Author: Chalian Meline

A scene from the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

Both Events Draw Unprecedented Youth Participation

LOS ANGELES— The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry held simultaneous walkathons on the East and West Coasts of the United States, to honor the memory of soldiers fallen in last year’s Artsakh War and in solidarity with ABMDR patients in need of a stem cell donor match. The walkathons were held on Saturday, September 25.

The walkathons, which took place in Watertown and Los Angeles, drew unprecedented community support and youth involvement, with numerous schools and grassroots organizations participating in the events.

The jubilant opening ceremony of the walk in Watertown, the tenth annual Walk of Life, took place at the St. James Charles Mosesian Cultural and Youth Center. Subsequently the participants began a two-mile walk, led by Jack Antounian and other representatives of the Armenian Business Network. The walk concluded at Saltonstall Park, where participants enjoyed music, dancing, and food, along with those attending the annual Faire on the Square festival.

• ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• Walkathon Committee Co-Chairs Hratch Postik and Dr. Christina Ashjian. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

The walkathon in Los Angeles, the 16^th annual Walk of Life, started with a festive opening ceremony at the plaza of the Glendale City building. The more than 350 supporters who attended the event included state and local elected officials, community leaders, and teams representing schools, community organizations, and individual supporters. Participating schools included Providence High School, St. Francis High School, and Crescenta Valley High School.

In her opening remarks, Walkathon Committee Co-chair Dr. Christina Ashjian said, “We are glad to be back this year to an in-person event, on the same day that our team in Boston is also hosting the walkathon on the East Coast. Last year’s virtual walk was a bit different, but it still made an impact, getting walkers from all over the globe to participate over a month’s period, raising awareness to continue our life-saving mission. Thank you all for coming and being believers in this organization.”

• Senator Anthony Portantino presented Dr. Frieda Jordan with a California State Senate Certificate of Recognition, in appreciation of ABMDR’s life-saving mission. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• Christopher Khachadour (far right) presented ABMDR with a Certificate of Recognition on behalf of California State Assemblymember Laura Friedman. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

Dr. Ashjian said youth participation in this year’s walkathon was extraordinary. “A special thank you to Providence High School for showing up today with the biggest group we’ve seen in our 16 years of hosting this walkathon,” said Dr. Ashjian. “This was thanks to Janet Fontane, Dr. Arjan Harjani, and Sona Ashjian. Academy of Science Medicine students from Crescenta Valley High School are also here with big numbers, thanks to Eric Markarian.” 

Dr. Ashjian acknowledged several dignitaries in attendance, including California State Senator Anthony Portantino; Glendale City Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian; Teresa Lamb Simpson, representing U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff; Christopher Khachadour, representing California State Assemblymember Laura Friedman; and Greg Krikorian of the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education.

• Fathers Zaven Markosyan and Movses Shannakian performing the invocation. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• Minella Harabidian, who has lost her nine-year-old cousin to leukemia, delivered a testimonial about the importance of finding a bone marrow donor match for those struck by life-threatening blood-related illnesses. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• On this banner, displayed in the plaza of the Glendale City building, walkathon supporters wrote down their individual reasons for participating in the event. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

Dr. Ashjian was joined on the podium by Walkathon Committee Co-chair Hratch Postik, who stressed the vital importance of volunteers in the continued sustainability of ABMDR. “We are an all-volunteer organization and always looking for dedicated volunteers to join our ranks,” he said. Postik went on to acknowledge the walkathon’s sponsors, including Foundation Lab, the event’s major sponsor; Softline Solutions; Andre and Ivette Sinani; Ella and Mila; Janet Parsanj; Los Angeles County District Supervisor Kathryn Barger; Paulette Malekian of Dilbeck Real Estate; DJ Eddy O; Turnaround Time Transcription; Rafik and Arpi Moghadesian; Carmen Lukassian; Dr. Raquel Keledjian of pH Solutions; Dr. Vergine Madelian; Providence High School; and Porto’s Bakery and Café.

