Noemie Nalbandian
Posted on | March 10, 2009 | No Comments
Deputy Head Nurse at Hadassah Medical Center-Mount Scopus
People ask if I hate the Turks. I do not hate the Turks, I hate what they did to my grandparents. They have to recognize what they did and apologize. I live in a world where the Arabs and Jews fear each other and can’t depend on each other. The wounds and the sorrow are continuous—the way my ancestors were treated and the way Jews, Christians, and Muslims treat each other. It goes on and on. I teach my children, “If you strike the person who hit you, you are no better than he is.” We can’t get out of this mess if we strike back.
What if your arms and heart are open and the other person has a knife?
This is a risk you take. Otherwise you can’t go far. It is like someone who hides his money instead of making use of it. He is not helping himself or others. Everything is a risk. Going into the street is a risk. Driving a car is a risk. But it is our life, we have no choice.
You remind me of the first commandment.
Maybe it is the way I was raised—Armenian, Gregorian Christian, third-generation Israeli whose grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide. My parents read the Bible to me, and I learn from each person I meet, in the hospital or outside.
I am proud of being a Christian and I am proud of being an Armenian. These two things go together. There is no Christian feast or Armenian celebration that our patriarch or archbishop, and our people, including women, are not part of. I believe in Jesus and God.
Tell us more about yourself and the work that you do.
I am the Deputy Head Nurse of the Rehabilitation Department in charge of wound care at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. I look at each person in a holistic way, valuing each person, from a one-day-old baby to a 100-year-old person. I like to give quality of life to each person. I am also the Chairwoman of the Armenian Relief Society in Israel. We help Armenians worldwide with education, poverty relief, and disaster relief.
Can ambulances from the West Bank get through?
Yes. Each ambulance, whether Jewish or Arab, must be checked at the entrance. But, everyone gets the same treatment.
What is the difference between forgiving and forgetting?
Forgetting is running away. Forgiving is facing reality and trying to live with it in peace. We live only a short time, a year or a hundred years. Nothing, not a stone or any land is worth strife where man cannot live beside man and enjoy life, family, happiness, and nature.
Jerusalem is the holiest place in the world, but it is full of conflict and hatred. When I walk down the street, I see the tension between people. If someone does something wrong while walking or driving, I don’t see love or forgiveness, only hatred, anxiety, anger. I see priests spit on by the very fanatic Jews and Muslims—not only on Armenians, but other Christians.
Why can’t we live in peace? Terrible! If Jesus were walking through Jerusalem today, He might try to die again.
How can people come to honor each other out of bleakness?
I joined Women’s Interfaith Encounter to find people who still believe in love and kindness. All people here do not hate or fear, but it is like when a fly falls in your soup, you can’t eat the soup. It’s a very little thing, but it spoils the soup. Thank God for people who try to make peace. I hope together we can paint the city a color other than black.
I think that if people are very extreme and they think only their way is the right way, they cannot compromise on anything. They say, “This is my way and I don’t accept anything else.” If that’s the case, how can we find peace? How can we go forward and communicate?
Communication is a key word that we are missing today. Communication is the key to getting out of the mess we are in. My definition of communication is reality and transparency. People say that the three most difficult things to say are ‘Sorry’, ‘I Love You,’ and ‘I Need Help’. People must learn to say these three words if they want to get anywhere.
Isn’t fear part of life?
In the Rehabilitation Department I see people after accidents, head trauma, stroke, and illnesses. They fear these things may leave them handicapped. When people are well, they take life for granted. It is a pity they didn’t think about these things when they were running around. We must thank God for everything—love, food, our health, especially our health.
When will peace come?
It is naïve to think that peace will come after a day or a year. It will take a lot of work, a lot of energy, a lot of tears and a lot of valuable time. But, yes, it will come one day. I believe in it.
But if we don’t use all our strength to bring it about, we will continue living in this strange world, waiting for the rain to come. So, as you never know when the rain will come, so will the women remain on the sidelines, waiting for peace and not knowing when it will come.
Nalbandian identifies herself as an Armenian, a Gregorian Christian, a mother, and a nurse. She is chair of the Jerusalem branch of the Armenian Relief Society, a worldwide organization founded in 1910 to provide educational and humanitarian assistance to Armenians. A third-generation Israeli, Nalbandian is Deputy Head Nurse in charge of wound care in the Rehabilitation Department of Hadassah Medical Center at Mount Scopus.
