Author: Babajanian Karo

Gagik Admitted, Taron No

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:38:53 – 14/04/2012

The brother of ex-mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan denied ownership of
property in Mashtots Park and said he does not have preferences where
his boutique, dismantled and removed from Abovyan Street, will be
installed. In fact, Beglaryan admitted the legitimacy of public
ownership of Mashtots Park and recognized the right of citizens, the
Constitutional provision that the citizen is the owner of the city and
the country.

Mayor Taron Margaryan states that if the owners agree, he is ready to
remove the boutiques, and is, in fact, against the boutiques. Taron
Margaryan has not presented a single document to prove the legality of
installing the boutiques in the park. In fact, not only did he violate
the law but also made statements which deny the public rights laid
down in the Constitution.

Change of generation, involvement of people with new thinking and
values in governance is spoken about frequently. The case of Mashtots
Park shows that `old’ Beglaryan is more adequate to the new reality
than `new’ Taron whose mentality and behavior is hopelessly behind the
time as he clings to his exhausted values.

Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra performs Aram Khachaturian’s work

April 15, 2012 – 20:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra’s sixth Masterworks
program of the season is an opportunity to admire signal works by
three composers who were absolute masters of their craft, able to
manipulate all parts of the orchestra in the service of their musical
vision, pennlive.com reports.

The April 14 night’s performance at The Forum in downtown Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, also provided an exceptionally fine chance to appreciate
the skill level of HSO’s musicians and that of Maestro Stuart Malina.

The program featured Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian’s melodious
Suite No. 2 from `Spartacus,’ American Aaron Copland’s slam-bang take
on `Billy the Kid’ and the German Richard Strauss’ insightful
interpretation of the Cervantes novel `Don Quixote.’

All three pieces are centered around larger-than-life characters,
setting a stage for big dreams and evocative musical themes by three
of the 20th century’s leading composers of orchestral music.

The program opened with the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from
Khachaturian’s 1956 ballet `Spartacus,’ based on the legends
surrounding a gladiator who rebelled against Rome, leading an army of
slaves against the empire’s mighty legions.

Malina called the adagio `one of the great guilty pleasures of classical music.’

Copland’s `Billy the Kid’ suite is also taken from a ballet, which he
premiered in 1938 and became the first of three – `Rodeo’ and
`Appalachian Spring’ are the others – he wrote using the Western
themes and music for which he is so well known today.

Closing out the evening is Strauss’ tone poem about the famed knight
errant Don Quixote, who literally tilts at windmills as Quixote’s
fevered mind translates common things like a flock of harmless sheep
into an evil army he must defeat.

Quixote is portrayed musically through the work’s 10 episodes by
Thompson, who also plays cello with the well-known Mendelssohn Piano
Trio. Violist Wirth chips in frequently as the `voice’ of Quixote
sidekick Sancho Panza.

Injustice only thing to make people not believe – Armenian President (PHOTO)

news.am
April 14, 2012 | 20:08

YEREVAN. – Head of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (PRA),
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with the voters within the
election program in Yerevan’s Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun districts.

`We do not hesitate while making decisions and can admit our mistakes.
We do have basic programs on solving lots of problems concerning our
society, as well as we are able to accept offers and criticism,’ he
said.

Sarsgyan also spoke on the qualified and available education for all
classes of society, as well as on Nagorno-Karabakh recognition.

`We will fight for Artsakh’s [Nagorno-Karabakh] international
recognition, the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide. We will fight against anti-Armenian propaganda. We will
protect rights and freedom of any citizen in Armenia and protect our
compatriots in the world. We call you to believe in us,’ RPA head
claimed in Arabkir.

During the meeting in Kanaker-Zeytun, Sargsyan said that people are
ready to face any difficulty but injustice.

`Injustice is the only thing that makes people desperate and lose
belief,’ he added.

Western Armenian Is Nearing Extinction
By Dr. Arda Jebejian –
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator
Saturday, April 14, 2012

`We must know the white man language to survive in this world. But we
must know our language to survive forever.’ (Darryl Babe Wilson, a
Native American).

The recent well-justified alarm that western Armenian is among the
world’s thousands of endangered languages (that is, predicted to die
in the next 100 years), important though it is, is not enough. What
this language, culture and people need is the development of
therapeutic undertakings and approaches.

The case of endangered languages is just a short-cut way of referring
to endangered cultures and cultural identities, especially in an era
where globalization, definitely not a culturally neutral or impartial
phenomenon, has rendered reversing language shift an unequal struggle
for linguists.

As an Armenian sociolinguist, not only am I committed to pursue the
goals of strengthening my own endangered language, culture and
identity via objective persuasion and advocacy of positive attitudes
to foster intergenerational continuity but also to seek a reasonable
compromise with respect to the culturally stronger dominant languages
neighboring Armenian diasporic communities.

