Adana Keshishian has returned to the homeland from Tehran. Although she lived the good life, it was anxiety that brought her and her family to Armenia. Adana talked about the lack of inner freedom in another country, the need to live in the present and the importance of professional orientation during an interview with Hayern Aysor.

Hayern Aysor: Adana, the relations between Iran and Armenia span millennia, and the Armenian community has been around in Iran for many years. How was life in Iran? You were close to the homeland, but were living in a foreign environment.

Adana Keshishian: Yes, the Armenian community of Iran has a rich culture and has been around for a long time, and it still has its special place in the Islamic Republic of Iran. My family was also a part of that community until we moved to Armenia. My parents and grandparents were Iranian-Armenians. There are well-known priests from my father’s side, while most of the relatives from my mother’s side repatriated from Iran to the homeland during the years of repatriation in 1946. As for me, I was born in Tehran.

My family and I have always had the sense of being Armenian and the sense of responsibility for being Armenian. Of course, speaking in Armenian is not an indicator for being Armenian and living as an Armenian, but when you are born in an Armenian family that preserves national values and traditions, you try to feel fully Armenian. You try because you belong to the nation and have the genes of an Armenian, but live in a foreign country. I had a good life in Tehran, but the longing for the homeland often stirred emotions. To help us be aware of our roots, my parents would often bring me and my sister to Armenia, but we would always leave with a feeling of pain. That pain grew and made me want to move to Armenia once and for all. I still miss Tehran since it was where I was born, but I know if I go, I will go crazy and return to Armenia in a week at the most.

Hayern Aysor: How did you integrate in Armenia? What attracted you the most here?

A. K.: It was hard in the beginning because I had to overcome the language barrier. Fortunately, I did. I would sometimes feel that my peers were indifferent towards me, but that passed over time. I simply needed a little strength that I found in me. The difference that I am an Iranian-Armenian let many people accept my type of an Armenian with reservations, but it took a long time for me to prove to them that I can be more patriotic than many others with my type, values and image. What helped me is the Armenian land, nature, air and the mountains that I love very much. I especially like Syunik Province. I love the greenery in Goris and the homes built next to each other in Meghri. The nature in Nagorno-Karabakh is totally different and exceptional. The nature of Armenia “talks” to Armenians and gives them strength. It seems as though it is the reflection of our type.

Hayern Aysor: No matter how different Iran and Armenia are, they have things in common that are based on history and geography. The loan words are further evidence of that. However, there are differences between the lifestyles. Could you indicate them?

A. K.: I must say that there were more problems and difficulties in Iran. However, the Armenian community was able to continue to exist in a dignified manner. We respected the rich Iranian culture, and the Iranians respected our culture, which is also rich. There were many nice and small Persian holidays that many Armenians would celebrate. It was not national or religious subtext. They were simply beautiful and interesting. For instance, one of those holidays is the Night of Chelle, which is translated from Persian. It is considered the longest night on the Persian calendar. That night, all families stay awake, place a beautifully decorated watermelon and nuts on the table, and the night turns into a celebration. However, everyone also celebrates Armenian national holidays with more excitement. Those holidays serve as the guarantee of national preservation.

The trend of preserving Armenian holidays has grown and continues to grow. For instance, many people in Armenia don’t celebrate the Armenian Vardanants holiday, but the Iranian-Armenians always celebrate it, and schools especially hold grand events. They sing Armenian songs, recite Armenian poems and make calls to everyone to be patriotic.

I had a different lifestyle there. I was also a scout and was an active member of various non-governmental organizations. However, I recently found out that there was a scout movement in Armenia as well.

Hayern Aysor: Adana, we talked about the Armenian community, but I would like to ask you to talk a little about the pillars of that community. What are those pillars? What is their mission?

