WATERTOWN, Mass.—The first-ever English translation of the 75 year-old Armenian classic—Letter to Yerevan—debuted at number one on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list for both “Russian and Former Soviet Union Poetry” and “Middle Eastern Poetry” categories. It also debuted in the number 8 spot of Amazon’s poetry books the week of its release.

“We are overwhelmed by the public’s positive response to the book and the community’s willingness to support a worthwhile cause,” said Rupen Janbazian, one of the translators of Tzarukian’s long-form poem. Copies of the Hairenik Press publication are now available for purchase at the Hairenik Bookstore (80 Bigelow Avenue, Watertown, Mass.).

The publication of “Letter to Yerevan is the first of several planned initiatives celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Hairenik Association. All the proceeds from book sales are directly donated to the Hairenik Association’s Newspaper Digitization Project, which will be digitizing and publicizing the archives of the Hairenik Daily (Armenian), Hairenik Weekly (English), the Armenian Weekly (English) and the Hairenik Weekly (Armenian).

The translation was a collaborative effort between Janbazian—the former editor of the Armenian Weekly—and Tatul Sonentz-Papazian— the former director of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and First Republic of Armenia Archives and former editor of the Armenian Review.

Copies of the book are also available for purchase at Amazon.com (paperback and digital versions) and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) Bookstore (temporarily located at the AGBU New England Headquarters – 247 Mt Auburn Street, Watertown, Mass.). Letter to Yerevan will soon be available at several Armenian booksellers and institutions across North America in the coming weeks.

“Letter to Yerevan (1945) is urgent and timeless. It may seem easy to turn the page on an oeuvre penned in a political context that no longer exists. Yet Andranik Tzarukian’s powerful poetic rebuttal continues to resonate. When, as in the aftermath of the Velvet Revolution in Armenia, ‘Dashnak dogs’ and other Abov-esque tropes are unleashed, Tzarukian’s Letter is the best antidote. Hence its urgency. When history is distorted and ‘alternative facts’ are tossed around, Tzarukian’s Letter is highly relevant. Hence its timelessness,” said Columbia University professor Dr. Khatchig Mouradian on the occasion of the book’s publication.

The English translation of Tzarukian’s poem was announced on May 28, 2017—the 99th anniversary of the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920)—and published in book form on Christmas Eve 2018 —74 years to the day that Tzarukian sent his lengthy rebuttal to Abov’s publisher in Soviet Yerevan.

“Translators Sonentz-Papazian and Janbazian, two generations apart, are themselves testament to the enduring power of this work that reaches English-language readers on the 100th anniversary of the First Armenian Republic,” added Mouradian.

Parts of Sonentz-Papazian and Janbazian’s translation were periodically published in the Armenian Weekly between 2017 and 2018.

“The translators, editors, illustrator and designers have all graciously donated their time and efforts to making the publication of this book a reality and for that, we are extremely grateful,” the Hairenik Association said in a statement at the time of the book’s release.

Established in 1899, the Hairenik Press is the publishing division of the Hairenik Association of the ARF of the Eastern United States. Its headquarters are in Watertown (80 Bigelow Avenue, 02472).

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There was no coffee hour after badarak at St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church on Sunday. That’s because its longstanding and well-loved Saturday School was hosting its annual traditional luncheon in the church hall. At least 100 guests, including Saturday School family members, teachers and board members, attended the fundraiser luncheon, designed to support the Western Armenian language program.

Established in 1936, St. Stephen’s Armenian Saturday School, which currently enrolls 115 students, has made the instruction and preservation of the Western Armenian dialect its primary mission. Principal Mayda Melkonian told the Armenian Weekly the money will advance enrichment materials and other educational opportunities, like the students’ recent trip to New York City to visit Armenia! Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum.

Some of the students attending Sunday’s event arrived early with their families to perform ahead of a catered lunch by Noor Mediterranean Grill. Dr. Marine Margarian Kavlakian accompanied on the piano, while the students, as young as four years old, sang several songs in Armenian.

The highlight of the afternoon featured performances by Armenian-American pianists from Connecticut— Jacqueline Lucine Schmeizel and her mother Houry Yapoujian Schmeizl.

Armenian Vocalist Mary Galstian, an alumnus of St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School and Saturday School, also took the stage in a series of rousing performances. “This Armenian education has had a big impact on me,” said Galstian in an interview with the Armenian Weekly, “especially in a multicultural environment where an individual can easily deviate and get carried away by many influences.”

Galstian is a freshman at Harvard University, double-majoring in music and government. She believes it’s important for young children to have a formal education in the Armenian language because it establishes a strong identity and a sense of self-awareness.

“They say being a teacher is a thankless job,” said a proud and emotional Melkonian to her guests after Galstian’s stirring vocal performance of Cilicia. “It’s not a thankless job. When you create this type of generation, you feel a great sense of pride because our future generation is going to preserve our culture.”

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Leeza Arakelian

Assistant Editor

Leeza Arakelian is the assistant editor for the Armenian Weekly. She is a formally trained broadcast news writer and a graduate of UCLA and Emerson College. Leeza has written and produced for local and network television news including Boston 25 and Al Jazeera America.

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On January 22, the local Armenian community of New Jersey welcomed journalist and TV and radio personality Hayko Bağdat to speak at the Pinajian Center in St. Leon Church. Bağdat, a Turkish citizen, is considered the first Armenian radio personality to air programming about Armenians in Turkey; he is currently living in exile. He was in New Jersey as a part of a larger tour, visiting Armenian communities in the U.S. to talk about the current state of Armenians in Turkey and his experiences, many which are featured in his Turkish-language books.

Bağdat was born in Istanbul in 1976 to a Greek mother and Armenian father, attending Armenian schools for primary and high school education, and later Istanbul University. He began a career in journalism in 2002, when he produced and presented the radio program Sözde Kalanlar (“The Remnants”), focusing on minority issues in Turkey. The next year, he started writing for the Marmara Armenian newspaper as well as the liberal daily newspaper, Taraf. He is also one of the founders of the civil society initiative “Friends of Hrant Dink,” established in 2007 after the assassination of the journalist and free-speech advocate.

In 2015, Bağdat was fined by a Turkish court for “insulting” the mayor of Istanbul Melih Gökçek and exposing his slanderous remarks about Armenians. A year later, he moved to Berlin after an assassination attempt on his life in Turkey, continued death threats and a Turkish arrest warrant issued for his detention. In 2017, with Turkish journalist Can Dündar, he co-founded the news site Özgürüz (“Liberty”) to provide impartial coverage on censored issues in Turkey. Dündar, formerly the editor-in-chief of the center-left Cumhuriyet newspaper, was arrested in 2015 after he published footage showing the Turkish State Intelligence (MİT) agency sending weapons to Syrian Islamist fighters. Dündar lives in exile in Germany with an arrest warrant against him in Turkey.

During his presentation in New Jersey, Bağdat explained that while growing up, he was not aware of the injustices his family endured, as his parents sought to protect him from the pain and social complications that such knowledge would bring. It wasn’t until Dink’s murder that he discovered his family history. He described how representatives of Turkey’s minority groups—including Greeks, Kurds, Alevis and the LGBT community—came together to discuss their experiences of repression under the Turkish regime. They called on Bağdat to join and representing the Armenians.

Each group had a story to tell. The Alevis spoke of the Sepastia massacre of 1993 in which mobs set fire to the Hotel Madimak, where their people had gathered for a cultural festival. When they sought help from local authorities, the situation only worsened because the authorities and the mob were one and the same. Kurds (called “The Saturday Mothers”) in the collective spoke of sitting in silent vigil every Saturday in Istanbul to protest the abduction and murders of their children during the 1980s and 90s. Following those murders, the mothers would figuratively walk on eggshells in their neighborhoods, fearful that they were stepping on the bones of their children. The collective wanted to know what Bağdat’s “story” was. It was then that Bağdat asked his parents about his family’s past sufferings. One story involved his mother being sought out during the 1955 Turkish Pogroms targeting Greeks of Istanbul when the locals tried to get their hands on the 14 year-old “grocer’s daughter.”

During Dink’s funeral in 2007, the Dink family selected two boys employed at Dink’s Agos newspaper to drive and manage the crowds. While these boys transported Hrant’s body from the Armenian Patriarchate to the Agos building to the street procession, they were greeted by 300,000 mourners seeking to pay their respects. Bağdat said, “These boys’ lives were never the same after that. Who were they? Garo Paylan (now a Turkish Parliament member) and Hayko Bağdat.”

Bağdat noted that it was the “Friends of Hrant Dink” who, with Dink’s son Arat, viewed the videos of the murder and discovered Dink’s killers. He believes that after 12 years, he said, his murder still has not been solved because the government itself is responsible for it. According to Bağdat, Ergenekon – a clandestine, ultra-nationalist terrorist organization with ties to members of the country’s military and security forces – is a very real concept describing the “Deep State” in Turkey.

In Istanbul’s “Kinaliada” (the first of the four Prince’s Islands), a park for children is named after Dink. One of Dink’s murderers, “Hantungel,” often visits the park with his girlfriend and intimidates the visitors. “It is for pressures like this—and others that I don’t wish to talk about—that I left ‘our country,’” said Bağdat.