The walkathon’s invocation was performed by Father Zaven Markosyan, representing the Western Diocese; and Father Movses Shannakian, representing the Western Prelacy.

• The Crescenta Valley High School team with Dr. Frieda Jordan. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• Team Knights, led by David Bagdasarian. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• The Providence High School team. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

Next to address the attendees was ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan. “I’d like to thank our tireless Walkathon Committee for organizing this beautiful event,” she said. “Last year, Armenia had to fight not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the Artsakh War, which claimed the lives of thousands of innocent civilians and soldiers. Among those fallen soldiers were many ABMDR donors who had joined ABMDR in times of peace to be able to save a patient’s life. Today, we salute these heroes and walk in their honor. As we do so, we pledge to continue to get stronger, recruit more donors, save more precious lives, and help rebuild our nation. There is no doubt that we can accomplish all of these goals if we stand united.”

• ABMDR Board member and walk sponsor Razmik Moghadesian (center) with family members and Dr. Frieda Jordan (seated). Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• A scene from the walkathon. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• Walkathon Committee members and supporters. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

Subsequently remarks were delivered by State Senator Anthony Portantino, a longtime supporter of ABMDR. “I’m proud to join you this morning at this very important event, and proud to represent this wonderful community,” said Portantino. “We all know someone who’s been struck by cancer, or someone who has had another health issue. Many of us probably know someone who has been affected by the war in Artsakh as well. So it’s very appropriate that we commemorate and honor those who were impacted by the war. I’m actually going to go to Artsakh in November. It will be my fourth trip there. But today, we’re here to celebrate the life-saving mission of ABMDR.” With this, Senator Portantino presented a Certificate of Recognition to Dr. Jordan, in appreciation of ABMDR’s dedication to serving families affected by cancer. “This event brings people together around a unified cause,” the Certificate signed by Portantino read; “congratulations on behalf of the California State Senate.”

• Scores of youths joined ABMDR as potential bone marrow stem cell donors for the chance to save someone’s life. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• ABMDR New England’s Walkathon Committee. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR
• For the first time this year, ABMDR held simultaneous walkathons on the East and West Coasts. The photo above shows ABMDR New England walkathon volunteers and supporters. Photo by Aleko Boghoskhanian, courtesy of the ABMDR

Next, Christopher Khachadour presented the ABMDR Board members with a Certificate of Recognition, on behalf of Assemblymember Laura Friedman and the California State Assembly, honoring the life-saving mission of ABMDR.

Once again, a beloved feature of this year’s walkathon was a large banner, displayed in the plaza of the Glendale City building, on which walk supporters wrote down their individual reasons for participating in the event, whether in honor of loved ones or in support of all those who need a life-saving stem cell donor match.

Before the conclusion of the ceremony, Dr. Ashjian introduced Minella Harabidian, a walk participant, to share her story of how she became a supporter of the Registry’s work. “Some years ago, we began recruiting everyone around us to help us find a match for Biurad, my nine-year-old cousin who was diagnosed with leukemia,” said Harabidian.”After waiting what felt like an eternity, we finally found a match for him. However, in 2007, we lost our little Biurad before he could have his transplant surgery. This is why your presence here today is so important: not only because you can help save someone’s life, but you can provide a sliver of hope for someone who’s going through a really dark time.”

Following Walk of Life’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, the 5-K walk-run looped through central Glendale. The walkathon concluded at the plaza of the Glendale City building, where the festivities continued into the day. The event also gave participants the opportunity to join the ranks of ABMDR as potential bone marrow stem cell donors, as many volunteers were on hand to answer questions and welcome new recruits.

This year, the team with the most participants in the walkathon was the one from Providence High School, while the team that raised the most funds was Team Angel, in memory of Biurad Moghadesian.

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 32,000 donors in 44 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 36 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663 – 3609 or visit the website.

