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October 21st, 2007
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Armenian Genocide Resolution in the U.S. Congress — Righting a Historical Wrong?
Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
It's not often that Armenia makes international headlines across the globe, but when it does it's usually because of one issue that remains fiercely debated until this day — the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million Armenians from Ottoman Turkey in 1915-17. 22 countries recognize the events that occurred towards the end of World War I as genocide, a charge that the modern-day Republic of Turkey refuses to accept even though the term was devised by Raphael Lemkin in 1943 with the Armenian and Jewish experience in mind.
Most scholars also recognize the Armenian Genocide as such, but for the large and influential Armenian Diaspora, recognition by the United States is considered to be the main objective of its continuing international campaign. It's no wonder then, that when a U.S. Congressional House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed a resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide by 27 votes to 20 on 10 October, not only did the news make international headlines, but it also defined conversation in much of the blogosphere.
Writing on Cilicia.com’s Life in Armenia immediately after the resolution was passed, Yerevan-based American-Armenian, Raffi Kojian, noted the prominence of the story as a leading item in the international media.
What was very interesting for me this morning, was reading all the news articles, and there was definitely no shortage of them. I opened Google News to search for “Armenian Genocide” to see if it passed, but instead was greeted with “Armenian Genocide Resolution Passes Committee” as the top headline, with 650 stories already on the topic. That’s big news! The coverage and points being raised were quite varied, from the sickening editorial in the Washington Post to widespread calls for doing the right thing. Lantos, head of the committee, summarized the vote beforehand as choosing between acknowledging a genocide, and appeasing Turkey for military reasons. Basically, do the right thing, or give in to the questionable arm-twisting of a supposed ally - though he did not put it in those undiplomatic terms.
Although such resolutions are not new in the United States, with past experience showing that national security concerns and foreign policy objectives eventually prevent such acknowledgment from passing into law, reaction from Diasporan bloggers was ecstatic. Writing on Cilicia.com's Life in the Armenian Diaspora, Lori wrote an entry in pretty much the same vein.
I’ll never forget this day! How monumental is this? Sitting in California unable to watch the House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting I had my father calling me from Armenia to provide periodic updates since he was able to watch the session live. I can’t even begin to express how I’m feeling right now, I’m happy, proud, relieved, ecstatic, encouraged, hopeful…..Finally, our efforts weren’t in vain. Finally, a president didn’t succeed in shooting this resolution down. I must say that as a Clinton supporter I was disappointed in him, but I expected it from Bush and it feels SO GOOD seeing his efforts to stop this resolution from passing fail. I want to find the 27 members of the committee who voted and shake their hands. I want to thank them for not buying into the threats Turkey made and for not allowing themselves or their ethics to be bought by the Turkish lobby, for not bending over and being Turkey’s puppets.
Reaction in the Turkish blogosphere, however, was obviously very different. Even 92 years after what most people do consider to be Genocide, the Republic of Turkey as well as everyday Turks deny that the event took place. Moreover, they blame the Armenian Diaspora rather than the modern-day Republic of Armenia for attempts to have the Genocide recognized in the United States. As the Turkish government responded to the passing of the resolution by threatening to withdraw logistical support for American troops in Iraq, Erkan’s Field Diary was one of the first Turkish blogs to react to the news.
27 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who are the representatives of American citizens are meddling into a past they have no f***** idea, acting as peons of a genocide industry… Well done dudes, this shows very well that a Democrats-controlled Congress is even worse for Turkey. I hope you can do any good for your own people after making Middle East even messier with your anti-Turkish attitude…
Armenian-Turkish border, Khor Virap, Ararat Region, Republic of Armenia
Yet, given that the resolution first and foremost concerned Armenia and Turkey, two countries which share an albeit closed border and which have not established diplomatic ties mainly because of the international campaign for Genocide recognition, the bulk of posts on this subject primarily came from American and English bloggers. To begin with, this was because prior to the vote by the House Committee, U.S. President George W. Bush attempted to intervene to prevent its passage.
The blogosphere was set alight by critical posts from American citizens protesting that fact. 1 Boring Old Man was particularly angry, pointing out that Bush is hardly the most appropriate person to offer his opinion on “crimes against humanity.”
