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The Armenian Weekly; Volume 73, No. 32; August 11, 2007
Community:
1. NAASR Hits the Highway: Paved, Digital and Beyond
By Andy Turpin
2. CYSCA Museum Management Group Begins Boston Tour
With Presentation on Possible (Orwellian) Future of Museum Technologies
By Andy Turpin
3. With a Song in Seta’s Heart
By Tom Vartabedian
4. In Memory of Haig Varadian
By Anne Atanasian
5. New York AYF Chapter Honors Memory of Lisbon 5
By Nazareth Markarian
6. AYF Olympics Diner ZAGAT Rated?
7. Café Anoush in Summer Swing
***
1. NAASR Hits the Highway: Paved, Digital and Beyond
By Andy Turpin
BELMONT, Mass. (A.W.)- The National Association for Armenian Studies and
Research (NAASR) has had an expansive year in its academic programming and
community outreach thanks to the efforts and vision of NAASR Board chair
Nancy Kolligian.
NAASR is in the midst of a $2 million fundraising campaign in conjunction
with its 50th anniversary, which was celebrated last fall.
NAASR’s director of programs and publications Marc A. Mamigonian spoke to
the Weekly about some of these projects and how they’ll reach the public in
the next year.
"On September 20, our lecture series will pick up again with a talk by Dr.
Seta Dadoyan, who will speak on ‘Armenian Dissidents: Highlights of an
Unwritten History,’" Mamigonian said. "Ted Bogosian’s documentary film ‘An
Armenian Journey’ [PBS, 1987] has also recently been released on
One of the things I hope we’ll do in the fall is a showing of
that."
He continued, "Later in the fall we will be sponsoring a series of lectures
by Prof. George Bournoutian of Iona College. He has a new book coming out
which we helped fund entitled Tigran II and Rome, a translation of an
important book that has never appeared in English. We plan to have him speak
for us here in Boston, and in New York, California, Toronto, and we hope in
Florida."
Mamigonian added that NAASR has a long tradition of presenting as many
internationally notable lecturers as possible on a wide variety of Armenian
subjects, a tradition he is eager to continue and build upon.
In the fall, NAASR will co-sponsor a lecture by Argam Aivazyan along with
the Harvard Mashtots Chair. "Aivazyan will be coming from Armenia and it
will be in conjunction with an exhibit at the Davis Center for Russian
Studies at Harvard on ‘The Monuments of the Nakhichevan Region.’ Professor
James Russell of Harvard and Dr. Anahit Ter Stepanian at Sacred Heart
University in Connecticut have been instrumental in organizing this event.
Also in October, Columbia Doctoral scholar Bedross Der Matossian will talk
about ‘The Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem.’ We have numerous other events in
the planning stages," Mamigonian said.
"One of the things we’ve been trying to do more of is have lectures not just
here in Belmont, but sponsor or co-sponsor lectures around the country to
broaden our base of coverage," he explained. "In the past year we’ve had
lectures in Hartford, New York City, Berkeley, Stanford, Fresno, and several
in and near Los Angeles. In May, we co-sponsored lectures by Professor David
Gaunt of Stockholm in several California cities."
However, within their archives and research center NAASR has also been
working diligently in the past year to upgrade its technology and make its
valuable holdings more accessible.
Mamigonian praised NAASR’s dedicated staff, saying, "Our library is now
almost fully catalogued and searchable online through our website,
A great deal of that work was done by Ruby Chorbajian from
2004-06 and has been continued by Hripsime Lazarian."
NAASR has also updated the bookstore. "It’s all computerized and bar-coded,
and in the fall we’ll be launching our upgraded website," Mamigonian said.
"The person most responsible for the overhaul is Peter Bogosian. He’s been
working on the bookstore and several other major projects along with our
treasurer Bob Bejoian since February and has spearheaded the total redesign
of our website. In the meantime, the site is still up and running."
"Of course, the tireless dedication of our administrative director Sandra
Jurigian-she has been with NAASR for more than 40 years-is what keeps this
place chugging along. Her knowledge, experience and adaptability are
amazing. Also, we have the support of Nancy and the entire Board of
Directors," Mamigonian added.