Admittedly, such a combination of sensitivity and of priorities is
difficult to achieve; hence, the demanding task of strengthening
endangered languages.

Linguists have identified thousands of the world’s languages that are
endangered because of a recognizable syndrome that varies in kind and
degree, from one endangered language to another. Similarly, the cures
must also vary.

The bulk of Armenian diasporic communities were formed after the 1915
Genocide. Since then, the impact of forced dispersal, survival in host
countries and the dominant majority languages on the status of their
language and the linguistic and attitudinal behavior of their members
has been tremendous.

Seven years ago, when I began researching the vitality of western
Armenian in Beirut, Lebanon, the findings almost shocked the Armenian
community but slowly generated an awareness of the current trends in
language maintenance, language shift and transmission of their ethnic,
minority language whose alphabet, like the Ten Commandments, was
bestowed on Mesrob Mashdots in a divine vision.

What unfolds is deterioration in the status of western Armenian and
the oral fluency of its speakers. The generational disparities in
attitudes and perceptions demonstrate that along with the significant
changes in the way different generations of Armenians grasp their
ethno-cultural identity, there are also considerable differences
regarding feelings of loyalty to their ethnic language, homeland and
heritage.

After 97 years of diasporic existence, some Armenian communities seem
to have developed a defeatist, pessimistic stance towards the
preservation of their ethnic language, with a stubborn conviction that
I am French. Why should I speak Armenian? What good will it do me in
France? I am American. I feel American. The fact that my ancestors
were Armenian a 100 years ago has no significance to me. Why do we
always have to make it hard on ourselves? We have to move on with our
lives. Who cares if nobody ever speaks Armenian any more? We will
never go back to Armenia or western Armenia. What is the good of
wasting time, pressuring our kids, demanding that they speak

Armenian? I don’t speak Armenian but I feel Armenian. Let’s admit it.
In today’s world, Armenian is a useless language. Armenian is so
difficult. English is much much easier. English is my mother tongue
now. I do everything in English and don’t need Armenian. Forget it.
It’s a lost case. Have you ever heard how Armenians speak Armenian in
Armenia? Let them worry about their language. I don’t want to hear
about it. It makes me feel guilty. Life is already hard. Don’t make it
any harder. I wasn’t born in Armenia. Why should I speak Armenian? How
is Armenian going to help my children find a job? There is no future
in Armenian.

Indeed, there is very little a sociolinguist can do when faced with
such attitudes emanating from members of a group whose ethnic language
is endangered. At this moment, many Armenian children are not being
taught Armenian, and parents do not realize that soon it will not be
there to be revived. As a sociolinguist I must make this as clear as
possible, but it may not change many minds.

Rightly, linguists assert that besides being linguistically expressed,
behaviors such as the education, the religious beliefs and
observances, the self-governmental operations, the literature, the
folklore, philosophy of morals and ethics, the medical code of
illnesses and diseases, childhood socialization, establishment of
friendship and kinship ties, greetings, jokes, songs, benedictions and
maledictions are usually enacted through the specific language with
which these activities endured, have been identified and
inter-generationally associated. Hence, as efforts and awareness
campaigns are directed at slowing down environmental damage, similar
efforts should be directed at helping the world’s endangered languages
and cultures, including western Armenian and culture. Any reduction of
language diversity diminishes the adaptational strength of the human
species, which constitutes a huge intellectual loss and reduces the
most direct glimpses at the creativity of the human mind. Also, it
represents an incalculable loss of scientific data, which causes a
loss of traditional cultures and identities, stultifies human
creativity and leads to totalitarianism.

Joshua Fishman, the prominent linguist, describes the proponents of
`one language, one culture as `reductionists’ whose `realism’ reduces
human values, emotions, loyalties and philosophies to little more than
hard cash and brute forces.’ Alts’iisi, a Navajo, puts it this way:
`When the words of all people become one, then the world will come to
an end. Our language is holy, and when it is gone, the good in life
will be gone with it. When the old ones said that the world would end
with the disappearance of our language, they meant that the young
people could not hear, understand and heed the teachings, words of
encouragement, expressions of love, scoldings and corrections that
were offered by the parents and elder relatives; nor would they be
able to pray. Without prayers, our lives cannot be good, for without
words there can be no prayers.’

These are far from being exhaustive lists, but hopefully they get
across the message that optimally all efforts must be exerted to
instill pride in the Armenian language and identity and create a
linkage system, whereby young Armenian parents, adolescents and
children utilize the Armenian language or relearn it and transmit it
intergenerationally.

(Dr. Arda Jebejian received her PhD inlinguistics and teaches at
universities in Lebanon and Cyprus.)