I doubt that Mr. Bush knows where Armenia is unless someone briefed him recently, or knows anything about the Turks and the Ottoman Empire, or knows who Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was or of his place in Turkish history, or has read anything [even Wikipedia] about the Armenian/Turkish struggles, or cares much about any of these things. All he knows is that it is not politically expedient for our country to acknowledge the Armenian mass killing as a genocide because it will infuriate the Turks who are NATO Allies. His deepest understanding is to do the politically expedient thing.
[…]
He’s no person to be entering the debate about the Armenian Genocide. First, he doesn’t know anything about it. Second, the issue is way too close to home for him to be objective. He cites his “War on Terror.” What he doesn’t mention is his own Terrorism…
Winter Patriot agreed.
[…] As far as I can tell, it boils down to a question of language. We’re not supposed to call a historical crime against humanity by its rightful name because that would put a crimp in the current crime against humanity, which we are also not supposed to call by its rightful name.
Two days later, the conversation changed as the White House continued to apply pressure to prevent the resolution from being put to the U.S. Congress for a full vote in November. With Turkey continuing to make threats to prevent U.S. troops in Iraq from being supplied via its territory, and with the Turkish Ambassador being “temporarily withdrawn, “opponents of the resolution started to accuse U.S. Congressional Speaker Nancy Pelosi of supporting House Resolution 106 in an attempt to scupper the war effort. Blogs such as The Hill’s Pundits Blog took the same line in cyberspace.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked the worst time to play politics when it comes to Iraq, Turkey and Armenia.
[…]
We are now in a real war with terrorists. We have more than 100,000 troops in Iraq. We have the Turks threatening to invade Kurdistan, just as Joe Biden talks about creating Kurdistan out of the ashes of Iraq. We have a more Islamic-leaning Turkish government. We are a fighting a global war on terror, where we need the help of the Turks more than ever.
And Nancy Pelosi has decided to bring the same resolution to the floor, threatening our national security by playing politics.
[…]
This is a bad time to play politics, Madame Speaker, especially on this issue, follow the lead of your predecessor. Choose American national security over domestic politics.
The Simi Valley Sophist went further and effectively accused Pelosi of treason.
Despite the Turkish threat, Pelosi is pushing forward with the resolution. What is Pelosi’s political imperative? It surely is not Armenian votes. And, it surely is not a fear of additional American service personnel deaths.
[…]
Now, you go ahead and tell me that Pelosi cares about the welfare of our troops. And, you go ahead and tell me that Pelosi actually cares about the memories of Armenians. I’ll submit to you that Pelosi has simply found another mechanism to throw a monkey wrench into the Iraqi war effort. I’m sorry, but I don’t find that patriotic. I hark back to the Vietnam War era traitor, Jane Fonda.
This Ain’t Hell… concurred.
[…] Historians will remember that the Democrat “leadership” (using the term loosely) are a traitorous bunch of double-dealing, back-stabbing punk-ass sissies who can’t summon the fortitude to stand up to a few squeakywheels on the internet. That’ll be their legacy.
Faced with such an outcry domestically, perhaps it was no wonder that many of the same Congressional Representatives that supported the resolution started to back away from HR 106. Interestingly, though, few of those bloggers which opposed the resolution actually denied that the Armenian Genocide took place. Instead, once again, national security and foreign policy objectives took precedence over what most Armenians consider to be the quest for “historical justice.” Cribs and Ranting was one of them.
It was a grand and appropriate gesture, befitting statesmen, by the US House of Representatives to officially dub the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as “genocide”. The US need not have made the first move on this, but it did it in line with its assumed role as a global leader, as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, reality hit the House representatives, real hard. It is not the truth that prevails, even if it is a genocide. Usually it are the hard, cynical ground realities that win.
[…]
Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a resolution backed by the Democratic leadership that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago, reports The New York Times.
[…]
Turkey has promised to turn over documents and support a conference to determine whether there was a genocide of Armenians. That conference would take years to convene, and maybe years to arrive at any conclusion. But it may now provide the House of Representatives a fig-leaf of an excuse to get out of the embarrassment their idealism got them into.
