Recently RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan granted the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Armenia and the Gold Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora to member of Homenetmen, former member of the Homenetmen Central Committee Koko Balian during a grand ceremony.

When I tried to interview Koko Balian after the meeting, he smiled and said he doesn’t like to give interviews. At first, I thought he was being modest, but during the interview, I realized that my interlocutor was right…As much as I tried to “make him talk” about different topics, what I got was the following, which is like a monologue.

Koko Balian: I don’t think the granting of a passport of the citizen of the Republic of Armenia comes late. Perhaps it had to be granted to me earlier, but…as they say, “Better late than never”.

I had always wanted to acquire citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, but in life you often postpone many things, saying you’ll do it tomorrow, and it goes on and on. I think there is a time for everything.

The Gold Medal of the Ministry of Diaspora came as a big surprise. I wasn’t expecting it and felt very touched.

I knew I was going to receive the passport at the ministry, but never would I imagine another surprise. I would like to thank the minister. I’m very touched. I had never felt so touched in my life…

I was born and raised abroad. For us Diaspora Armenians, the important thing is to preserve the Armenian identity. To this day, preservation of the Armenian identity has always been my key objective, and it is the key objective for many Diaspora Armenians.

I was born in Lebanon. In 1962, my family and I moved to the United States. I have been living in the States for 52 years, and I have been reading, writing and speaking in Armenian to this day.

Today, the Armenians who come to the States from Lebanon and Armenia say almost everything in English after living here for ten years. It’s more of a formality, but it becomes a lifestyle over time.

For me, language is very important. We Armenians have left the homeland and are living in the Diaspora. If we lose our language, what’s going to happen next?

I owe it to my family for who I am today. As I said, my family and I have been living in the States for 52 years. My parents never spoke to me, my brother and sister in English.

My second family and school was Homenetmen. I owe a lot to Homenetmen. It plays a huge role in the Diaspora. Today, the youth spend more time on the Internet and social networks, but Homenetmen plays a huge role in the sense that it makes an attempt to engage youth in sports or scout programs.

It’s not hard to preserve the Armenian identity in Armenia, but it is in the Diaspora.

In Armenia I’ve only helped design the interior of Europe Hotel, and I don’t know how the minister knew about that (smiling-ed.). I have a designer company in the States. I would like to start a business in Armenia, and I don’t know why I haven’t until now.

My wife, Armine and I often think about moving back to Armenia, but talking about it is one thing, and doing it is another. I met Armine in Byurakan, Armenia. Thanks to her, I became a citizen of the Republic of Armenia and became more connected to Armenia.

Lusine Abrahamyan