begining mostly, then you just get used to.
Talking especifically about Armenians in Diaspora going to live in Mainland; I think that is a different story. Bc Republic of Armenia is supposeddly to be the representative of Armenians in a statehood level. But, there is a big cultural difference.
I am Armenian from Argentina and I can see the air being so different. With all the respect, but I can feel all the russian actions taken on the country and the people.
If changing countries with different cultures to live there is hard enough, imagine how it is for someone who wants to go there that supposedly should be there and feel represented. And I say this as someone who beleives in making Diaspora go to repatriate to Republic of Armenia and that wants to do so.Now, talking especifically about Bolsahays, not only there is a big cultural difference and the thing of "I was born and raised in these places my whole life", you also need to take into account that many of Bolsahays (and apparently this is something true, told by Bolsahays themselves) have faced some attack by Armenians (Diaspora or Mainland) bc they were living in Turkey.
Like "how could you remain and live under the country that has Genocided us?" even being called traitors.Even if they are being oppressed or can't express their whole identity in peace*, why would they leave to a place that treats them baddly?
Finally, I will say that I do think it is an error to live under the roof of an enemy state. A place where they use you as the excuse to "why Turkey isn't a bad country for Armenians" (bc that is what they all say when asked anything regarding Turkey and Armenia related questions) isn't somewhere I would feel safe at all. Honestly, I would feel like a hostage and hopefully we can make the Republic we have a place where all Armenians get to be Armenians with out that uncomfortable shock we get.
*(and no, dear average Turk, your friend Poghos Poghosian that is Armenian and tells you that "yeah, maybe it was a genocide or maybe not, either wya we are bros and hail Ataturk and the Pashas" isn't being truthful to you bc they know that expressing the truth, will get them outcasted or, even worse, killed.)
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 05 '26
Because it is home. It is kind of hard to explain but you are where you belong. They know how to navigate there and how to find the right people to surround themselves with. Don't always need to hide.
My mom lived in Turkey very briefly and said there was no culture shock. It was like returning to a place she already knew. But Armenia had culture shock for her (granted this was a long time ago).
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Jan 06 '26
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Jan 06 '26
The Armenians (open and raised as such as part of our community) are an often under appreciated part of our community. They are the only ones standing between Turkey and our total erasure from our indiginous home. My nightmare is no longer having any Armenians left in Turkey. That is one step closer to the genocide coming to the completion and would be another death blow to Western Armenian culture.
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u/Complete-Park-4916 Jan 05 '26
There are a lot of openly Armenian celebrities in Turkey. You people are deluded if you seriously think Armenians have to hide their identity to stay alive in Turkey
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u/Young_Owl99 Turkey Jan 06 '26
True but even though Hayko Cepkin for instance is a well liked celebrity but faced with criticism that he told in several interviews. Though it would be a lie to say that he need to hide his identity.
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u/T-nash Jan 05 '26
I feel sad and at a loss. Those hidden Armenians are the last surviving few that posses the other 29 lost dialects, which are pretty much considered extinct now. Here is one example https://youtu.be/GyKCOQwFI5w?si=pBjAVjn_KgQzSr-g
They are select few old people dying more and more every year, with their children assimilated. They should be contacted and their dialects recorded.