In the area of Armenian scholarship, NAASR has been busy as well. Mamigonian
explained, "We’ve got a lot going on with publications as well. We just came
out with our new issue of the Journal of Armenian Studies, and we have
several exciting book projects, including the republication of Armenia and
the Crusades: The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, translated by Dr. Ara
Dostourian."
Another is a drama anthology edited by Nishan Parlakian, provisionally
titled Notable Women in Armenian Drama 1870-1970, which will include six
plays focusing on strong women characters. The third book is a longer-range
project of the translation into English of The Armenian Genocide:
Testimonies of the Eyewitness Survivors by Verjine Svazlian.
The book consists of 700 oral histories from genocide survivors collected
over the course of 50 years. "Most were collected in a large book published
in Armenia. The author has added quite a few more for the English
translation and we’re currently working on editing the translation. The next
issue of the Journal of Armenian Studies is under way and it will publish
the papers that were presented at our symposium "Armenian-Turkish Dialogue
and the Direction of Armenian Studies" that was held last September,"
Mamigonian noted.
Speaking about NAASR’s new online bookstore and library catalogue,
Mamigonian said with pride, "It was such a daunting project for so long that
it was not attempted. But the improvements will be recognizable to
everyone."
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2. CYSCA Museum Management Group Begins Boston Tour
With Presentation on Possible (Orwellian) Future of Museum Technologies
By Andy Turpin
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (A.W.) – The Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association
(CYSCA) has enacted its annual Community Connections Visitor Exchange
Program this summer by sponsoring the tour and consultation of a delegation
of Armenian museum directors and managers in a survey of Boston area
museums. The Armenian group will remain in the Boston-Cambridge area with
local host family accommodations provided by CYSCA until August 24.
The endeavor is part of a practical application/information exchange between
professionals in Boston and Armenia that has been the primary project of
CYSCA since the program’s inception following the 1988 earthquake relief
efforts.
This year’s exchange group is under the program direction of Jack Medzorian,
and the program management of Ara Ghazarian of the Armenian Cultural
Foundation (ACF) in Arlington.
Museums represented from Armenia include the Khachatur Abovyan State
Pedagogical University, Yeghishe Charents House-Museum, Alexander
Spendiaryan House Museum and Yeghegnadzor Geological Museum, among others.
On their tour of Boston the group will visit a cross section of museum
venues, including ALMA, the Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard University’s
Peabody and Natural History Museums, the Children’s Museum of Boston and
American Textile History Museum.
Following an opening reception on Aug. 5, the group visited ACF and toured
the Harvard Natural History Museum before attending a presentation by the
Cambridge digital and museum firm IVIVIA. Allen Sayegh, founder and
president of INVIVIA, Inc. explained to the group how it’s "a half research,
half design group."
Using a PowerPoint presentation, Sayegh talked about INVIVIA’s most recent
projects, including the 2003 Einstein exhibit in New York’s Museum of
Natural History.
"They asked us to come up with an exhibit that would connect people with the
concept of gravity and space." Sayegh recalled.
INVIVIA chief technology officer Peter Mabardi noted, "It was featured on
the front page of the arts section of the New York Times. It shows how even
a small mass changes space."
"We use electronic sensing technology we developed to detect the geometry of
people based on size, but not density," said Sayegh.
"Everybody that has a mass manipulates and changes space," said Mabardi.
Sayegh explained what patrons could expect in the coming years from cutting
edge museums, describing interactive digital panel screens accompanied by a
visitor’s index card to be filled in with objects you’re interested in.
Sayegh said, "As you go through, it strings together your experience based
on your favorite objects or interests. When you have more than one person
using the interface, say if I’m on a certain year [standing in front of the
screen timeline] and you’re on another, you begin to compress time
visually."
The concept, minus Orlando Jones, is illustrated visually by Guy Pierce’s
visit to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 2004 film the Time
Machine.
"You can also print out the information and gather more on your own at home.
The interface service itself would be free," Sayegh said of its possible use
for educational value.