In an apparent display of the souring relations between Algeria and France, Algiers withdrew its ambassador to Paris for consultations, state TV reported, in a move that followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to cut visas by half and controversial remarks on Algerian politics and history.

The North African country’s decision came three days after the French ambassador to Algiers was summoned to the foreign miinistry to protest Paris’ decision to reduce the number of visas granted to Algerian nationals. As the row was ongoing between France and Algeria, however, Macron added more fuel to the fire Thursday through a series of controversial remarks over the political situation in Algiers, minimizing his country’s role in brutal colonization of the country and attempts to rewrite history.

On Thursday, Macron met with 18 young Algerians and French with Algerian roots at the Elysee Palace in the capital Paris. According to the transcript of the meeting released by French newspaper Le Monde on Saturday, Macron accused the political system in Algeria of being built on the trauma and tragedies of the past, namely inflicted during the French colonial rule and the brutal repression of the eight-year Algerian struggle for independence.

The French president went on to claim that the Algerian system was “tired,” saying that the Hirak protest movement that began in 2019 further weakened it. He added that he has a good dialogue with President Abdelmedjid Tebboune, adding: “But I see that he is caught in a system that is very hard.”

Since independence in 1962, the National Liberation Front (FLN), the leading pro-independence group with a strong emphasis on Arab and Algerian nationalism and anti-imperialism, has dominated Algerian politics along with the military. The country went through a civil war between state forces and extremist militias following the scrapped elections in late 1991. The political system was partially relaxed in the late 1990s and early 2000s during the presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who ruled the country for 20 years before resigning amid mass protests in April 2019. Bouteflika, already suffering from poor health throughout his final term, recently passed away in September at the age of 84. His successor was again from the country’s ruling elite. Tebboune, a former minister and prime minister who assumed office in December 2019, saw protests gradually fading out with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Algerians returned to streets in early 2021 and held protests for months, which prompted Tebboune to carry out a large-scale Cabinet reshuffle.

Following his swings, Macron went on to say that the recent visa cutback decision will target the Algerian ruling elite while assuring that there will be no impact on students or businesspeople. “If you don’t cooperate to keep people in an irregular and dangerous situation away, we’re not going to make your life easier,” Macron was quoted as saying by Le Monde.

To further add to the woes of Algiers, relations with Rabat is are at an all time low as the two countries, already at odds over the Western Sahara conflict and regional competition, recently severed their diplomatic ties as Algeria accused Morocco of supporting separatists in the Kabylie region and implicating it of wildfires.

Whereas France is going through the worst crisis in decades in its relations with the U.S. and U.K. over the AUKUS defense pact with Australia, which prompted Canberra to cancel a submarine deal with a French company and ordering U.S. nuclear submarines instead. A fuming Paris witdhrew ambassadors from all three countries while accusing Washington, London and Canberra of “deceit.”

France invaded Algeria, nominally under Ottoman suzereinty but enjoying a high degree of autonomy in practice, in 1830. Insurgency against French troops and colonialists lasted for nearly five decades, killing hundreds of thousands of locals in the process. Due to its proximity to the mainland, Paris sought to assimilate Algeria as an integral part of France with tens of thousands of settlers, who constituted up to one-fifth on the local population during the final years of the colonial rule. Calls for independence were raised right after World War II but were met with stiff rejection by the French, who were raging anti-independence wars in their colonies elsewhere in Africa and Indochina, where fighting culminated into the Vietnam War after the French defeat in 1954.

The same year, the FLN launched its armed independence campaign against French rule that lasted until 1962, making Algeria the last major French colony to become independent. In this violent period, more than 1 million Algerian civilians were killed and as many were injured, in addition to hundreds of thousands of casualties on the pro-independence militas and operatives. France suffered tens of thousands of military casualties. The political, economic and moral effects of the conflict also shook the country, which saw the Fourth Republic terminated by a military coup prompted by an Algeria-based junta, the return of World War II hero Charles de Gaulle to the helm with strong presidential powers and the defeat of a far-right leaning Algiers putsch in 1961, accelerating the decolonialization process.

