«If You Want Your Children Not to Become Homeless, Fight» – Naira Zohrabyan

BHK (Prosperous Armenia Party) MP Naira Zohrabyan wrote on her Facebook page: "The declared 'persona non grata' literature and nomadism are being calmly discussed regarding the idea of pruning Armenian literature in schools. Apart from a couple of structured remarks, the rest are emotional stirrings.

These days, anyone who dared to post a piece from Narekatsi's lament or a stanza from Shnorhali's hymns turned it into a pathetic text.

To recite a piece from the lands of Kučiak or the songs of Sayat Nova has become like paying a tribute to patriotism during these days.

In reality, I have always been in favor of injecting fresh blood into our literature, so our children know not only Shnorhali, Frik, and Yerevantsi but also Thomas Hardy, Ted Hughes, and Pound, as well as Bukowski and Edgar Poe, Kurt Vonnegut, Faulkner, Cohen, and Joyce.

However, in order to navigate through Joyce's 18 heavy chapters, we must have digested a whole world of literature. Otherwise, we will get lost in Joyce's labyrinths.

And to avoid getting lost in the words of Hrant Matevosyan, we must have already consumed Narekatsi, Kučiak, Shnorhali, and all those whom they now want to declare 'persona non grata'.

Aytymatov’s ‘mankurt’ has become the measure for all those without a homeland and those genetically distorted.

If you want your children not to become mankurts, fight. No one will fight that fight for you as much as you can for saving your child's genetic code and blood memory. Don't want it? Is it okay this way? A goal-less situation isn't the best, is it? No question about that. It's your choice and your right. Are you afraid of 'fidi faces'? Again, no question, and again, it’s your choice.

By the way, I still don’t understand why they decided to crusade against Aram Pachuian’s story 'Transparent Bottles'. It’s a good work, and yes, Aram is right when he writes, 'I run because I don’t want things to be this way'. No one has said that Aram Pachuian will be an alternative to Narekatsi. Don't create fake battles and search for fake rings.

Everything is much more complicated and serious.

Whoever wants can continue to stay stagnant and tear their hearts out, but a goal, definitely a goal, is essential, because that's the safe and secure thing to do, to act in half-measures.

I know one thing: it is impossible to turn us into nomads and mankurts for the very simple reason that it is simply impossible, and that’s that.

Moreover, the most important thing is that each person will decide for themselves and will fight their own battle.

If they want to.

Yes, if they want to. And that’s the end of it."