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It's not safe here.
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They want to be rid of us.
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- His life itself is a metaphor
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of the Armenian history.
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It's like a personification
of our history of centuries.
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00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,040
Were we as a talented people,
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00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:28,200
given the way we have
been geographically
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00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,000
vulnerable to all
invasions from the East
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coming to the west.
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You know, given our history,
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it's a miracle of
miracles that we have
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00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:41,280
survived as a people.
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We are still Armenians.
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00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,160
An ancient people of
culture and dreams.
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00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:51,600
- When I was a little
girl, in San Francisco
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00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,160
with my grandma
Mary, grandma and I,
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00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,320
I would always hear
grandma singing songs
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00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,720
and she would sing
these old Armenian songs
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00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,040
and I didn't
understand the language
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and I didn't know who wrote it
21
00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,160
but those songs
unconsciously went in me
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and they stayed there
and they ruminated
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00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,280
and it helped me become who
I am now as an Armenian.
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00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,840
Komitas, his music
taught me who I am.
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- My mother learned all
this beautiful songs
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direct from Komitas Vardapet
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00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,160
and many years later in 50s,
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in grammar school, our principal
taught us Komitas songs
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and through Komitas songs, we
appreciate Armenian heritage
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00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,880
culture and Armenian life.
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00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,560
- His contribution is so
broad and comprehensive.
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00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:12,640
You have the spiritual,
the religious.
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You also have the secular.
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00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,000
You know, he's secular
music is just as fascinating
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00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:23,280
as his religious
music and for him
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00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,560
to bring these two
together in a way
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00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,560
encompasses and embraces
the wealth of our culture.
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00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,720
While it is
predominately religious
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00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,920
and yet at the same time there
is this secular side of it.
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00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,160
- had many loses as a child.
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00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,840
He lost his mother during
the first year of his life
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00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:48,000
and then during the
first decade of his life,
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00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,440
he had many losses.
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00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,240
He lost his father
and then he lost
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00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,920
his rapprochement for education.
46
00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:57,440
His grief was so immense
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00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,600
that he started to
use the dissociation,
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00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,400
meaning like he put
himself in his own
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00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,360
where one doesn't feel any pain.
50
00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,880
He used to wander the
streets of Kutahya .
51
00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,640
Despite all this, he still
had his passion for singing
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00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,520
and his beautiful voice and
not only the church appreciated
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00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,360
his singing but also his
friends on the street.
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They would ask him to
sing, he will sing,
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they'll give him food.
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They shared his food with him.
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00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,800
So that helped him
to make friends.
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00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,520
So in Komitas' life,
it's very interesting
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00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:44,680
how always, trauma was
juxtaposed with his immense
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00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,080
musical talent
which empowered him.
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00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,600
The two together
always balanced out
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00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,280
and this is why in his childhood
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00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,440
as long as he was able
to use his creativity,
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00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,600
his music, his singing, that
connected him to people.
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00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,440
- And so Komitas in
effect in his very person
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00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:25,880
personifies Armenian history.
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00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,000
Which in effect was a
series of genocides.
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00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,120
What happened to us
as a people in 1915
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00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:40,440
is the last straw that
broke the camels back
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00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:41,440
so to speak.
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00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,440
- Consider a
million people dying
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or six million people dying,
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00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:55,520
we can't identify with that.
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00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,040
I mean it's a statistics.
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00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,400
But when you see how it
impacts on one person,
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00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,600
that you can identify with.
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00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:11,240
- His whole life had been
surrounded with Armenian
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00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,480
and Turkish music and he
grew such a great love
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00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,880
for the folk music of the
Armenians and the Turks
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00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:19,000
which I think
contributed to his genius
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00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,120
in his later life.
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00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:25,320
One day, he's just singing
a nice old Turkish song
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00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,600
and this priest is
passing by his house
84
00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:32,360
and he hears this beautiful
strong lovely voice
85
00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,600
and he tells his aunt and uncle
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00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,040
that he wants to
take him Etchmiadzin
87
00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,840
and he wants him to sing
in front of the Catholicos
88
00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:44,400
and they agree and they
taken him to Etchmiadzin
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00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,320
to the mother church
and he has him sing
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00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,000
for the Catholicos
and the Catholicos
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00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:52,080
is just amazed what a
wonderful, beautiful,
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00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,200
strong voice this young boy has
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00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:56,480
and he says to him, Listen,
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00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,480
you're going to be
in the church choir,
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00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:00,880
we're gonna train you.
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00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,160
So they decide to send
him to Tiflis, Georgia
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00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:08,440
to the famous Armenian
composer of sacred music,
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00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,760
Armenian circuit
music, Yekmalyan
99
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,240
and Yekmalyan realizes
the genius quality.
100
00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,240
So the Catholicos decides
to send him to Berlin
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00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,280
to the university to
now start studying
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00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,600
classical music and
learning about Bach,
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00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:27,960
about Brahms, about Beethoven,
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00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,000
all the classical composers,
he starts learning about
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00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,640
and at the same time, he
starts formally learning
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00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,640
the folk idiom.
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00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,080
Arabic music, Turkish
music, Greek music,
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00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,480
Jewish music, he starts
learning in a very formal way.
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00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,680
So now, he comes
back to Istanbul
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00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:51,280
and he puts together
this 300 boy's chorus.
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00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,200
- Komitas' composition
of the divine literature
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00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,720
really stands out among others
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00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,120
in that he has really captured
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00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:14,240
the very mystical essence
of the diving literature.
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00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,360
One could interpret
the divine literature
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00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:19,200
a variety of ways
117
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,320
but there is always this
mystical element in it.
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00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,480
In that it is a
journey to heaven
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00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,480
and as worshipers, we
follow the celibate priest
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00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,280
in this journey to heaven.
121
00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,960
It's like heaven also comes
down to meet us halfway
122
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:42,880
in between and to capture
this spiritual encounter
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00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,640
between us worshipers,
humans, and the divine,
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00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,040
putting these two
elements together.
125
00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,280
Komitas has done it
so remarkable well.
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00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,800
- I was astonished,
I was surprised
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00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,560
that when the
Turks were planning
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00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:08,880
to annihilate our nation,
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00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,600
not only Komitas,
or other intellectuals
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00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,920
but the whole nation,
Komitas part of it
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00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,240
was thinking of
opening a conservatory
132
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,920
for the Turks in Constantinople.
133
00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:24,800
Sensitive heart
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00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,680
and the thinking mind
of the Turkish nation,
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00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:31,640
I wish this for
you Turkish people.
136
00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,760
- The Turkish language was
imposed on him as a child.
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00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,320
Was imposed on Armenians
138
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,840
but despite of that fact, he
did not feel any animosity
139
00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,120
neither towards the
Turks or the critics.
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00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,200
Actually, his mother
created songs and in Turkish
141
00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:56,760
and when later on Komitas
returned to Kutahya
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00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,360
he collected still
people of Kutahya
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00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:00,800
were singing his mother's song
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00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,160
and he collected them
145
00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,440
and he used to sing them.
146
00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,400
So for him, music that
was the global language.
