By Vrej Haroutounian

As I sit to write this article in my office in Yerevan, my mind wanders away a few hundred kilometers to the desert lands encompassing Syria, Iraq and Turkey.

Seemingly, I am dumbfounded at the lack of change over the span of a century and at certain patterns that have adapted themselves into the regionalebb and flow.

This brings to light the question of the purported advancement that mankind has experienced in the 21st century and our tendency to constantly boast of it.

Walking down the streets of Yerevan, I am witness to people conducting their everyday lives. My mind once again drifts to an image of Yerevan a century ago.

I am faced with a dichotomy between the tumultuous history of the Armenian people and their current presence, walking around the city in peace and engaging in their daily activities. It seems as if the curtain between the various contexts seems to drop: between MusaDagh and Sinjar, between Sasoun and Kobani.

Although it may seem that Yerevan is far withdrawn from the current state of affairs in that region, there is an innate similarity in the narrative of what is occurring.

As a people fight to maintain their way of life, one oft-quoted adage in Armenia creeps into my mind: “yerkiruhyerkirchee,” roughly translated as “this country is not a country.”

By assessing our current context, it only serves us right to spin off the statement and assert that “yerkiruhyerkira.”

Armenia is a country, in all senses and adaptations of the word. Whether in struggle, perseverance or peace, this country has always warranted so much more than the negative connotation that at times we assign to it.Yet the fact is that we are not that far away from the conflict zone, and even though we are living in relative peace, we have to remember that we have a duty to take responsibility for our country.

Even though direct conflict is not currently looming over our heads, current world affairs can serve as an amply timed reality check.

At times, we tend to feel entitled to this country and lose sight of all that it took to get to where we are. We tend to forget about the battles we have fought, the lives we have lost, and those systematic marches through the desert.

Often, it seems that those years of laissez faire communism have eroded our memories of the purges that accompanied it. There is a lack of consciousness of our current context and our connection to it by way of our past. Sometimes it may even seem as if we are not acknowledging all that is happening around us.

The fact remains that we are exactly where we were at one hundred years ago, with the exceptional difference that we have ownership of a country now. We have a duty to question its attributes. We can find our solutions by reflecting on the past and using its lessons to shape our future. What could we have done to strengthen our country? How organized have we been in the past 24 years since independence? Could we have foreseen these recent geopolitical troubles? Are we prepared for something like this?

After the battles of Bash Abaran, Sardarabad, and Karakilise (now Vanadzor) Armenia managed to attain its territories by waging a battle just when it seemed as if all was lost to maintain the lands that formed the borders of the first republic, which we inherited.

We carry the burden of responsibility for this land because our forefathers have had to fight for it. For the past 24 years, we have been the crafters of our own faith.

Over the past 15 years after the liberation of Karabakh we have entered into a consumerist slumber of some sort and lost sight of what it means to have a free republic and to abide by the rule of law.

It has been an easy descent into being a republic full of fear-mongering, mud-slinging and blame setting. Yet, this current situation is not action-oriented and only serves to continue and further the counterproductive status quo that has plagued our nation.

Our independence should serve as a call to arms for Armenians to realize the important role they play in the endurance of this country and the responsibility that they have inherited.

Whether living in the homeland or in the vast communities of the diaspora, Armenians, who have been gifted with a country, need to claim it for themselves and take ownership of it. Bickering, finger-pointing and pity are not sustainable uses of our time, for we have far better things to do.

In the last few years we have seen Armenians uprooted from their adoptive homes in the Middle East through the harsh hand of conflict, resorting to the life of a refugee as they work to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Some have sojourned back to Armenia, while others have sought to establish their lives elsewhere.

Recently, the Armenians of Syria experienced a great loss. The direct descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors who marched through the Syrian Desert and created new lives in their adopted country were, once again, subjected to the same fate of their ancestors. The established community of Syrian-Armenians was uprooted, almost completely, from the homes and belongings that they had created.

As we witness the destruction of Armenian communities in the Middle East, it is more important now than ever to realize not only the importance, but also the potential, of the country that we have.

This is a country, in all senses of the word. This land, small and replete with problems, has been our home and safe haven, affixing all of the benefits to a people displaced by conflict.

For the past century and beyond, this land has been the bastion of the ideals that have maintained and reinforced our identity.

In the relative peace that we have fostered, we should not be turning a blind eye to what we have gone through to maintain our current position. This is a call for us to direct our energies through the proper channels, to use innovative thinking to create solutions, to engage with the country and its development, and, most importantly, to approach everything we do on this land with a sense of duty.

Throughout our history, these lands have been merciful in granting us refuge when the roar of violence is heard once more as it attempts to feed human greed. It is about time that we appreciate it and begin investing in all that we have overlooked throughout the years. As amends for all of the benefits that this country has bestowed upon us, we have a collective responsibility to not only protect what we have inherited, but to imbed ourselves in its growth and development.

At a glance, the monument constructed to commemorate the battle of Bash Abaran symbolizes the drawing of the borders of Armenia by our collective spirit during the battles that gave us the land, making it to possible for us to exist and prosper.These three battles were our last stand during World War I and the monuments of their commemoration serve as a constant reminder of the strength of our spirit.

While violence and ignorance once again raise their heavy hand in current regional affairs today, it is more important now than ever to stand in solidarity with people fighting for their rights for independence in the same deserts that our ancestors were marched through.

It is even more crucial to wake up from our comfort and slumber. There is no question that this country is a country.

The question we must ask is what kind of country do we want, and what are we going to do to make that happen?

(Ottoman Army General Wehib Pasha speaking to his headquarters)

“We do not have the strength to defeat the Armenians. The three day battle in Karakilise shows that as long as their existence is in danger they will prefer to die fighting. We must not bring on a battle with the force that 1,200,000 Armenians can raise. If the Georgians join in the hostilities, it will be impossible to advance... In short, we must come to terms with the Armenians and Georgians.”

Vrej Haroutounian and his brother Vahe operate Four Peaks Landscape + Architecture in Armenia. Vrej moved to Yerevan from California.