h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thank you, Bels for such a great entry. One can only hope that Turkey stop denying its crimes. It is very important that mankind doesn´t forget this genocide, if we cannot learn to be better. Why doesn´t Armenia insist in Turkeys admitting their guilt? What about the EU? Nobody seems to care about the topic.

Another question: Why did you write about the Armenian genocide? I guess there are not so much people who know something about it and want to talk about it.

Anna Banana

Hi, Anna, Thanks for that. These are indeed difficult questions, and I suspect there are no short answers.

>Why did you write about the Armenian genocide? I guess there are not so much people who know something about it and want to talk about it.

This is also a difficult question to answer shortly. It is many years since I first found out about the Armenian genocide, and I have been interested in it for a long time.

A little story for you:

A number of years ago I was in the Old City of Jerusalem, where many fascinating encounters are possible. Still thinking about the Armenian question (which I had already known about for years), I wandered into the Armenian Quarter there. There is a large headquarters of the Armenian Church there - the Armenian Patriarchate - and nearby there is a small shop run by an Armenian family, selling various hand-made articles.

I love little family-run shops that sell such beautiful hand-made things, and I spent some time choosing what I would buy. The proprietor spoke some English and we fell into conversation. While we were talking a couple of Armenian priests wandered in - from their garb they looked quite senior. They greeted and chatted to the proprietor, whom they obviously knew well, and also greeted me. They also spoke some English (who doesn't?) and I started talking about the genocide and how it had been forgotten about.

Anyway, we had a long discussion about that and many other political questions, including the role of the British in Jerusalem, and how Viscount Allenby (who had entered Jerusalem in 1917 in the name of the British) had encouraged more Armenians to settle in Jerusalem and use their traditional artistic skills to help redecorate the mosques that had been damaged in the previous wars. This was because Allenby wanted to be on good terms with the Arabs.

After a while some more priests came in and joined this interesting chat, then after a while the proprietor's wife came along and gave us all some tea, and, well, I spent several hours in that little shop talking with these delightful people as the afternoon wore on into evening. Eventually I made some purchases, and they gave me some gifts, and I left. That was several years ago.

Of course, that doesn't answer your question. Let's just say I wrote the article because I thought it would be a useful addition to the Guide, and indeed for the very reason that you mention, that there are probably not many people who know about these things and want to talk about them. I do know something about this - and I like to write!

Good evening, Bels, nice that you are interested in the not so glamorous sites of the human history. There are not very much people who really want to know. Otherwise what can we do to anticipate the same crimes that people commit since Cain and Abel? People are full of old ugly prejudices, see the antisemitic campaign started by FDP (Free Democratic Party) in Germany. Sometimes I am thinking about wearing of a 'yellow star' to provoke people and hear what they do really think about us (Jews).

The Old City of Jerusalem is a wonderful place to meet interesting people and to discuss a lot of exciting things. It´s a shame and a pity what is happening to all that people living there.

Anna Banana