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00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,240
It was not Turkish,
it was not Kurdish,
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00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,080
it was not Armenian,
music was global for him.
149
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,400
I tried to get closer to see
150
00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,400
what the place they
wouldn't let me.
151
00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,000
What has he done
to deserve this?
152
00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,840
- They're geographically
all from this area.
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00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,000
They live together, they
talk with each other,
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00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,960
they laugh together, the
children play together
155
00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,360
and then all of
a sudden one day,
156
00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:40,520
but it's not like that.
157
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,200
It seems that way but
there's growing unrest
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00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,800
all the time, growing unrest.
159
00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:55,640
- In the case of the Armenians,
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00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,640
certainly Hamidian
Massacres of the 1890s
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00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,000
and the massacres
of 1908 and 1909
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00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,360
were signs that things
were deteriorating
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00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:06,840
and the fact that Turkey was,
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00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:08,640
the Ottoman Empire was losing
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00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,320
all of its European possessions.
166
00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,520
- Conditions radically
changed with World War I.
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00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,880
As Turkey enters the
war in November of 1914,
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00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,040
as a ally of Germany and
the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
169
00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,440
it is catapulted into
a new sociological,
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00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,840
cultural, political moment
171
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,120
and part of that moment,
of course, means that
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00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,240
there is now national
militarization.
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00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,880
During times of war
and as historians
174
00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:48,120
have come to quote this,
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00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,080
total war, societies
become militarized
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00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,760
and obsessed with
national security
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00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,480
and it becomes much
easier to carry out acts
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00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,360
of violence inside the
country during war time
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00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,880
than it ever would
be during peace time.
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00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,000
So the war provided
the young Turk regime,
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00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,080
the CUP, especially
with Talaat Pasha
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00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:13,600
as the Administer
of the Interior,
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00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,320
with an opportunity
to solve it's
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00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,960
perceived domestic
security crisis
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00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,360
with it's largest Christian
minority, the Armenians.
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00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,800
- It just didn't happen one day.
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00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,120
It was happening and
happening and happening
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00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,320
and then all of a
sudden, it was huge.
189
00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:38,240
- Whole sale massacre
and deportation,
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00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:42,360
forced marches, rape,
torture, and destruction
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00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:44,600
of whole cultural entities.
192
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,000
Cities, towns, villages,
libraries, churches,
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00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:53,160
could be carried out without
anybody on the outside
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00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,840
having too much visible
notion of what was going on
195
00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:03,520
because the war create chaos,
distraction for everybody
196
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,640
and so the war is
important in context
197
00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:08,680
for this event.
198
00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:12,080
It's arguable that the
Young Turk government
199
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,840
could not have carried
out genocide as it did
200
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,200
without the screen of
World War I as its cover
201
00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,960
and its total militarizing
social enterprise.
202
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,280
Dearest Margret,
203
00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,280
I wish to be with
you in Paris instead
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00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,080
of this oppressive environment
205
00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,600
of what now is Constantinople.
206
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,680
- Margret Popian came from
a highly educated family,
207
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,760
she came from Georgia
and then her family
208
00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:46,000
moved to Paris.
209
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,800
Margret befriended Komitas,
210
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:53,080
Komitas befriended Margret.
211
00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,640
Their relationship
was very multilayered,
212
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,080
sophisticated, subtle,
and it's difficult
213
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,280
to put it in any certain mold.
214
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:07,960
Just to give you
the understanding
215
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,200
of what their relationship was,
216
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:12,760
when Komitas came from Egypt,
217
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,600
all he had conquered Egypt,
218
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:17,600
he had given two
concert in Cairo
219
00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:18,960
and in Alexandria
220
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,280
and the people there,
they felt that Komitas
221
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,640
brought with him piece of
Armenia to this foreign lands
222
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,120
and he came and they
showered him with gifts
223
00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:31,560
so his self esteem
was very strong
224
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,600
and he felt so
good about himself
225
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,080
and this was in 19
somewhat, of 1911,
226
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,240
he came to Paris.
227
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:40,960
He knocks on the
door of Margret.
228
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,040
Margret says,
"Well here you are.
229
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,920
I'm going on vacation
of Isle of White,
230
00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:48,400
why don't you come with me?
231
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:49,800
You look exhausted."
232
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,240
And here they go together
to Isle of White.
233
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,120
They stay in this little inn.
234
00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:58,240
He plays the music,
they go on the beach,
235
00:17:58,240 --> 00:17:59,840
to for taking long walks
236
00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,480
and here was this celibate
priest with this celibate woman
237
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,640
not married musician.
238
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,840
Sophisticated culturally,
embedded in the musical world
239
00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,840
of France, of Paris at the time.
240
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,000
They went on vacation together
241
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,600
and they had the courage to
be together at that time.
242
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,760
Their friendship told them
that we need each other.
243
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:33,200
I'm in God's hands
244
00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,520
but surely I will be rested.
245
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,040
- The priest of Atraban,
Grigoris Balakian,
246
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:43,840
who was arrested on the night
247
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,840
of April 24th in
Constantinople and survived.
248
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:52,800
The next four years in the
killing fields of Turkey
249
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,240
to write an
extraordinary memoir,
250
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:57,480
called Armenian Golgotha.
251
00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:01,120
In Armenian Golgotha,
the explicit impression
252
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,760
that is conveyed is one
of shock and bewilderment.
253
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,640
One of confusion and disbelief.
254
00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:24,080
Balakian is a high ranking
255
00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,400
inside the patriarch
cave in Constantinople
256
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,560
and is a kind of
emissary ambassador
257
00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,960
from the patriarch cave
to Europe and to Russia.
258
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:35,720
He's a very worldly guy.
259
00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:40,040
In disbelief to this
storm, this bloody storm
260
00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,560
as he calls it, that
has been brewing,
261
00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,040
the impression is this
can't be happening.
262
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,080
We have had close
relations with the Ottoman
263
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,240
ruling leadership.
264
00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,680
We know Talaat in particular.
265
00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:04,040
We are in communication with
the Sublime Porte regularly.
266
00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:09,200
How could this plan be
evolving in front of our eyes?
267
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,760
A policeman who felt
268
00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,240
that his job was to arrest me.
269
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,440
- How one day they
just came along
270
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,120
and pulled all the academics.
271
00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:28,640
It sounds like they just
one day they did this.
272
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,760
You don't just one day
decide that you're gonna
273
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:33,160
get rid of somebody.
274
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,760
It's an actual plan,
it's a political plan,
275
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:42,240
it's a governmental
bureaucratic kind of plan,
276
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,640
and then they call
on the preparator.
277
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,200
The one who's at the
trough doing the work
278
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,760
and say gather those people up.
279
00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:57,920
It was just a precaution,
280
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:02,400
I imagine, perhaps because
of the bombardment.
281
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,000
- There were rumors that the
police was gathering names
282
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,280
in cafes where Armenian
intellectuals gathered
283
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:09,720
and they were started to
284
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:11,680
take up the papers, news papers
285
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,920
and look at the signatures
and found out the names
286
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,000
of the people who
wrote the editorials.