Deja vu — the same happened in 2000 when another resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide was about to be put to a full Congressional vote. It wasn't long before Armenian bloggers such as ArtMika at Unzipped started to write more on developments which to be honest, shouldn't really have come as much surprise to anyone.
It seems that Bush + Turkey & co 'succeded' again. A number of House members panicky withdrew their support as co-sponsors of the resolution. To get majority seems unlikely now, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be forced to shelve or postpone it. I felt kind of disgust when read the news (below, via iararat). They used us or got used and then threw away… as usual. Pure ‘moral dimension' in politics.
[…]
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: “According to Congressional and Bush administration sources, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now unlikely to bring a resolution which would label the deaths of Armenians in a conflict more than 90 years ago as “genocide”.
Yet, while history looked set to repeat itself with another resolution about to be blocked because of concerns about the war in Iraq and U.S.-Turkish relations, some interesting precedents did occur in the blogosphere. Firstly, and as was the case with the murder earlier this year of ethnic Armenian journalist and editor Hrant Dink in Istanbul, the Armenian blogosphere was defined more by numerous posts from non-Armenians.
Truly, the conversation was global and the media also sought to solicit opinions from bloggers and internet users. One of those was Inside Higher Ed which ran an interesting article on the role of academia in the debate over the Armenian Genocide. The online article allowed commenting in the same way as a standard blog post.
More significantly, perhaps, and although Armenian and Turkish bloggers avoided discussing HR 106 together online, some Turks attempted to reach out to ethnic Armenians via their blogs. One of those was Turkish writer, Mustafa Akyol, at The White Path.
A few days ago a new friend of mine who happens to be an American Armenian played some beautiful songs for me that come from the deepest roots of her ethnic tradition. While I enjoyed the numinous rhythms of that magnetic Armenian music, I realized how similar they were to the tunes of the Turkish classical music that I have grown up hearing. “Despite all the political warfare,” I said to myself, “alas, look how similar we are.” I actually have a similar feeling when I drive along the magnificent mosques and palaces of Istanbul, some of which were built by Armenian architects – men in fez who devoutly worshiped Christ and proudly served the Sultan.
Well, we were the children of the same empire, weren't we? We actually lived side by side as good neighbors for centuries until the modern virus called “nationalism” descended upon us. And then hell broke loose.
[…]
Convey your message calmly, in other words, and it will be heard. But don't try to impose it onto us. We are not a nation of monsters, but we do have a stubborn side. When foreigners start to dictate our history to us, we tend to revert back to our grandmothers' stories. And if we will start listening to your narrative, that will not be because we are pushed into a corner by the politics of a powerful lobby, but because our hearts are touched by the memoirs of a terrible tragedy.
Apart from Raffi Kojian at Cilicia.com and myself, few Armenian bloggers chose to participate in what can be considered an invitation to discuss and debate. In general, the Armenian and Turkish blogospheres remained polarized and isolated from each other although both Talk Turkey and Blogian were notable exceptions. Hopefully, as the resolution continues to be discussed in American political circles, there will be more examples of Armenian and Turkish bloggers communicating with each other on this and other matters.
Certainly, and even though the fate of House Resolution 106 remains uncertain, Global Voices will continue to keep readers up to date on the latest developments. Until then, the latest posts from the blogosphere represent the two main views in circulation — that the Armenian Genocide happened and it should be recognized, or that it happened, but the resolution in the United States is not the way to right what most consider to be a historical wrong.
While I understand the need to maintain good relations with an Islamic democracy, NATO member, and strategic ally, we cannot play along with Turkey’s policy of whitewashing history and suppressing dissent. The United States cannot be a moral leader in the world if we only stand up for human rights issues when economic and strategic interests aren’t at stake.As the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-29) asks:
“How can we take effective action against the genocide in Darfur if we lack the will to condemn genocide whenever and wherever it occurs?”
Georgetown University College Democrats
Is there an example of more extreme, hypocritical arrogance than the U.S. Congress, and other politicians, as well as newspapers columnists and human activists attempting to have a resolution passed acknowledging the Armenian genocide by Turkey?
[…]
The fact that the U.S. Congress wants to pass a resolution regarding the genocide that Turkey has committed, but has not said anything about the genocides the United States is responsible for, shows that passing these type of resolution is completely meaningless.
