Month: October 2019

WATERTOWN, Mass.,—The Armenian community of New England came together in support of the eighth annual Walk of Life of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry. The beloved pan-Armenian event, which took place in Watertown, MA drew avid youth participation, with large numbers of students from area schools and colleges, as well as the support of numerous community organizations. The walkathon took place on Saturday, September 28.

Once again, Walk of Life received support and sponsorship from several large and small businesses, including PROMETRIKA LLC of Cambridge, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Armenian-American Pharmacists’ Association, Watertown Savings Bank, ThermOil, Inc., several other local businesses, the Armenia Tree Project, the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center, and the AGBU New England District. PROMETRIKA LLC has been a consistent supporter of the ABMDR; its CEO and founder, Miganush Stepanians, was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award at the ABMDR 20th anniversary Gala in Los Angeles in August.

At the walkathon’s opening ceremony, which was held on the grounds of ACEC, Lori Yogurtian of ABMDR New England welcomed the participants. “Seventy-five percent of [affected] patients’ lives depend on finding a matched unrelated donor,” she said. “This is already a difficult situation. However, the unique genetic make-up of Armenians makes it nearly impossible for them to find suitable matches among the existing international registries. Every person the ABMDR informs, swabs, and registers is another chance for a patient’s life to be saved.”

On his part, Jack Antounian, lead marshal of the walk and President of the Armenian Business Network, provided safety guidelines to the walkers. This year, the ABN marshals were joined by several volunteer members of ABMDR New England. Walk of Life concluded at Watertown Square, where participants enjoyed great music, dancing, and food, along with thousands of people attending the annual Faire on the Square festival.

In his remarks during the closing ceremony, Shant Der Torossian of ABMDR New England said, “We’re touched to see so many individuals and community organizations participate in our eighth walkathon. A big ‘thank you’ to all those who assisted in promoting this event among their co-workers, friends, and family. We couldn’t do this without you!” Der Torossian went on to convey the New England Walk of Life Committee’s deep gratitude to the event’s sponsors and the walkathon marshals from the ABN for their continued support.

Following Der Torossian’s remarks, Alec Der Sirakian, Lilit Hovnanian, and Sossy Yogurtian (on behalf of the AAPA) were awarded the first, second, and third top-fundraiser awards, respectively. For the seventh consecutive year, the Armenia Tree Project will plant commemorative trees in Armenia in honor of the walkathon winners, as part of the #LivingCentury Initiative.

Aside from planning the Walk, ABMDR New England volunteers have been working to spread awareness about ABMDR. In the weeks leading up to the walk, volunteers participated in a number of local community events to educate the public about bone marrow donation and ABMDR in general, and recruited new donors.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to volunteer with this organization,” said ABMDR New England volunteer Lori Yeterian. “It has been a humbling experience to work with a group of passionate people who share a common goal: helping to save lives. I hope for the continuation of the ABMDR mission for many years to come!”

ABMDR New England is encouraging community members to join the team. Interested readers can contact ABMDR New England via email.

Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 31,000 donors in 33 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 33 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call 323.663.3609 or visit the website.

GLENDALE—The Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States and All Armenian Students Association welcome the signing of AB1320 by California Governor Gavin Newsom on October 3.

The bill, entitled “Divestment from Turkish Bonds Act,” prevents the boards of the California Public Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System from making additional or new investments, or renewing existing investments issued or owned by the government of Turkey after federal sanctions are imposed on Turkey. Moreover, CalPERS and CalSTRS must liquidate any of the investments described above within eighteen months of the passage of federal sanctions on Turkey.

Total investments in the Republic of Turkey are upwards of $350 million dollars as of the beginning of the 2019 calendar year.

These victories, from the California legislature to the governor’s desk, could not have been possible if not for the Divest Turkey initiative spearheaded by the Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States in collaboration with the All Armenian Students Association across University of California campuses.

