Every year at around this time, Armenians from Aleppo make a mass voluntary journey to the village of Kessab, writes Saghatel basil for Hayeli.
Of course many would go for the religious holiday of Asdvadzadzin (the Assumption of the Mother of God – “Verapokhoum”) and the blessing of the grapes. But this year, no one has gone to Kessab. Those who have stayed in Aleppo have no money to go anywhere else or don’t have relatives with whom to stay elsewhere. Many of those who have stayed declare that they will remain until forced to leave. “This is my city and no one has the right to tell me to leave,” is what they profess. It is a real tragedy that Aleppo, this very prominent “mother” community, with its leaders and political parties, is suddenly being emptied.
Basil writes in his article that for decades, Aleppo organizations have preached about “hayabahbanoum”; the need to stay Armenian. They were thinking themselves much better organized and noble.
But when the time came to put that so-called power and organization into practical use, nobody was left to do so. They all ran and escaped forgetting their task. Their place was filled by individuals and groups we always ridiculed. They have proved to be more visionary and organized than the traditional Armenian organizations. They proved that telling a lie was easier than listening to one.