Bağdat stated that the Turkish state methodology for ridding themselves of undesirables has not changed in the 600 years that they have persecuted Armenians. He said that just as Europe let the Ittihadists (Young Turk masterminds of the Armenian Genocide) go free after World War I, they too will let Erdogan off the hook for his persecutions. Bağdat predicted that Erdogan’s downfall would come at the cost of millions of lives. He said, “Unfortunately, there has to be a total destruction of Turkey before a fresh start can occur.”

When Turkish filmmaker Önder Çakar visited Dzidzernagapert, the Genocide Memorial in Armenia, Bağdat described the tour he was given by former director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Hayk Demoyan. The Institute had cataloged many interviews with survivors that were strikingly similar. First, the survivors talked about their Muslim neighbors who helped them. Second, they talked about the sycophant Armenians who betrayed them to the Turks. Third, they explained what happened to them during the Genocide. Those running the Armenian community in Istanbul are cut from the same cloth as the sycophants of yore, says Bağdat, which now include acting Istanbul Archbishop Aram Ateşian and Bedros Şirinoğlu, Chairman of the Board of Sourp Prgich Armenian Hospital.

In recent years, at a Christmas party held at the Patriarchate, some local Armenians, including Garo Paylan, were quietly discussing the necessity of holding elections for the new Patriarch. Someone listening that evening tipped off Akşam (a rabidly anti-Armenian newspaper) which then publicly attacked Paylan and affiliated him with the PKK – the Kurdish Worker’s Party often cited by the Turkish regime as being a terrorist organization.

Bağdat stated that the manner in which the 1955 pogroms targeting Greeks was carried out is being repeated today, only that now the Kurds are the main targets. He said that the YPG (the armed wing of the Kurdish leftist Democratic Union Party) in Syria is the only entity protecting minorities, including Armenians in that country. He added, “Even though Kurds had a hand in carrying out the Genocide, we should not stay silent regarding their massacre now. One hundred years from now, people will ask, ‘What did the Armenians do?’” He affirmed that the Kemalist Republican People’s Party (or “CHP”) is no more tolerant toward minorities and neighbors than Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (or “AKP”). He said that the pro-minorities People’s Democratic Party (or “HDP”) is not quite the same since its former co-leader, the Kurdish Selahattin Demirtas was imprisoned, but that it is still “our best bet.”

At the end of his presentation, the forum was opened to questions from the audience. One member of the crowd asked about recent DNA tests performed in Turkey, and the effect they have had on the population. Bağdat replied, “A big secret was revealed. The DNA results infuriated people who discovered for the first time that they had Armenian blood.” In addition to the fact that the entire public system in Turkey demonizes Armenians as a so-called disloyal ethnic group within Turkey, the general public is still largely unaware or unaccepting of the genetic theft that the Genocide enabled. Bağdat said that the DNA issue was quickly dropped, as it was having a destructive effect on the public consciousness. “Now the government claims to know even more about the Armenian ancestry in its citizenry and will use that information to threaten and intimidate people. No positive outcome has come from these DNA discoveries.”

Bağdat concluded his lecture with a parable. A forest fire destroyed an animal habitat and all the creatures tried to escape. Some died in the fire, others suffered smoke inhalation while others managed to get away. Survivors gathered in a clearing to discuss their plans. Some sought safer lands to start over. Others talked about putting out the fire, saving their homes and returning. When some animals turned back, the elephants carried water to douse the fire. The monkeys did the same. Even some ants carried droplets of water on their backs. The elephants asked the ants, “What do you think you’re doing?” The ants replied, “Every bit helps. This is our home. We don’t want to be counted among those who quit. We want to do what we can to save our land.” Bağdat was asking Armenians not to give up on their ancestral homeland. But did he mean that he himself, by moving to Germany with his family, would continue do his part, away from Western Armenia, while others struggled from within? It would seem so.

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Lucine Kasbarian

Journalist, political cartoonist and book publicist Lucine Kasbarian is the author of several books about Armenia and Armenians. Visit her at: www.lucinekasbarian.com

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The third annual Hye Hearts Dance is set to take place on Saturday, March 2, 2019, this year at a new location – the Holiday Inn Hartford, 100 East River Drive, East Hartford, CT.

This year’s event is hosted by the Tri-City Armenian Cultural Committee, consisting of the Armenian churches of Greater Hartford and Western Massachusetts – St. George of Hartford, CT, St. Gregory of Indian Orchard, MA, Holy Resurrection of New Britain, CT, St. Mark of Springfield, MA, and St. Stephen of New Britain. Hundreds of Armenians have attended the past two years, dancing nonstop to the sounds of both a live Armenian band and a DJ. The band will feature Harry Bedrossian on oud and vocals, Leon Janikian on clarinet, Kevin Magarian on guitar, and Charlie Dermenjian on dumbeg, and DJ Gena will play international music.

The goal of the dance committee is to ensure that Armenian cultural traditions will continue into the future. The committee believes that keeping traditions alive is important so that we teach the next generation about our shared past.

The Hye Hearts Dance, which has traditionally taken place in February around the time of Valentine’s Day, is also named in honor of Saint Sarkis, the beloved Armenian Patron Saint of love and youth. According to tradition, on the eve of the feast of Saint Sarkis, young people eat salty biscuits and refrain from drinking water, so as to induce the appearance of their future bride or bridegroom in their dreams, bringing them water. Named Saint Sarkis Aghablit, this sweet pastry is widely eaten in Armenian communities to symbolize the blessings brought by the Saint.

Tickets are $40 for adults and $30 for students and seniors 80+ until February 15. After February 15, tickets are $50 for adults and $35 for students and seniors. Children 12 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased online. Checks can also be made payable to TCCC and mailed to event treasurer Gary Hovhanessian at 81 Cope Farms Road, Farmington, CT 06032. Reservations of tables of 10 may be reserved.

Mezze and desserts will be provided, and there will be a full cash bar. There will also be a raffle featuring a variety of exciting prizes donated by hosting parishes and local businesses. A special room rate of $89 is available at the Holiday Inn Hartford for March 2. To reserve a room, call (860) 528-9703 and mention “Hye Hearts Dance.”

For questions about the dance, contact David Jermakian at (413) 727-2586 or davidjermakian@gmail.com.

This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly and has been published to our announcements section as a courtesy. If you belong to a community organization and have an upcoming event you would like to submit for consideration in the Armenian Weekly, you can do so by following this link. Publication is not guaranteed.

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Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.

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In her new book Home Again, University of Hartford Professor Mari Firkatian combines Armenian recipes from the Ottoman Empire with an immigrant family’s memoir. The recipes serve as a means of preserving a cultural heritage. Firkatian examines the relationship between history and cuisine, between displacement and memory, and between an individual and his ancestors.

Deftly combining her grandmother’s recollections of daily life in the Ottoman Empire with the personal recollections of others from different villages, Firkatian describes the recipes and experiences of those communities in loving prose. The book revives a lost world and invites the reader to imagine being a guest in her grandmother Iskouhi’s home. The author has studiously preserved the ancient roots of the recipes while presenting them in a modern context. She presents over 175 recipes and contextualizes them by sharing fragments of first hand recollections from the chefs themselves, the heirs to the culture. She punctuates the text with anecdotes, songs, personal experiences and historic contexts to the particular regions she has highlighted.

Firkatian has been a Fulbright Scholar and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow as well as a Yale University Fellow and a recipient of International Research and Exchanges Board scholarships. She has lived and traveled extensively in Southeast Europe and the Soviet Union. With a formal background in linguistics and history, Firkatian’s research interests include minority populations, diplomatic history and intellectual history. She has most recently begun to explore the history of food and the key role it plays as a historical artifact.

Firkatian will be presenting her recently published book Home Again: Armenian Recipes from the Ottoman Empire at the AGBU New England Center (247 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, Mass.) on Thursday, February 21, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). This event is free and open to the public. A reception and refreshments will take place before and after the program.

For more information about this program, contact NAASR at 617-489-1610 or visit hq@naasr.org.

This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly and has been published to our community news section as a courtesy. If your organization has news it would like to submit to the paper for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com. Please note that this service is reserved for organizations that engage in not-for-profit or humanitarian work in the Armenian community. Publication is not guaranteed.

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NAASR

The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research was launched in March 1955 with a vision to promote Armenian Studies by establishing endowed chairs at some of the foremost universities in the United States.

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NEW YORK, NY—Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School is pleased to announce a special exhibition drawn from the extraordinary discovery of artwork created by Arthur Pinajian (1914-1999). Rare works on paper and canvas will feature the artist’s mid-century geometric abstractions and late lyrical landscapes. The limited run exhibition will open on Friday, April 12 and close on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at St. Vartan’s Armenian Cathedral located at 630 Second Ave. New York, NY 10016. A portion of proceeds from sales will benefit Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School. For more information, please write to Mina Hovsepian at minahov1@msn.com, or call (917) 741-2966.