287
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,800
And no it did not stop them
288
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,240
in 1895 or even just
six years ago in Aldana.
289
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,400
But those were the
days of the sultan.
290
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,080
We now have a constitution
that guarantees us.
291
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:37,840
- Greeks, the
Armenians, the Arabs,
292
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:42,000
and others supported the
Great Revolution of 1908.
293
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:47,400
The somewhat velvet revolution,
294
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,200
called the Young Turk revolution
295
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,440
which deposed the
sultan Abdul Hamid II
296
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,520
from political power.
297
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,960
So July, 1908,
the Ottoman Empire
298
00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,040
is no longer a theocracy.
299
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,720
It was perceived as a very
hopeful exciting moment.
300
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,520
A moment that might
finally implement
301
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,680
the long hoped for reforms
302
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,640
for minority groups
inside of Turkey,
303
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,600
constitutional reforms
that had been promised
304
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,160
since the mid 19th century,
305
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,400
a time that was
perceived as bringing
306
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,560
a new multicultural
potential equality
307
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:34,920
through the Ottoman empire
308
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,320
and long sought after change.
309
00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:42,840
My friends, you must not worry,
310
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:44,920
the constitution is for us.
311
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,360
You must, I must believe this.
312
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,480
- But the revolution
was short lived.
313
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:56,800
Within half a year, the sultans
314
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:58,440
counter revolutionary forces
315
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,560
are trying to bring down
316
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,640
the new secular
Young Turk government
317
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:10,680
and I would note that that
government of 1908, 1909,
318
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,280
is still a moderate
hopeful, more inclusive
319
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,840
and liberal group
320
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,160
but with a succession
of violent events,
321
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:28,760
the counter revolution
that I just mentioned
322
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,520
in 1909, and then the outbreak
323
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,600
of the two Balkan
Wars, 1912 and 1913,
324
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:38,520
the moderate new Young
Turks were gotten rid of
325
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,280
by violent revolution
by this new group,
326
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,400
Enver, Talaat, and Djemal.
327
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,400
Who would seize power in 1913
328
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,960
and institute and implement
329
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:56,960
more extreme nationalism
330
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,480
and one that was
predicated on a pan Turkish
331
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,400
ideology that
advocated that Turkey
332
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,040
could only be
restored to its health
333
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,680
and well being by purging Turkey
334
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,160
of its minority elements.
335
00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:19,680
Its minority population,
336
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,080
especially the
Christian minorities.
337
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,280
So pan Turkism now evolves
as a more virulent ideology
338
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,360
of the new Ittihad party,
339
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,320
the new Committee of
Union and Progress party
340
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,440
and we are in a very
different place by 1914
341
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:38,880
as the war comes.
342
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,720
We have a group running
Turkey with a staunch
343
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,560
and extreme nationalist
ideology to make Turkey
344
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,920
Islamically homogenous.
345
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,360
- They didn't have orders
to kill them immediately
346
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:02,000
but they were pre planning,
they were weakening them.
347
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,640
This were all very
highly educated,
348
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,960
intellectually
sophisticated people
349
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,680
who had ideas about
liberty, about democracy,
350
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,760
so they knew that all
what is happening to them
351
00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:20,440
was illegal and it
was not to be done.
352
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,520
So therefore, to be
able to break them,
353
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,680
they used all this secrecy
354
00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,280
and predictability,
this matter of cruelty,
355
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,360
psychological cruelty.
356
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,080
Come on my friend, this terrible
357
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,760
joke is nearly over.
358
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,520
- It was done in a
such a secretive way.
359
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:45,720
In the middle of the night,
they came to their homes
360
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,560
and they say, please come to
the central police station.
361
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,960
The commissioner has a
few questions to ask you.
362
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,480
Sometimes people left with,
you know, their pajamas on
363
00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:00,040
and they went because they
were just very consciously,
364
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,320
the were going to be
asked a few questions.
365
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:06,920
Something very funny which
confuses them even further
366
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,400
that among the group,
there was some other people
367
00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,440
who didn't belong
to this intellectual
368
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,280
of Armenians of Constantinople.
369
00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:17,400
For example, there was
the Butcher of the street.
370
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,280
Armenian Butcher of the street
371
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,000
but his name happened
to be the same name
372
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,480
as another Armenian intellectual
373
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,240
so the police didn't
differentiate who was,
374
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:29,040
so this butcher was there
with his bloody apron on.
375
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,120
The people didn't understand
what he was doing there
376
00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:33,800
which was further confusing them
377
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,960
and they thought,
this must be a joke.
378
00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:42,560
- The CUPs plan to solve it's
perceived Armenian problem
379
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:47,400
through genocide,
through mass killing,
380
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,280
forced marches,
and the destruction
381
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,800
of Armenian cultural artifacts
382
00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:59,320
and architecture and towns
and villages and cities.
383
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,480
Evolves, it begins within
the context of World War I
384
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,880
began as Enver proclaimed
the Armenian soldiers
385
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,920
at the Russian Turkish border
386
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,760
to be unreliable,
to be sagacious,
387
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,680
even though Enver
made a disastrous
388
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:31,120
military blunder in the
Battle of Sarikamish
389
00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:35,000
in late December of 1914
and early January of 1915,
390
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,040
he really scapegoated
the Armenian soldiers.
391
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:41,320
So by the winter of 1915,
the Turkish government
392
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,840
has decided to strip all
the Armenian soldiers
393
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,360
of their weapons and put
them into labor battalions
394
00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:51,160
and now, they
become sitting ducks
395
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,040
to be mass killed.
396
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,880
So they will be
killed systematically
397
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,240
throughout the winter and
into the summer of 1915
398
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,800
and by this method,
the Turkish government
399
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,800
has already succeeded
in eradicating
400
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,200
the most potent part of
the Armenian population,
401
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,160
its able bodied
man from the ages
402
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:18,360
of about 15 to 45.
403
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,360
The next population
that would be targeted
404
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:24,000
would be the intellectuals
and the cultural leaders
405
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,200
and of course this brings us
into the story of Komitas.
406
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,840
In Constantinople, now
Istanbul, on April 24 of 1915,
407
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:41,280
about 250 to 300
Armenian cultural leaders
408
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:45,000
were arrested and
by cultural leaders,
409
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,880
I mean poets, playwrights,
novelists, journalists,
410
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:53,040
teachers, academics, clergy,
wealthy philanthropists
411
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:58,400
of culture, publishers,
magazine editors, and so on.
412
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,520
All rounded up, arrested
from their houses,
413
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:07,440
taken from their houses
in the middle of night
414
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,920
and deported by bus,
ferry, and then train
415
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,240
to two prisons about 200
miles East of Istanbul.
416
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,400
Most of them were killed and
tortured in these prisons.
417
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,320
A few survived and
this act would be
418
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,280
reenacted in the summer
of 1915 several times
419
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,240
throughout Turkey in
order to eliminate
420
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:43,240
the cultural elite
and the intellectuals
421
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,080
and the logic here
is very obvious.