Mabardi added, "It continues the experience in their head."
Fellow INVIVIA project designer and researcher Adrian Massey explained the
technology behind such an endeavor to the CYSCA group. "This would function
as a form of rear projection that’s computer generated." Massey detailed the
technological Proximity Artifact Collector system, saying, "It reads and
records how long you stand at a certain artifact. This gives precise
statistics on your worn tag. You could look up your experiences on your home
computer based on the card at home. You keep the card. The card is very
inexpensive."
"In a way, you get to keep the artifact as a souvenir. It’s like keeping an
old driver’s license," he said.
When asked by the group how much money such an exhibit would cost to
implement, Sayegh responded, "The first option for this technology is very
low tech-using paper and pencils. It’s done using a traditional punch-card
reader. It all varies on the gallery and the options chosen, but a figure of
about $25,000 plus would be a rough estimate."
Asked to speak to concerns about such technology eliminating the need for
museum guides and the jobs they provide, Mabardi said that "People thought
the same thing about libraries in the U.S. when everything became
computerized. But now with the Internet, libraries are full of children
doing research."
One CYSCA group member responded, "This inspires us with hope that there is
still a future for museums."
Edith K. Ackerman, INVIVIA advisor and a child psychologist expert on early
childhood "Children at Play Studies" at MIT, gave the next presentation.
Describing a project designed for implementation in South Korea, she
explained, "This is a project for children’s museums, similar to those in
the San Francisco Exploratorium."
It involved a "horrible shrinking machine" that explored children’s
relationship to size, scale and memory recall. Ackerman detailed, "We want
to envision an experience that involves the whole body. That’s immersive.
But people don’t just want to be immersed, they want to come back. Hands-on
is not enough. There needs to be a heads-in experience, a God’s-eye view."
She continued, "A third stage is what’s called ‘Wow.’ The experience has to
be inspirational. It only works if our imaginations are captured. The 4th
stage is ‘Playback,’ or constantly reliving the experience."
"Many fairy tales are based on changes of scale," she said.
The CYSCA group wondered whether such an exhibit could place undue stress on
the children or cause mental trauma.
"Children are very good at understanding when we’re in play mode and when we’re
not." Ackerman said.
One Armenian group member, who wished to remain anonymous, asked pensively
following the presentations, "You don’t think people may find it all creepy,
with so many cameras in our lives?"
INVIVIA designer David Register responded, "It doesn’t take pictures if you
don’t want it to. It’s a way of recording your journey. It can also be a way
in the future for child psychologists to study children."
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3. With a Song in Seta’s Heart
By Tom Vartabedian
Growing up in the streets of Bourdj Hammoud was not exactly a picnic for any
child, least of all Seta Ohannessian.
Christians were in severe battle with Muslims and Lebanon was in turmoil. It
was not uncommon to walk the streets of this Armenian district and trip over
listless bodies. Seta was merely 10 when the turmoil raised havoc with her
family. She fought the battle the best way she knew how. Her weapon was her
voice. She possessed an innate talent for singing and soon found herself in
a church choir chanting the sharagans. The youngster found peace and
tranquility through music. "There were bombs and gunfire ringing
everywhere," she recalled. "You feared for your life and the lives of your
family."
By the time she reached 31, both parents were deceased. By then, she had
become an accomplished alto, finding her way from one sanctuary to another
before winding up at the motherhouse in Antilias with other rich voices in
the Shnorhali Choir. Seven years of study at the Hamazkain Conservatory in
Bourdj Hammoud enhanced her singing. Two sisters and a brother continue to
reside in Lebanon. Today, Seta is 42, newly-married, and lives in a modest
home in Salisbury (Mass.) with her husband Emmanuel, a barber by trade.
Though it was an arranged marriage, it turned out to be one made in heaven.
He, too, lived in Beirut before immigrating to America in 1969. "We met last
year through a brother-in-law and the wedding was arranged by relatives,"
she said. "I couldn’t be happier."
Emmanuel remains his wife’s biggest fan. He usually sits alone and marvels
as her voice fills the church.