REVUE DE PRESSE
Le défi renouvelé du travail de mémoire
Le Monde.fr | 11.04.2012 à 09h57

Par Arash Derambarsh, juriste et éditeur et Jonathan Hayoun, président de l’UEJF

Enfants de la République française, nous sommes inquiets. Nous avons
choisi de faire dialoguer les identités juives et perses. Nous avons
décidé, réunissant français et iraniens, de lutter ensemble contre le
négationnisme. C’est pourquoi, nous interpellons nos dirigeants
politiques sur le danger que représentent les entraves au travail de
mémoire. Face au négationnisme qu’il faut combattre, nous devons aussi
faire le pari de l’humanisme, du savoir et de la pédagogie.

Alors que l’on pourrait croire que la lutte contre le négationnisme
est devenue obsolète, force est de constater qu’il n’en est rien. En
France, l’enseignement de l’histoire de la Shoah est parfois mis à
mal. Dans des classes, des professeurs menacés renoncent à enseigner
l’histoire de la Shoah. Et pour les dirigeants iraniens, le
négationnisme est devenu une arme au service de la violence d’Etat.

Certes, il existe un certain nombre de cadres institutionnels et
juridiques solides qui nous permettent de mener une réflexion apaisée
sur les questions mémorielles. Le drame de l’holocauste a été reconnu
et condamné par le Tribunal militaire international de Nuremberg en
1945. En France, il ne peut y avoir de négation de la Shoah impunie
grce à la loi Gayssot, qui sanctionne l’expression publique des idées
négationnistes. Chaque geste soutenant ce délit doit être combattu
dans les tribunaux comme ailleurs. Et il en est de même dans le combat
contre l’oubli des crimes contre l’humanité qui ont eu lieu en
Yougoslavie, au Cambodge et lors du génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda sans
oublier le génocide des Arméniens, sans oublier celui concernant
l’arrestation d’Omar El Bechir qui sous mandat d’arrêt de la Cour
pénale internationale pour crimes contre l’humanité.

En Pologne, dans la ville Oswiecm, qui a donné son nom au camp
d’Auschwitz, le temps grignote la mémoire. Notre venue, avec une
délégation franco-iranienne, il y a quelques jours, a embarrassé ses
habitants. Pour que la vie reprenne son cours sur ce site et dans ses
alentours, certains ont la volonté d’effacer des traces, de limiter
l’accès ou d’en réduire la portée. Des maisons toutes neuves jouxtent
les limites du camp. Dans son jardin, une grand-mère caresse son chien
à deux pas des lieux de pendaison. Comment fait-on pour vivre si
proche voire même sur une fosse commune ?

Depuis plusieurs années, pour ne pas incommoder la population qui a
construit des maisons sur la route, nous devons nous rendre à pied
jusqu’à la Judenramp, menant aux camps d’extermination
d’Auschwitz-Birkenau (1,2 millions de morts), stoppés par un sens
interdit `sauf aux riverains`. Les habitants ont obtenu que les cars
ne puissent plus y accéder. C’est sur ce lieu chargé d’une histoire
terrible que les déportés juifs ont subi la Sélection et que la très
grande majorité d’entre eux ont été envoyés vers les chambres à gaz.

Pourtant, et malgré son importance indiscutable, ce lieu n’a été
réintégré au Musée que très récemment mais trop rares sont les
visiteurs qui s’y rendent. Le cas est encore plus marquant s’agissant
du Bunker 1 qui a été le premier lieu d’extermination systématique par
le gaz des Juifs envoyés à Auschwitz-Birkenau. Cette grange,
transformée par les SS en chambre à gaz a été rendue à ses
propriétaires après la guerre et une nouvelle maison a été édifiée sur
les ruines de la chambre à gaz et à proximité des fosses communes
utilisées pour la crémation des victimes. Ce n’est que depuis quelques
années et grce au combat de l’historien Marcello Pezzetti et
l’intervention de Richard Prasquier que les propriétaires ont accepté
de vendre leur maison afin qu’elle soit détruite et qu’une plaque
commémorative soit érigée. La route pour s’y rendre est aussi
interdite aux cars, aucune indication n’est fournie par le Musée ou la
ville et les habitants des maisons voisines veillent à dénoncer toute
incursion d’un bus. A croire que dormir et jouer sur une fosse commune
ne dérange personne et que la délimiter précisément n’est pas une
priorité. Et l’idéologie officielle du Musée d’Auschwitz est de mettre
en parallèle les victimes juives et polonaises sans expliquer que tout
le mécanisme d’extermination ne concerne que les Juifs et les
Tziganes. Ils jouent sur la notion d’extermination directe et
indirecte pour atténuer, voire nier, la spécificité du sort réservé
aux Juifs et aux Tziganes.

Or, que reste-t-il de la mémoire de la Shoah, si le lieu qui la garde
porte en lui les germes de sa négation ? Nous ne voulons plus
retourner à Auschwitz pour être indignés ou nous sentir de trop. Le
site d’Auschwitz doit être débarrassé des tentatives de banalisation
voire d’effacement du lieu de l’extermination tout comme d’un usage
politique atténuant la spécificité du sort réservé aux Juifs.