A. K.: The first pillar is the Armenian school. I attended the Tounian Armenian All-Girls’ School, which is the most famous Armenian school in Tehran. We would learn Armenian two days a week, but would wait for the Armenian language lessons with great excitement and learned Armenian well. We would take the other lessons in Persian. Every morning, we would stand and listen to the Armenian national anthem and recite the Lord’s Prayer. However, the Armenian Church has an irreplaceable role. Every Sunday, there are many Armenians at Armenian churches. Iranian-Armenian women are especially active. It is safe to say an Armenian woman is the backbone of an Armenian community in the Diaspora. She is the one who bears responsibility for preserving the Armenian identity within the family and providing her children with an Armenian upbringing. Most Iranian-Armenian women are teachers and are active members of non-governmental organizations like the Raffi, Sipan and Ararat organizations.

Hayern Aysor: I am sure you have felt anxiety there. How was that expressed?

A. K.: Of course, there was lack of freedom in terms of religion. I can’t say I felt it physically a lot. Yes, Armenian women were forced to wear chadras and cover their whole body whether it was hot or cold, but that was not a problem for me. There are police officers everywhere and can punish you, if you don’t follow the rules. However, we would respect their traditions and weren’t afraid. There was a closed yard in front of every building, and children would play there. Even the feeling that you are Armenian only in your community and that there are others with different cultures outside, would lead me to feel the lack of inner freedom. The locals respect the Armenians a lot for not assimilating and preserving theirs, while many Iranians emigrate and lose their identity. We Armenians know the value of identity and preserve it, but we do it abroad. What brought me to Armenia was the desire to rediscover myself here.

Moving here was difficult for my mother. In Iran she would write poems and was known to the Armenian women of Iran as a poet. She also had her publishing house. However, the thought that life in the homeland would be good for all of us helped her adapt to life in Armenia. My mother’s parents are in Armenia, and they also motivated her.

Hayern Aysor: Being an active person, you have chosen a profession that requires one to be quite patient. What made you want to become a chemist?

A. K.: In the very beginning, I wanted to become a judge. Later, I wanted to become a doctor, but I loved chemistry more. I am a pharmacologist. Pharmacology is also a medical science, but it is quite different from medicine in general. I fell in love with chemistry right from the first grade. I loved atoms, elements, reactions and blasts. I wanted to make my contribution to the field of chemistry. I spent the last years of school at Shirakatsi Lyceum where I loved chemistry more and more. The awareness that there is chemistry all around us and that there are chemical reactions taking place everywhere took me to a totally different world. I got accepted to the Faculty of Chemistry of Yerevan State University. I still dream of creating a drug that will help my people not get sick.

My profession is very binding. The sense of responsibility that a patient believes in the power of the drug that you have prescribed makes you want to have great human attributes and a high level of professionalism. I have made achievements, but I am still in my third year of studies and will not work for the time being.

Hayern Aysor: Adana, I think your friends ask you to suggest a drug whenever they feel in pain. What is your prescription to cure the pain of a human soul?

A. K.: I always say that a person is his best doctor. The ability to be able, the will to overcome and optimism must prevail in a person’s inner world.

Hayern Aysor: What is Adana like at home, outside and at the university?

A. K.: At home, I am calm. Sometimes I have outbursts, sing, write and paint. When I am outside, I am Adana the music lover. I sometimes get away from it all and submit to music. At the university, I become more alert and start living with the aspiration to reach perfection. Generally speaking, my behavior is directly linked to the behavior of others.

Hayern Aysor: Adana, you describe yourself as a person in time. What does time means to you?

A. K.: Time is a good friend of mine. It has helped me solve many problems and cure many pains. You have to feel time. It neither gets old nor ends. It always exists. I don’t think about what will happen in the distant future. I live in the present and feel the moment. Life is not about what you have lost or what you have dreamt about. You have to appreciate what has happened and what exists. I live in the present because time doesn’t like it when you get ahead of it.

Hayern Aysor: Adana, I always ask my interlocutors how they picture the future of their country, but now I will reformulate my question. How would you describe the present in your country?

A. K.: People are indifferent and uninterested. They are excited about the future, but are indifferent towards the present. They always think the present is bad, but they need to work and change something in the present. One needs to live with the awareness of the present.

Amalya Karapetyan