422
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,920
You want to cut the
head off of the culture
423
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,200
to pull its tongue out,
to silence its voice
424
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,040
because once you get
rid of the able bodied
425
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,320
man who could resist massacre,
426
00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,440
you want to get rid of
those who can speak,
427
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:06,000
protest, write, and communicate
with the outside world,
428
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,200
so no you've gotten
rid of that group.
429
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,040
- They didn't know
what was going on
430
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:15,440
cause no one would reveal
that information to them.
431
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,280
No one would give
them that information.
432
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:19,840
Whats happening?
433
00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,480
They could ask that question
as many times as they wanted
434
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:26,200
but the answer would
never come back to them.
435
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,200
They just kept doing
what they had to do.
436
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:31,840
That is, I'm gonna
get up in the morning
437
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,080
and I'm gonna take the food
438
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:41,160
and when they ask me to
leave I'm gonna leave
439
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,000
because when they would ask
them when are they coming home,
440
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:46,600
they did not get an answer
441
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:50,040
and then one day they
go and they're all gone.
442
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:52,480
- By the late spring of 1915,
443
00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,080
the bulk of the Armenian
population that's left in Turkey
444
00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,720
includes women,
children, the elderly.
445
00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,000
There are still some
man and some boys
446
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,280
but mostly women,
children, the elderly
447
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,360
and they will now
be arrested on mass
448
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:10,960
and marched south and east
449
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,040
to the Syrian desert
450
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:20,080
and if they hadn't
been killed by the time
451
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:21,240
they got to the Syrian desert,
452
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,640
they were to die in encampments
453
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,160
and camps in this
ungodly hot arid region,
454
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,720
circled around the famous
epicenter of Dier ez-Zor
455
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,920
which is really the
kind of Auschwitz
456
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,400
of the Armenian genocide
457
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,160
where 400 to 450,000
people perished.
458
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,400
Now add that about
1.2 to 1.5 million,
459
00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,600
that's an enormous
epicenter of death.
460
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,560
- Komitas identified
himself with Armenian people
461
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:58,440
and here they were being
killed on a massive scale.
462
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,240
It was crazy what was
going on, it was insane
463
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:07,040
what was going on and
how Komitas was going
464
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:11,000
to be able to accept
what had happened,
465
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,400
what was happening around him.
466
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,560
So here it was, magnified
100 times his childhood.
467
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,720
- If somebody's saying,
quick quick quick hurry,
468
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,400
we're leaving.
469
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,640
We're all packed up,
we're waiting for you
470
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,480
and there's Turkish
soldiers there
471
00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,480
saying get ready, why
are you taking so much?
472
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:42,920
You don't have to take so much.
473
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:44,600
You're probably gonna come back.
474
00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:45,720
We don't know.
475
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:46,720
Don't lock the door.
476
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,080
You don't have to lock the door.
477
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:49,880
There's nothing to protect here.
478
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:51,520
You don't have to
worry about it.
479
00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:52,560
Get in the line.
480
00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,600
Let's go and there's stories
481
00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,440
where they just
get into that mode
482
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:04,120
and they just follow the
orders and they do it
483
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:08,280
because they really don't
have the full picture.
484
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:12,280
They don't see, oh we're
gonna go to New York and back.
485
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,600
They don't even have
destination in mind.
486
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:16,800
We're just moving.
487
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,400
We're deporting you,
488
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:19,600
we're getting you out of here
489
00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:23,160
and when this is all
over, you can come back
490
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,480
and they don't understand why
491
00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,720
they just know
they're doing that.
492
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,480
We can go to Guatemala,
where one day
493
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,600
the government sends
the perpetrators out.
494
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:40,120
We need to get rid of all
the men in the villages
495
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:42,640
and so they separate
them, take them
496
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,320
in hearing distance of
the women and children
497
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:48,800
and shoot them all
498
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:52,440
and leave the
women and children.
499
00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,600
Just to get rid of that
indigenous culture in Guatemala.
500
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,040
They were the people
that were there first.
501
00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:06,400
It's just like us.
502
00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:08,560
We were the people
that were there first.
503
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:10,800
Let's get them out of here.
504
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:15,600
- a lot of the killing
was done by hand,
505
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,880
it was done with
farm implements,
506
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,720
cannery and butcher tools,
507
00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:24,400
it was war time and
the Turkish government
508
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:26,480
was trying to save its resources
509
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,440
for the killing it
had to do on the front
510
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,240
and so the killing was gruesome.
511
00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:33,800
It's closer to the
kind of killing
512
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,320
that was done during
the Rwandan genocide.
513
00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:42,200
- It was just a matter of
getting rid of these people
514
00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:43,680
and, I think that,
515
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,800
I think that the
people at the bottom
516
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,600
that were doing the
work, the killing,
517
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:58,760
just get so desensitized that
it's just nothing to them
518
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,680
and in the case of
the Guatemalans,
519
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,800
the anthropologist
who's doing the work
520
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:13,000
in Guatemala to open the
graves and look at these bones,
521
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,160
he notices that it's
not a matter of them
522
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,560
just shooting them, but they
would come and shoot them
523
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:22,680
and then hit them
and then carve them
524
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:28,640
and continue to kill them
and kill them and kill them
525
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,960
when they're already
dead in what he states,
526
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:33,520
is an overkill.
527
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:35,560
It's an overkill
528
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:39,640
and in Rwanda, the story
was that one of the
529
00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:42,880
perpetrators said
the body was soft
530
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,800
and it was easy and it's like
531
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,600
we already hunted
them and run them down
532
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:52,800
and so then we just kill them
533
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,440
and then we just slice them up
534
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,360
because they're
soft and it's easy.
535
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:01,960
- During the Armenian genocide
536
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,880
we have a lot of butchering done
537
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,040
and again, women and children,
538
00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:10,400
it was a high degree
of sexual violence,
539
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:14,280
of rape and of the
abduction and theft
540
00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:18,000
of women into harems
and into slave auctions.
541
00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:27,960
- And the small
children that were
542
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:33,040
two and three and
five and seven and 10
543
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,440
were experiencing things that
544
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,120
were, that are
totally unexplainable
545
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:42,960
if you're a child.
546
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,400
If you're three years old and
you've lived 1,000 days or so,
547
00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:51,600
what can you understand about
seeing a bloated dead body
548
00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:54,200
along your path?
549
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:57,840
What can you
understand about that?
550
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:01,200
It's not a cow or
a dog or a pig,
551
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,880
it's a human, it's somebody
that you're walking next to.
552
00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,200
It's the possibility
of being you
553
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,080
and you can't even
make sense of that
554
00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:10,640
because you're so tiny
555
00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:14,800
and your thought process is so
inexperienced with violence.
556
00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:20,000
So then what happens is that
557
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:23,760
depression and,
558
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:31,040
and the successive
images of violence
559
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:39,280
are penetrated in the thought
process of these children
560
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:45,080
and they grow up, some of
them losing their parents,
561
00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:49,440
some of them never seeing
their parents again,
562
00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:51,240
some of them running
and hiding and watching
563
00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:53,240
other atrocities
564
00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:55,880
and with no one to
talk to about it
565
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:58,480
expect experiencing a fear
566
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:01,040
that they don't even understand.
