by David Zenian
Dikran Sarian was a seven-year-old boy when he left his hometown in a Kurdish village in southeastern Turkey to study at an Armenian seminary in Istanbul.
Aram Aykazian was barely 12 when he was sent by his parents to the same school.
Neither became clergymen, but the education they received there paved the way for a successful future for both in Holland - one as a district attorney, the other a businessman and industrialist.
They are not unique. Many Armenians who entered Holland as poor refugees in recent decades in search of a "free and dignified" life have made their dreams come true. Their stories stand out as examples in the mechanics of how integration into a new society works.
For most Armenians in Holland, life in their adopted country began in refugee camps, where they received a basic stipend, tried to learn Dutch and waited for the authorities to process their immigration papers.
Sarian remembers those days well.
"When I arrived, the only languages I spoke were Armenian, Turkish and Kurdish. My Armenian parents only spoke Kurdish, because that was the only language in our village of Shirnak," he said in a recent interview.
After the initial Dutch language classes and some evaluation of his learning skills, the young Dikran was sent to a special school to learn carpentry.
"My parents are illiterate and I was too young and ignorant, but I knew that carpentry was not for me. I wanted to do more," he said between answering a dozen telephone inquiries on pending cases which he was involved in as a public prosecutor in the Dutch city of Haarlem.
He was still too young to work when he completed his basic carpentry courses, so Dikran enrolled in another technical school, this time learning some electronic and repair skills.
Still a teenager, Dikran worked at weekend markets and during his spare time prepared for the entrance exams required to enter the academic world.
"I worked during the day, studied at night, finally got my high school diploma, attended evening classes and eventually entered law school. I graduated in 1993 as a lawyer," he said.
For Dikran, education was the key to success. He had to be better than his fellow students to move forward.
"There is no discrimination in Holland, and the opportunities are there for everyone who works hard," he said.
As a district attorney in Haarlem, Dikran works with a team of state attorneys who concentrate on cases involving juveniles, including many teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds.
"Education kept me out of trouble in a country where the temptations are great. I understand what these young people are going through.
"Practically all juveniles-almost eight out of ten-that are brought in front of our courts are the children of immigrants. Many of their parents do not work because the money they get from government aid programs or agencies is enough to meet their basic needs," he said.
In Holland, where the unemployed and registered refugees often stay on government welfare programs indefinitely, juvenile delinquency and crime is a serious problem.
According to published statistics, of the little over 700,000 people who live in Amsterdam, between 80,000 and 100,000 are unemployed at any one time. There are also more than 18,000 illegal immigrants living in Amsterdam. Coupled with drug-related youth crimes, these are cause for alarm not only to the Dutch authorities, but also to Armenian community activists.
The authorities have recently allocated millions of dollars to battle youth crimes, but the problems persist.
"We need to keep our young children in school and within a strong family structure to avoid the problems that too many children are facing these days," Sarian says.
"It is easy to fall through the cracks, but so far, the Armenian community is fine. As a public prosecutor, I have not come across Armenian criminals," he said.
But the danger is there, especially with new immigrants from Armenia, one source said. In recent years, large numbers of Armenians, including single mothers with children, from Armenia have entered Holland seeking asylum. They often arrive as tourists, then "surrender" to the authorities saying they are unable to return to their country for fear of persecution.
"They use a variety of excuses to convince the immigration authorities. Some say they are gay and are afraid to go back to Armenia because the culture there does not tolerate homosexuality. Others say they belong to a religious sect which is banned in Armenia.
"With their cases under review, these so-called asylum-seekers are housed in collection centers for illegal immigrants. Some stay there for years and avoid contact with the Armenian community. This is cause for concern for us," an Armenian social worker said.
Community activists interviewed for this article said they had no specific figures for recent asylum-seekers from Armenia, but their number could well be over a few thousand.
"We help all those who come to us," says one social worker. "But many do not." Dikran Sarian knows what life is like in the refugee holding centers. He has lived in one. So does Aram Aykazian, who was in his early 20's when he came to Holland.
He did not come as a refugee, but rather as an enterprising young businessman with fresh ideas and a determination to make a new life for himself.
He too was born in the Kurdish village of Shirnak in southeastern Turkey, and like Sarian, was sent to the Armenian seminary to study.
Aykaz, however, chose another path. He left school early and began an apprenticeship in the leather apparel business, and by the age of 19, he was already establishing himself as an expert craftsman. While in Istanbul, Aykaz began a small export business of leather goods to Amsterdam through a Dutch business partner, and within a few years moved to Holland.
"I was lucky to have a Dutch partner with whom I still work in a joint venture," he said at his sprawling warehouse on the outskirts of Amsterdam , the main center of his business which in recent years has spread out to several countries including France, India and Hong Kong.
The company, named ARMA, produces more than 700,000 leather jackets and other leather articles a year and is the largest in Holland and one of the biggest in Europe.
"The Dutch are very particular about honesty and trust. These are the main elements of my success in business in Holland. The fact that I am not an ethnic Dutch has not had a negative effect on my progress," he said.
Like Dikran Sarian and Aram Aykaz, many other Armenians are establishing themselves in their adopted country.
In Amsterdam's famous Leidseplein Square, Armenian immigrants who settled in Holland over the past 30 years own most of the Italian restaurants.
The city's most famous American Book Center (ABC) is also Armenian-owned. So are dozens of jewelry manufacturing facilities, clothing workshops and other family-owned businesses.
Avo Kaplanian came to Holland from his native Jordan in 1966 to study cultural anthropology, graduated from college, held management positions with the Dutch Refugee Council, obtained Dutch citizenship and together with his American wife, purchased ABC in 1983.
"With hard work and perseverance, Kaplanian built the bookstore into the largest English-language retail bookstore in Holland-if not the only one. Today, ABC has over 90,000 volumes on a diverse range of topics from cookbooks to science fiction.
"I am hoping to start an Armenian section which will also include English-language books written on Armenian topics. I am sure there is a good market for this because the Dutch are avid readers. This will be my contribution to the Armenian cause," he said.
Each in their own way, Armenians from different backgrounds and walks of life are pitching in to set a good example for a younger generation of fellow Armenian immigrants who call Holland home.
