The Diaspora Through the Generations

By RICHARD DAVITIAN
Bruinboy88@ucla.edu

The first Armenian to immigrate to America was “Martin the Armenian” in 1618, one of the settlers of the Jamestown colony in Virginia; his occupation was raising silk worms. But it wasn’t until about 300 years later, after the Genocide of 1915, when the largest wave of Armenians immigrated from Armenia into numerous countries, such as the United States, Russia, Lebanon, and France, just to name a few. It was through different time periods in which the Armenians immigrated to United States, leading to the many generations of the Armenian Diaspora that we have today in America.

The first major wave of Armenian immigrants came in the 19th century, after the Hamidian Massacres and the Armenian Genocide, in search of a better life, hoping for higher education, and a more prosperous future. The second major wave of Armenian immigrants into America began around the 1960s and lasted up until the 1990s. Today, the Armenian-American population is estimated to be around 1.27 million.

The first Armenians in California settled in Fresno and then moved to Los Angeles. The largest concentrations of Armenian-Americans today are found in the cities of Los Angeles, Glendale, and Burbank. Today, a small portion of Hollywood is even named “Little Armenia,” due to the high number of Armenian inhabitants there.

With these waves of Armenian immigrants came an unofficial classification system. Armenians who originated from Iran are referred to as Parskahyes, those who came from Armenia are referred to as Hayastantsis, those who came from Lebanon are referred to as Lipananahyes or Beirutsis, and those who originated from Turkey are referred to as Bolsahye. With this classification comes the division between the Eastern and Western dialects.

The current Armenian culture and lifestyle in Los Angeles is shaped and defined by the four generations of Armenians who reside there. They all have their own distinct values and beliefs. Some have stood strong to their Armenian roots, while others have slowly begun to stray far from them.

First generation Armenians can be compared to those living in Armenia today. They are the Armenians who arrived most recently to the United States. For that reason, they are most heavily influenced by Armenian culture and life.
Fourth generation Armenians represent a group of people that have mostly forgotten their language, but still hold onto key aspects of their culture. Their ancestors most likely came to America during the Genocide. Throughout the years, they have slowly lost parts of their heritage and have assimilated with American culture.

As the generations go by, Armenians are losing parts of their language but are still retaining key elements of their culture and tradition. This has a lot to do with their everyday environment, such as their family, the schools they attend, and the friends they hang out with.

Because Armenians arrive from different countries, they bring with them distinct, stereotypical characteristics. They separate themselves and identify with their own roots and values. However, the distinct Armenian communities in other countries, such as Turkey and Iran, are slowly breaking down when they arrive in Los Angeles. The differences between a Hayastantsi, a Bolsahye, and a Halebtsi are slowly fading away. Issues such as intermarriage were previously looked down upon. But now it is a lot more common to see, for example, Beirutsis and Hayastantsis marry. The Armenian Diaspora in Los Angeles is now more “open” and assimilated.

It is the idea of living and being together which makes us stronger. We cluster and form a community. On April 24, we all get together and fight for the same cause. The separation is what caused the differences, but now we live together in one place.

As the years pass by, the Armenian identity becomes more “hye” and the things that distinguish each type of Armenian start to fade away. Each generation feels we are here together and we are all Armenian. There is a broader sense of identity which allows us to grow together and secure the continuity