Public viewing hours:

Friday, April 12, 4-10 PM
Saturday, April 13, 12-4 PM
Saturday, April 13, 7-10 PM: An evening reception will be hosted by Holy Martyrs Armenian School.
Sunday, April 14, 1-4 PM

About the Exhibit: 

Twenty-eight rarely seen pieces will be on display, providing art lovers an opportunity to view and acquire important paintings by a man who died in obscurity, but who, through fortuitous circumstances, has been rediscovered and reclaimed by the art world. After Pinajian’s death in 1999, five decades of accumulated artwork were found stacked up in a cottage in Bellport, Long Island which the artist shared with his sibling. Of special interest, three canvases recently returned to the Estate from their three- year exhibition at the US Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia will be on display.

As a boy growing up in an Armenian community in West Hoboken, NJ, Pinajian was a completely self-trained cartoonist. During the Great Depression he became one of the pioneers in a new medium: the comic book. In 1940 he created “Madam Fatal,” and “Invisible Justice” among other characters for Crack Comics. After World War II, when he received the Bronze Star of Valor for heroic action against the Nazis in Belgium, he enrolled at the Art Students League in Woodstock, New York.  Although he associated with a number of New York Abstract Expressionists, such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and Philip Guston, he was largely reclusive.

In 2007, the late Dr. William Innes Homer, once dean of American art historians, agreed to study the collection and concluded that Arthur Pinajian represented one of the most compelling discoveries in the history of twentieth century American art: “Even though Pinajian was a creative force to be reckoned with, during his lifetime he rarely exhibited or sold his paintings. Instead, he pursued his goals in isolation with the single-minded focus of a Gauguin or Cézanne, refusing to give up in the face of public indifference… he could be compared to a lone researcher in a laboratory pursuing knowledge for its own sake… Ultimately, Pinajian’s work reflects the soul of a flawed, yet brilliant, artistic genius.”

This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly and has been published to our community announcements section as a courtesy. If your organization has an event you would like to submit for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com. Publication is not guaranteed.

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Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.

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WASHINGTON, DC—A multi-year Congressional Ethics investigation and five-count federal indictment that led to the international manhunt, arrest, extradition and confession of Turkish American lobbyist Kemal Oksuz ended Tuesday with the U.S. District Court issuing a mild $20,000 fine and a sentence of time-served for scheming to conceal Azerbaijani government funding for a 2013 Congressional junket to Baku.

U.S District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the sentence, which amounts to three months of jail time in Armenia and one week of jail time upon his extradition to the U.S. in November, 2018. Oksuz was also given two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

“This laughably light sentence sends the wrong message to foreign powers intent on interfering in our American political process,” said Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We are, nonetheless, gratified to have played a role in bringing this scandal to light through our successful campaign for the release of a long-suppressed Congressional Ethics Office report on Oksuz’s criminal conduct.”

The grassroots campaign, backed by the ANCA, called for the public release of an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation report which sparked the FBI investigation, indictment, and Oksuz pleading guilty in December, in 2018, to “devising a scheme to falsify, conceal and cover up material facts” from the U.S. Congress.

According to the Department of Justice, Oksuz, who chaired the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (TCAE), an organization affiliated with Turkish imam Fethullah Gulen, “admitted to, in truth, orchestrating a scheme to funnel money to fund the [2013 Congressional] trip from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), the wholly state-owned national oil and gas company of Azerbaijan, and then concealed the true source of funding, which violated House travel regulations.”

The 2013 trip to Baku for the “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future,” reportedly had a guest list of 317 delegates from 42 states, including 11 sitting members of Congress and 75 state representatives, the former governors of New Mexico and Oklahoma as well as three ex-Obama White House insiders: political strategist David Plouffe, former press secretary Robert Gibbs and ex-deputy chief of staff Jim Messina.

A 2014 Houston Chronicle news account showed that all 11 members of Congress who attended the conference supported pro-Azerbaijani oil amendments in the U.S. House. This prompted the Office of Congressional Ethics to start a massive investigation into who actually funded the 2013 Baku conference and by 2015 it was clear that while Mr. Oksuz had personally signed all the paperwork stating that it was the Turquoise Council organizing and paying for the trips, it was actually the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) that had paid over $750,000 for the travel and accommodations alone.

Throughout that process, the ANCA called for transparency; that whatever the Office Congressional Ethics (OCE) found be made available to the public, to reveal the extent of Azerbaijani government manipulation and intervention in the U.S. political process. The ANCA led a grassroots campaign and joined civic groups calling for the release of the OCE report. By October 2015, transparency triumphed, with the OCE’s 70-page report and some 1000-pages of investigative material turned over to the Department of Justice.

Following the 2015 investigation, Oksuz fled the states and reportedly took residence in Armenia, where he set up a travel agency. In September 2018, following an international warrant for his arrest, Armenian authorities remanded Oksuz to custody and eventually extradited him to the United States to face trial. It is unclear how a well-known pro-Azerbaijan lobbyist was allowed to set-up business in Armenia.

Turkey has reportedly also issued a warrant for Oksuz’ arrest for his alleged role in the 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Erdogan, which the government claims was carried out by pro-Gulen forces.

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ANCA

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. To learn more, visit www.anca.org.

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We truly believe that a healthy marriage mirrors a vibrant community.

Back when we were still engaged, we ran into a certain man at a market. As soon as he learned about our engagement, he said, “Enjoy your engagement days, because marriage is the love’s tomb.” His message bothered both of us and put a heavy toll on our hearts. But God’s provision was very present and eased all doubts because a few days later, we had a meeting with our minister to reflect on our growing relationship. During our meeting, the minister shared how he cherishes his relationship with his wife. Over the years, he told us he understood the meaning of true love. He said, “After 25 years of marriage, today I feel that I love my wife more than I used to love her when we first met.” The minister’s message gave us great encouragement and hope and cleared up the previously negative image of marriage in our mind.

After 30 years of marriage, we can tell you that the minister’s message is true. But our true love didn’t evolve by itself. It took a lot of effort, time, communication and work over the years. We attended a lot of marriage seminars organized by our churches in Aleppo, Syria, which helped us understand each other more and offered practical tools to help others along the way.

We believe that marriage is the most important relationship. That’s why it needs our undivided attention to nourish it, clean it and dust it from the debris of life’s everyday challenges. Otherwise, it can quickly become something that’s repetitious and lackluster, like a monotonous chore or responsibility in daily life. Without empathy, excitement and joy, marriage can become a decision that we can unfortunately regret.

Knowing the importance of this blessed union, last year the New England clergy along with yeretzgins of the Greater Boston area came together to plan and orchestrate the first Couples’ Night Out. The mutual respect and cooperation of these religious community leaders is a unique reality of the New England area. Eight clergies and 66 couples attended the event. The speakers were Drs. Paul and Virginia Friesen from Home Improvement Ministries. The couple’s mission has been to equip the faithful and churches to better encourage marriage and families in living out God’s design for healthy, wholesome and loving relationships. The Friesens have an interesting way of feeding off each other during their presentation; it’s entertaining, engaging and most importantly, enlightening. They are incredibly connected to marriage relationship and knowledgeable about the sacrifice and the compromise it takes for this union to survive.

Upon the positive feedback, we have decided to host this event on a regular basis. This year, Father Vasken and Yeretzgin Arpie Kouzouian are going to be the gracious hosts at our second annual Couples’ Night Out at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It’s happening on March 30 at 5:30 in the evening. This year, the Friesens will be talking about establishing and maintaining marriages that last. The cost is $100 per couple, and it includes an authentic Armenian buffet and live Armenian music.

We encourage the couples of our beloved community to join us, open their hearts, be encouraged and be an encouragement to each other.

We look forward to seeing you.

Rev. Dr. Avedis Boynerian & Dr. Yn. Arpi Boynerian

The Boynerians have been married since 1988. They live in Belmont, Massachusetts with their children, Antranig and Arek.

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Avedis Boynerian

Reverend Dr. Avedis Boynerian has been the Senior Minister of the Armenian Memorial (Congregational) Church since October 2003. He had previously served as the Minister to the Armenian Evangelical Martyrs’ Church of Aleppo, Syria. He graduated from the Andover Newton Theological School in 2011 with a Doctor of Ministry.

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Renowned scholar and author Anahide Ter Minassian died at her home in Fresnes on February 11. She was 85. Ter Minassian was a historian and a lecturer at the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and Paris I University. The contemporary history of pre- and post-Soviet Armenia was the main focus of her prolific scholarship.

Ter Minassian, née Kevonian, was born in 1933 in Paris in the district of Belleville. Her parents, Levon Kevonian and Armenouhie Der-Garabédian, were stateless Armenians with Nansen passports; they were refugees in Belleville in the 1920s. Anahide’s parents taught her the Armenian language at the age of seven. Later, she married Leon Ter Minassian, the son of defense and interior minister in the First Republic of Armenia, Roupen Ter Minassian, whose most famous writing is “Memoirs of an Armenian Revolutionary” condensed into the English language book, “Armenian Freedom Fighters” by James G. Mandalian.

