In honor of International Human Rights Day

On December 7, 2012 at the US Embassy in Yerevan, I had the honor of presenting at a roundtable panel discussion on the occasion of International Human Rights Day with Mikayel Danielyan, a figure who I felt extremely unqualified to share such a space.  That day, I was invited to present some of my findings from a study on how peace education is taught in Armenia in honor of International Human Rights Day.  While I did not have the privilege of having a close relationship with Mikayel, I remember his contribution to Armenian society as he spent most (if not all) of his life struggling to fight for human rights in Armenia.  Even though Mikayel passed away in 2016, ironically - or maybe not ironically - I always remember him on this day.

This day also proves to be very important in my fieldwork, too.  Repeatedly in the last series of interviews here in Yerevan, teachers referenced instances where human rights had been violated in their stories and referred to the upcoming annual remembrance of the adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948.  Each interview has always proven to be a unique experience.  Leading up to the interview, I enjoy getting to learn and know each teacher I meet along this journey.  While the rest of the world might be falling apart, with ongoing wars - both with artillery, bullets, and tanks but also, the insane amount of hatred manifested back home in the USA with the current impeachment hearings - these teachers I've met brighten these cold, bare classrooms, breathing life back into this world through the hearts to the next generation (and selfishly, re-energizing me).  It is really a privilege and honor when these teachers open up with me and so far, every interview has been a humbling experience.  In honor of International Human Rights day, I wanted to highlight two teachers from my last round of interviews.
Note: I have not completed these transcriptions/translations yet because, as you're about to read, some of these stories are hard for me to return to (but also, I dislike hearing my own voice on the recordings).

Memories from childhood

Teacher 1

She started to describe herself as the "crooked one" in her family in that she didn't choose the same professions as her family members but also because she was never satisfied with justifications adults would give to her: "why, I always asked why and it seems, I always wanted to protect everyone else's human rights".  Throughout her childhood she was struggling to understand the violence she saw in society which has shaped her to becoming a true leader and teacher at her school today.  

"We lived in a neighborhood with regular people...I remember the days of the war, and fortunate for us, my father had a good job so we were ok...but I remember as a child witnessing violence by my neighbors husbands towards their wives and my classmates' parents who went to fight in the war.  In my class, I also saw violence...one my classmate's couldn't really study well because at the age of 6 or 7 he was the type of person who had to take on or carry his family's responsibilities and couldn't study well because of those responsibilities and couldn't keep up...perhaps he should have been evaluated in school differently based on his skills and knowledge...but I remember my teacher beating this student...and in those moments my classmates and I struggled as we couldn't move or show our agitation...and I remember watching him take the beating as a "man" without his eyes tearing up..."

As the story unfolded, I tried to hold back my tears.  I stay focused on the details of the story - the moments where she looked away but also the moments where it seemed that she returned from the memory back to the lounge space where we were seated comfortably with coffee.  Unfortunately, the violence this teacher witnessed as a child has led her to become a "teacher hero" fighting for children's rights, for humans' rights.  

She had an opportunity to hear stories of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan who referred to Azerbaijan as their homeland and remembers these older folks longing to return to see their homeland.  In my experiences, it's often unheard of or, we might even categorize it as a a taboo for Armenians to describe the "enemy" neighbor's territory in a fond manner.  But for Armenian refugees, as this teacher pointed out Azerbaijan was their homeland, where they grew up and formed their childhood memories.  How can anyone judge or take away what is rightly theirs? After hearing many of these accounts over the last few months, I learned that many Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan later fled Armenia as they were unable to settle in Armenia, their "homeland".  

On my way home from school that day, before approaching the bus stop, I let my tears flow while listening to the sound of the traffic and the laughter of the children on the playground...I took a long pause.

*   *    *

Teacher 2

His father did not have a formal education however, this teacher said he learned a lot of important life skills from his father.  He described his father as a very hard working man and was a tradesman.  This teacher explained how his father traded goods with Azerbaijanis living in Nakhchivan bringing their goods and selling it in the markets in Yerevan.  As a child, he says one thing that was strange for him was how his father never weighed the goods (vegetables, grains, etc.).  Azerbaijanis would unload all of the bags off of the truck and his father would give the payment without checking or weighing these items.  The teacher asked his father, how do you know if they are bringing exactly what they say they did?  His father said he did not need to weigh or check because he trusted them.  One day the teacher decided he would check on the weights and measurements to be convinced that his father was not being scammed or anything.  After his father's Azerbaijani partners finished unloading the truck and drove off, this teacher waited til his father was out of sight.  The teacher says he weighed everything, calculated the costs, and prepared to present his findings to his father that evening.  Somehow, he brought up the topic again with his father about the goods and payments, and asked his father how much he received that day.  He confessed to his father that he had done some calculations and wanted to see if what the Azerbaijanis told his father added up to the same amount.  The teacher described how his father mocked him and his "calculations"and reaffirmed that he had full confidence and trust with his Azerbaijani partners.  At that moment, the teacher took out his calculations and showed his father claiming that they did in fact fall short of bringing the amount that they claimed to have brought that day.  He described how his father didn't flinch or show any doubt which surprised him even more.  His father asked him to recalculate his numbers - the teacher paused and reminded me here that his father was illiterate.  After recalculating, the teacher says he was surprised by his own miscalculation - he was taken aback by his own mistake!  To this day, the teacher remembers his father's smile and confidence from that very moment.

I believe this teacher brought up this memory to demonstrate that coexistence was not only a real part of our history, but involved real relationships based on trust and respect.  Today it would be unheard of to have these types relationships between Armenians and Azerbaijanis due to the amount of hatred and fear that has manifested right before outbreak of war and thereafter.  The point I am trying to make here is that long before politics and national leaders got involved, there are histories and stories of actual relations built on trust and loyalty.  How quickly we have come to erase these memories?  How quickly hatred replaced such peaceful spaces and relations?  I am still struggling to explore these answers.