Nearly a million people of European descent, known as Pieds-Noirs, fled to mainland France within months as the community suffered thousands of casualties. Tens of thousands of Harkis, Algeriians who were conscripted by the French during World War II and later during the Algerian War, were executed in revenge acts. Recently in September, Macron issued an official apology for “letting down” Harkis, which was met by rejection from Algiers.

Despite such a poor historical record, the French president claimed Thursday that the Algerian history has been “totally rewritten,” accusing it of being “based on a hatred of France” rather than “truths.”

“Was there an Algerian nation before French colonization?” the French president, already unapologetic for brutality in Algeria, asked.

He then suggests France to produce Arabic and Berber documents on Algerian history.

Macron than delves into his never-ending feud with Turkey, accusing the country of “disinformation” and “propaganda” that apparently have for worked Algerians.

“I am fascinated to see Turkey’s ability to make people completely forget the role it has played in Algeria and the domination it has exercised, and to explain that we are the only colonizers, that’s great. Algerians believe in it,” Macron quipped.

Throughout their 300-years of influence in Algeria, Ottoman Turks greatly shaped the Algerian society and culture.

Following decades of French support for Armenian claims and recognition of 1915 events as “genocide,” Turkey became more vocal about the French humanitarian record in history, accusing Paris of genocidal acts throughout its colonial rule.

Ankara and Paris are at odds over a number of issues, including Libya and Syria, French backing in initiatives targeting Turkey in the Mediterranean, active French support for Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, and Macron’s policies accused of being Islamophobic.

France on Tuesday had said it would sharply reduce the number of visas granted to people from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, accusing the former French colonies of not doing enough to allow illegal immigrants to return. Immigration is becoming a key campaign issue for the French presidential election set for April next year, with right-wing and far-right parties challenging the policies of centrist Macron, whose conduct is increasingly unpopular and candidacy remains in limbo.

Starting in a few weeks, the French government plans to slash the number of visas given to Algerians and Moroccans by half, and to Tunisians by 30%, according to government officials. All three countries were part of France’s colonial empire, and many Europe-bound migrants and other visitors coming from those North African nations have family or other ties in France.

French spokesperson Gabriel Attal told Europe-1 radio that France decided to take action because the Maghreb countries have refused recently to provide consular documents for their citizens being deported from France after arriving illegally. Virus travel restrictions have also complicated such return efforts.

A senior official in the French presidency said France notably wants North African countries to take back people flagged for extremism and expressed hope that a solution can be found soon. Attal said France has been trying to reach a diplomatic solution since it passed a tougher immigration law in 2018.

Between January and July, French judicial authorities ordered 7,731 Algerians to leave French territory because they didn’t have residency authorization but only 22 departed because many lacked the necessary documents from Algeria, Europe-1 reported.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said his country has issued 400 consular documents to Moroccans being expelled from France, but the number was limited because many of them refused to take a virus test, which is required to re-enter Morocco. That is “the problem of France, which must deal with it,” Bourita told a news conference in Rabat. He said Morocco is trying to seek “the necessary balance between facilitating the movement of people, whether students, businessmen and those wishing to benefit from medical services, and combating clandestine immigration.”

Tunisia took a more conciliatory public stance. President Kais Saied’s office said, “We are among countries that are cooperative in this domain, and we have excellent relations with France.”

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen gave qualified backing to the visa reduction but suggested that Macron’s government waited too long before acting. Le Pen was Macron’s main rival in the 2017 election and is seen as his principal opponent if he runs again.

“For a long, long, long, long time, I have been asking that steps be taken to oblige certain countries to respect international law, ” she said, naming Algeria and Tunisia. “I am pleased that the president of the republic heard me. I find it’s a bit late.”

Le Pen was speaking in Paris at a press conference about her plans, if elected, for a referendum on her proposals for a “drastic reduction” of immigration to France.