Anahide Ter Minassian is the author of many books, including La Question arménienne (Marseille, 1983); Nationalism and Socialism in the Armenian Revolutionary Movement (1887-1912) (Cambridge, Mass., 1984); 1918-1920-La République d’Arménie (Bruxelles, 1989, 2006); Histoires croisées: diaspora, Arménie, Transcaucasie (Marseille, 1997); Smyrne, la ville oubliée?: mémoires d’un grand port ottoman, 1830-1930 (editions Autrement, 2006); Nos terres d’enfance, l’Arménie des souvenirs, avec Houri Varjabédian (Marseille, 2010).

She is survived by her four children, Roupen, Aram, Vahé and Taline and brother Kegham Kevonian. Her daughter, Taline, is also a notable Armenian historian.

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Louisa (Kalikian) Kazandjian was born in 1921 in Bucharest, Romania. She was the oldest child of Hagop and Haigui (Artinian) Kalikian. She died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, at the Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Boston, Mass. on February 12, 2019, at 97 years of age.

The story of Louisa Kalikian Kazandjian’s life, like that of many Armenians born near the turn of the twentieth century, spans continents and cultures. Her parents’ families both hailed from Western Armenia, then a part of the Ottoman Empire. As ethnic persecution grew in the region, it became less safe for Armenians, and both families fled, at different times, to Romania.

Louisa’s parents, Hagop and Haigui, met and married in Bucharest, where Louisa was born in 1921. They joined a robust and growing working class Armenian population forming in the city. Armenians are, if anything, a resilient people, and this community, like the other pockets of Diasporans across the globe, built a vibrant network of churches, schools and specialty shops.

These were relatively peaceful times for the Kalikian family. Louisa’s parents made their livelihood running a grocery store in a suburb of Bucharest, and from 12 years old until she was 22, Louisa worked there alongside her two younger brothers, Garabed and Aram. She was introduced to European history and art by her mother and educated about the homeland by her father. The children grew up hearing many stories about the “Old Country,” the history of her people, as well as the genocide that had forced them to flee. During this time, Louisa attended Armenian school in Romania, where she was taught to love and cherish her heritage, culture and mother tongue. Her teacher was the late Catholicos of All Armenians, Vazgen I.

When she was 14 years old, Louisa’s father suffered a massive stroke and was unable to continue managing the family store. Though she had many interests and loved going to school, Louisa was forced to abandon her education after the eighth grade and assume many adult responsibilities, so that her family might survive.

The 1940s were a time of great tragedy in world history, and sadly, the Kalikian family was no exception. In 1943, seven years after his stroke, Louisa’s father died. Soon after, her brother Garabed succumbed to tuberculosis—a death which could have been avoided had the family had access to penicillin. She hardly had any time to grieve, when a bone infection took her mother, as well—another death preventable by penicillin. Louisa would later recall this painful time of her life to her children, sharing with them her many fruitless journeys out into the freezing cold in search of the now-ubiquitous drug that could have saved both her brother and mother. By 1945, Louisa, now aged 24, had only her youngest brother, Aram.

After World War II, Romania gave way to Sovietization. Private ownership became illegal, and the Kalikians’ beloved family grocery store was no longer profitable. Louisa’s brother was making plans to leave—but where would they go? The silver lining of the Armenian Genocide was that it had dispersed their family across the globe. As a result, they had relatives and connections in far flung places, from Armenia to Argentina; they needed but to take their pick.

During this time, the Soviet Union was beginning to disseminate propaganda in the hopes of bolstering its citizenship and expanding its workforce to help with reconstruction following World War II. By November of 1945, Stalin had authorized the return of Ottoman Armenians to Soviet Armenia. The mass propaganda, facilitated by Armenian nationalist organizations abroad, attracted Diasporans all across Europe and the Americas to repatriate to their ancestral homeland—or what was left of it. Responding to this patriotic call, in 1947, Louisa’s brother determined the duo would venture to Armenia. They became part of the 150,000 Armenians who heeded the call of Soviet-era repatriation. But these starstruck patriots were in for a rude awakening. The propaganda had downplayed the reality that Armenia was now a Soviet-dominated country in a state of extreme poverty, which thanks to Stalin’s iron fist, doled out severe punishment to any voices of dissent. Furthermore, outsiders were less than welcome. Discrimination was not uncommon against this new-coming “akhpar” population (as they were tauntingly called by locals).

Despite these formidable obstacles, Louisa’s brother, who had been trained by a well-known jeweler back in Bucharest, quickly found work in Yerevan. In fact, he and a group of fellow Diasporan jewelers became the first to establish a state-run jewelry-manufacturing factory in Armenia.

Life in Soviet Armenia was not easy, but Louisa and her brother found companionship in a community of Romanian-Armenian expats. This was how she met her future husband, Kurken Kazandjian. Kurken, a master electrician, made a good living for their family and together, they shared in a nice apartment in Yerrort Mas (Third District), with their two daughters, Haigui and Araxie. They were comfortable in Yerevan, as Kurken’s work afforded him a decent status in Soviet society. The family was even given a telephone—a rare privilege—so that Kurken could be reached by the factory in case of an emergency. But the repression of expression and the memory of Stalin’s regime had scarred them. Kurken began looking westward, hoping to one day join his brother Dikran in the United States.

It was the sixties, and the Cold War was in full, frigid swing. Relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union were tense, but oddly, the Kazandjians’ desire to leave came at just the right time. The USSR was facing great scrutiny from international powers, particularly those in the West, who feared the expansion of communism. In the early seventies, the Helsinki Final Act was signed, which mandated that any citizen of the Soviet Union who wished to reunite with family members in the West should be permitted to do so. The Kazandjians submitted a request to join Dikran Kazandjian in Lynn, Massachusetts and to their elation, it was granted in 1973. Louisa, Kurken and their two daughters bid farewell to their cozy, one-bedroom apartment in Yerevan to begin a new life in Lynn. Nearly fifty years later, Louisa’s daughter and granddaughter would travel to this very apartment once more, to find that the people to whom they had handed over the keys back in 1973 were still living there, and remembered them.

Life in America was extremely harsh at first, and the family wondered if they had made the right decision. But eventually, Kurken found work, and the situation improved. Louisa, for her part, also found work in the assembly line shoe factories that gave Lynn its reputation of shoe capital of the world in the sixties and seventies.

Louisa would go on to live the rest of her life in Lynn and had the great pleasure of watching her two daughters marry and have children. After the death of her husband in 1986, she devoted all her efforts to helping raise her grandchildren, and divided her time between the families of her two daughters. Her daughters remember her as the perfect wife, mother and grandmother. She was a vision of selflessness, from whom no one can remember a single word of complaint.

Louisa is survived by her devoted daughters: Haigui Beurekjian and her husband Onnig of Salem, Mass., and Araxie Vann and her husband Richard of Fairfax, Virginia. She was the loving grandmother of five grandchildren: Ara Beurekjian and his wife, Mariam; Manoug Beurekjian and his wife, Jennifer; Hasmig Pavlovic and her husband, Nebojsa; Anahid Vann; and Karine Vann and her fiancé, Vahe Markosian. She was also blessed with four great-grandchildren: Roman, Nicholas and Gianna Beurekjian and Layla Pavlovic. She was the dear sister of the late Garabed Kalikian, Aram Kalikian and her late sister-in-law Vasselika Kalikian. She also leaves behind her two nephews: Hagop Kalikian and his family from Nevada; and Varoujan Kalikian and his family from Maryland.

Visiting hours will be held at the Giragosian Funeral Home, 576 Mt. Auburn St. (Rt. 16), Watertown on Friday 5 to 8 p.m. Services will be held at St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church, 38 Elton Avenue, Watertown on Saturday, February 16 at 10:30 am. Interment will take place at Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Donations may be made in her memory to St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church or to the Armenian Women’s Welfare Association, 435 Pond Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

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Karine Vann is the editor of the Armenian Weekly. She is a musician who transitioned into journalism while living in the Caucasus for several years. Her work has appeared in Smithsonian.com, The New Food Economy, and a number of other publications. Her critical writings focus primarily on the politics of culture, media analyses, and the environment. She spends her spare time in front of a keyboard, at a farm, or making a fuss about zero waste. If you have comments, questions, pitches, or leads, she can be reached at karine@armenianweekly.com.

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Nevarte Hamparian was born in New York City on August 1, 1926. She was the daughter of Nazar Der Manuelian of Palou and Zarouhi Avakian of Sepastia, who were both born and raised in Western Armenia. From a young age, Nevarte learned many native Armenian dances from her father, and she grew up to become a leading exponent of the Armenian folk dance and a founder of the Nayiri Dance Group of New York.

At the age of four, Nevarte began taking dancing lessons from Madame Seda Suny, and later earned scholarships to study ballet at the Ballet Arts School of New York and Balanchine’s School of American Ballet. Nevarte auditioned with the formidable Muriel Stuart—her instructor at the time—for a scholarship to attend the Balanchine School. Stuart, who herself was a student of Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, admitted Nevarte and placed her in the advanced division. While Nevarte studied the Italian technique with the renowned ballet master Maestro Vincenzo Celli, she was also receiving a musical education in piano, theory and voice. She was a graduate of the High School of Music and Art in New York City, and in 1943, this school elected her a member of the Music League.

