հայերեն

bodrum, may 2013 by cassandra tavukciyan

My family is Armenian, but a lot of my family were born and raised in Turkey because of the Armenian Genocide which lead a lot of Armenians to leave Armenia and create new lives in other countries. A lot of Armenians ended up in Turkey and were forced to change their names to Turkish names. My last name for example "Tavukciyan" isn't even really Armenian. "Tavuk" means "chicken" in Turkish. The "iyan" makes my name Armenian. Why can't we change this?

Sometimes I feel torn between these two countries. My mother, grandparents on both sides and their parents were all born in Istanbul. My grandparents have never even visited to Armenia nor my mother, nor do they plan on going anytime soon. My aunt and cousin from my mom's side were both born in Istanbul and go back to every year because they feel this nostalgic connection to their birth city, but they have no desire to go see Armenia. I had the privilege of going to Armenia in 2010 with a youth group and it was strange for me because I felt no connection to the people or the land. They spoke a different dialect and they didn't feel like my family over here in Canada. So I guess I am interested in what it means for a family with one ethnicity to be brought up in another country/culture and how they can be more connected with that country rather than their own mother country.

I know my story is not unlike others and I guess I want to share my story and hear others as well.