Pigeon on the Bridge - Hrant Dink would turn 62 today
September 15 marks the birthday of Hrant Dink, the slain editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.
The assassinated journalist would turn 62 today ...
Born in the Western Armenian province of Malatiya (currently in Turkey’s Eastern Anatolya region) and raised in an Armenian orphanage (Kamp Armen), Dink time and again admitted that he often faced discrimination in Turkey due to his Armenian roots.
It was in Kamp Armen (adjacent to the St. Hovhannes church of Istanbul) where Dink, then a teenager, met his first and only love, Rachel, with whom he years later tied the knot.
Dink admitted that his most difficult period were the years of compulsory service in the military.
“I have repeatedly faced discrimination in my life for being an Armenian. And that experience didn’t leave me untouched also during my military service.
“After the oath-taking, all of my friends in the army had shoulder straps tracked [on their uniforms]; I was isolated and not given any. A mature man with two children, I might as well not have ‘cared’ about it at all. But I took the discrimination too much to heart. While everyone was sharing the happy moment with family members after the ceremony, I was weeping alone behind a tin house,” he remembered.
Dink founded Agos, the first ever Turkish language Armenian publication in Turkey, in 1966 in collaboration with several co-thinkers. He was convinced that they needed a dialogue with the Turkish society in their native language. Dink was among the first to speak about Islamized Armenians and raise their problems as an alternative to Armenian Genocide debates, a topic which to date remains highly sensitive in the country.
“It is very important to think of ways to speak about ‘1915’, relying on new approaches. Is it possible at all to adopt a new method to address the survivors instead of the slaughterers and slaughtered?
“Such is the truth. 1915 saw also survivors aside from killed people. So what was their number? What happened to them? How many of them created a diaspora, and how many were able to live on, staying in this country? And what were the conditions for those who kept on living [in Turkey]? Did all of them convert to Islam? What was their life like in their circles later and what understanding do their generations have now of their own identity? Why don’t we speak of 1915 by touching upon such issues (BirGün, 16 August, 2004).”
Dink attached a great significance to the establishment and development of ties between the Armenians in Turkey and Armenia. He had a special attitude to the history of independent Armenia.
He was gunned down by a Turkish ultra-nationalist on June 19, 2007 outside his office in Istanbul.
Videos
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Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
Interview with Kakhaber Kiknavelidze, an Independent Member of Ameriabank Board of Directors
Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
Rep Adam Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
UN's Guterres Issues Global Appeal to Make 2021 'Year of Healing'
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Animations
Azerbaijan Uses Prohibited Phosphorus Chemical Munitions - Defense Army Video
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Arms Supplies
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Drone
Nagorno-Karabakh's Status Has Been At the Heart of Our Approach - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan
Artsakh Defense Army Releases Video Featuring Damaged Azerbaijani Military Equipment
Artsakh Defense Army Units Inflicting Manpower Losses on Azerbaijan
Gas Pipeline Damaged in Azerbaijani Fire Targeting Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital
President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizes Azerbaijani Military Hardware
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Military Infrastructures
President Armen Sarkissian Meets with NATO Secretary-General in Brussels
Buildings and Homes Lying in Ruins in Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital After Azerbaijani Shelling
Artsakh Defense Army's Precision Fire Gives Deadly Blow to Enemy
Artsakh Defense Army Units Destroying Azerbaijani Tank
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Ceasefire Does not Mandate Azerbaijan to Kill Civilians and Hit Civilian Settlements
Armenians Protest Outside Turkrish Embassy in Los Angeles
Losses in Azerbaijan's Military Featured in Defense Army Footage
Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizing Adversary's Transport Column
Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan 'far more aggressively than in the past' - ABC News on Syrian mercenaries fighting in Karabakh
Iconic Armenian Church Hit in Azerbaijani Attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh City (photos)
Artsakh Defense Army Continues High-Precision Strikes
War Situation in Karabakh on European Parliament's Agenda
Call for Urgent Action: Armenian Journalist Brings Intn'l Colleagues' Attention to Situation iin Artsakh After Azerbaijani Attacks
Turkey's Support to Syrian Mercenaries Fighting Against Artsakh: Facts About Azerbaijani Aggression
Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital Under Azerbaijani Strikes
Armenian Armed Forces Neutralize Azerbaijani Defense Positions
ArmenianTroops Destroy Azerbaijani Armored Fighting Vehicle on Frontline
There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
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- 12:41 • 23.10.20 President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
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- 14:11 • 09.10.20 Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan 'far more aggressively than in the past' - ABC News on Syrian mercenaries fighting in Karabakh
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- 12:39 • 04.10.20 Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital Under Azerbaijani Strikes
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- 10:12 • 29.09.20 ArmenianTroops Destroy Azerbaijani Armored Fighting Vehicle on Frontline
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- 18:45 • 28.09.20 EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
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