When she was 16 years old, Nevarte made her first professional appearance as a dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Company in the opera “Aida.” Prior to this, she was performing in numerous dance recitals and Armenian functions. One in particular was the Armenian opera “Anoush,” in which she played the title role in the ballet dream sequence. Nevarte was also a member of the Armenian Folk Dance Society of New York, and at one time, served as its director.

In 1946, Nevarte joined the U.S.O. Camp Shows for their production of “Russian Revels.” This exciting group of highly trained artists, some of whom were members of the famed Don Cossacks, presented Russian and Gypsy songs and dances. Nevarte danced and sang with this group for two years, touring with the U.S.O. to United States military hospital bases from coast to coast.

As the co-founder and director of the Nayiri Dance Group, formed in 1963, Nevarte presented dances from the Armenian regions of Erzerum, Erzinga, Palou, Sepastia, Shabin-Karahissar, Van and elsewhere. She also choreographed exciting new dances for the group’s performance for “Armenian Day” at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and 1965. The Nayiri Dance Group received a commemorative award from Gov. Nelson Rockefeller for its outstanding performance at the New York State Pavilion at The World’s Fair.

In the years that followed, a series of highly acclaimed concerts took place, which presented authentic folk dances entitled “A Dance Trip through Armenia,” which Nevarte conceived expressly for the Nayiri Dance Group. These performances took place at New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and elsewhere. The group also performed at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s birthday party in 1964, the Folk Festival of 50 Nations at Convention Hall in Philadelphia in 1966, the New York City Bicentennial Heritage Festival at Rockefeller Center in 1976, and the Pontifical Banquet for Catholicos Khoren I, among many other recitals.

The Nayiri Dance Group, which at its apex, consisted of 30 adults and children, performed well into the mid-1990s for Armenian and American audiences. The group represented three generations of American-born Armenians whose knowledge of their heritage is derived from their forebears who survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Throughout these many years, Nevarte’s professional career and her training equipped her well for her role as an instructor, choreographer, dancer, director and mentor. With an impressive background from which to draw, Nevarte did much to carry forward and bring awareness to the historic Armenian dance.

Nevarte was the wife of the late Nishan Hamparian, an art director, former principal of the St. Illuminator’s Armenian Saturday School and a set designer of the Nayiri Dance Group performance at Carnegie Recital Hall. She is survived by her three children, Aram, Anahid and Vartan; cousin Elizabeth Derderian and family; godson Edward Kalajian and family; brother-in-law Garabed Kasbarian; and loving nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations may be made to St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral or any organization that assists the blind or visually impaired.

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GLENDALE, Calif.—On January 18, 2019, Sona Armenian became the oldest woman to summit Mount Aconcagua at 70 years and a few weeks of age.

Aconcagua, formed volcanically and standing at 22,841 feet, is the highest mountain in South America. As such, it is one of the “seven sisters” – the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents.

This was Sona’s third sister, having already attained Africa’s Kilimanjaro (19341’), three volcanoes stacked atop one another, in 2012 and Europe’s Elbrus (18510’), a two-coned volcano in 2017. She also holds the record as the oldest woman to have summited Mexico’s highest peak Orizaba (18491’) in 2016, another volcano.

The climb was a 16-day Herculean labor. Sona was part of a group of seven clients (the other six ranging in age from 31 to 64, one of whom got sick and went back) being led by Grajales, the first company to offer guide services to the summit of Aconcagua, starting in 1976. They named themselves “The Cosmo Team” because they hailed from all over the planet – Argentina, Bolivia, Britain, Chile, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Switzerland and the US. Along the way, they met a group of five Bolivian women in native dress who also succeeded in reaching the top and have become heroines in their home country.

The ascent starts in the beautiful Horcones Valley of Argentina in the Parque Provincial Aconcagua.  Some days are long slogs with little elevation gain. On other days, the agenda consists of practice hikes to other summits in the area involving thousands of feet of ascent in their own right. Thankfully, the climbers occasionally get a rest day, and the food is abundant and varied, even satisfying vegetarians such as Sona. Some of this rest takes place at base camp where ten companies are host clients in color coded tents.

One of her challenges, though, was drinking the minimum five liters of water daily the guides required!  But the biggest challenge was the cold. Even though it was summer in the southern hemisphere, Aconcagua’s height and a colder-than-usual year with -30°F temperatures kept the climbers in their sleeping bags inside their tents for some 12 hours a day!

Practices took the climbers gradually higher, following the adage “climb high, sleep low.” After many days of gradual upward progress, it was summit day. The Cosmo Team got lucky. Bad weather had bedeviled them most of the time, and more of it was on the way. But exactly on their big day, a window of acceptable weather opened up. Everyone made it, although two were exhausted and had a very difficult descent.

To prepare, Sona was training hard for months. She hiked Mt. Baldy (10062’), the highest point in Los Angeles County almost weekly. Having a home abutting the Angeles National Forest makes it easy to access, and Sona would often be seen heading for Mt. Lukens (5,066’), the highest point in the City of Los Angeles. She hiked daily, on her own or with groups, and sometimes twice a day. For the last three months, she even added some gym training time. But this is all just part of what she loves to do. She has hiked in many countries and has Ararat under her belt, too! She was among the first women to participate in Lebanon’s marathons in the 1960s and was the women’s champ in 1986.

Sona loves the mountains and is fortunate that her family does, too. Her husband and son, Harout and Saro, were with her on Kilimanjaro. Harout was with her on Ararat. Her grandchildren, Shant and Sareen, at ages 12 and nine respectively, joined her to become the youngest Armenian brother-and-sister pair to summit Mt. Whitney (14,505’). Sona also shares her love of the mountains. She is a founding member of both, the Armenian Hikers Association (which collapsed last summer) and Armenian Hiking + more. She leads and participates in their and the Armenian Hiking Society’s hikes and trips.

You can see pictures of the fabulous mountains and dedicated climbers from this arduous climb and hear the details directly from Sona on February 27, 7:00 pm at an event organized jointly by the Armenian Hiking Society and Armenian Hiking + more in the library of the Armenian Society of Los Angeles, 117 S. Louise Street in Glendale, CA 91205.

The Armenian Hiking Society promotes enjoyable, challenging, healthful, safe and varied hikes and similar activities in the wildlands, woodlands, and wherever else Armenians and their friends can go.

This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly by the Armenian Hiking Society and has been published to our community news section as a courtesy. If your organization has news it would like to submit to the paper for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com. Please note that this service is reserved for organizations that engage in not-for-profit or humanitarian work in the Armenian community. Publication is not guaranteed.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congress passed a far-ranging spending bill last Thursday that includes two provisions regarding Turkey that are backed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC).

The first provision blocks the sale of weapons to Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s security detail unless Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reports to Congress that members of that detail, charged with beating U.S. protesters in May of 2017 in Washington, DC, are brought to justice.

The second prohibits the delivery of U.S. F-35s to Turkey until the Defense Department submits a report to Congress regarding the national security consequences of Ankara acquiring Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles.

“We welcome the Congress’ continuing vigilance with regards to the regional implications of arms sales to Turkey,” said Hellenic American Leadership Council Executive Director Endy Zemenides and ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The reporting requirements in this legislation represent meaningful progress in holding Turkey accountable for its increasingly reckless conduct in the region and brazenly violent actions here on our own shores.”

Hamparian and Zemenides continued, “Unfortunately, even the reasonable and relatively mild restriction on F-35 sales – premised on giving Turkey a chance to improve its behavior as an ally – is already proving to be too optimistic, as Turkey – as recently as today – reaffirmed its intention to take delivery of the Russian S-400 missile system over strong American objections.”

The bill, which passed both the Senate and House overwhelmingly, is headed to the White House for signature. President Trump is set to sign the measure.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. To learn more, visit www.anca.org.

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Louise Manoogian Simone passed away at the age of 85 on February 18, announced the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU). Louise will be remembered for her unwavering dedication to civic leadership and philanthropy and her unmatched passion for the promotion of the Armenian culture and heritage.

Louise was born in Detroit, Michigan to Alex and Marie Manoogian on May 19, 1933. Her father was an Armenian immigrant who left Turkey after the Armenian Genocide, developed the Delta single-handed faucet and went on to become one of America’s leading industrialists as the founder of MASCO corporation. Upon achieving business success, Alex used his resources to work tirelessly for the benefit of the Armenian people worldwide.

Louise inherited her parents’ passion for Armenians, which led her to follow in her father’s footsteps and serve on AGBU’s board, the world’s largest non-profit organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs around the world. In 1982, Louise made her first trip to Armenia, then still a Soviet Republic. She quickly fell in love with the country and over the next few years, returned frequently, bringing others with her, whether it be to make documentaries or to connect and contribute in other ways. Her brother, Richard Manoogian, joined her in supporting a number of projects in Armenia.

In 1988, after the deadly and devastating Spitak earthquake, Louise was on the first U.S. cargo plane delivering relief supplies and organizing rescue teams to support the disaster area on behalf of AGBU.

In 1989, Louise was elected the international president of AGBU and began directing operations in 31 countries and 74 cities.  She was in charge of the building and continued funding of schools, churches, scout programs and services for Armenians worldwide. She opened an office in Yerevan and when Armenia became an independent country following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Louise—through AGBU and her own resources—focused her efforts on rebuilding a newly independent homeland. She was a charter board member and a major benefactor of the American University of Armenia in Yerevan.

