The guest for this edition of Return to Identity is 49-year old resident of Diyarbekir Metin Guzel, who presents his life story. A short episode of this story will make you come to grips with your identity.

“This is my first visit to Armenia, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to participate in the “Ari Tun” Program. I’m from the Kulp village of Diyarbekir. There used to be no school in our village. I attended the night school in Diyarbekir where I found out about my real origin. When the teachers and high school students would see me and several other boys, they would say, ��?The Armenians arrived’. It was strange for me to hear that. Why were they calling me Armenian? After all, I was Kurdish. It was surprising because there had never been any talk about the Armenian identity in our family.

When I went home on vacation, I immediately asked my parents why I was called “Armenian” at school. It was then when my parents told me the real story of our family, that we’re not Kurds, but Armenian. However, they also said the following: “Don’t get interested in all that! Don’t talk about it! Don’t show others that you are Armenian!”

At the time, I was a child and didn’t understand much, but I was concerned about the real story and the mystery of my family. I started searching and gradually realized that my family is not the only one that has hidden its identity and that all my friends and acquaintances are hidden Armenians who “became” Kurds after 1915. Where we live there is a common expression, which is the following: “The knife was struck, but some were not struck”. Those who “weren’t struck” were us, the hidden Armenians, who were once called “kltch art” (the lonely), and we are their children and grandchildren who are quite a lot in number in Diyarbekir today.

True, I know I’m Armenian, but I don’t know anything about my ancestors. My grandparents were the only ones who could tell me anything, but unfortunately, they are no longer with us. I only know from documents that my grandfather’s name was Arakel and that his name had been changed to Ener.

My parents kept their origin a secret, but my friends and acquaintances knew who I was. Today, I have a cafeteria in Diyarbekir. Most of the clients also know all this. That’s why many hidden Armenians have started coming to my cafeteria.

I regret not having visited Armenia when I was younger. If I did, I would have started living with more hope. When I came to Armenia, my heart started beating faster. I realized that today Armenia is a small country and only the homeland of the Armenians. When I return, I will definitely feel more Armenian.

I would like to add that the country in which we live today can change any second. We simply have to wait and see what will happen in the future…”

By Lusine Abrahamyan