My interlocutor is repatriate singer Kevork Hadjian, who has always attended almost all the events organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora and has performed the purely folk songs of Komitas. Our interview was devoted to repatriation and the topics of his songs.

Hayern Aysor: How was it that you repatriated? Did anyone guide you, or was it the will and decision of you and your family?

Kevork Hadjian: Thank you for providing me with this opportunity.

We had always had the aspiration to visit Armenia, the land of our dreams. I am the grandson of an Armenian from Musaler. I always felt pain when I heard my grandparents talk about the deportations and the horrible tragedy of 1915. My grandmother would always say, ��?If only that ship sunk and we didn’t reach these Arab coasts, it would be better if we stayed at the bottom of the sea than be deported from our heavenly Musaler’. As you know, Anjar is currently a purely Armenian-populated city. I was born and raised in Anjar where the Armenians have preserved all the national traditions. After settling there, it was the calling of the land and the pain of being far from my home and roots that made me conclude that we the inheritors of Western Armenians must return to our land and add to what we already have instead of suffering from the memories of our past and what we lost…

Today, we need to come together in the free and independent Armenia, mitigate the pain of our ancestors by building and reinforcing our Homeland, keeping our will and faith so that we can regain Western Armenia and turn the idea of a free, independent and United Armenia into a reality. What’s very important is the fact that I have repatriated with my family, including my wife and my son, who is currently studying at Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. My wife, Frida Hadjian’s parents and my father have passed away. Thank God, my mother is with us and lives in Lebanon along with our brothers and sisters. We first set foot in Armenia in 1998, and we moved in 2005.

Hayern Aysor: Did you come in 1998 to become convinced that you could live in Armenia?

K. H.: No, we hadn’t come to examine or become convinced. We had never thought of coming to the Homeland, finding a job and creating conditions. In our case, what guided us was doing something crazy, as well as the love for and dream of the Homeland as a phenomenon and as something that exists. We have been living in Armenia for 10 years and have been citizens of the Republic of Armenia for 5 years now. When I had to take an oath to acquire citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, I received a call from the RA Ministry of Diaspora telling me that the RA Ministry of Diaspora was making a film and would like to tape the oath ceremony, and I participated in the taping with pleasure and performed Komitas’s song “Armenia, Heavenly Land”. It was very emotional. We need to struggle so that, by being meticulous towards the Homeland after all the blood that our martyrs shed, we can truly have the heavenly land.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Hadjian, I know that you had lived in Kuwait for 10 years before moving to Armenia. What did you get out of those 10 years? Were you feeling the longing more and more, or were you trying to lay strong foundations for living, growing as a professional and becoming self-established?

K. H.: My wife and I underwent many trials and tribulations during those ten years. We were only 23-24 years old, and our son had just been born. We didn’t have any living conditions. We had received an invitation to teach at the Armenian National School of Kuwait. We had a two-year contract that was extended to ten years. Yes, those were years during which we became self-established and grew professionally. We were in an environment where the Armenian identity needed to be preserved at school, in church, in families, in community life and in daily life. The school administration wanted us to stay for another two years because there were still many programs to be carried out, but we had already made our decision.

Unfortunately, Armenians abroad talk more about the negative phenomena in Armenia. Armenian presses talk more about murders, poverty and social issues more than about the country’s victories and achievements and the construction projects…People understand the negative information more quickly. There were people who were amazed when they found out that we were going to move to the Homeland. Of course, there were also many kind and sincere friends who welcomed our decision to repatriate.

Hayern Aysor: Do you see the Armenia and the Armenians of your dreams today?

K. H.: I won’t think twice and will say that I’m always in search of the “model” of an Armenian. As inheritors of Western Armenians, we have always been raised with the feeling of patriotism in Syria and Lebanon. The school, arts and culture were what kept the nation alive in our lives, and we grew up and were educated with that spirit. Of course, when we came to Armenia, the Armenia we had dreamed of and the real Armenia clashed. However, this doesn’t mean that we had to escape because we didn’t see the Armenia of our dreams. On the contrary, we need to unite, work hard and create, build and reinforce this cherished land. We’re all going to die someday. We need to think about the land. We need to think about what legacy we will leave for the generations and how we have to do that.

Hayern Aysor: Let’s talk about Kevork Hadjian the singer. When did you start singing?

K. H.: My parents and uncles had beautiful voices that were God-given. I probably inherited it from them. My younger sister, who lives in Anjar, also sings. My little sister only sings when she’s with her friends, and my brother has just started writing songs. I’m the only one who received a professional education. I remember when my mom would call me and teach me patriotic songs while making handmade items. I have been singing since I was a child. I would sing at school events and would receive warm rounds of applause. I started attending the Dprevank School of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia where I learned Armenian psalms and folk songs. I had wonderful teachers like the late Mr. Kevork Kantaharian, who was our choirmaster, and the late Archbishop Zareh Aznavourian, who taught us spiritual songs. Those great Armenians helped me perform songs with spirit, dedication and meticulously. After graduating from the 8^th grade at Dprevank, I continued my studies at the Barsegh Kanachyan Musical College of Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society Lebanon Regional Committee. In late 1992, the first group of artists from the newly independent Armenia arrived in Lebanon to give lectures devoted to song, painting and sculpting. Harutyun Topikyan was also invited to direct the Gusan Choir. The Kanachyan Musical College opened a classroom for the choir, and my three friends and I became the first students. Unfortunately, it only lasted two or three years, after which we left for Kuwait. Later, when I came to Armenia, my wife began her studies to obtain her Master’s degree at Yerevan State University, and I began to study at Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. I studied in the Department of Choirs and had a wonderful teacher by the name of Ivan Vardanyan. During my years of study, I participated in master classes hosted by the décor of stages around the world, famous singer Barsegh Tumanyan.