In 2002, after a million miles traveling around the world to oversee operations and projects, Louise retired as President of AGBU. However, she continued her significant charitable efforts through the Manoogian-Simone Foundation working with the Armenian Apostolic Church in reconstructing and maintaining hospitals, schools, historical monuments, and children’s and cultural centers. And as was always a theme throughout her life, Louise was a proud supporter of the arts and many artists.

Though she was most passionate about Armenian causes, Louise was also an invaluable benefactor to American universities, museums and cultural institutions, including the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She received many honors throughout her life, among them the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Heartfelt sympathies have been pouring in. In a letter to the Manoogian Simone families upon her passing, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote about Louise’s exemplary lifelong mission to preserve the Armenian identity and development of an independent Armenia.

With deep sorrow learned the news of passing Armenian American philanthropist Louise Manoogian Simone. Her contribution for earthquake victims, refugees from the #NagornoKarabakh war, promotion of #Armenian #culture worldwide and charitable efforts are invaluable.

— Nikol Pashinyan (@NikolPashinyan) February 20, 2019

Louise’s AGBU family worldwide is also grieving. She was the first and only female leader of the non-profit organization. In a statement, AGBU President Berge Setrakian wrote, “She was called upon to steer AGBU through many challenges rising to become a driving force behind many of the successes and benefits that Armenians across the world enjoy today. She was a role model for all who had the good fortune to work with her and watch her brilliant mind at work. Always idealistic, yet practical, efficient and wise, she managed to see past the immediate obstacles to find solutions that would yield lasting results.”

Louise is survived by a brother, three children and two grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to American University of Armenia (American University of Armenia Corporation, 1000 Broadway, Ste. 280 Oakland, CA 94607).

This article originally appeared in Asbarez and has been edited and expanded by the Weekly staff.

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There is nothing more heartrending than the sight of children suffering. One of the plagues children face everywhere is cancer. In Armenia, their affliction is made worse due to the lack of resources that are more readily available in the West. American Armenians who came face to face with this difficult situation could not but take action. Now they in turn reach out to the broader community in an effort to create a future in which Armenian children get the same level of treatment as in the United States. On April 5, an evening at the Westin Waltham Hotel featuring Anna Hakobyan, Honorary Chair of the City of Smile Charitable Foundation and spouse of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, will give the public the opportunity to support this vital humanitarian cause.

Today, children in Armenia with cancer primarily come to the Muratsan Chemotherapy Clinic in Yerevan for treatment. Amazingly, treatment is completely free. Children from Artsakh and Javakhk also come here, and even occasionally non-Armenian children from other places. Despite the successes that have been achieved until now by dedicated staff fighting heavy odds, there are many difficulties that this clinic and the medical system in Armenia must overcome in order to provide treatment on a level and scale parallel to that offered in Western countries.

Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan, a pediatric oncologist and hematologist at the Muratsan Clinic and Muratsan Hospital in Yerevan, who is also an associate professor of oncology at Yerevan State Medical University, explained that pediatric cancer was a fatal disease in the Soviet era in Armenia. In 1993, Dr. Samvel Danielyan, who had studied and worked in Moscow, returned to Armenia to change this situation, and became the founder of modern pediatric oncology there.

Danielyan started using German protocols for treatment, and because the necessary drugs were not available, initiated the creation of the Help for Armenia foundation in Germany with the aid of German colleagues and philanthropists to obtain drugs for pediatric leukemia. He began to find ways for the professional development of Armenian doctors, who were sent to Europe, Russia and the United States.

The survival rate of children with pediatric leukemia rose from the initial 0-5 percent to 65 percent, and now it is more than 70 percent. Danielyan eventually left his post at the Prof. R. H. Yolyan Hematology Center of the Armenian Ministry of Health in Yerevan and created the Muratsan Chemotherapy Clinic, connected to the Muratsan Hospital of Yerevan State Medical University, in 2008. The Muratsan Clinic treats almost all pediatric solid tumors in Armenia at the present, along with the majority of lymphomas and some leukemias. The clinic treats both children and adult patients with different types of oncological and hematological disorders. Many new types of treatment were started at this clinic which were not originally available in Armenia, with some of the results published formally.

There is no other clinic for children in Armenia in the private or public sectors. Yerevan State Medical University supports the clinic, which belongs to the Muratsan Hospital complex of the university. This means that there is an educational component of its activities, with students, fellows and research.

All of the doctors working at the clinic receive some training abroad and there is ongoing collaboration with different institutions around the world. The clinic also organizes conferences and meetings in Armenia. Last November, together with the Armenian Association of Hematology and Oncology, it hosted the joint master class of European School of Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. This was the first time not only in Armenia but in the world that these two major cancer organizations joined together for such a program.

However, treatment of pediatric cancers is still done in a fragmented way in Armenia. The Hematology Center treats the majority of pediatric leukemias. Stem cell transplantation is done there, along with treatment of benign blood disorders. The National Oncology Center has the only radiation therapy unit in the country, so if radiation is required children must go there. There are also several other hospitals like Surb Astvatsamayr Hospital in Yerevan with surgical facilities that handle specific types of procedures.

One of the goals for pediatric chemotherapy, Dr. Tamamyan said, is to centralize the care.

The Muratsan Clinic receives some funding from the state and the university, and the remainder from philanthropic institutions. There are a number of major challenges that it faces. It lacks equipment, ranging from infusion pumps to monitors.

There is no family housing for family members who want to be with their children during treatment but live far away. There are no palliative care services or rooms, so that children die at home in pain and suffering, Tamamyan said.

Cancer registries which would allow a better understanding of the problems and challenges in Armenia are lacking. Population-based registries collect basic data to understand the baseline state of cancer in Armenia, including the types of cancers and the age they appear in the Armenian population. Hospital-based registries collect information to give an overview of toxic deaths, including what the causes are, the outcomes of treatments and specific regimens, and give clues as to what measures need to be changed. At present, a collaboration is being initiated with St. Jude Children’s Hospital to create a registry.

Israeli Military Drone Firm Banned for Attacking Artsakh Cleared for Business Again
Obtaining medications can be difficult. They have primarily been supplied as donations by charitable foundations, and up until getting them has been one of the clinic’s primary goals. Last month the Armenian Ministry of Health announced that it will procure essential ones on the World Health Organization list starting this year. However, Tamamyan said, there are many other drugs not on this list which are expensive and used by patients in clinical trials which do not exist in Armenia. It will take many steps to bring clinical trials to Armenia.

Brain drain of the clinic’s staff is a challenge. There are ten doctors and at present five fellows with three-year terms. Tamamyan said that low salaries (on average $300-400 monthly at present depending on the number of night shifts) and other challenges lead many doctors and nurses to leave Armenia. However, after the Velvet Revolution, some people returned, and there is hope this will continue. The goal is to be able to give a normal salary for everyone.

Aside from the aforementioned challenges, the major goal of the clinic is to be able to turn it into such a comprehensive pediatric center that not only will Armenian patients choose not to go abroad for treatment but also patients from neighboring countries will come to get care there. There are a few sporadic instances of this even now. For example, there is a patient from Iran receiving treatment at present. As with Armenian patients, his treatment is free. Tamamyan said, “Cancer does not recognize religion, race, or nationality, so we will treat any child who comes to our clinic as much as we can.”

The size of the clinic at present is not large. It can treat 26 children at any one time, and there are also a lot of adult patients. Half of the children are from the provinces outside of Yerevan. There are also some ten to twenty other children who come and go for maintenance therapy.

Additional outside resources are necessary to sustain the current number of doctors and nurses. However, at present, there are efforts underway to merge the pediatric cancer clinic with the hematology center. This along with additional outside help would allow increasing the number of doctors, nurses and psychologists, hire new specialists like nutritionists and set up a palliative care unit.

In order to help raise funds for this work, the City of Smile Foundation was established in 2014 by Drs. Gevorg Tam

Meanwhile, the Boston-Armenian community’s connection with Muratsan happened in various ways. When Tamamyan was visiting Boston for a Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center training program at the end of 2015, he stayed at Holy Trinity Armenian Church’s parish house in Cambridge. When the church organized a trip to Armenia in 2016, a group of parishioners, including Cynthia Kazanjian, her husband Richard and her 10-year-old grandson Vaughn Krikorian, visited Muratsan along with Fr. Vasken Kouzouian and his wife.

The effect of seeing the children stricken with cancer was profound and led young Vaughn to ask what could be done to improve their situation.

Upon returning, Cynthia, who had already seen the toll taken by cancer among her own family members, together with others was able to make an arrangement with Dana Farber Global Health Initiatives to ensure that 90 percent of funds raised through the annual Jimmy Fund Walk would be sent to Muratsan Chemotherapy Clinic in Armenia. She went back several more times to Armenia to try to help. Meanwhile, the Jimmy Fund walkers and some auxiliary events raised money in 2016 and 2017. Even Kazanjian’s grandsons helped in this.