567
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:02,640
Why am I so afraid?
568
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:05,640
Why am I so afraid?
569
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:07,240
I don't even understand this
570
00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:08,960
cause they don't
understand death.
571
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:10,280
They're all new.
572
00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:14,760
- What happens to people
when we've had this
573
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,120
wound that no one
wants to acknowledge
574
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,640
and how do you deal with that?
575
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:24,200
- This process of
genocide and when
576
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:26,480
we're having it occur today
577
00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:31,520
and we can't step in
and nip it in the bud
578
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:35,080
so that we don't have
it get to this point,
579
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:37,480
that's scary.
580
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:42,080
That's very scary, that
we are not wise enough
581
00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:45,240
to say, all these steps
are happening again
582
00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:47,680
and we're in the 21st century
583
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:49,520
and we're not gonna stop it
584
00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:53,120
because we're not sure
if that's what it is
585
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:54,760
and then when it's over we say,
586
00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:57,640
I think this might
of been genocide
587
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:03,080
and then we have this whole
society that's damaged again.
588
00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:26,800
- After World War I, I
mean the story did get out.
589
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,880
The story was big news,
it was big news certainly
590
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,360
that Armenians were
Christians and there were
591
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:36,000
so many missionaries who
reported on what was happening,
592
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,960
the relief efforts and
Morgenthau's statements,
593
00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:45,240
his book came out
immediately after the war,
594
00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:46,840
actually during the war.
595
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,600
There was a lot
of attention paid
596
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,040
but then when Otto
Turk basically restored
597
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,720
Turkish sovereignty and decided
598
00:39:54,720 --> 00:39:56,440
that this shouldn't be part
599
00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,440
of the national
narrative of Turkey,
600
00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,160
the story was largely suppressed
601
00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:06,320
and almost every country
that they had relations with,
602
00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:11,600
Turkey, there were economic
interest from oil leases
603
00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:14,240
that they got from
dismantling the Ottoman Empire
604
00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:18,080
if you were interested
in containing communism,
605
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:20,200
you had Turkey there.
606
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,040
If you were Russians and
you had a large Armenian
607
00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:25,200
population, you didn't
want there to be too much
608
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,600
Armenian nationalism,
609
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,280
which might draw you into a war.
610
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:33,640
- Every village, town,
and Armenian quarter
611
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:37,640
of a city was emptied of
its Armenian population
612
00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:41,800
and the death tolls range
from 1.2 to 1.5 million.
613
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:48,880
The fact remains that out
of about two to 2.5 million
614
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,880
Armenians in Turkey in 1914,
615
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:55,760
less than 100,000
remained after 1920
616
00:40:55,760 --> 00:41:00,040
to give you a sense of
the eradication process
617
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:02,720
of this particular genocide.
618
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:05,240
At the cusp of the modern age.
619
00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:13,160
- The 12 month genocide
620
00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:15,000
when genocide reenacts
621
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:20,920
all
622
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:23,640
the many many
loses, the poverty,
623
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:26,440
loss of his friends,
624
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:28,360
loss of his community.
625
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:31,640
Mass murder of his
intellectual friends
626
00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,000
with whom all he knew
in Constantinople.
627
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:42,560
Our journey's almost over.
628
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:44,520
A place called Cankiri.
629
00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:50,000
- The Cankiri experience
was very pivotal
630
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,280
in what happened later
on in Komitas' life.
631
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:56,240
The majority of
Armenian intellectuals
632
00:41:56,240 --> 00:41:58,800
of Constantinople
were rounded up.
633
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:00,680
They were in the same party.
634
00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:03,640
The didn't know what was
going to happen to them.
635
00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:08,200
They were not told, why
were they were arrested
636
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:10,800
and were they were being taken.
637
00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,680
- The journey is marked by
638
00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:22,920
a horrendous night
at the central prison
639
00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:26,360
in the center of
Constantinople Istanbul.
640
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:31,600
During this
they had used many vehicles.
641
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:36,040
Initially they walked
and then they were put
642
00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:40,040
on a steam ship and then
they were put on trains
643
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:44,520
and then pushed in carts.
644
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:46,000
Just imagine yourself,
645
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,880
you're being driven
destination you don't know.
646
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:55,120
You are being taken, you
don't know the reason
647
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:58,480
why you're taken away.
648
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,960
- The Armenians are surrounded
by militia and police
649
00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:07,880
in large numbers,
you know to the point
650
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:11,400
where they're shocked that
there so many people on them
651
00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:15,000
and of course, they
don't really understand
652
00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:18,920
why this is happening to them.
653
00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:23,120
That's what's like dramatic
in the Balakian memoir.
654
00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:27,960
Everybody's saying
whats going on?
655
00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:29,760
What have we done?
656
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:31,600
Why is this happening?
657
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,680
- During that three days,
that lasted 72 hours,
658
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:40,040
from Constantinople to
Central Jail and then
659
00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:43,840
on those different
transportation modalities
660
00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:45,880
until Ayas and Cankiri.
661
00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:47,240
Nobody protested.
662
00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:52,800
Really, there was this
still not understandable
663
00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:54,400
to me, helplessness
664
00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:59,960
but over the centuries,
being subjected
665
00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:02,440
to the will of a dictatorship,
666
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:10,440
you lose that common sense
that some of the others.
667
00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:15,880
Who wrote his memoirs about
road to Cankiri with Komitas,
668
00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:19,080
let's say that we were aware
that something was cooking
669
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:22,080
and very interestingly,
Armando says,
670
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:25,160
like a sheep, taken
to the slaughter.
671
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,480
As if our coalition
was taken away from us
672
00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:32,560
and he described that
helplessness and hopelessness
673
00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:35,000
and then he says on the road,
674
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,040
we realize we better
start to understand
675
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:40,920
and watch what's going on
676
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:44,440
and because he put
on that aloofness,
677
00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:46,280
he was able to survive.
678
00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,800
- To see this in a
narrative account
679
00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:55,720
of the journey to Cankiri
is a great indication
680
00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:59,000
of the sense of shock and terror
681
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,320
that defined the states of minds
682
00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:05,280
of many of the cultural leaders.
683
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:06,480
Komitas is probably
the most dramatic
684
00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:08,640
in that particular moment.
685
00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:14,920
All of my work, I left behind.
686
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:18,240
My papers are so fragile.
687
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:22,240
They're sitting there in room.
688
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,480
- It was immense
pressure on the mind
689
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:31,600
of everyone, especially
on the mind of Komitas.
690
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:34,520
At that moment, he
started to like,
691
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:38,800
somebody else was
thinking what was going
692
00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:41,160
to happen to my money,
Komitas started to think,
693
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:44,320
what will happen to my
work that I left behind?
694
00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:47,480
All the work of my life's effort
695
00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:51,640
of trying to find the foundation
of Armenian.
696
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,240
All his works of his
multiple orchestration
697
00:45:57,720 --> 00:45:59,680
and the Armenian songs.