On ne saurait dire à quel point la négation de la Shoah est grave. Le
négationnisme est l’ultime moment de l’effort d’annihilation des Juifs
entrepris par les nazis. Non contents de mettre fin à leur vie, ils se
sont attachés à effacer toutes traces de leur disparition. La Solution
Finale visait à supprimer à tout jamais le peuple juif de la terre et
des consciences.

Pour renforcer les cadres institutionnels de préservation de la
mémoire et des lieux de mémoire, nous proposons la création d’un Fond
Européen qui aurait vocation à garantir la transmission de la mémoire,
en protégeant les lieux décisifs et en permettant aux lycéens de
l’Union Européenne de visiter les camps de la mort. Ce n’est pas une
dépense, mais un investissement sur l’avenir. Nous permettrons à une
nouvelle génération de voir, analyser et comprendre afin de faire
barrage à la haine et à ceux qui trahissent la réalité de l’Histoire.

Aux candidats de se prononcer sur ces sujets durant la campagne
électorale. Au prochain Président de la République de porter la
question du négationnisme, de la préservation des lieux de mémoire et
de l’éducation à l’ordre du jour du prochain G20 et des réunions de
l’Union Européenne.

La Shoah ne devint un sujet de préoccupation pour les sociétés
occidentales qu’à partir des années soixante-dix. A nous de faire en
sorte qu’elle le reste.

—————————————————————-

Arash Derambarsh et Jonathan Hayounont ont participé du 28 mars au 1er
avril à un voyage de la mémoire en Pologne organisé par l’UEJF avec
une délégation franco-iranienne.

Arash Derambarsh, juriste et éditeur et Jonathan Hayoun, président de l’UEJF

dimanche 15 avril 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

BOXE
Festival arménien à la soirée pugilistique de Toulon

Ce vendredi 13 avril à Toulon dans le gymnase Port Marchand , se
tenait une réunion de boxe avec cinq combats professionnels dont
quatre avec des boxeurs d’origines Arméniennes du team KIRAKOSYAN de
Toulon organisateur cette soirée avec sur l’affiche ses meilleurs`
poulains ` .Dans la salle chauffée à blanc , de nombreux supporters
Arméniens donnaient de la voix pour encourager leurs favoris .Le
premier combat de la soirée opposait le jeune Samson TSHGHRIKYAN qui
très valeureux sur le ring ,a dû laisser la victoire aux points contre
le Marseillais Romain Peker .

Le second combat opposait Leva KIRAKOSYAN plusieurs fois champion
d’Europe et du Monde dans sa catégorie ,face au Bolivien Benjamin
ROBBLES .Trés accrocheur avec du ` métier ` le Bolivien à subit tout
au long du combat les assauts trés musclés du pincheur Leva qui domina
haut là main son adversaire et remporta logiquement son combat .Dans
la salle les supporters du Toulonnais Léva , tous de blanc et noir
vêtus ( les couleurs de son écurie ) applaudissaient leur champion .

Pour les deux autres combats de la soirée pugilistique le spectacle
tourna court pour les `visiteurs ` car que ce soit Albert AIRAPETIAN
qui compte 18 victoires pour 20 combats , et Arman Hakobyan tout deux
en poids moyen , ont gagné leurs combats par KO et jet de l’éponge dés
le premier round face à l’Italien VUKA et l’Espagnol Garcia .Les deux
boxeurs d’origine Arménienne étaient trop fort et puissant face à
leurs adversaires qui après un déluge de crochets ,directs et autres
uppercuts ont fini au tapis au bout quelques minutes devant un public
comblé .

dimanche 15 avril 2012,
Ara ©armenews.com

APA, Azerbaijan
April 13 2012

Samad Seyidov: Armenia has started refusing in its policy the
universally accepted international norms

[ 13 Apr 2012 14:31 ]

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. `The recent developments in Armenia are
provocative rather than political.

For example, ban of films, airport under construction in Khankendi,
non-attendance at the meeting of the committee established by the
Council of Europe, withdrawal from Eurovision song contest in Baku,’
chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament’s committee on international
and interparliamentary relations Samad Seyidov told journalists, APA
reports.

Samad Seyidov said Armenia, which was represented by 11-12
parliamentarians at the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly in Baku,
withdrew from Eurovision song contest, this shows their attempts of
provocation.

`Armenia has started refusing in the policy the universally accepted
international norms. This is not accidental. The forces backing them
make Yerevan act in this manner. Their provocative actions have
recently increased on the frontline. By taking these steps, they
attempt to provoke Azerbaijan,’ he said.

The New York Times
April13, 2012 Friday
Late Edition – Final

Loving, and Maybe Exploiting, Armenia

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

There are vistas in Braden King’s metaphysical road movie, ”Here,”
that are so beautiful you want to step through the screen and
disappear into the Armenian landscape where much of it was filmed. In
the most evocative scene, the camera slowly pans across pastures
framed by distant mountains in which cattle graze amid a sprawling
grid of power lines.

