Helen Yeremyan. “To know and love the homeland”

“In order to have a strong, protected homeland, it is necessary to recognize it,” Helen Yeremyan is convinced. Love and interest in the homeland have been the basis for a number of ideas for Helen, some of which have become a reality today, arousing great interest among both children and adults.

WomenNet.am talked about these ideas with Helen Yeremyan, who worked as a tour guide at the Hovhannes Tumanyan House-Museum for many years, and today cooperates with “Tir-Ar Travel” company, tourists visiting the sights of Armenia, as well as our compatriots. presenting the history of Armenia.

– I like my profession very much, which gives me a great opportunity to travel to the sights of the homeland, you get to know the native nature, the history of the country more deeply, admire, love and connect with the native land.

It is more pleasant when you pass on what you know to the tourist, answer his questions, present more about this or that monument than one can know. During the tour I started to study in more detail the monuments, khachkars, monasteries and churches, caves, lakes, rivers…. And the more information I gathered, the more diverse the tour directions became, the more interesting it certainly became.

During the tour, I started thinking about the native nature of the children, why not the idea of ​​introducing adults to the game. Maybe that’s when the idea of ​​creating games on the theme of patriotism was born.

The game is a model of life, through which, especially children, are given the opportunity to learn, play and recognize their own values ​​at the same time. The game is called “Monasteries and Churches of the Armenian World”. By the way, this game includes not only the monasteries and churches of Armenia, but also  the monasteries and churches of Western Armenia and Artsakh. The game is important in that it promotes the recognition of the native heritage, even if it was not possible to visit, then knowing is a must. We have lost our historical homeland, where many destroyed cultural monuments are left. And I think that every Armenian schoolchild, youth, just Armenian person must get acquainted with them. With the Second Artsakh War, we lost a significant part of Artsakh, along with its cultural heritage, including churches and monasteries. It is not known whether the current generation will be lucky enough to see them. And through this game they will at least get acquainted with the cultural monuments of Artsakh, having in their hearts the desire to return what they lost.

– Will you present the game?

– The game has 130 cards with pictures, a bilingual questionnaire consisting of 30 questions, cards with place names. During the game, the participant must guess the monument on the face of the cards spread out on the table – the church or the monastery. The reverse of the card contains brief information about the monument. This game can be played by a group of two or three people.

The game is included in the school curriculum as an auxiliary material. I cooperate with schools in Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Hrazdan, Nor-Hachn. I organize game-lessons in a number of schools in Yerevan. Of course, at first I was afraid that they might not be very interested, but their active participation allayed my fears.

Another game I created based on the lottery principle is called “From Sea to Sea”. This game also includes caves, waterfalls, lakes and rivers, castles of Armenia, Western Armenia and Artsakh. I have visited many of the mentioned places, I have taken many of their photos myself, and some of them I have used the works of professional photographers.

By the way, after acquiring the copyright of the game “From Sea to Sea”, it was approved by the Office of the Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, through which a considerable number was sent to Diaspora schools.

I must say that my interest in both games increased, especially during the period of forced isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For days, even months, children and adults locked in the house played with love, and now they play these games, as a result of which not only preventing the spread of infection, but also expanding the scope of cultural knowledge.

– What other ideas do you have and did you manage to implement them…

– My next idea, which I made a reality, is to publish a book of fairy tales in Armenian. We have almost no books of fairy tales in Western Armenian, and what we have is limited. I wanted to create a book of fairy tales in Western Armenian that Diaspora Armenian children would love to read. All the pages of the book are illustrated with miniatures, bird letters, the author of which is Matenadaran researcher Susanna Kirakosyan.

It is not possible to invest in work without love, therefore I pay great attention to every detail. From the choice of material to the color and quality of the paper, everything has to be perfect. In the book “Fairy Tales in Western Armenian” in addition to some of Tumanyan’s tales, there are also several tales published in Constantinople in 1914. This book has become available to our children around the world.

I would like to present other projects to the public through games, old Armenian puzzles, Armenian dishes, and many other topics. I consult with famous Armenian chefs about the latter, study the traditional dishes of our current historical settlements. Now I am busy implementing those ideas.

– Do you think fairy tales and games are enough to love the homeland?

– I am convinced that thanks to them, the homeland becomes beloved. If you do not know your country, do not know its history, do not feel sorry for the monument, khachkar, every inch of land, you cannot preserve it. The soldier’s heroism is driven by his love for that inch of land, we have been convinced of that during all the recent wars in Artsakh. It is necessary to love and know the homeland, to which my ideas are aimed. As for the game and the fairy tale, they enrich the imagination, reveal their own possibilities and knowledge, create a desire to get to know more about the native nature and its history, moreover to feel and see more…

Full text in Armenian