Hayern Aysor: Did you work by your profession after graduation? Have you taught anywhere?

K. H.: I’m mainly involved in giving concerts. A singer grows when he or she performs on stage. A singer is an individual. You can’t sculpt with four people. Every song is like a sculpture.

Hayern Aysor: Who helps you organize concerts in Armenia or abroad?

K. H.: I have found sponsors for my concerts, but the “Pyunik” Pan-Armenian Human Resources Development Foundation has made the greatest contribution by helping me give public speeches and host master classes abroad. The RA Ministries of Diaspora and Defense and pastor of the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church of New York Grigor Lakisian, also provide their support. Grigor Lakisian invites me to New York to direct the local choir and give concerts every year. My friends also provide their support.

Hayern Aysor: How did you become a part of the Ministry of Diaspora? Did you address the ministry, or did the ministry find you?

K. H.: When I was in Kuwait circa 2003, a delegation of the RA National Assembly arrived in Kuwait, and one of the delegates was Member of Parliament and current Minister of Diaspora, Mrs. Hranush Hakobyan. At the time, I was the head of the divan of the local Armenian Prelacy. The delegates visited our local church, after which we had a conversation. I told Mrs. Hranush Hakobyan that my family and I were planning on moving to Armenia, and she encouraged me. I have become a part of the RA Ministry of Diaspora since then. I believe the Ministry of Diaspora will become the real image of Armenia. I have very cordial ties with the ministry. I consider every assigned task a major government-funded business trip and complete it with a high sense of responsibility. One of those “business trips” was the concert dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in Sydney, Australia. The RA Ministry of Diaspora sent me to Sydney to perform for the Armenian community. I was joined by Deputy of the National Assembly, Merited Artist of the Republic of Armenia and singer Shushan Petrosyan. We gave four concerts in three weeks. During the concerts, I had to speak out and tell the Armenians to come to Armenia and help make it a strong country. The RA Ministry of Diaspora is like a family for me, and I’m a part of that family.

Hayern Aysor: Have you ever received any award for your pro-national activities?

K. H.: Yes, I have received the Komitas Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora, which is very binding. It not only makes me proud, but also serves as a lighthouse on my path. It was a great honor for me to receive the award on the same stage with Ohannes Chekidjian and Tigran Mansurian. It was like a program presenting the national image and a wonderful episode filled with the breath of Komitas. I think it can be shown on television or posted on the Hayern Aysor electronic newspaper. There were singers and musicians from all communities. The spirit of Komitas was in the air. We all became like Komitas on that day.

Hayern Aysor: Mr. Hadjian, you talked about singing, but I didn’t get to know what your favorite song is, a song that is in the depths of your soul, in your memories and a song that you always sing…

K. H.: It’s symbolic. Only when I close my eyes do I realize what my favorite song is. If I talk about the origins, everything is pure. It doesn’t matter if it’s the song “Shogher Jan” or “Antuni”. These are the pearls inherited from Komitas, and the psalms of Mashtots clearly go to show that Armenia had adopted Christianity before peoples and nations became Christians and before Mashtots had created the Armenian alphabet and psalms. The Catholic world and Catholic spiritual songs didn’t exist, but Mashtots already had the psalms of repentance that laid the first foundation. They were psalms that I think lay the foundation for not only the Armenian Apostolic Church, but also the Christian Church. As a singer, I still haven’t examined the past.

Hayern Aysor: Which song do you remember the most in the context of mothers, childhood and songs?

K. H.: Hamazasp’s song “Arev Tsagets” (The Sun Rose). This is one of the songs of the national liberation struggle. The song starts with the word “sun”, which is the symbol of the Armenian people. We are the sons of the Sun. It also goes to show the fact that we Armenians are primordial.

Hayern Aysor: If you were a Diaspora Armenian visiting Armenia, I would ask you what the homeland means to you and would expect an answer in which you would talk about your dreams and longing. However, you have been living in Armenia for the past 10 years and are a citizen of the country. Perhaps you can give me a more realistic answer.

K. H.: My Homeland is my land, which is like a sacred temple for me. The land of the Homeland is a divine good, and we Armenians are the ones who preserve that good. The more defenders of the Homeland and the more residents there are, the lighter the burden of the Homeland to remain eternal will be. The Homeland is the light in my eyes.

Hayern Aysor: Thank you for this interesting and meaningful conversation during which I rediscovered repatriate Kevork Hadjian the singer and the patriot in a new way.

Karine Avagyan

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