In another startling juxtaposition of pastoral and technological
images, a traveler in Armenia uses a Google map to go from outer space
to the heart of San Francisco in seconds. What does it imply that
nowadays you can bask in an Armenian field and visit an American city
at exactly the same moment? The trains of thought stirred up by the
film’s contemplation of what is here and what is there — and where
you are — are endless and stimulating. And the movie is embellished
with spectacularly beautiful, enigmatic bursts of abstract imagery.

More problematic is an intermittent narrator (Peter Coyote) who
meditates in poetic language on the conflicting aesthetics of science
and exploration and on the notion that ”truth is conjecture.” If
what he says is helpful in deciphering the film’s aesthetics, it also
sounds grandiose. And as the movie advances, you discover that the
ideas voiced by the narrator are embedded in scenes that need no
further explication. This is a film that begins with a printed
announcement: ”The story is asleep. It dreams.” Whatever that means.

The scientist and the artistic explorer are embodied by Ben Foster
(”The Messenger”) and Lubna Azabal (”Incendies”), an attractive
couple with chemistry. Mr. Foster plays Will, an American
satellite-mapping engineer whose job is to match objects on the ground
to satellite photos. Ms. Azabal’s character, Gadarine, is an Armenian
expatriate photographer who has returned to her homeland from abroad
following a successful Paris exhibition of her Polaroid snapshots.

After they meet by chance in a restaurant where she translates his
breakfast order into Armenian, Gadarine becomes Will’s traveling
companion on a quest to photograph the rapidly changing country that
she left behind. She also serves as Will’s de facto interpreter, and
the two become lovers.

Both are searchers, she for her past, he for the future. Remembering
his childhood growing up in a Northern California vineyard, Will
recalls taking long walks in which he tried to get lost. ”I wanted to
find the edge of the world,” he says.

In a toast while drinking homemade vodka with some locals, he is
saluted for creating maps that ”bring wisdom to the world.” But do
they? And is wisdom the right word? Gadarine, upon returning to her
peasant family, is treated as a prodigal daughter who is wasting her
life by not settling down and doing ”real” work.

With its layers of weighted dialogue, ”Here” has a lot in common
with Abbas Kiarostami’s ”Certified Copy,” a film whose intellectual
superstructure didn’t preclude the emergence of vivid, quirky
personalities. The same can’t be said of ”Here,” where the ideas are
more implied than stated, and Will and Gadarine never completely break
out of their symbolic shells.

They ultimately clash, when Gadarine accuses Will of skimming the
surface of the world while gathering geographic data that will be used
for corporate exploitation of Armenian resources. In her pictures she
is trying to preserve the moment and the sense of place that his work
is helping to erase.

”Here,” to its detriment, never builds its ideas into a cohesive
vision. The screenplay by Mr. King and Dani Valent too often wanders
off into poetic vagueness. But visually, ”Here,” filmed by Lol
Crowley, is still a stunner. Flawed as it is, I admire it immensely.

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Directed by Braden King; written by Mr. King and Dani Valent; director
of photography, Lol Crowley; edited by David Barker, Andrew Hafitz and
Paul Zucker; music by Michael Krassner; production design by Richard
A. Wright; costumes by Amanda Ford; produced by Lars Knudsen and Jay
Van Hoy; released by Strand Releasing. At the IFC Center, 323 Avenue
of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village. In English and
Armenian, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes.
This film is not rated.

WITH: Ben Foster (Will Shepard) and Lubna Azabal (Gadarine Najarian).

Pasadena Now, CA
April 13 2012

Rep. Schiff Honors 2012 Women of The Year

Rep. Schiff paid tribute to the “tireless work and achievements” of the honorees

Today, at a luncheon in Pasadena, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) honored
outstanding women from each of the communities (Alhambra, Altadena,
Burbank, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South
Pasadena, and Temple City) in the 29th Congressional District.

This recognition is made each year during Women’s History Month. Below
is a full list of all the honorees this year: Joanna Vargas
(Alhambra), Carolyn Ingram Seitz (Altadena), Ellen Snortland
(Altadena), Nancy E. Guillen (Burbank), Debra Suh (Glendale), Diane
Gin (Monterey Park), Denise Houlemard Jones (Pasadena), Eleanor K.
Andrews (San Gabriel), Kay Mouradian (South Pasadena), Gretchen
Robinette (South Pasadena), Eva Arrighi (Temple City).

`It was a great pleasure to meet with the 2012 `Women of the Year’
awardees today, and to honor their tireless work and achievements
throughout its communities,’ said Schiff. `Each woman honored today
has demonstrated an ability to bring people together, to get things
done, and to really leave their mark. They serve as role models for
all of us, and especially young people throughout the 29th
Congressional District, and it was my pleasure to recognize them.’