698
00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:03,160
That loss was immense.
699
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:09,320
My music, where is my music?
700
00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:13,920
- That was enough to
break him and it broke him
701
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,960
and very simple
cruelty by
702
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:18,640
was the tip of the iceberg.
703
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:23,080
After that, he was scared.
704
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:24,440
He was hiding.
705
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:26,000
He didn't know where
to put himself.
706
00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:29,480
He wanted, I suppose he just
wanted to close his eyes
707
00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:32,280
and vanish from
all that atrocity.
708
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:37,440
- The scenes really depict
a kind of reign of terror
709
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:44,040
that's happening
for this arrested
710
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:46,800
subset of the
Armenian population.
711
00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:50,160
Look there, did you see him?
712
00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:52,920
The is hiding.
713
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,520
They are hiding in wait for us.
714
00:46:56,680 --> 00:47:00,240
- along the way, people
are already beginning
715
00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:03,760
to break down and one of
the most dramatic portraits
716
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:06,920
of a breakdown is
Balakian's depiction
717
00:47:08,520 --> 00:47:11,360
of his carriage mate, Komitas,
718
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:14,040
who begins to lose his composure
719
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:17,560
and they're in the carriage now,
720
00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:20,760
they're in a carriage
721
00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:23,000
and the carriage is
a pretty rough ride
722
00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:27,000
just on wooden planks,
bouncing pretty hardly
723
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:28,560
on this rough terrain
724
00:47:28,560 --> 00:47:31,960
and Komitas asks
Balakian to pray for him
725
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:36,840
and he tells Balakian
that he sees fingers
726
00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:40,280
coming out from behind trees
727
00:47:40,280 --> 00:47:42,840
and there are no
figures coming out,
728
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:44,920
Komitas is already beginning to,
729
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:47,800
You know, become
extremely paranoid
730
00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:50,720
and deranged, unhinged.
731
00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:28,360
- When he start to be delusion,
732
00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:30,000
he start to have illusions,
733
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:34,080
he started to make mistakes
between animals and people.
734
00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:37,040
He started to see a donkey
735
00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:38,760
and he thought that
was a.
736
00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:42,080
So he started to have
secondary delusions
737
00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:45,200
that were.
738
00:48:46,520 --> 00:48:48,960
I'm afraid.
739
00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:53,560
To a stake,.
740
00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:56,720
They had lost that under
that tremendous pressure
741
00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:59,320
fear anxiety and the future and
742
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:03,360
to fear of losing
his life's work.
743
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:09,400
I can't hear the music.
744
00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:13,560
- One of the unique dimensions
of the Armenian genocide
745
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:20,320
is the eradication
of the intellectual
746
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:27,000
and cultural leadership
of a whole ethnic group.
747
00:49:29,720 --> 00:49:33,640
There were a few
survivors but if we put
748
00:49:33,640 --> 00:49:36,320
this generation of intellectuals
749
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:41,000
into perspective,
we're looking at
750
00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:45,720
the emergence of
Armenian modernism
751
00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:52,200
in the second decade
of the 20th century
752
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:55,360
and some of the most
important writers
753
00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,040
in modern Armenian literature,
754
00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:02,440
Danial Varoujan, Adom Yarjanian
755
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:05,200
who went by the
pen name Siamanto
756
00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:07,880
and others were important voices
757
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:13,000
coming to their own,
they were all young
758
00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:15,520
and they were all snuffed out.
759
00:50:16,720 --> 00:50:19,440
I would mention as
well, Krikor Zohrab,
760
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:22,840
fiction writer, they
were all snuffed out
761
00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:27,040
and journalists,
musicians, composers,
762
00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,160
Komitas is the best known.
763
00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:36,760
He was snuffed out.
764
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:46,440
- The social structure of the
community in Constantinople
765
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:48,120
was all broken down.
766
00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:52,680
The Armenian patriarchy
was closed down.
767
00:50:52,680 --> 00:50:55,720
The government had closed
down the Armenian patriarchy
768
00:50:55,720 --> 00:50:59,320
and so still some of
his friends, families,
769
00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:03,080
came to help him,
gave him a hand.
770
00:51:03,080 --> 00:51:07,520
They took him to one of
the isles not very far
771
00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:09,000
from Constantinople.
772
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:10,560
He recovered there.
773
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:14,760
He started to play some music
and he was feeling much better
774
00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:18,520
and his fear of the
coming after him
775
00:51:18,520 --> 00:51:20,840
was significantly diminished
776
00:51:22,240 --> 00:51:25,240
but he stayed
there a few months,
777
00:51:25,240 --> 00:51:27,080
he had to come back
to Constantinople
778
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:30,440
and then he had
no funds anymore.
779
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:31,920
He ran out of funds.
780
00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:35,880
He had no other choice but
to escape into madness.
781
00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:41,320
On there is no feeling,
there is illusion of world
782
00:51:41,320 --> 00:51:45,680
where you make up things
and you live with those
783
00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:49,400
and reality's too harsh,
too painful to cope.
784
00:51:56,800 --> 00:51:59,200
He came so depressed
785
00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:03,760
they had to hospitalize
him in Constantinople.
786
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:05,760
It was a military hospital.
787
00:52:05,760 --> 00:52:09,920
Imagine Komitas was being
treated in a military hospital.
788
00:52:12,600 --> 00:52:16,680
Fear had set in his heart
and he was terrified
789
00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:19,640
that we as going to
be taken to
790
00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:21,640
or to be taken away again.
791
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:24,000
He lived in a constant fear.
792
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:27,000
By 1918, after the armistice,
793
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:29,520
his friends, Komitas' friends,
794
00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:32,840
realized that he's
not gonna get better.
795
00:52:34,040 --> 00:52:35,520
Turkish hospital.
796
00:52:35,520 --> 00:52:38,960
Komitas' relationship with
everybody in Constantinople
797
00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:42,440
was severed, he
didn't trust anybody,
798
00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:45,840
he was taken by anxiety and fear
799
00:52:45,840 --> 00:52:48,040
and they realized he
need somewhere else.
800
00:52:48,040 --> 00:52:50,200
Maybe in Paris,
his beloved friend
801
00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:53,080
were helping to come
out of his isolation
802
00:52:53,080 --> 00:52:56,240
and interjection of
the outside world.
803
00:52:57,320 --> 00:53:01,280
He had conquered
France and Paris before
804
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:04,600
and now he was coming
back as a broken man.
805
00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:08,760
His pride hurt and how was
he going to face Margret?
806
00:53:09,880 --> 00:53:12,200
He was now a sick man.
807
00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:16,120
Margret became his care
taker, his next of kin.
808
00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:22,200
Throughout Komitas' archives,
files, medical files,
809
00:53:22,200 --> 00:53:26,040
brought in Ville-Evrard
and Villejuif,
810
00:53:26,040 --> 00:53:29,280
these are the two French
mental health institutions
811
00:53:29,280 --> 00:53:33,440
where Komitas has stayed from
1918 until 1935, he's there.
812
00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:38,280
You see Margret's
signature on receipts.
