Hayern Aysor’s correspondent sat down for an interview with Istanbul-Armenian engineer, board member of the German affiliate of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Aygoun Kasakhian, who currently lives in Germany.

Aygoun went to pre-school and kindergarten at the Merametjian School in Istanbul, received his secondary education at the Viennese Mekhitarist Seminary in Istanbul and continued his education at the Notre Dame de Sion French School in Istanbul and the Isik University, after which he studied at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris and the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburk.

My father would get very mad whenever we spoke in Turkish

I was born in Istanbul. I am the son of an Armenian family and grew up in an Armenian environment.

I lived in Istanbul until I turned 24. Later, I traveled to France and Germany to receive higher education and settled in Germany where I have been living for the past eight years. I have lived in four different cities of Germany, but I currently live in Stuttgart where I work for an engineering company that makes electronic brake systems for trains and trucks.

I followed my brother’s footsteps and chose to become an engineer. My brother is also an engineer. I have been interested in engineering and have loved the natural sciences since childhood.

The Armenian community of Istanbul is always active, and I have been a part of that community. I have always participated in the events devoted to national preservation and have never lost my national identity.

Preserving the purity of the Armenian language has been sacred in our family. At home, we would only speak in Armenian. Even when I was young, my father would get very mad whenever my cousin and I would speak in Turkish and would scold us, forcing us to speak in Armenian. My teacher would do the same, but she would make us throw coins in the treasure box.

These “preventive” measures prepared ground for me to learn Armenian.

I was five years old when my father wanted me to join the Sayat-Nova Choir of the Holy Children’s Church, but I wasn’t accepted because I didn’t know how to read and write in Armenian. Only after going to school was I admitted.

What really helped me learn Armenian was singing in the Sayat-Nova Choir and the Saint Vardanants Choir of the St. Vardanants Church (he also wore a shirt-ed.). I would gain more fundamental knowledge of Armenian and improve my knowledge while reading the lyrics to the songs, the psalms and the Bible, and I owe it to my father for all this.

Armenia has become a progressive and developed country

It has already been a year since I became a board member of the German affiliate of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. Until then, I was working as a volunteer for the Fund and would provide assistance in organizational activities.

The first time I visited Armenia was during a pilgrimage with the Sayat-Nova Choir in 2000.

Our visit coincided with Easter. We sang an Easter Liturgy at the St. Mary’s Church in the Bjni village of Kotayk Province and transmitted our donations to the village school so that it could take care of its needs.

We were very impressed with the historic and cultural sites we visited. Words can’t describe how happy I was to visit Armenia. Basically, we established a longstanding connection with Armenia. We were also received by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.

In 2011, we revisited Armenia to participate in the Second Pan-Armenian Summer Games during which I ran 5,000 meters in the city of Artashat. I also spend unforgettable days and met people who had traveled from different Armenian communities of the Diaspora. I have visited Armenia nine times, but until then, I had received information about Armenia through my brother. He studied at Yerevan State University between 1996 and 2003.

Armenia has become a progressive and developed country. I especially notice changes in the capital of Yerevan, starting from the people’s conduct, the look of the city, the cleanness, the places of leisure, the lighting on streets and more.

I don’t want my children to grow up in a foreign environment

Frankly, I am considering repatriation. I don’t want my children to grow up and receive an education in a foreign environment.

I seriously considered this issue during my recent visit. I visited an engineering company to learn about the company’s job offers and other details and understand whether living and working with my profession in Armenia would be easy or not.

The director of this company referred me to other companies. I will examine the offers in detail and consider them with my family so that I can make a decision later.

If I ever do return, I will return with my future wife, who is a future nurse. We also need to find a job for her.

Anna attached more importance to her roots by participating in the “Ari Tun” Program

I had visited the RA Ministry of Diaspora only once. This time I came at the invitation of Minister Hranush Hakobyan to participate in a consultation. I realized that the RA Ministry of Diaspora makes every effort to strengthen and reinforce the relations between Armenia and the Diaspora.

During the consultation, I was introduced to the programs of the Ministry. Until then, I knew about the “Diaspora” Summer School Program and the “Ari Tun” Program. In fact, my fiancé, Anna Ohanoglu, participated in the “Ari Tun” Program a couple of years ago.

Anna was born in Germany and attended a German school, meaning she was cut off from the Armenian environment. During her years in school, she had some problems with her Turkish classmates. To avoid possible clashes, she decided to acknowledge her German roots (her father is from Constantinople, and her mother is German-ed.).

Learning about the “Ari Tun” Program, Anna’s father intended to send his two daughters to Armenia to learn about their roots, as well as fully discover Armenia and learn Armenian.

The sisters had great impressions of the Program and still remember and talk about the interesting days that they spent.

Participating in the “Ari Tun” Program helped Anna attach more importance to her Armenian roots and become closely linked to Armenia. Now she half-jokingly says it is fine if she is half-German.

She has such a high sense of being helpful to the Homeland that she has even worked as a volunteer for ill children at Muratsan University Hospital. In the beginning, she worked as a clown and entertained the children and their parents. Later, upon the permission of the Hospital’s director, she participated in surgeries to gain experience.

Gevorg Chichyan