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December 5, 2009
1. Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Telethon Raises $15.8 Million
2. Agassi Autobiography Bares Ordeals of Pro Athlete Life
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1. Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Telethon Raises $15.8 Million
By Alin Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
**
LOS ANGELES – The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 12th annual Telethon,
broadcast live from Los Angeles on November 26, raised $15.8 million.
Telethon 2009’s theme was `Our Shushi,’ reflecting the Hayastan All-Armenian
Fund’s strategic objective of helping rebuild the historic Armenian city, in
Artsakh. The telethon was equally dedicated to the fund’s ongoing Rural
Development Program, which revitalizes scores of towns and villages
throughout Armenia and Artsakh, with particular emphasis on border
communities.
Telethon 2009 featured many performances, as well as short films on Shushi
and the Rural Development Program, and appearances by a legion of special
guests, including Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund; Ara Harutunian, prime minister of Nagorno Karabagh;
Archbishop Pargev Mardirossian, primate of the Diocese of Artsakh; David
Babayan, press secretary of the president of Nagorno Karabagh; Robert
Avetisyan, the republic’s permanent representative to the United States,
and
several Armenian-American community leaders and benefactors.
The donations will finance a slew of infrastructure and
community-development projects in Shushi. Plans include the construction or
renovation of roads, schools, water networks, residential complexes, and
various cultural and community institutions. Funds raised in the course of
2009 will also continue to benefit the Rural Development Program, with
initiatives ranging from new gas and water pipelines to new or restored
schools and farming-assistance programs.
`This telethon is yet another testament to the unity of the Armenian
people,’ said Vardanyan in his address during the event. `Today, as with
previous telethons, we announce the results of fundraising activities
organized by various Hayastan All-Armenian Fund affiliates throughout the
year. The raised funds will help us address issues of national importance.’
`I would like to express my gratitude to all of our benefactors,’ Vardanyan
continued. `Without your invaluable support, the fund’s work will simply be
impossible. It is your trust that enables us to move forward, rebuild our
homeland stone by stone, and help shape a better future for our children.’
Telethon 2009 was preceded by two major fundraising events, in Europe and
Russia. At the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Fundraising Gala, held on
October 25 in Moscow, Russian-Armenian entrepreneurs contributed close to
$5.3 million. And during November 19-22, the fund’s Pan-European Phoneathon
rallied Armenians across the continent, as an army of volunteers, working in
five French cities, made telephone appeals to thousands of compatriots. With
more than 12,400 supporters making pledges or donations, the phoneathon
raised $1.8 million – reflecting a 10-percent increase over the 2008 total.
Overall, an unprecedented number of Armenians from across the globe
participated in the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s fundraising events in 2009.
Of special note has been the exponential growth of the fund’s support bases
in Armenia and Artsakh. By the launch of Telethon 2009, more than 20,000
Armenia residents had contributed to the fund. Of these supporters, 13,000
made donations at their local post offices, thanks to a convenient
contribution process made possible by a recent partnership between the
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and HayPost. Thousands of other Armenia residents
made donations through text massaging, an extremely simple and convenient
contribution mechanism introduced by longtime fund supporter VivaCell-MTS
for its mobile-service subscribers.
Armenia Fund USA Executive Director Raffi Festekjian, also sounded positive.
He attributed the lower figures to the Russian community, which had raised
a
tremendous amount last year. This year, he said, they raised a quarter of
what they had done in their inaugural year. `And obviously the economic
conditions are not conducive. Overall, considering the number of
participants across the board has increased. It means the future is better.’
He also praised the telethon’s presenation, saying it was becoming more
professional each year in terms of delivery and content. The East Coast, he
said, still remains difficult territory for this region, since it is `more
difficult to find a common channel across the board.’
Phoneathons similar to the ones in France have started taking place in the
East Coast, he said. A week before the telethon, he said, about 100
volunteers in Boston gathered to call for donations. Similar efforts also
took place in New York and Detroit.
`My goal is to expand the constituency more, to get more of the $200 to $500
donations, to engage the community. Historically, the East Coast has more
relied on very large donors, which have slowly moved away especially in
these difficult times,’ he said.