813
00:53:39,480 --> 00:53:43,760
Payment of bills, on the
inventory of his clothes
814
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:47,280
and everything what a
mother, sister, wife,
815
00:53:50,880 --> 00:53:52,520
next of kin will do.
816
00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:57,760
So Margret Balbian was
all of that in one person.
817
00:53:59,720 --> 00:54:02,360
The mother that he had
lost very early one,
818
00:54:02,360 --> 00:54:04,160
the sister that he didn't have,
819
00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:07,200
the wife that he couldn't have
820
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:08,440
because he was a celibate priest
821
00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:12,400
and finally next of kin,
a daughter or somebody.
822
00:54:16,120 --> 00:54:18,720
- Komitas' life, even
through the very end,
823
00:54:18,720 --> 00:54:20,120
is tragic illness
824
00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:24,400
and it's effects
on his incapacity
825
00:54:28,520 --> 00:54:31,360
to produce what
he was so talented
826
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:38,400
and equipped to do at
the height of his career.
827
00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:40,800
All that had kind of dwindled,
828
00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:43,320
gone down the drain, so to speak
829
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:47,440
and it continues to illustrate
our history to this day
830
00:54:49,480 --> 00:54:52,560
in that we Armenians,
everyone of us,
831
00:54:53,720 --> 00:54:57,120
we are survivors of
the Armenian genocide
832
00:54:59,520 --> 00:55:03,680
in that both survivors and
victims at the same time
833
00:55:07,760 --> 00:55:11,680
because given our absorption
with the genocide,
834
00:55:14,440 --> 00:55:15,960
our consumption with it,
835
00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:20,040
has denied us of learning
more about our real history,
836
00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:23,880
our true culture.
837
00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:27,120
Armenian civilization
in it's richness.
838
00:55:32,360 --> 00:55:35,880
- We have so much but
we have lost so much
839
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:38,960
and when I am
singing these songs
840
00:55:38,960 --> 00:55:41,040
it is a funeral dirge,
841
00:55:41,040 --> 00:55:43,840
that's what I'm
singing at that time
842
00:55:43,840 --> 00:55:47,960
because I feel, I feel
what those words are saying
843
00:55:49,560 --> 00:55:52,240
and they're telling me the loss.
844
00:55:54,080 --> 00:55:55,760
- We're reminded that Lemkin,
845
00:55:55,760 --> 00:55:58,920
the father of the
Genocide Convention,
846
00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,760
pointed to the
destruction of culture
847
00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:07,520
as an important part of
the genocidal process
848
00:56:10,160 --> 00:56:13,960
and we don't, we don't
only want to focus on
849
00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:17,400
the killing of people,
I mean that's important,
850
00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:19,520
but also the loss of culture.
851
00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:23,320
That is the loss of
libraries, churches,
852
00:56:23,320 --> 00:56:25,480
museums, artifacts, books,
853
00:56:27,040 --> 00:56:29,480
and the makers themselves.
854
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:31,000
The cultural producers.
855
00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:33,440
The playwrights, the
poets, the fiction writers,
856
00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:34,800
the journalists.
857
00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:37,720
So the assault on
the intellectuals
858
00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:44,040
in Constantinople and
elsewhere in Harpert in Vaughn,
859
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:50,200
in Di Ar Bek here, represents
this piece of genocidal
860
00:56:51,840 --> 00:56:54,760
destruction, so it's
a very significant act
861
00:56:54,760 --> 00:56:58,640
that so many and almost
all of these figures
862
00:56:58,640 --> 00:56:59,880
were wiped out.
863
00:57:01,720 --> 00:57:04,560
- He went from village
to village and collected
864
00:57:04,560 --> 00:57:07,680
over 3,000 Armenian folk songs
865
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:11,240
that as a result of
the Armenian genocide
866
00:57:11,240 --> 00:57:13,320
would of been totally lost
867
00:57:13,320 --> 00:57:15,080
and we would of been devoid
868
00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:19,240
of these beautiful Armenian
village songs for eternity.
869
00:58:00,920 --> 00:58:03,240
- Suffered itself as a culture
870
00:58:03,240 --> 00:58:06,440
for a long time
because of the absence
871
00:58:08,080 --> 00:58:11,680
of the Armenian and
also of the Greek
872
00:58:11,680 --> 00:58:13,880
and the Assyrian presence.
873
00:58:13,880 --> 00:58:18,480
Because of the contributions
of these culture groups
874
00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:22,680
to commerce, agriculture,
and the other trades
875
00:58:22,680 --> 00:58:26,120
and professions,
medicine, pharmacies,
876
00:58:26,120 --> 00:58:29,760
intellectual production,
all this was gone
877
00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:32,840
and the remaining
Armenian population
878
00:58:34,680 --> 00:58:38,040
which would continue to
dwindle, dwindle, dwindle
879
00:58:38,040 --> 00:58:41,000
as would the remaining
Greek population.
880
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:43,960
That was most
dramatically dealt with
881
00:58:43,960 --> 00:58:47,480
with the Greek population
exchange of the mid 1920s
882
00:58:47,480 --> 00:58:49,920
between Greece and Turkey
883
00:58:49,920 --> 00:58:52,760
but even so, in
the Armenian case,
884
00:58:55,280 --> 00:58:58,720
the Armenians became
a disappeared group.
885
00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:04,240
A silenced fragment of
a once thriving culture
886
00:59:07,600 --> 00:59:09,360
within Ottoman Turkey
887
00:59:11,040 --> 00:59:14,440
and the narrative about
what happened to them
888
00:59:14,440 --> 00:59:16,960
was silenced by Turkish taboos
889
00:59:21,880 --> 00:59:23,240
and Turkish law.
890
00:59:24,960 --> 00:59:27,720
The story of the Armenian
genocide ,
891
00:59:27,720 --> 00:59:31,040
the identity of
Armenians was hush hush.
892
00:59:32,760 --> 00:59:36,000
Armenians could not speak
their own language in public.
893
00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:39,800
They were heavily Islamized
in a public sense.
894
00:59:41,080 --> 00:59:43,360
They were allowed to worship
895
00:59:43,360 --> 00:59:46,640
and they could speak what
they wanted to at home
896
00:59:46,640 --> 00:59:50,680
but the Armenians became
a disappeared minority.
897
01:00:02,680 --> 01:00:04,760
- Komitas had no parents
but Armenian people
898
01:00:04,760 --> 01:00:07,920
adopted him and he started
to identify with them
899
01:00:07,920 --> 01:00:11,960
and when after the
Armenian genocide 1915,
900
01:00:11,960 --> 01:00:15,280
when the people with
whom he identified
901
01:00:15,280 --> 01:00:17,880
and the people who adopted him,
902
01:00:19,120 --> 01:00:23,200
Armenian people adopted
him as their beloved son
903
01:00:23,200 --> 01:00:26,920
when these people
started to be massacred
904
01:00:26,920 --> 01:00:28,880
and on a massive scale,
905
01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:32,720
that trauma was
too much for him.