"I feel privileged to sing here," she maintained. "The church has always
been like a second home to me. The people are very accepting." Apart from
singing, Seta employs an adroit hand designing clerical vestments for
Bishops, Vartabeds and Der Hayrs. She even fashioned one for a Catholicos
and would like nothing better than to launch her own vestment business on an
international scale. One day, she accompanied her husband to St. Gregory
Church in North Andover and sat in a pew close to the altar. She took a
missal and began singing. All of a sudden, Der Vartan Kassabian turned
around to see where the voice was coming from. He remembered the tone-a deep
Armenian village-like sound more likely found in the foothills of Ararat.
It came to him quickly.
"You sang at the vank in Antilias when I was a seminarian," he recalled. "We
were singing together. You don’t belong in a pew. I’d rather have you
singing in our choir with the others."
Thus, for the past six months, Seta Ohannessian has shown up diligently and
added a new dimension to the badarak with her singing. She takes her place
just below the altar and chants to her heart’s content, just the way she did
as a child amid the conflict that devastated her city 30 years ago.
"When I sing the badarak, my soul is at peace with the world," she says. "I
feel closer to God. He inspires me."
In a manner of speaking, it may have been God who preserved the singer’s
safety and sent her to America where she found a kinship with a pastor 18
years after he was ordained.
"God sent us a big gift," Der Vartan brought out.
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4. In Memory of Haig Varadian
By Anne Atanasian
It was an overcast day, and on days such as this, I usually turn to my books
for possibilities of change. I picked up my copy of Gevork Emin’s For You on
New Years Day. I’ve often found in his poetry words of solace, or imagery
that made sense of what often seems senseless. I had lately learned of the
death of yet another dear friend, Haig Varadian. Awash with memories of my
early AYF years, I could not ignore how much our lives crossed one another
in the past 50 years. In 1947, I attended an AYF meeting at St. Vartanantz.
It was the meeting held before the Olympics, which was to be held in NYC. I
met my future husband, Harry, that night, as well as Haig and his brothers.
John Arzoomanian and Sarkis Atamian were the super stars of the Varadians.
The excitement was ready for this stranger from Washington, D.C. A year
later when I moved to Providence, the Varadian family’s house was across the
street from the Atanasian’s house, which again cemented our friendship. My
father-in-law and the Varadian’s father were French Legionnaires in 1915 and
fought the Turks, which, as Mal Varadian once said, "made the boys all
brothers."
It grinds down my spirit when I realize how many of those eager young men
are now gone from us. They were the glue that held a wonderful community
rooted in our collective pride in being Armenian. The ties were so
intricate-Haig’s mother and my mother-in-law were Bursatzees and shared the
horrors of the genocide. The two shared a cup of coffee every afternoon on
our front porch. It seemed those years of the 40’s and 50’s in Providence
were a truly unique place, the dimensions of which were defined by the young
families whose lives were interwoven throughout the AYF. The social security
of that community created for me a beauty of days. I wish I could reach out
and touch once again the hands of those dear, dear friends. Now unreachable,
I pray that God’s grace will light Haig’s soul.
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5. New York AYF Chapter Honors Memory of Lisbon 5
By Nazareth Markarian
Ara, Sarkis, Setrag, Simon and Vatche, who have come to be known and
remembered as the Lisbon 5, were ardent believers in fairness, justice and
human rights.
On July 27, 1983 these five young men, none over the age of 25, attempted to
storm the Turkish Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, with the intention of
capturing the Turkish ambassador and holding him hostage. Their efforts to
seize the embassy were thwarted, and instead they occupied the residence of
the Turkish Deputy Chief Mission. During the fighting one of the boys, Simon
Yahneian, was killed. The other four, finding themselves surrounded, decided
to detonate a bomb, taking only their own lives (they had released the wife
and child of the Turkish Ambassador) in order to awaken the world to the
plight of the Armenians at the hands of Turkish genocide deniers.
To commemorate and honor our five fallen brothers who sacrificed their lives
for genocide recognition in Lisbon 24 years ago, a short program was held at
the Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens, N.Y. Taking place on Saturday, July
28, the event was organized by the New York Armen Garo Chapter of the ARF,
and featured Unger Jirayr Beugekian of Boston who spoke about the Lisbon 5.