Every year, during Women’s History Month, Rep. Schiff honors one
outstanding woman from each of the communities in the 29th
Congressional District. These women come from all walks of life and
represent the thousands of women who make a positive impact in its
region. While there are no specific criteria for nomination, Rep.
Schiff looks for women who – through their work or volunteerism – have
improved the quality of life for its community.

Schiff entered a special tribute to each woman into the Congressional
Record. Below are excepts:

Carolyn Ingram Seitz (Altadena) Today, I pay tribute to Carolyn
Ingram Seitz of Altadena, California. A zoning and planning consultant
who has worked on many projects in Altadena for the last two decades,
Carolyn moved to Altadena in 2000. Not long after she moved into
Altadena, Ms. Seitz became involved in the community, advocating for
community safety, and working with the Altadena Sheriff’s Department
and community members on neighborhood nuisance and other issues. She
worked with her neighbors to form a neighborhood watch, and helped
other neighborhoods prepare and be organized for cataclysmic events or
natural disasters. Carolyn has also assisted with organizing Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT) trainings, which offer drills,
trainings and refreshers throughout the year. She is the Altadena
Sheriff’s Station CERT Coordinator, a member of the Regional CERT
working group and sits on the Los Angeles County Operational Area
Disaster Corps Volunteers Advisory Council. When the Station Fire
occurred, Ms. Seitz worked tirelessly for many hours to ensure that
the community had updated information on the fire, and the probable
impacts caused by the rain that would result in flooding and mudflows.
Carolyn was appointed as the Chairwoman of the Altadena Sheriff’s
Community Advisory Committee in 2007. In 2010 she brought together the
California Highway Patrol, American Red Cross, Pasadena Police
Department and community members to a successful Neighborhood Watch
Conference, which she organized at Loma Alta Park in Altadena. Along
with her extensive volunteer work with the Altadena Sheriff’s
Department, Carolyn contributes many hours to organizations such as
the Quality of Life Center, Inc., Mentoring and Partnership for Youth
Development, the Altadena Chamber of Commerce and the Central Altadena
Little League. Recognized for her work in improving sheriff-community
relations, Ms. Seitz has also been honored with the Altadena Chamber
of Commerce’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award in 2010. I ask all
Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of
California’s 29th Congressional District, Carolyn Ingram Seitz.

Ellen Snortland (Altadena) I stand today to pay tribute to Ellen
Snortland of Altadena, California, who is an inspiring and
extraordinary individual. Ellen has spent her life following a variety
of passions ranging from human rights to journalism to self defense.
Ms. Snortland received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of
California, Irvine in Theater and Film, and later a Juris Doctor (JD)
from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. After graduating, Ellen decided
that she could provide the most service to her community as an
advocate for women and children, a teacher, performer and media
professional. Ms. Snortland is the author of Beauty Bites Beast, which
has been translated in Portuguese and Spanish, featured on Dateline
NBC, and sold around the world. Ellen has also performed `Now that
She’s Gone,’ a one-woman show, which is a touching piece about family
and forgiveness, and in 2008, was nominated for a Pulitzer in Drama.
She has performed this show in New York, Los Angeles, Kansas, and
France among other cities, states and countries. She is currently a
Board Member and lead female instructor for IMPACT personal safety,
and teaches young boys and girls how to defend themselves from
predators, both physically and verbally. She provides valuable
services to its youth which they can draw from for their entire lives.

Ellen’s accomplishments and roles in its community are innumerable.
She serves on the Board of 50/50 Leadership and Consumer Watchdog, and
is the Past President of the United Nations Association,
Pasadena/Foothills Chapter. Ellen attended the U.N. Fourth World
Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the World Conference Against
Racism in Durban, South Africa, in the year of 2001, and the U.N.
Commission on the Status of Women for many years as part of the U.N.
Press Corps as well as a NGO delegate. Today, Ms. Snortland is a
columnist for the Pasadena Weekly and a blogger for Ms. Magazine and
Huffington Post. Ellen’s work has been exceptional, and has proven
that one woman can truly achieve all she sets her mind to. I ask all
Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of
California’s 29th Congressional District, Ellen Snortland, for her
exceptional service to the community.