Two days ago, I lauded George Bush for having the courage to meet publicly with the Dalai Lama. Today I am embarassed to note that the American Congress has succumbed to the pressure exerted upon it by the Bush White House by refusing to recognize the Armenian Genocide. […]
[…]
We are not talking here about a compromise on a tax treaty, a trade-off on a bill to support pork producers if someone supports your wheat farmers. We are talking about the killing of 1.5 million people. Recognizing genocide for what it is will not bring the dead back. But it will do justice to their memory and let others know that there will be no negotiating or compromising on the issue. Shame on Bush and shame on the US Congress.
University of Alabama Faculty of Law
There seems little historical doubt that the Armenian massacre was indeed genocide. The eye-witness accounts of the time are overwhelming, and Ottoman government documents talking openly about eliminating the Armenians as a people group are plentiful from the period 1915–1917. But with the U.S. dependent on the friendship of Turkey to support a difficult war in Iraq, it seems at the very least an ill-timed notion to rub Turkey’s face in the judgment of history. True, all Armenians and American-Armenians will feel affirmed by official American national recognition of the injustice they suffered. But isn’t it more important that the Turks themselves should finally come to acknowledge the truth of what happened to the Armenians 92 years ago? That may yet take decades to come to pass. Assuredly, it won’t be hastened by this week’s Congressional resolution. And what if resupplying American troops in Iraq is seriously compromised by a Turkish curtailment of U.S. base usage in Turkey? To rephrase Congressman Lantos’ well-stated dilemma: “Is the gratification of wounded Armenian sensibility worth the possibly serious risk that could ensure to American forces in wartime?” […]
The Armenian Observer also carries a summary of what Armenian bloggers in the Republic as well as the Diaspora wrote on the resolution, and there is full coverage on the Oneworld Multimedia blog. For now, the story looks set to continue.
Genocide Survivor, Arax, Armavir Region, Republic of Armenia
All photographs © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005-6
China: Cop catches suspect using Google Earth
A post from GSeeker's Ken Wong late last week which looks at how a newbie cop in south-eastern China's Fujian province was able to use Google Earth to track down a human trafficking suspect by making a database with it (and an English-Chinese dictionary) of village residents:
Google Earth强大无比，美国人用它来进行选举投票、救灾，印度人用它来保护土地，用途非常多。但一直以来，似乎没怎么听说过Google Earth在中国有社会用途的。一方面除了是因为Google Earth无法提供中国地区高清图像，另一方面是由于Google Earth没有简体中文版，流行程度相对其它国家及地区较低。但现在不同了，Google Earth已经成为中国民警创建卫星地图管辖区的得力工具了。怎么回事？
GSeeker读者朋友”jiang shuai”今天推荐了新华网上的一则消息，即福州马尾亭江派出所长柄警务室民警林祥春已利用Google Earth创建了卫星地图管辖区。大概的经过是，林祥春花了一个月的时间，把管辖区的重点信息全加在Google Earth的图像上了。这是发生在今年1、2月份的事。从这件事里，我们可以看出几点：
1.Google Earth获中国”官方”认可了，虽然这样说有点牵强，但希望这种消息能广泛传播。
2.如果林祥春迟几个月开始用Google Earth，那他是不用这么辛苦查英汉字典的，因为Google Earth繁体中文版8月推出了。
3.类似的地图还可以用谷歌地图的”我的地图”功能来创建，虽然没有卫星图，但地图信息还是比Google Earth详尽的。当然，也可以用Google Maps的My Maps功能创建，还能省去安装Google Earth的步骤呢。
2. If Lin Xiangchun had started using Google Earth just a few months later, he wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble looking up all those English words, because Google Earth came out with a Traditional Chinese version in August.
3. Such a map could still have been created using Google.cn's “My Maps” application; even though there are no satellite images, the information on the maps is even more detailed than [that found on] Google Earth. Of course, using Google Maps' My Maps application to create saves one the trouble of installing Google Earth.