He began by presenting a short video that included both a narrative of what
transpired 24 years ago in Lisbon, and footage of the five boys as they
spoke about themselves, and relayed their message to their families and the
Armenian community as a whole. As a follow-up to the video, U. Jirayr spoke
briefly about the time period that surrounded their struggle. He explained
that the atmosphere in the world was different than it is today; it was
common in those days for people to resort to violence in order to get
themselves heard. However, for the Armenians (the Lisbon 5 were no
exception), violence was only used as a last resort. Sadly, and as it
continues to do so today, the Turkish government ardently denyies the
validity of the Armenian genocide as a historical fact. What was different
is that the entire world seemed apathetic to the Armenian Cause, and the
genocide question was consistently brushed aside in diplomatic forums. It
was a time of great frustration for the Armenian people especially because
Turkey had no desire to engage in dialogue concerning the Armenian genocide.
The selfless act of the Lisbon 5 helped to open the eyes of the world to the
demands of the Armenian people and because of their sacrifice, diplomacy and
discourse are viable options today.
The following day, on Sunday July 29, the names of the Lisbon 5 were
remembered during the requiem service conducted in St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral in Manhattan. Immediately after the conclusion of church services
a short program was held in the church hall. The Prelate, His Eminence
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, spoke briefly about the Lisbon 5 and what their
struggle meant to the Armenian people. He also recalled how he had met one
of the boys in Abu Dhabi on the eve of the Lisbon operation. The young man
had come to bid his family farewell but never once mentioned his plan to his
family or any of the guests gathered there that day. After the Archbishop
shared his words, a poem dedicated to the Lisbon 5 was read by a member of
the New York Hyortik AYF Chapter. Another chapter member then delivered the
youth message, and finally a song dedicated to the Lisbon 5 was played to
conclude the program.
Every February we remember St. Vartan Mamigonian and his struggle against
the Persians in the name of Armenian Christianity. It is equally important
that we remember the sacrifices of our modern Armenian martyrs such as the
Lisbon 5.
Nazareth Markarian is a member of AYF New York Hyortik Chapter.
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6. AYF Olympics Diner ZAGAT Rated?
It’s only fitting that the Alumni Night of the 2007 Olympics is being touted
as the "Olympics Diner." After all, New Jersey has the most diners in the
world. Some say it’s the choreg capital, too!
Where are you going to be on Friday, Aug. 31? We hope you will be joining
friends and fellow AYFer’s at the Crowne Plaza for dancing, dining, catching
up with old friends and trying to match the names with the faces you haven’t
seen in years.
The New Jersey Arsen Chapter is the host of the 74th annual AYF Olympics
weekend taking place from Aug. 30-Sept. 3. The Olympics headquarter is the
Sheraton Meadowland with the spill over settling in at the Crowne Plaza.
Over 3,000 Armenians from across the United States and Canada will gather
for a weekend of fun and games.
Beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, alumni and friends are invited to bring their
dancing shoes and appetite to the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in
Secaucus. For your dancing pleasure, we have John Berberian, Hachig
Kazarian, Ara Dinkjian, Roger Krikorian and a surprise special guest! A
table filled with homemade mezze and traditional anousheghen is available
for your culinary enjoyment. Don’t forget, New Jersey is the diner and
choreg capital of the world, so our "Olympics Diner" will strive to keep our
high scores and reputation as the place to be this Labor Day. We’re not yet
ZAGAT rated, but you never know.
We look forward to seeing you there. Don’t be late and come hungry. For
information on all weekend events, visit
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7. Café Anoush in Summer Swing
WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)-On Aug. 2, St. Stephen’s Church and Armenian School
continued their annual presentation of Café Anoush. Volunteers and community
members served traditional Armenian fare while Armenian dancing, tavloo
tournaments, and the sale of 2007 Café Anoush Raffle tickets were available
to all in attendance.
Café Anoush continues through to Aug. 30. For more details, check out or
calendar section.