Denise Houlemard Jones (Pasadena) Today, I pay tribute to Denise
Houlemard Jones of Pasadena. A brilliant businesswoman with many years
of experience, Denise is a Management Consultant at DMJ Consulting
Services, a business she started, where she provides advisory services
to companies, colleges, agencies and individuals. She received a B.A.
in Sociology and Economics from the University of California, Los
Angeles, and a MBA from the University of Southern California. It is
noteworthy to mention Denise’s unparalleled volunteer service to the
community, which includes an impressive list of accomplishments. She
has been a member of the Los Angeles Chapter National Black MBA
Association, National Association of Female Executives, Pasadena
Talks, Points of View Committee, Women At Work Young African American
Women’s Conference, Black Women’s Forum, City of Pasadena Intergroup
Relations Advisory Committee, and the City’s Recreation Commission,
among others. Ms. Jones has also been involved with the Community
Health Alliance of Pasadena (CHAP), serving as a founding member,
acting as President several times, and currently serving on the
Marketing Committee. Presently, Denise is a member of the National
Council of Negro Women, Saint Andrew Catholic Church, YWCA
Pasadena-Foothill Valley, American Association of University Women,
City of Pasadena Northwest Commission, and the Pasadena Delta
Foundation, Inc., where she is a founding member. Along with being a
successful career woman, Ms. Jones has devoted countless hours of her
time volunteering for the Alkebu-lan Cultural Center, American
Institute for Cancer Research, Foothill Unity Center Food Pantry, and
the Latino History Parade and Jamaica. She is also an annual fiesta
volunteer at Saint Andrew Catholic Church.

Some of the honors Ms. Jones has received include the National Merit
Award, the William L. Blair Award for Service and Leadership, the
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Leadership Award, the YWCA Women of
Excellence Award, and the Women In Action’s `Wind Beneath Wings’
Award. I ask all Members to join me in honoring a remarkable woman of
California’s 29th Congressional District, Denise Houlemard Jones, for
her outstanding service to the community.

Kay Mouradian (South Pasadena) I stand today to pay tribute to Kay
Mouradian, EdD, of South Pasadena, who has provided the Los Angeles
Community Colleges with strong leadership and dedication for many
years. Attaining a B.S. from Boston University, an M.S. from
University of California, Los Angeles, and an Ed.D. from Nova
Southeastern University, Dr. Mouradian served the Los Angeles
Community Colleges as Professor of Health and Physical Education, and
advocated in the California Teachers Association for the importance of
physical education in California Community Colleges. In addition to
her love of education and advocacy for health, Dr. Mouradian is also a
very accomplished author.

Dr. Mouradian researched yoga in India for several months for her
dissertation. She has published articles about yoga for magazines,
with two much admired articles titled: Increasing Body Awareness
through Yoga’s Relaxation Technique and Developing a Competency-based
Syllabus in Yoga for the Community College Curriculum. Kay’s efforts
did not stop there, as she also published a guide for yoga instructors
who taught at the community colleges. In addition, Dr. Mouradian is
planning to write books tailored to help people who want to and are
interested in retaining a quality body, primarily during their elder
years. After several health crises, Kay’s mother asked her to write
about her life. This opened a new chapter for Kay. Kay extensively
researched the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by reading numerous books and
traveling to Turkey. There, she visited the town where 25,000
Armenians, including her mother and her family, were ordered to leave
their homes at the time of the Armenian Genocide. She journeyed
through the deportation path, where over 2,000,000 Turkish Armenians
had to march for countless miles through the desert. Her findings and
experience led her to write A GIFT IN THE SUNLIGHT, An Armenian Story.
I ask all Members to join me in honoring a remarkable woman of
California’s 29th Congressional District, Dr. Kay Mouradian, for her
exceptional service to the community.

Gretchen Robinette (South Pasadena) Today, I pay tribute to Gretchen
Robinette, a tireless volunteer, advocate, and remarkable woman of
California’s 29th Congressional District. Born and raised in South
Pasadena, Gretchen graduated from South Pasadena High School, attained
a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s
degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Gretchen served
in the Peace Corps as an English language teacher in Malaysian Borneo
for two years, along with her husband, Vic Robinette. Ms. Robinette
was a teacher and librarian throughout most of her professional career
for South Pasadena High School, Rio Hondo College in Whittier, and San
Luis Obispo High School. Her commitment to education is also reflected
through her willingness to be involved in school issues. She assisted
in bringing the South Pasadena High School Library online, contributed
her time to help design the school’s library when it was constructed,
and served in the Academic Senate at Rio Hondo College. Upon her
retirement from teaching a decade ago, Gretchen joined her husband’s
CPA firm, where she holds the position of Office Manager. Ms.
Robinette has also served the community beyond the realm of education;
a fact that she attributes to her years of service in the Peace Corps.
She serves on the Board of Directors for the South Pasadena
Preservation Foundation, chairs the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce
Legislative Affairs Committee, in addition to serving as a Chamber of
Commerce Ambassador. A co-founder and former president, she currently
serves as a Board Member for Women Involved in South Pasadena
Political Action (WISPPA), an organization that works to improve
integrity, accountability and transparency in the city government of
South Pasadena. Past volunteer activities include serving on the South
Pasadena Public Library’s Board of Trustees and the Board of South
Pasadena Beautiful. I ask all Members to join me in honoring an
outstanding woman of the 29th Congressional District, Gretchen
Robinette, for her extraordinary service to the community.