He added, `As donors over time get used to the organization, you can see
their donations increasing. We talk a lot about our motherland. This is land
we’ve had thousands of year. [But] we can never be free unless we’re free of
poverty, free of despair and have the ability to dream of the future. We
want to make sure that we give these folks in Shushi and Armenia to have the
Armenian dream of hard work and perseverance pay off eventually. We want to
help them create jobs and self-sustain themselves.’
The chairman of fund’s French Affiliate Bedros Terzian, said of the
phoneathan conducted there, `The commitment made by around 12,400 families
is the best demonstration of dedication for the homeland. This is the result
of every single person’s free choice rather than their obligation.’
Although the phoneathon was mainly by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s
French affiliate, it is in fact a genuinely pan-European effort uniting
Armenian communities across the continent, given the full participation of
the fund’s German, and Switzerland affiliates. Accordingly, the phoneathon’s
volunteer corps includes many Armenians from Germany and Switzerland.
Orange France Telecom, the major sponsor of the phoneathon, has been
providing significant infrastructure and technical support to this principal
fundraising event for years.
Robert Avetisyan, the representative of Nagorno Karabagh in the US, said on
Tuesday that he was thrilled with the results of the telethon and its goal
this year.
`All Armenians round the world, and those in Karabagh, know the significance
of Shushi. It is very sad that from the very moment of liberation in 1992,
not much has been done to restore it,’ he said. `We feel that it is time to
join our effort in order to restore the citadel of Armenian culture and
identity. We appreciate the Himnadram’s involvement in the process.’
Avetisyan noted that it was the suggestion of the Karabagh government to
focus on Shushi, and that work is already underway to relocate some
government offices from Stepanakert to Shushi, in order to help revitalize
the city. The funding for the moves come from the Karabagh budget, he
stressed. The end date for that project is 2010, he said.
`It was our initiative [the Karabagh government] to address the Himnadram
board of directors to allocate all to funds to the restoration of Shushi and
we are very satisfied that it did happen and that the money will allow for
the restoration,’ he said.
Avetisyan stressed that the Karabagh government allocates a great deal of
its budget to the restoration of villages, roads and other necessities. `We
think that even a belated initiative to direct the efforts of the whole
Armenian nation to restore one of the main cities of Karabagh can serve as
an answer to the question [of Karabagh’s future.] This effort helps us be
more confident in our future and reinforces the idea that only Karabaghtsis
are the masters of our destiny.’
Avetisyan said he was delighted with the number of people who participated
this year. `We thought the amount of course is important, but also important
is to see how many Armenians in the world support Armenia and Karabagh. The
most important and the best thing in all this is that we saw a significant
increase in the number of donors.’
The biggest dollar amount was raised in Russia, followed closely by the
European Union.
Irina Lazarian, the executive director of Armenia Fund USA, said that last
year’s figure of $35 million was an aberration, one which was helped along
by several individual donors sponsoring specific projects.
`I consider we did very well, considering the whole situation’ of the
economy, she said. She added that she could not say whether or not the
debate about the protocols with Turkey affected the pledges, but she did
note that `Shushi has a special appeal’ to Armenians.
She added, `Shushi is important [also] because it’s the first part of
Karabagh, off Lachin corridor, when you enter Karabagh along the
Goris-Stepanakert highway. It has to be strong and prosperous.’
The main corporate sponsor of Telethon 2009 was VivaCell-MTS. Other sponsors
included ACBA Credit Agricole Bank, Ameria Bank, Ardshininvestbank, and
HayPost.
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2. Agassi Autobiography Bares Ordeals of Pro Athlete Life
By Daphne Abeel
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
>From the outside, what could be more glamorous than the life of a top,
professional tennis player? Dressed, usually, in gleaming whites, cheered by
crowds, they enjoy a life of travel and hob-nobbing with other celebrities
and adoring fans.
The inside or back story can be very different and it was for André Agassi,
who was often ranked as the number-one player in the world, retiring at the
age of 36. He played competitively for 20 years, from 1986 to 2006.
