Special thanks to the staff of Agos newspaper and the staff of Aras Publishing, circa 2005–2009; they allowed a diaspora visitor to roam in their midst, ask questions, take notes, and sometimes just sit back and watch. Deepest appreciation to Sarkis Seropyan and Aris Nalcı for their help so many times. And although there is no way to thank Hrant Dink, his influence is all over this book.
In Armenia, I benefited from the insights of a range of scholars, journalists, officials, and regular people who were willing to speak with me. My sincere gratitude goes to all of them, and to my Yerevan relatives, without whom my time in Armenia would have been much less rich.
Deepest appreciation to New York friends who added useful perspectives or moral support: Adelle Waldman, not just for her cherished friendship but for one particular intervention without which this book (and its author) might have withered; Evan Hughes, Michelle Orange, Gloria Fisk, Jed Boyar, Carey Kasten, Jared Manasek, Ani Mason, Caitlin Shamberg, Jason Boog, Gary Sernovitz, Carlin Flora, Julie Bloom, Juliet Gorman, Elliott Malkin, James Westcott, Vahram Muratyan, Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Sasha Polakow-Suransky, Alex Star, Dinaw Mengestu, Julian Rubinstein, Melissa Flashman, Brad Fox, Eszter Domjan, Defne Aydıntaşbaş, Mert Eroğul, Suzy Hansen, Steve Yagerman.
My entire extended family is, in some way, part of the fabric of this book, although none of them should be held responsible for anything contained here. Extra thanks to the wonderful Der-Sarkissians, who gave me refuge and support many times, and to Anouche, for a collection of inspiring notebooks and so much more; to Carina, Melissa, and Meldia for a necessary conversation two summers ago; to Stella for lending me confidence; to Vahan for always cheering me on; to Lena for hearing me out even when it was uncomfortable; and to Sara, for our Shongum days.
My thanks go to my in-laws, Wendy and David Davis and Spencer Bruskin and Lesley Schoer, for showing genuine interest in my project—and for avoiding the words “cry” and “wolf” even after the five hundredth time Alex said that I was just days away from finishing.
My big sisters, Tely and Lily, each supported my work on this book in their own ways: Tely with her lightning-speed processing of the psychological issues at hand, Lily with her core sense of justice and fairness. Love to them and to my brother-in-law Tom.
* * *
NOBODY ON THIS list knows how many stages this book passed through as well as my agent, Larry Weissman, who first heard about my intentions at a coffee shop in Prospect Heights in January 2005. Time and again, Larry proved his loyalty, discretion, and spot-on judgment, especially when the stakes were highest; for that I will always be grateful. Thanks also to Sascha Alper, whose suggestions made a difference from the start, and to Elisabeth Alba, who worked quickly and brilliantly to create the map at the front of this book.
From the first time I sat down in a conference room with Riva Hocherman and Sara Bershtel of Metropolitan Books, I was captivated by the dynamic, nuanced, substance-driven yet inimitably merry ambiance of their unique publishing domain. Thanks to Sara for her support all along; to Grigory Tovbis for his competence and gracious communications; to David Shoemaker for designing exactly the kind of jacket I hoped someone would dream up; and to Maggie Richards and James Meader and everyone else at Holt for helping to bring my book to life. But especially, my heartfelt and brain-felt thanks to Riva, who is both my ideal reader and my ideal editor, yet miraculously never confuses the two roles. She was patient when patience was what I needed, and exacting when the time came for that. Above all, she exudes a sense of real commitment to her authors and her projects, including this one, treating books not as products or trends but as contributions to the world.
My parents, Monica and Rouben Toumani, to whom this book is dedicated, have made many things possible for me. But most relevant to this book is the way they modeled—in their own choices, behavior, and guidance—how to think independently and act courageously. They did this while also creating a safety net that allowed me to roam far away without ever needing to question whether I could come home.
And Alex Bruskin, my husband, my partner, my red-pen vigilante, my laughter-maker, and my North Star: you have improved every page of this book and every day of my life.
A Note on Sources and Selected Bibliography
In the course of my research for this book I conducted more than two hundred formal interviews (almost all of them recorded) as well as countless informal ones. I also made use of a wide array of books, journals, reports, and Web sites in English, Turkish, French, and Armenian. The following is a highly selective bibliography of books that I believe will be instructive for readers who wish to learn more about the issues at hand.
Akçam, Taner. From Empire to Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide. London: Zed Books, 2004.
———. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006.
Bloxham, Donald, and Fatma Müge Göçek. “The Armenian Genocide.” In The Historiography of Genocide, edited by Dan Stone. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, 344–72.
Bloxham, Donald. The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Çetin, Fethiye. My Grandmother: A Memoir. Translated by Maureen Freely. London: Verso, 2008.
Dündar, Fuat. Crime of Numbers: The Role of Statistics in the Armenian Question (1878–1918). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2010.
Göçek, Fatma Müge. The Transformation of Turkey: Redefining State and Society from the Ottoman Empire to the Modern Era. London: I.B. Tauris, 2011.
Kaplan, Sam. The Pedagogical State: Education and the Politics of National Culture in Post-1980 Turkey. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.
Kévorkian, Raymond H. The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. London: I.B. Tauris, 2011.
Libaridian, Gerard J. Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2004.
Panossian, Razmik. The Armenians: From Kings and Priests to Merchants and Commissars. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
Pope, Nicole, and Hugh Pope. Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1998.
Quataert, Donald. The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Suny, Ronald Grigor, Fatma Müge Göçek, and Norman M. Naimark. A Question of Genocide: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Üngör, Uğur Ümit, and Mehmet Polatel. Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk Seizure of Armenian Property. London: Continuum, 2011.
Üngör, Uğur Ümit. The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913–1950. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Waal, Thomas de. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. 10th Year Anniversary Edition, Revised and Updated. New York: New York University Press, 2013.
Zürcher, Erik J. Turkey: A Modern History. London: I.B. Tauris, 2010.
About the Author
MELINE TOUMANI has written extensively for the New York Times on Turkey and Armenia as well as on music, dance, and film. Her work has also appeared in n+1, the Nation, Salon, and the Boston Globe. She has been a journalism fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria, and a coordinator of the Russian-American Journalism Institute in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Born in Iran and ethnically Armenian, she grew up in New Jersey and California and now lives in New York City.
THERE WAS AND THERE WAS NOT. Copyright © 2014 by Meline Toumani. All rights reserved. For information, address Henry Holt and Co., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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Toumani, Meline.
There was and there was not: a journey through hate and possibility in Turkey, Armenia, and beyond / Meline Toumani.—First edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-8050-9762-7 (hardback)—ISBN 978-0-8050-9763-4 (electronic book) 1. Toumani, Meline. 2. Toumani, Meline—Travel—Turkey. 3. Armenian Americans—Ethnic identity. 4. Armenian massacres, 1915–1923—Influence. 5. Genocide—Armenia—Psychological aspects. 6. Armenia—Relations—Turkey. 7. Turkey—Relations—Armenia. 8. Turkey—Social conditions—1960– 9. Social change—Turkey. I. Title.
E184.A7T68 2014
327.5610566'2—dc23
2014018362
e-ISBN 9780805097634
First Edition: November 2014
There Was and There Was Not: A Journey through Hate and Possibility in Turkey, Armenia, and Beyond Page 31