The final piece of the story came together during the summer of 2018, when Kazanjian was invited to attend an event honoring Anna Hakobyan, who had become honorary chair of the City of Smile Foundation. Hakobyan is spouse of Nikol Pashinyan, leader of the Velvet Revolution and now prime minister of Armenia. Unbeknownst to Kazanjian, she herself was also honored for her support, and the encounter with Hakobyan led to another private meeting to have coffee. Kazanjian invited Hakobyan to Boston for a fundraiser, and Hakobyan accepted. Hovhannissian then met with the executive director of the foundation, Ester Demirtshyan, while in Armenia in summer of 2018, to kick off the planning.

Energized and excited, Kazanjian and Hovhannissian realized that it was necessary to go beyond New Paths, so they reached out to as many Armenian organizations and active members of the community as they could in Boston for their involvement. community noted for pulling together for pan-Armenian causes. They created the City of Smile Charitable Foundation Boston Friends group at the end of 2018 to carry out fundraising and support the mission of Muratsan. This was to become the beginning of a nonprofit chapter of the City of Smile here in the United States. The two women are now also co-chairs of the forthcoming evening program, and their efforts continue to bring people of all backgrounds together in support of a good humanitarian cause. Even people as far away as in Los Angeles have been donating their services.

Kazanjian, encouraging the public to participate as much as possible, said, “I see this as a vehicle to help children with cancer in Armenia. They deserve to have a life. They are young, innocent children who have no choice. They have been diagnosed with cancer and this is devastating not only to their lives but the whole family. It hits you so hard, and more so when you do not have the resources. It is overwhelming to think about how much it costs to help a child in this situation, and they do not have it.”

Hovhannissian added her appeal to the public, declaring: “When I visited the clinic, I knew what to expect as someone born and raised in Armenia, but living in the US for over 20 years and having my own children in and out of hospitals gave me a whole new perspective. It made me realize that the kids in Armenia are no less than the ones here and they absolutely deserve the same highest quality of care. Though this is a major undertaking, we are moved to do this from the depths of our hearts, as we know this is an important cause and we want to do all we can to help these innocent children’s lives. We are beyond grateful to all those organizations and individuals who are in support of this wonderful effort and looking forward to spend a beautiful evening together with the Boston Armenian community!”

For advance ticket purchases for the April 5 evening, contact Postaljian@hotmail.com/ 617 921-8962 or Manuk0102@gmail.com / 781 883-4470 by March 22.

This article originally appeared in The Armenian Mirror-Spectator on January 31, 2019 and was republished as a courtesy. 

Author information

Aram Arkun

Aram Arkun is executive director of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the U.S. and Canada and assistant editor of the Armenian Mirror-Spectator. He is a journalist, editor, historian and translator and is the author of numerous academic articles on modern Armenian history, including the Armenian Genocide.

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Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh, Professor of Art History at the University of California-Davis, will be speaking about her recently published book The Missing Pages: The Modern Life of a Medieval Manuscript, from Genocide to Justice at the AGBU New England Center on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and the Armenian Museum of America. The Missing Pages (Stanford Univ. Press, 2019) is the biography of the Zeytun Gospels, a manuscript illuminated by the greatest medieval Armenian artist, Toros Roslin, and which is at once art, sacred object, and cultural heritage. Its tale mirrors the story of its scattered community as Armenians have struggled to redefine themselves after genocide and in the absence of a homeland. Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh follows in the manuscript’s footsteps through seven centuries, from medieval Armenia to the killing fields of 1915, the refugee camps of Aleppo, Ellis Island, Soviet Armenia, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and ultimately to a Los Angeles courtroom. Reconstructing the path of the pages, Watenpaugh uncovers the rich tapestry of an extraordinary artwork and the people touched by it. At once a story of genocide and survival, of unimaginable loss and resilience, The Missing Pages captures the human costs of war and persuasively makes the case for a human right to art. Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh is . She is the award-winning author of The Image of an Ottoman City: Architecture in Aleppo (2004). Her writing has also appeared in the Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times. This event is free and open to the public. A reception and refreshments will take place before and after the program. For more information about this program, contact NAASR at 617-489-1610 or hq@naasr.org. The AGBU New England Center is located at 247 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, Mass.

This announcement was submitted to the Armenian Weekly by NAASR and has been published to our announcements section as a courtesy. If your organization has an event you would like to submit for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com. This service is reserved for organizations whose work benefits the community.

Author information

NAASR

The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research was launched in March 1955 with a vision to promote Armenian Studies by establishing endowed chairs at some of the foremost universities in the United States.

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CHICAGO, Ill.—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern United States held its 121st Regional Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Feb․ 21-24, with the participation of delegates and invited guests from across the Eastern U.S. Representatives of the Bureau, ARF Western U.S. and ARF Canada Central Committees were also present at the Convention. After extensive discussions of national and community objectives, the Convention determined its strategic direction for the upcoming two years. At its conclusion, the Convention elected a new Central Committee, comprised of the following ungers:

George Aghjayan, Chairperson (Worcester)
Valot Atakhanian (New York)
Sebouh Hatsakordzian (Detroit)
Steve Mesrobian (Providence)
Khajag Mgrditchian (Boston)
John Mkrtschjan (Providence)
Ani Tchaghlasian (New Jersey)

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When her daughter Areni was just a year old, Taline Badrikian vividly remembers watching her on the baby monitor, just sitting in her room flipping through books by herself for 30 minutes at a time. Unfortunately for Badrikian, whose first language was Armenian, most of those books were not written in her native tongue. And when they were, they were rare and paperback—certainly not durable enough for the darling, but unpredictable hands of her toddler.

Dismayed by the absence of Armenian language resources for children, the now busy mother of two, whose day job is in marketing, started an unexpected project back in 2016—writing a Western Armenian children’s board book. “I’m not a writer. It’s not what I do. I never considered myself the type of person to go out and write books. But I want [our children] to know how to speak, read and write [Armenian].”

Badrikian admits retaining Armenian at home is challenging since it’s not the exclusive language—a common denominator among countless other Diaspora families in the United States. “Even parents who are Armenian don’t read [the language] as well as they would like,” said Badrikian. This was one of her motivations behind utilizing transliterations—pronunciations of Armenian words written out in Latin letters. Parents may not be fluent in reading Armenian characters, she explained, “but I didn’t want that to be the reason their children are not read to in Armenian.”

So she went to a Boston coffee shop one day (The Thinking Cup, ironically enough) and cranked out a story. “What are some of the kinds of lessons I want to teach my daughter regardless of language?” explained Badrikian of the storyline. “What are some messages that I want to ingrain in her from a very young age so that she doesn’t question them down the line?” The book, sweetly named Oorakh Khozooguh (or, The Happy Piggy), is about a little pig who likes to get muddy. In the end, his friends learn to accept him for who he is—a modern day life lesson that even adults can appreciate.

Oorakh Khozooguh (2016) was the first installment of Badrikian’s Kids Reading Armenian series; it quickly became a wildly popular book in the local community, thanks, in part, to an equally successful Kickstarter campaign. Badrikian raised over six-thousand dollars—enough money to fund a second book and then some. “They see a need,” she explained, reflecting on the overwhelming support. “But even if they don’t see a need, they’re willing to support a cause that I think is for the betterment of the community.”

Badrikian—a first generation Armenian American—says she has the fondest memories of growing up in this local community. She attended Armenian Sisters Academy in Lexington and St. Stephen’s Saturday School in Watertown; then she joined Homenetmen scouts and the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), where she says she felt the most unique sense of responsibility. “It’s the one organization that I credit with giving me the confidence and the self-awareness about my capabilities.”

Community happens to be a theme that resonates throughout Badrikian’s latest book, Ashkhadaser Murchooner (“Diligent Ants”). This one is about teamwork and the idea of leaning on each other. Like their barnyard animal friend, Ashkhadaser Murchooner is meant for small children, ages 1-5, who have big ideas. “[Ants] are the hardest workers, and people underestimate them. They’re better in teams, and they accomplish a lot for their size and for what they’re doing.” Badrikian’s books are guiding Armenian children in the Greater Boston community and beyond to learn these relevant messages during the most prime time for establishing a sense of awareness and belonging.

Ashkhadaser Murchooner has been part of my three year old’s bedtime book rotation for several weeks now. Readers will instantly realize that Badrikian’s use of the Armenian language is conversational and basic for her intended age group. The illustrations are colorful and simple but detailed, right down to the sweat drops breaking from the ants’ foreheads as they lift a leaf together. Underneath the Armenian text, the reader will find a phonetic English transliteration, which promotes the recognition of the Armenian alphabet relative to the sounds each letter would make. There’s also a critical rhythm to Badrikian’s books, which you could say she models after her favorite children’s book author, Sandra Boynton. (The Going to Bed Book signals the start of bedtime in the Badrikian household. The family knows the book by heart now.)

Without a doubt, there is a great need for people like Badrikian, who is part of a growing community of new authors of Western Armenian books, which includes artist, author and St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary kindergarten teacher Alik Arzoumanian, also recently profiled in the Weekly. These creative efforts facilitate the preservation of an increasingly endangered language, providing important resources for the youngest members of the Diaspora.