Trained and browbeaten unmercifully by his ambitious, enraged father, Mike,
Agassi began hitting tennis balls at the age of 7. Born in Tehran, his
father was possessed of a manic drive to make his children, not only André,
into star tennis players. He built a court in a deserted area outside of
Las Vegas where the family lived and Agassi was confined to that court for
most of his childhood, hitting balls spit out by a machine his father
invented which the young André called `the dragon.’
He was the youngest of four and the most talented as an athlete. Mike
Agassi, a former boxer, had tried to develop his three older children as
tennis players, but none had the natural capabilities of André. His father
cared very little whether his son got an education and pulled him out of
school at a moment’s notice for matches and practice. Agassi dropped out
of
school permanently in the ninth grade.
Sent to Nick Bolletieri’s tennis camp at age 12, he began a regime that was
equally punishing. Hours of drills, indifferent food and little time for
himself left the young André ill equipped to deal with the normal process of
growing up.
While tennis provided Agassi with a living, fame and even, eventually his
wife, German tennis star Steffi Graf, throughout the book, he proclaims his
hatred of the sport. Describing his feelings as a young boy, he says, `I
hate tennis, I hate it with all my heart, and still I keep playing, keep
hitting all morning and all afternoon because I have no choice. No matter
how much I want to stop, I don’t. I keep begging myself to stop, and I keep
playing, and this gap, this contradiction between what I want to do and what
I actually do, feels like the core of my life.’
Eventually, he achieves some separation from his obsessed father and
develops a group of trainers and associates who would help him cope with the
challenge of being a top athlete. They included his older brother, Philly,
his friend, Perry, his dedicated trainer, Brad Gilbert and others.
Agassi is remarkably `open’ about his personal difficulties. Tennis fans
will recall his often outlandish dress and the bandanas he wore around his
head. The bandanas were necessary because, as he admits, he was losing his
hair and did not want what he considered a physical humiliation to be
revealed. It was his first wife, Brooke Shields, who persuaded him to shave
his head.
Agassi describes vividly the physical and mental efforts that are necessary
to endure to achieve top status in a relentlessly competitive arena.
Especially as he ages, the tapings of his blistered feet, the cortisone
shots he needs to ease his aching back play more and more a part of his
maintaining his ranking as a top player. At a low point, he takes drugs both
to bolster his flagging commitment to the game and to keep his demons at
bay.
The description of his marriage to Brooke Shields is the description of what
was pretty much a non-marriage. Separated for most of the time by their
different professional commitments, his to the tennis tour, and hers to her
acting career, the two spend little time together and their attempts at
achieving any true intimacy were largely thwarted, both by circumstance and
lack of real communication.
Often ranked number one, Agassi’s nemesis was Pete Sampras, whom he met in
many finals at major tournaments. Agassi, so conflicted about his
involvement with professional tennis, is both baffled by and envious of
Sampras’ steady, almost boring and emotionless commitment to the game.
Thanks, no doubt to his collaborator, J.R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist, (whose name appears only in the acknowledgments),
the book is written with verve and style. The story does have a happy
ending, for while Agassi was defeated at the US Open in 2006, he had by this
time met and married Graf and together now they have two children. The book
closes with a charming description of the two pros hitting balls to each
other on a rented court near their home in Las Vegas.
Agassi now gets satisfaction from his foundation and the school it supports,
the André Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a charter school for
underprivileged children.
Many athletes have written memoirs and autobiographies, but few have
achieved the blatant honesty of this volume. The book could have lasting
value for young athletes contemplating a professional career.
Agassi mentions his Armenian background only once. It would be interesting
to know more about Agassi’s feelings about his Armenian-Iranian roots.
The book will interest tennis fans, but its appeal surpasses that of the
conventional sports autobiography. It is a story of intense struggle,
triumph and the ultimate acceptance of defeat on the court, which frees its
narrator for the next chapter in his life. It is a rewarding read.
Open By André Agassi. Alfred A.Knopf.,
388 pp. 2009 $28.95. ISBN 978-0-307-26819-8
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