创建这样的地图有意义吗？很明显是有的，因为据报道：
“有一次，福州市边防支队找到林祥春，表示要在他的辖区内，抓捕一名外号叫做”阿胖”的蛇头，但是边防官兵只知道 “阿胖”以前是个杀猪的，并不知道其真名和真地址。林祥春在进行详细排查后，确定”阿胖”真名为王某航，但不确定其是否在家，如果民警贸然前去探路，又担心会打草惊蛇，引起对方怀疑。
于是，林祥春调出卫星地图平台，指认出王某航的住处，派一名信息员前去盯守。当天傍晚，在接信息员报告后，林祥春带着边防官兵，赶到王某航家中，成功抓获王某航。 “
“There was one time, when someone from Fuzhou Border Security came looking for Lin Xiangchun, wanting to apprehend a snakehead going by the name of “Fatty” who was living in Lin's jurisdiction; all the BS officer knew was that “Fatty” had previously been a pig butcher, but nothing on his real name or address. Lin Xiangchun carried out a careful investigation and was able to determine “Fatty's” name to be Wang Mouhang; Lin was unable to determine, however, whether or not he would be at home, and worried that any rash police visit would arouse the snakehead's suspicions, and send him running.
From there, Lin came up with a satellite map, used it to identify Wang Mouhang's residence, and sent a scout to go stake it out. That evening, when the rookie came back with a report, Lin Xiangchun and the BS officer rushed into Wang Mouhang's home, and successfully apprehended him.”
结果？半年后：
“今年９月２１日，省公安厅副厅长、福州市委常委、政法委书记、市公安局局长王鑫，来到长柄警务室检查工作，表扬了该警务室的硬软件建设，并对林祥春演示的卫星地图平台赞赏不已，提出全市的公安局警务室都要向长柄警务室学习。”
“Today, September 21, the provincial public security director, Fuzhou municipality member of the CPC standing committee, secretary of the Political Law Committee and director of the municipal PSB, Wang Xin, went down to the Changbing police station for a work inspection, praising the police station's hardware and software equipment, as well as delivering praise to Lin Xiangchun for his satellite map platform to no end, putting forth that police workstations from across the city must learn from the Changbing station.”
其实如果更多人知道Google Earth有繁体中文版的话，相信类似的应用在中国会越来越多的。只是有时候，用的人越多，也不一定是好事。
Japan: NOVA on the brink of collapse
Despite numerous statements to the contrary from an increasingly evasive management, the collapse of Japan's largest English language school operator NOVA appears imminent as bloggers have been reporting lesson cancellations, school closings, and busy phone lines. Tension has been mounting over the past month, with administrative staff still waiting for their pay from September 27 and English teachers having yet to receive their pay of October 15th. And yet even as stories pile up of teachers with pennies in their bank accounts and no funds even to get back home, NOVA President Nozomu Sahashi remains nowhere to be found, refusing to file for bankruptcy protection which would allow staff and teachers to apply for unemployment benefits.
News coverage of striking NOVA teachers
Living day-to-day on a dwindling reserve of funds, teachers are meanwhile being steadily evicted from their housing as NOVA, with little assets and massive liabilities from terminated student contracts, has been unable to pay the rent. Checkmated in a deep financial crisis, even stories of a potential buy-out now seem far-fetched as NOVA faces possible indictment for violation of labour laws, its president meanwhile reportedly hiding in the British Virgin Islands.
FAX from NOVA
Stories in English of the ongoing NOVA saga have featured regularly in blogs and discussion forums over the past couple months. As NOVA finally began to actually cancel classes last week, however, Japanese students and staff also joined in the conversation. Blogger Bun writes:
最近、ブログでノバ生徒のカミングアウトが多発！？
大声で「ＮＯＶＡに通っています」と言えないのは、
悪徳会社のせい？はたまた英会話能力の無さを自覚しているから？
Maybe the reason that people cannot proclaim in a loud voice, “I attend NOVA”,
is that the company is so corrupt? Or is it because they sense their lack of proficiency in English?
[…]
安全な日本で、幸せボケした私にはＮＯＶＡが唯一の外界との扉
この歳で思考回路を作り直すのは難しいが、英会話と同じで地道に
やっていこう！ＮＯＶＡに通った数年間は無駄ではない
At my age it is difficult to rewire one's line of thinking, but just like English conversation,
let's do it! The years spent attending NOVA were not a waste of time.
