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About the MARCH 2024 Issue: 

Issue No. 8  | Father, Forgive Them

Easter is early this year (March 31), and so we unpack one of the most radical ideas: the idea of forgiveness, especially when the person causing harm is anything but sorry.

• This issue starts with Yelena Ambartsumian's recounting of Turkish diplomats disrupting a private event at the United Nations, where participants had gathered to discuss forgiveness for the Armenian Genocide (ironic, huh?), and she relates their actions to more subtle forms of genocide denial, particularly by Armenians themselves, when they discuss Artsakh.
• We then dive into a poem by Lilly Torosyan ("Free Falling") about what lies at the core of us, evoking the images of seeds falling to the ground, finding safety by being covered in dirt. She writes, "My people are among the few who did not steal our way into borders."
• The issue continues with an interview of Anush and Mariam Ghazaryan, two sisters who started the brand 57 Metanoia, which rejects the urges of "fast fashion" that has been sweeping through Armenia in recent years, and instead focuses on valuing Armenia's natural environment.
• We then chat with Mary Basmadjian, one of the funniest (and kindest) Armenian women we know, who talks about her character Vartoush Tota, the Armenian auntie whom she uses to reimagine a more loving and inclusive society, one that rejects the concepts of shame and guilt, which are so pervasive in Armenian culture.
• Finally, we end this March issue with our continuation of Learn for Artsakh's translations of In Solitude: How My Cries Can Reach the Next Generation by Leonid Karakhanovich Hurunts, who describes in vivid detail the lived experiences of Armenians in Artsakh, during the Soviet period. From reading Hurunts' writings, you will come to understand why the "both-sides" narratives Yelena discusses in the beginning of the issue are not only false and destructive, but constitute genocide denial. If only we had listened. Maybe it is not too late.
• The title of this issue is taken from Christ's words on the cross (Luke 23:34): "Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up his clothes by casting lots."

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