But Badrikian says parents also have a great responsibility. “The best thing we can do is practice the language to keep it. It’s just all about introduction and ingraining it and making it a natural part of their day to day. Hopefully it will be sustained. It’s up to us to make sure it does.”

Little Areni is now four years old. During visits to the children’s section of the Watertown Public Library with her maternal grandmother, she has made a charming habit of looking for her mother’s children’s book—Oorakh Khozooguh—on the shelves. She has even checked it out of the library a time or two. “Every third occasion that I’ve gone there [to work],” laughed her mother, “I go to look for it, and it’s never there.”

Badrikian must be doing something right. “As many [Armenian] books as I can put in front of [our children], I will.”

You can do the same by adding Badrikian’s books to your child’s at-home library here.

Author information

Leeza Arakelian

Assistant Editor

Leeza Arakelian is the assistant editor for the Armenian Weekly. She is a formally trained broadcast news writer and a graduate of UCLA and Emerson College. Leeza has written and produced for local and network television news including Boston 25 and Al Jazeera America.

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KERNEKLIAN, Melanie Bandazian, 77, of Manakin-Sabot, Va., passed away on Monday, February 25, 2019. She was preceded in death by her parents, Khoren and Virginia Bandazian; and brother, Krikor Bandazian. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Dr. Murad Kerneklian; daughters, Sona Kerneklian Pomfret, Seta Kerneklian Michel, Seran Kerneklian Taylor; grandchildren, Talene and Kevin Pomfret Jr., Logan and Savannah Taylor and Josh and Shane Michel; brother, Bedros C. Bandazian (Estelle); and sister, Ardemis Jerikian (John); her brother-in-law, Mickey Kerneklian (Clara); numerous nieces, nephews and godchildren whom she loved dearly.

Melanie was passionate about Republican politics, Armenian causes, her family, Rummikub, the Armenian Heritage Cruise and her newfound talent for painting. She loved gardening and her flowers.

Melanie was a legislative aide to former House of Delegate Eric Cantor and served on the Armenia/Virginia Advisory Commission under Gov. George Allen. She was a member of the Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism under Gov. James Gilmore. She also served as a member of the James River and Goochland Republican Women’s Club and the Richmond Dental Auxiliary.

Melanie was instrumental in having the Armenian Genocide included in the Standards of Learning (SOL) exams in Virginia. She was a member of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), the Armenian National Committee and an active member of St. James Armenian Church, where she served as a Sunday school teacher and Women’s Guild Chairwoman.

The family will receive friends 12 to 2 and 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, February 28, at Bliley’s-Central, 3801 Augusta Ave., Richmond, Va. 23230, where a “Hokihankisd” (wake) service will be held at 7 p.m. A funeral ceremony will be held 11 a.m. Friday, March 1, at St. James Armenian Church, 834 Pepper Ave., Richmond, Va. 23226. Internment Westhampton Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Armenian Relief Society, Richmond “Hooys/Hope” Chapter, c/o Hasmig Schein, 2133 Boardman Ln., Richmond, Va. 23238, or the Armenian National Committee of Richmond, Va., c/o Bedros Bandazian, 2 Foxmere Dr., Richmond, Va. 23238.

Author information

Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.

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More than 1200 Armenians punched their tickets onboard this year’s Armenian Heritage Cruise (AHC).

Sponsored by the Armenian Cultural Association of America (ACAA), Armenian Heritage Cruise XXII sailed from Miami, Florida for a week-long voyage late last month. The trip was a welcomed relief from the shivering cold and snow that gripped the northern states. Ports of Call included Nassau, Bahamas; Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico.

Armenians came from all over the world: Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, Lebanon, Uruguay, Sweden, Switzerland and of course, the United States. Each guest received an AHC tote bag as a gift from the ACAA and Travel Group International. For seven days, everyone found themselves listening to entertaining Armenian music, eating quality food, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones aboard a mega ship on the “Hye Seas.”

This year, we were honored to have on board Archbishop Khoren Toghramadjian, Prelate of Cypress, who performed Divine Liturgy every morning. For those guests who needed a little help on the dance floor, Margo Kaftajian taught traditional Armenian dances including the shourch bar, tamzara and haleh. Guests participated in backgammon and belote tournaments under the direction of Antranik Boudakian. A well-stocked AHC bookstore was open each day supplying all kinds of unique Armenian merchandise. There was also a special table set up for the Armenian Heritage Tour 2019 in Armenia and Karabakh on September 19-October 3 with Maro Assadourian, the ACAA liaison. Once the sun set and the stars came out, the fun didn’t stop. Harout Pamboukjian, Kevork Artinian and Khatchig Jingirian delivered non-stop entertainment. Comedian Vahe Berberian had the audience roaring with laughter!

The days at sea were spent attending cultural presentations or relaxing poolside under the tropical sun.

On the second day at sea, there was an Armenian Boardwalk Street Party with Khatchig Jingirian and an all-star Kef Band. Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception, compliments of AHC and Travel Group. There was also a prize for the best Armenian tri-color ensemble.

For the second time, AHC hosted a Continuing Medical Education (CME) Seminar for health care professionals and dentists. Registrants were able to attend specific medical classes to obtain ongoing accreditation under the auspices of Columbia University. The lectures were conducted by renowned authorities in health care who have made a major contribution to improving education and increasing the standards of health care in Armenia. The program featured Dr. Samuel S. Badalian MD, Dr. John P. Bilezikian MD and Dr. Lawrence V. Najarian MD.

There were also lectures and programs about relevant Armenian topics including:

• “The Cosmic Ray Division in Armenia, Scientific Excellence on a Global Scale,” Anahid Yeremian
• “Armenian Genealogy: Tracing Your Armenian Family Roots,” George Aghjayan
• “Talat Pasha’s Telegrams and the Armenian Genocide,” Dr. Taner Akcam
• “Bloodless,” a documentary film about the 2018 peaceful revolution of Armenia; and “Titanic Love,” a documentary film about the Armenian survivors aboard the Titanic—Bared Maronian
• “Armenians in Greece and the Mediterranean,” His Eminence Archbishop Khoren Toghramadjian from Cypress

This year’s Armenian Business Networking Program featured Valot Atakhanian, one of the founders of DAV Cigars, who led a presentation about the boutique cigar business and the challenges of licensing, importing and developing the business of a US corporation whose primary operations are based in the Dominican Republic.

Homenetmen and the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) both sponsored programs where members and friends from all over the world were invited. The Knights and Daughters of Vartan were also on board and highlighted their recent Veratats Hayrenik Mission III trip to Armenia in September 2018. There was also a presentation by Avak Sbarabed Dr. Gary Zamanigian and Avak Dirouhi Diana Tookmanian.

The Armenian Heritage Cruise is the only event in the world that brings Armenians together for a week of cultural, educational, religious and social experiences. The AHC welcomes all Armenian charitable organizations, providing activities on a national and international level for the betterment of the Armenian nation and people worldwide. The Armenian Heritage Cruise has become a respected and prestigious program working under the guidance of the Armenian Cultural Association of America, Inc., a registered US 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. Through funding provided by the AHC, the organization supports Armenian research, cultural events and provides primary assistance to Armenian language news media.

The AHC is involved in many endeavors and works within this mission to assist and help the Armenian people in the Diaspora and the Armenian Republic. From all over the United States, dedicated individuals have volunteered to work on this event.

Every region of the United States, Canada, South America and Europe is represented. There is no other event in the world that brings together Armenians for seven full days of fellowship and camaraderie. We look forward to seeing you next year; we set sail for one week from Miami on January 12. Come enjoy fantastic programs and entertainment featuring comedian Kev Orkian from London, Sarina Cross, and Nersik and Arabo Ispiryan. For reservations and information about Armenian Heritage Cruise XXIII, contact Travel Group International at 866-447-0750.

PASSENGER FEEDBACK:

“This is the fourth time I am taking the Armenian Heritage Cruise and I have always had a fabulous time. Everywhere I turned they were speaking Armenian…it felt like I was in Armenia. The lectures were informative and the entertainment was phenomenal. I will definitely go again in the future”.

Lily Sarkissian
Mahwah, NJ

“For my birthday this year I planned a mother and daughter trip, to spend quality time with my mother as we now live in different cities. We decided to sail through the Caribbean with “Allure of the Seas” and the Armenian Heritage Cruise. We can honestly say this trip exceeded our expectations. This has truly been a heartwarming experience, as we encountered and reconnected with familiar faces, as well as built new friendships with Armenians from all over the world, leaving us with a lifetime of beautiful memories”.

Tina Tumberian
San Diego, CA

“This is my 16th time cruising with the Armenian Heritage Cruise and friends from Australia, Los Angeles, Boston and Canada. Hope to see everyone next year on Armenian Heritage Cruise 23”.

Avedis and Seta Najarian
Boston, MA

“We had a fabulous time on the beautiful Allure of the Seas. The Armenian Beach Party in Mexico was fun. The Armenian Heritage Cruise is an awesome way to reconnect with friends from all over the world. Love all the singers; however Harout Pamboukjian was the highlight of the cruise this year. There are so many things to do aboard the ship with all the activities. We are looking forward to next year’s cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas”.

Silva Demirjian
Northville, MI

Author information

Barbara Haroutunian

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