Calgary Sun, Canada
April 13 2012

A Titanic survivor’s tale 1

HEATHER IBBOTSON, QMI AGENCY

BRANTFORD, ONT. – BRANTFORD, Ont. – Neshan Krekorian spoke no English
in 1912. But he understood fear. He understood terror. And the
Armenian emigrant had a will to live.

In the desperate panic during the wee hours of April 15, 1912,
Krekorian, 25, did not know what instructions frantic Titanic crewmen
were shouting. He did not comprehend the words spoken by doomed men as
they placed wives and children into the descending lifeboats.

He could not make out the gasping, futile cries for help from those
flailing in the icy sea.

Perhaps it was just as well. For more than 65 years, Krekorian lived
with memories no one would want yet everyone wanted to hear.

He was one of only about 700 survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.
Some 1,500 people died. Krekorian also belonged to an even smaller
fraternity – that of male survivors from third class.

When Krekorian boarded the Titanic to embark on a new life in the new
world, he had already escaped an uncertain fate.

A Christian, he had fled the political strife and religious
persecution of his homeland on the advice of his father, who
instructed him to go to North America and start a new life.

In April 1912, he was headed to Brantford, Ont., where, in the years
before the First World War, a small but vibrant Armenian community had
formed.

Krekorian, and five other Armenian men from his community, found their
way to France and booked third-class passage at Cherbourg for a voyage
to New York aboard the much-heralded Titanic.

Krekorian had no idea of the hype that preceded the luxurious liner’s
maiden voyage. As a non-English-speaking steerage passenger, he was
also unaware of the lavish amenities afforded to those on the upper
decks.

That Krekorian survived was a miracle in more ways than one. He was
one of only about 75 men, 76 women and 27 children from third class to
survive the sinking. The death toll of third class passengers numbered
more than 500.

`It was secluded down there,’ says grandson Van Solomonian, of
Toronto. `He talked about breaking a locked door. There was a chain on
the door.’

During the voyage there was no mingling between steerage passengers
and those in first or second class.

Somehow, in the horrific chaos of the sinking, Krekorian made his way
on deck and into lifeboat No. 10. `He saw an opportunity and he jumped
in,’ Solomonian said.

As years passed, Krekorian’s tales of the experience became less
specific and more visceral.

`He talked about how cold it was. The chunks of ice (in the water).
And the noise. He heard screaming and yelling,’ Solomonian said.

After being plucked from lifeboat No. 10 and taken aboard the rescue
ship Carpathia, Krekorian joined the hundreds of bewildered,
unbelieving strangers whose notoriety for simply being alive would
grow with each passing generation.

On arrival in New York City, Krekorian spent four days in hospital
being treated for pneumonia. He was finally sent on his way and
arrived in Brantford on the evening of April 25, 1912.

A Brantford Expositor reporter learned of his arrival and hurried to
an Armenian boarding house for an exclusive interview.

The reporter entered a large room set with tables. Four Armenian men
sat at each table entertaining themselves with some type of `game
peculiar to the country whence they came.’

The interview was a convoluted affair, conducted with the help of two
interpreters, Mr. Mosoian and Mr. Ouzounean. The latter, Ouzounean,
did not speak English either and interpreted Krekorian’s words into
French.

As reported in the newspaper, as Krekorian related his experience, the
other Armenians – about 20 or so – crowded around to hear the
harrowing tale.

`Everybody was running every way, downstairs, upstairs,’ he told the
newspaperman. `It was about 11 o’clock and I was quite asleep. One of
my companions woke me up and told me something happened. He then went
up on deck to see what. They tell him to go right down and get his
things on and to get ready to get into lifeboats.

`At first we had no idea that anything bad happened and then little by
little we began to see ship was sinking. Then everybody got excited,
running, shrieking, shouting. I saw little boats and big boats being
lowered and I began to feel bad. I saw two men try to get into a boat.
(An) officer shot them. I felt stunned, and knew that something must
be done. As a little boat went down I jumped right into it. I then hid
under the cover at the front.

`I remember twice they looked to see all who were in the boat and none
saw me. Then they came again, a third time, and found me. I was too
listless to care, and just sat and looked around. We stayed in the
boat perhaps three hours, perhaps more and then came the big steamer.
We then went to New York.

The Expositor heard another account that Krekorian might have been
found dressed as a woman when he was picked up by the rescue ship.
Although Krekorian denied the rumour, the newspaper ran with the
headline the next day: Armenian Who Dressed in Women’s Clothes to Get
Off the Titanic Arrived Here Last Night – Interviewed by Expositor
Man.

According to records, Krekorian was in lifeboat No. 10, launched at
about 1:40 a.m. It is believed it carried about 30 people, less than
half of its capacity of 65.

Also aboard the lifeboat was two-month old Millvina Dean, her
two-year-old brother and their mother. Millvina, who died in 2009 at
the age of 97, was the last living Titanic survivor.

Krekorian remained in Brantford for several years before moving to St.
Catharines, Ont., in 1918.

He raised three children and died in 1978.