One of the numerous initiatives of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia is the “Diaspora” Summer School Program, which features the Course for Young Leaders. Every year, the course is held with the participation of the sons of the nation who visit Armenia from different countries around the world, and one of those sons is Kuwaiti-Armenian Garo Arslanian, who gave an interview to Hayern Aysor.

Karine Avagyan: Garo, what is your profession? What are you getting out of this course?

Garo Arslanian: I am originally from Syria. I graduated from the Karen Jeppe Armenian College, continued my studies in chemistry at Aleppo State University and have worked as a teacher at Karen Jeppe Armenian College for four years. Later, I moved to Kuwait and have been the director of the Armenian School of Kuwait for the past decade.

Karine Avagyan: Don’t you teach chemistry?

Garo Arslanian: I don’t teach chemistry because each individual is entitled to do one specific job. This is the law of Kuwait. However, I do give lectures on the Armenian Cause on the side.

Karine Avagyan: Did you decide to participate in this course? What were your expectations?

Garo Arslanian: This was not my personal decision. It was the decision of the community, but of course, I had a desire to participate. I also deal with the issues of high school students and young people. Consequently, we found it appropriate to participate in the course.

Karine Avagyan: In your opinion, is one born a leader or does he become one?

Garo Arslanian: That is a very interesting question. I touched upon this question during the course. Of course, leaders are born with certain traits, but a person can acquire certain skills through education and discipline methods.

Karine Avagyan: Were you born a leader or are you learning to become one?

Garo Arslanian: I don’t want to sound immodest, but I must say that I do have some traits of a leader that I have to develop, and I need to acquire skills. One must definitely educate oneself. Among the important traits of a leader are not only volitional qualities, but also multilateral development and organizational effort. A leader has to be self-confident, patient, goal-oriented, have good planning skills and be able to recognize his own strengths.

Karine Avagyan: When you return to Kuwait, whom and what will you teach based on the skills you have acquired here?

Garo Arslanian: As a pedagogue, I believe we pedagogues must transmit our knowledge to the next generations. I have been a scout and have learned to transmit our knowledge to the new generations. We do everything we can to make young Armenians want to visit the Homeland so that they don’t view the Homeland as an abstract idea. Thank God, over the past years, we have had many young people studying at the Medical and Engineering Universities. This year, there were five alumni of the Engineering University, and four young Armenians of Kuwait were admitted to the Medical University.

Karine Avagyan: Dear Garo, you said you are the director of the only Armenian national school in Kuwait, but I know that you are also the editor of Azdarar Armenian Monthly. Please, tell us about the scope of the monthly and what kinds of materials are published.

Garo Arslanian: Yes, I am also the editor of the monthly. We publish various kinds of articles, starting from politics and ending with culture. In addition, I also compose. I might be publishing my collection of poems in the next couple of days. I hope I present my book in the Homeland.

Karine Avagyan: Have you managed to tour the city and go sightseeing?

Garo Arslanian: We are on tight schedule. The lessons last long, and we don’t have time to tour the city, but I must say that I am a Master’s student of the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan in Yerevan. Yerevan and Armenia are not strange to me. I know Yerevan by heart.

Interview by Karine Avagyan