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The Armenian Reporter Int'l, 8 April 2000, p.4
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By Dr Armen Gakavian**
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There's a play by Samuel Beckett called 'Waiting for Godot'. The entire
story revolves around two tramps who are waiting for ... well, we don't
quite know what they're waiting for, except that the name 'Godot' might
be a play on 'God'. Beckett plots the tramps' journey of waiting, portraying
their angst and disappointment as each successive visitor fails to live
up to their expectations.
I thought of Beckett's play as I was waiting at Yerevan's Friendship
Metro Station. The train was late (by 30 seconds - in Sydney we wouldn't
notice!) and I began to wonder what it must have been like for Beckett's
characters. At least I knew what I was waiting for, and that it would
eventually come. Beckett's characters did not.
Godot represents the hopes and dreams of those who are bound by cynicism,
hopelessness, disappointment and despair. But Godot is also the escapist
fantasy of a people who have lost the belief that they themselves can
do anything to improve their lot.
The people of Armenia are like the tramps in Beckett's play. They
are waiting for something, but not sure what. And when it comes, it's
not what they expected.
In the tragic play that is Armenia, who, or what, is Godot? Who, or
what, is Armenia waiting for? Will Godot ever come? If or when Godot
comes, what will Godot do?
The reality, in fact, is that there is no Godot. The answers to Armenia's
problems are not going to come from the outside world. Even God is not
the outsider we often think He is.
Aid organisations cannot 'save' Armenia. No doubt emergency relief
will always be needed to satisfy the immediate needs of the most vulnerable
and marginalised members of Armenian society. However Armenia cannot
build a strong, sustainable future on handouts. In the long run, aid
deprives the recipients of dignity and a sense of personal responsibility,
creating a society of dependants and beggars. Most aid organisations
have come to recognise the need to shift to development-oriented programs.
It is necessary to give impetus to this transition to take the peoples'
eyes off Godot and onto themselves.
Similarly Armenia cannot depend on multinationals whose only goal
is to make mega-profits on the back of low wages, poor working conditions,
environmental irresponsibility and a disregard for cultural norms and
histories. Armenia is also doomed if it relies on the IMF / World Bank
to bail it out, because despite the great work being achieved through
many of the IMF-sponsored projects, conditional loans and accumulating
interest rates rob a nation of its sovereignty and compel it to adopt
the norms of the international monoculture of the dollar.
The Diaspora, too, cannot 'save' Armenia. I attended the recent Homeland-Diaspora
Conference as a member of the Australian delegation. As I looked around
me at the men and women representing the dozens of Armenian communities
all over the world, I was captured by the vision of what could be achieved
if the forces of the diaspora were fully mobilised. The Diaspora alone
has all the resources needed to turn Armenia into a prosperous, model
first world nation. Without a doubt it is the Diaspora's noble duty
and privilege to invest in the Homeland's future, whether it be by providing
employment, opportunities for education, or other kinds of support and
assistance. But the Diaspora can only 'help' if it works in partnership
with a Homeland who is ready and willing to take responsibility for
its own destiny.
In 1987 Rafael Ishkhanian, historian and member of the Karabagh Movement,
called on Armenians to rely on no-one but themselves and the help of
God. He was right. Even God, the true Saviour, is not the outsider we
often think He is.
Ultimately Armenia must depend on itself. To do so it must raise leaders
from within its own ranks - true leaders who have the vision, courage,
honesty and know-how needed to lead the nation into the twenty-first
century. I am not just referring to the politicians who fill the seats
of the National Assembly, but rather to people at every level of society
who can provide inspiration, hope, encouragement and a positive role
model to those who are waiting for Godot. Such leadership would work
to educate and empower others rather than making them dependant. It
would rely not on grand projects, programs and schemes, but on a real,
long-term investment in the lives of individuals and communities. And
it would nurture the spiritual life of the people, helping them to exercise
their God-given strengths and abilities.
Hopelessness, cynicism and apathy can only be challenged when people
are motivated enough - whether by despair or by a desire for something
better - to act, even at personal risk. All the aid programs, loan schemes
and investment projects in the world cannot create the hope needed for
Armenia to build a strong future. Such motivation will come from a leadership
who offers more than just talk.
Where is such leadership in Armenia today? Will the real leaders please
stand up?
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* An earlier version of this article first appeared in Zank Journal,
September-October 1999, p.18.
** Armen Gakavian received his PhD from the University of Sydney.
He is Convenor of the Armenian Genocide Research Unit of the Centre
for Comparative Genocide Studies, Macquarie University, and is on the
Council of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University.
Armen works part-time at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management
as a researcher into public finance and higher education policy. He
is also on staff with the Navigators, a campus-based urban network concerned
with faith and justice.
Armen recently visited Armenia and is due to return there for two
years to teach at university level and help establish a community mobilisation
project.
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