Many of the Japanese bloggers who have “come out” reported their experiences at having had their lessons cancelled due to teachers being on strike. As blogger yagiemi-109 describes it:
今日Ｎｏｖａに電話をしました。
予約を変更する電話でしたが、まず電話が話中でなかなか通じない。
I was calling to change my reservation, but at first the line was busy and I couldn't get through.
何度目かで、やっと通じたかと思うと「講師の給与未払いで、ストライキになるから、予約を受け付けてない。」との返事。「あとから、お知らせがいくと思いますが」でした。
Blogger kohkichi gives some more detail about their experience:
今週月曜日にＮＯＶＡから
「講師の都合で明日のレッスンが受けられなくなってしまいました」
と電話がありました。
“Due to circumstances with teachers, it has unfortunately become impossible to offer a lesson tomorrow.”
今日、その振り替え分の予約を取ろうと電話をしたら
「実は、本校が○○校と統合することになり10/22〜31まで休校することになりました」
と言われました。
I was told that: “Actually, this school has been consolidated with school X, so between the 22nd and 31st of October there will be no classes.”
で、その○○校は給付金コースを開設していないとのこと。
給付金コースを開設している他校は遠くて通えません。
もう、いつ倒産してもおかしくないので、解約してもお金は戻ってこないだろうし
このまま続けてもレッスンを受けられる保証もなく・・・。
Other schools that have such courses are too far away for me to attend.
At this point it wouldn't be surprising if [NOVA] went bankrupt, so though I cancel my contract I probably won't get my money back.
Even if things go on like this, there is no guarantee that I will even be able to continue taking lessons.
Many Japanese had planned to at least continue with the lessons that they had already paid for, since they did not expect to get their money back if they cancelled. Blogger Riruna explains the situation:
今までおよそ４年間NOVAに契約していましたが、家族間でも「なるべくポイントを消費させようとしているのでは」という疑惑が上がり、外国人講師もどんどん辞めて、今では来日3ヶ月などの新人さんしか居ません。
そこで解約しようかと思っているのですが、指摘を受けて清算方法は改正されたのでしょうか？
私は確か330ポイントの契約で、一括で払い込んでおり、残りのポイントは200ほどです。
その為、清算方法が改正されていなければかなりのダメージでして、親も「改正されたのなら今すぐ解約、されていないのならば使い切るしかない」との意見です。
しかしあまりにも対応に必死さが滲み出ていて、学生の身で踏み込んだ質問をしても、向こうにとって都合のいい返事しか返ってきませんでしたし、私としても不信感のあまりもう行きたくありません。
I got a 330 point contract, and I paid for my points in one lump sum, and I have about 200 points left.
If their accounting practices have not been revised, then there will be a lot of damage, and my parents' opinion is that “if they have revised their practices, then cancel right away, if not then you have no choice but to use up the rest of [the points].”
However, their response exuded a sense of desperation, and even when further questions as a student were raised, I was given only answers that were convenient to them. Personally, the sense of distrust that I feel is strong enough that I don't want to go [to lessons] anymore.
On the other hand, there was also a lot of nostalgia about NOVA lessons. Blogger yummy writes:
ますますあぶないと噂のNOVAですがガーン
先生やｽﾀｯﾌさんに恵まれた人はNOVAが大好きで
なくならないで！！
と思っている人たちも多い
私もその一人です
The people who benefit from the teachers and staff really love NOVA,
So please don't disappear ！！
There are lots of people who think this
I am one of those people
NOVAにひどい目に合わされた人や上達しないからNOVAはダメという人などNOVAを良く思えない人もたくさんいると思います。
でも私は好きだし、楽しいし、すごく上達しているしなくなってほしくないです
But I like NOVA, I am having fun, I have really improved [my English], and I don't want this to stop.
Blogger lettuce also misses NOVA:
ホント、がんばってほしいよ。
いち生徒として。
やっぱ、あたしは、時間的（仕事的）に海外に留学ができないの。
だから、駅前留学っていう制度はサイコーによくって、
講師がみんな外国人ってとこも、ほかの生徒さんとも仲良くなれたことも
最高にうれしいことだったの。
As a student [of NOVA].