906
01:00:36,400 --> 01:00:40,400
- My mother was upset
what happened to Komitas,
907
01:00:40,400 --> 01:00:43,600
very much disturbed
and I remember one
908
01:00:44,600 --> 01:00:46,800
of our famous writers says,
909
01:00:46,800 --> 01:00:50,840
I forgive Turks if only
they would save Komitas.
910
01:00:55,440 --> 01:00:59,320
- This huge baggage of
the Armenian genocide
911
01:00:59,320 --> 01:01:02,160
on his psyche was
a way to recover
912
01:01:03,920 --> 01:01:06,520
from this, it should
have been a miracle
913
01:01:06,520 --> 01:01:09,120
and there was no such a miracle
914
01:01:10,160 --> 01:01:12,360
and he died in 1935 after,
915
01:01:15,840 --> 01:01:18,440
after a physical illness.
916
01:01:18,440 --> 01:01:21,520
He developed an
infection in his foot
917
01:01:22,840 --> 01:01:25,680
which became a blood infection
918
01:01:25,680 --> 01:01:27,560
and then he died from it.
919
01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:29,880
There was no antibiotics
to treat him at the time.
920
01:01:29,880 --> 01:01:31,880
So here, he melted away.
921
01:01:37,840 --> 01:01:40,440
- When he's taken to the asylum
922
01:01:42,480 --> 01:01:46,560
in Paris, he spent the rest
of his life as a insane man
923
01:01:48,560 --> 01:01:52,480
and he died, you know,
in this horrible manner.
924
01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:16,040
- In his childhood,
although he was deprived
925
01:02:16,040 --> 01:02:19,520
of many many things, but
still he had his creativity,
926
01:02:19,520 --> 01:02:21,200
he had his voice,
927
01:02:21,200 --> 01:02:25,000
it could sing, that was a
way of expressing his pain
928
01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:28,160
and through creativity,
through music.
929
01:02:33,840 --> 01:02:35,640
I will show you how to read the notes.
930
01:02:35,640 --> 01:02:37,680
You must trust the music.
931
01:02:38,880 --> 01:02:41,280
You see, the lower
notes are necessary
932
01:02:41,280 --> 01:02:44,640
to provide a measure
for the high notes.
933
01:02:46,320 --> 01:02:48,800
Sometimes we must
trust the suffering
934
01:02:48,800 --> 01:02:51,320
that it will bring us through.
935
01:02:55,960 --> 01:03:00,600
- Oh he sees humanity, how
we outreach us to the others,
936
01:03:00,600 --> 01:03:02,800
not only to the Armenians.
937
01:03:04,440 --> 01:03:06,280
I believe that if Komitas
938
01:03:06,280 --> 01:03:09,880
after outliving the
genocide and the exile,
939
01:03:11,040 --> 01:03:14,240
he was in normal
health condition,
940
01:03:14,240 --> 01:03:18,320
he was going to be a
source of inspiration
941
01:03:18,320 --> 01:03:22,480
not only for the Armenians
but even for the Turks.
942
01:03:25,960 --> 01:03:28,560
- The powerful story of rebirth
943
01:03:30,920 --> 01:03:35,600
is the story of the Armenia
disappeared world wide.
944
01:03:35,600 --> 01:03:38,240
The rebirth of Armenian culture
945
01:03:39,360 --> 01:03:41,880
in communities Europe,
in North America,
946
01:03:41,880 --> 01:03:43,840
in US and Canada
and South America,
947
01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:46,880
in Australia, in
the Middle East,
948
01:03:46,880 --> 01:03:50,160
especially in Syria and Lebanon
949
01:03:50,160 --> 01:03:51,320
and in Russia.
950
01:03:52,480 --> 01:03:56,560
In the soviet republic,
now the independent
951
01:03:56,560 --> 01:03:58,000
Republic of Armenia,
952
01:03:58,000 --> 01:04:00,880
who would imagine there could
be a republic of Armenia
953
01:04:00,880 --> 01:04:01,960
95 years ago?
954
01:04:03,160 --> 01:04:05,960
So Armenians have
emerged from fire,
955
01:04:07,040 --> 01:04:08,280
from the ashes.
956
01:04:10,080 --> 01:04:13,280
- We are more than victims
of the genocide, okay?
957
01:04:13,280 --> 01:04:15,080
We are survivors.
958
01:04:42,440 --> 01:04:46,160
- Music, I think, is a great
way of connecting with people
959
01:04:46,160 --> 01:04:48,960
because it goes directly
through emotions.
960
01:04:48,960 --> 01:04:51,320
You know, what does
this mean, you know?
961
01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:53,320
It really is how
we feel about it
962
01:04:53,320 --> 01:04:57,520
and I think Komitas, he
can play that kind of role
963
01:04:59,920 --> 01:05:00,920
as a bridge.
964
01:05:03,760 --> 01:05:06,760
- Because his songs
touches everything,
965
01:05:06,760 --> 01:05:09,840
the real life of
the Armenian people.
966
01:05:12,200 --> 01:05:16,600
- He must have been a
very sensitive deep person
967
01:05:16,600 --> 01:05:20,640
to penetrate the very
emotions of human feelings.
968
01:05:23,960 --> 01:05:26,640
This too comes out in his music.
969
01:05:29,160 --> 01:05:32,520
What makes us human
in the final analysis
970
01:05:32,520 --> 01:05:35,680
is that we have
mutual human feelings.
971
01:05:38,040 --> 01:05:41,440
Regardless of our
ethnicity, of our race,
972
01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:45,800
whatever, you know
the bottom line,
973
01:05:45,800 --> 01:05:49,400
there are there's mutual
common human feelings,
974
01:05:49,400 --> 01:05:52,600
that bind us together
as human family.
975
01:05:54,720 --> 01:05:58,480
Komitas has penetrated
to the bottom of this.
976
01:06:00,960 --> 01:06:03,800
- Komitas does not belong
only to the Armenians,
977
01:06:03,800 --> 01:06:07,800
does not belong only to
the years that he lived,
978
01:06:09,640 --> 01:06:11,800
Komitas is not the tragedy
979
01:06:12,760 --> 01:06:14,600
but Komitas is a gift.
980
01:06:15,920 --> 01:06:18,760
Komitas is God's
presence among us
981
01:06:20,320 --> 01:06:23,240
through his life
through a service,
982
01:06:24,440 --> 01:06:28,080
through his work, and
through his immortality.
983
01:06:31,480 --> 01:06:34,320
- You need not be an
Armenian to feel at home
984
01:06:34,320 --> 01:06:35,880
with Komitas.
985
01:06:35,880 --> 01:06:40,040
You sense his humanity, his
sensitivity in his music.
986
01:06:56,080 --> 01:06:57,960
There was a king of songs.
987
01:06:57,960 --> 01:07:00,880
A minstrel poet
who played and sang
988
01:07:02,240 --> 01:07:07,200
the nation songs of Armenia
for princes and kings.
989
01:07:07,200 --> 01:07:10,400
The minstrel lost his position
990
01:07:10,400 --> 01:07:14,000
when he fell out of
favor with the king.
991
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:18,160
It was only then when he was
truly free as a.
73117
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