Since the Divest Turkey campaign’s inception in December 2015, all 9 UC schools, including Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz have voted overwhelmingly to divest, without a single “no” vote cast. Finally, the University of California’s Student Association voted in favor of the Divest Turkey campaign, definitively affirming the will of a combined 250,000 students across the University of California, one of the largest university systems in the world.

Since then, members of the AYF-WUS and All-ASA have continued the campaign through various educational initiatives, held meetings with community partners, and supported legislative efforts. As a result, AYF-WUS and All-ASA members appeared in front of the California State Senate Select Committee on California, Armenia and Artsakh Mutual Trade, Art and Cultural Exchange, presenting the campaign. Most recently, DivestTurkey campaign organizers were invited to testify at the UC Regents Investment Subcommittee hearing on May 22, 2018.

The Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States and All-Armenian Student Association are working steadfastly to continue building on this momentum, and call on the UC Regents to listen to students across the University of California system, and make both the sensible financial and moral choice of ceasing investments in the Republic of Turkey.

Robert Grigoryan, chairperson of the All Armenian Students Association stated, “This movement is unprecedented in both student, community, and legislative support. Over the years, the State of California has made its position on the Armenian Genocide and the fight for justice clear. However, signing AB 1320 into law has shown the state’s willingness to go a step further in rethinking its investment strategy in the name of justice and accountability. This should inspire universities and states across the nation to do the same; to use economic means and incentives to hold Turkey accountable for its crimes.”

Arev Hovsepian, AYF-WUS and Divest Turkey Task Force member, added, “Turkey should not have the opportunity to use our tuition dollars and pension fund investments to fund its ongoing denialist campaign. Currently, we are working with the University of California in order to ensure that the will of students, faculty, and representatives is being actualized, in accordance with UC values and fiscally responsible policy decisions. I am proud to be a former member of the Armenian Students Association and a current member of the AYF-WUS, which continues to focus on empowering students and youth to assert their voices on their university campuses across the nation.”

The All-Armenian Student Association works to unite various Armenian-American college student organizations and serve the greater Armenian-American community through cultural, social, educational, and activist programming. As the largest confederation of ASAs in the nation, All-ASA is dedicated to collaboration among its constituent organizations, leadership development of its members, and community service.

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and the most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the United States, working to advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness among Armenian-American youth.

YEREVAN—Arno Ter-Poghosyan, also known as Little Arno, is a 21-month-old Armenian boy who can identify 170 country flags, 50 wonders of the world, and 20 world known composers. He is also quickly learning numbers, shapes, professions, types of vehicles and tools, human anatomy, as well as the names of birds and animals.

Less than two-years-old, Little Arno is learning quickly, constantly observing his surroundings and absorbing information.

A short video of Little Arno demonstrating his knowledge is available below.

”It all started with a little ball… Selecting the right toys for Arno has always been a very serious task for me. He was 17 months old when I bought his first ball, covered in country flags. It took him a very short time to learn all the flags, and now he can already name 170 flags out of 195. I was even more surprised when we started learning Armenian, and other world-known, composers and listening to their music. He could recognize the composers not only by faces, but also one composition from each composer only from several notes. I am often told my son is talented, but I believe every child in this world is talented – we just need to discover the talent and give them ‘wings to fly,’” said Arno’s mother, Rouzanna Ter-Poghosyan.

Azerbaijani snipers fired on Armenia’s Tavush region fatally wounding Mushegh Abovyan, a soldier of the Armenian Armed Forces, reported the defense ministry. The incident took place on Thursday at 6:20 p.m. local time.

“These provocations by Azerbaijan not remain unanswered,” said Armenian defense ministry spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannesyan in a Facebook post. “We express our condolences to the relatives and family members of Mushegh Abovyan.”

A criminal investigation has been launched into the Thursday attack.

Another soldier who was wounded as a result of cross-border firing on Tuesday died on Thursday, according to Hovhannesyan, who specified the Abovyan’s death was not related.