In the end, I am not able due to time constraints (and work constraints) to study abroad.
So the system in which schools are positioned in front of train stations is really great,
and the teachers are all non-Japanese, and I also got to be friends with other students
so it was really a great experience.
Some bloggers even expressed hope for the future of NOVA:
振り返ると楽しかったな
いろんな国のｲﾝｽﾄに会い興味深い話を聞くことができたし
英語は上達したのかなぁ
今は経営状態がよくないけれどがんばって立て直しでもらいたいです。
I had a chance to hear fascinating stories from instructors who came from various different countries
I think I improved my English
Right now the business situation is not very good, but I hope that they work hard and pull things together.
Blogger Applecheese was less optimistic, looking to the future and predicting that the era of NOVA-like schools has come to an end:
多くの人が英語を上達させたいと感じていて、なおかつ、学習効果の上がる方法を各人が身を持って知る機会が少なかった頃には、派手な宣伝とかも手伝い、うまく時代に乗って広がりました。でも、ああいうシステムが、日本の歴史の中で大きな役目を果たした時代は終わりだと思います。最近の指導システムがどうだったのかは詳しく知りませんが、契約や解約方法の話を別にしても、10年前のあのままのシステムを続けているのだとしたら、規模縮小はまぬがれないと思います。
Finally, I'll end this post with blogger metatabi, who recounts saying goodbye at what will almost certainly be their last NOVA lesson:
NOVAから「本日予約のレッスンをキャンセルさせてください」と電話。
無給で働かされていた講師たちがストライキに入ったらしい。
まぁ、確かに仕方ないことなんだけどねぇ。
昨日のNOVAのレッスンではたった一人残っていた講師が、「明日を最後に３週間バカンスをとることにした」と言っていて。
帰るときには「また明日ね〜」って別れたのに！
来ないのか…。
Apparently the teachers, who were being made to work with no pay, have gone on strike.
Well, I guess there is nothing that can be done about this, but..
At my lesson at NOVA yesterday, the only teacher who was there that day said that: “Tomorrow, I've decided to finally take three weeks of vacation.”
And when we left each other, we even said “See you tomorrow!”
But I guess they're not coming…
Links for Sun, 2007-10
Social Science in the Caucasus, the blog of the Caucasus Resource Research Center in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, looks at Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2007. The blog notes significant improvements in Georgia in the struggle against corruption, but no real progress in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports that the Association of Gay and Lesbian Armenians (AGLA) in France has ceased to exist. In an exclusive interview with the Chairperson of the Diaspora-based organization, ArtMika concludes that AGLA's demise is bad news for anyone who cares about LGBT rights in Armenia.
Baktash Syavash,blogger and journalist has interviewd[Fa]Tavab Nyazi, an Afghan journalist who was jailed for seven months.Yavab Nyazi was accused of collaborating with Taliban.The blogger writes that Nyazi was jailed illegally and no document was presented by officials to prove his links with Taliban.
On its newly launched and very welcome blog on Georgia, Transitions Online takes a look at amendments to the electoral code and political system proposed by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. These include lowering the electoral threshold, lessening presidential power, and extending the term of parliament from four to five years.
Zarchka at Life Around Me reports that new construction of an underpass in the center of the Armenian capital has hit a snag. Quite a big one, actually. To be precise, the Yerevan Metro.
Oneworld Multimedia posts a video of some of the chaos that the construction has created for motorists. With roads blocked, cars, lorries and buses were forced to use sidewalks and stairways to bypass the latest municipal development.
Notes from Hairenik also weighs in to the controversy that is urban planning in Yerevan.
Starting in 2008, according to blogger tokyodo-2005, an investigation commission will begin discussing plans to cutback the welfare system in Japan. tokyodo-2005 writes that the existence of the commission has only been covered by one media organization (Hokkaido shinbun), and that otherwise there has been a virtual media blackout on the subject.
Arseny translates a post by Adam Kesher about new bank emergence in Kazakhstan. Being fully owned by a person, allegedly associated with the higher officials and powerful clans, the bank's possible objectives are a subject of speculations among the local observers.
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