Author: Hagop Kamalian

BY SEVANA PANOSIAN

I begin my Advanced Placement English Literature class with this formula. The students are often confused and even check their schedules to make sure they aren’t in some weird Common Core curriculum math course that they didn’t sign up for. No, you’re in the right room— English Lit with Panosian. I even reassure them that I would be a horrible math teacher, and if it wasn’t for the hours of homework help from my engineer math wiz of a father, I wouldn’t have passed the GRE and I surely wouldn’t be standing before them as a teacher. Miracles happen.

So, back to this formula. I begin the class with this simple explanation of the idea of metaphors and attempt to tie it into pop culture to sell the idea that I am more interesting than Instagram (not) but I give it a shot— Monsters Inc is a metaphorical representation of xenophobia (and an allegorical version of To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo = Boo Radley), that the Pixar film Ratatouille is a metaphor for how immigrants do thankless amounts of work in our country’s workplaces and get no credit for it, and how The Great Gatsby is a metaphor for the breakdown of the American dream, and also how Olaf’s song “In Summer” from the film Frozen is a metaphor and Biblical allusion to the trinity and hope.

After these statements, the kids are sold on the idea that maybe my class is worth it— that the countless essays and discussions on metaphors and symbols isn’t just for passing a test— there’s a bigger lesson to be learned here— that the metaphors we are presented within art, literature, and music are blueprints and archetypes to help us meander the sometimes confusing paths of our lives.

This summer, my daughters and their paragon of Armenian friends attended their second year of Armenian Youth Camp in the boreal forests outlying Yosemite National Park. For millennia, forests have not only symbolized the unknown but also the peaceful escape towards a more ideal existence— like Henry David Thoreau in his transcendental “Walden,” “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

The “essential facts of life” that these youth were able to learn were their own— free of social media, free of pressure—we parents prod and poke to get the stories and they divulge some but not all— those are the memories they will keep in their new Armenia. The first thing my younger one told me when she got in the car was that someone named Unger Armen gave an educational that changed her understanding of everything…that her job as a Diasporan Armenian was bigger than anything she could imagine. She then stared out the window and said, “and Unger Moushig instilled such a spirit in all of them that she couldn’t put it into words—only action.”

From the mouths of babes— my thirteen-year-old was having her transcendental moment. Thoreau states in Walden again, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary…and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.”

This higher order of beings can only be shared among those who attend camp, and might only be shown in a video which I am posting here—the campers sang the song “Akhpers ou Yes”—a song which details the emotional yearnings of a soldier going off to war against the Turks. They are guided by Unger Arick and his accordion, and Unger Moushig and his passion and love for guiding Armenian youth.

We cannot simplify the lyrics of this song—I think it goes back to the formula for a metaphor—A=B. The soldier’s voice is A but the transfer, the metaphorical lesson for our youth, is this—being Armenian is one thing, staying Armenian is the true battle. Whether you speak the language, go to Armenian school or not, (Armenian school really helps), live in a diverse city where you can befriend Armenians (or not), or whether you simply have that one week of Armenianness that the AYC (and many Armenian camps) offers, the battle cannot be won alone—our youth will be able to build communities through the bonds created under the canopy of trees and stars—a canopy which cannot be replicated

Being in cities like San Francisco, Houston, Portland, Boston, Racine, or any city outside of Los Angeles, Armenian families have to be mindful and strategic in their attempt to stay Armenian. It takes work—it takes dedication—it takes cancelling a trip or planning a summer around that one week of camp. I am a product of camp—if it wasn’t for AYF Camp, I wouldn’t have the network of friends who are all active members of their respective Armenian communities. Camp does that—it provides another outlet and another ojakh (hearth) for your children to develop their understanding of “purpose” and the connection to a community who understands them without explanations.

Fortunately, we parents have a way to teleport ourselves into the world of these kids through social media. A friend of mine who was a volunteer at AYC posted this video—the video shows Director Moushig Andonian lovingly surrounded, arm in arm, with each and every camper as they sang Sevag Amroyan’s “Akhpers u yes.”

As I watch the video, it takes me to the idea of the metaphor, A=B—these camps, AYC, AYF, Camp Haiastan…they take the abstraction of “Armenian- ness” and transfer it to the concrete connection of a brotherhood (and sisterhood) of Armenian youth who share the universal bond of cultural, social, and ethnic self-preservation. Like the lyrics of the song “Ինչքան պետք լինի կկռվենք այսպես, հայ ազգի համար ախպեր ու ես…” the struggle has been softened by the growth of these camps, and the dedication of individuals like Unger Moushig to connect the youth under yet another canopy of stars. Whether it’s Pinecrest or Valyrmo Calfiornia or as far as Franklin, Massachusetts, these camps are the embodiment of that concrete image, the brotherhood, children who choose to “live with the license of a higher order of beings.” And for that, we can be assured that the lyrics of the song, though mournful as they expand on the spiritual life of our dear soldiers, these campers will keep the spirit of the Armenian people alive and well on foreign lands. As long as it is necessary, we will fight like this, brother and I for the Armenian nation…

The Board of the Civilitas Foundation announced Apo Boghigian as the foundation’s new director. Since its establishment in 2008, Civilitas has pioneered civil society strengthening through open public discussions and polling, reporting and analysis, collaborated in cross-border activities and most notably, established the ground-breaking, trendsetting media outlet, CivilNet.

Boghigian, who was born in Anjar, Lebanon, studied in Los Angeles, and has lived in Armenia for 18 of the last 30 years, will head both entities.

“CivilNet.am is now a globally recognized bilingual source for news and analysis, a proud achievement of the Civilitas Foundation, which was established precisely to bring meaningful change in Armenian society. This work will expand and diversify under Apo Boghigian’s able leadership and exceptional commitment to the ideals that drive us — a fair society, a welcoming country where individuals can prosper and contribute to humanity,” said Salpi Ghazarian, the founding director of Civilitas.

Boghigian was a Candidate in Philosophy, studying with the late Professor Avedis Sanjian, when he interrupted his doctoral studies in Armenian literature to take on the position of editor-in-chief of the Asbarez daily newspaper, in Los Angeles, in 1985. Under his leadership, the newspaper grew to become one of the Diaspora’s two most influential media outlets.

In 1990, in the last years of the Soviet Union, as the Karabakh movement had ushered in a political awakening, and the call for reunification and independence gained momentum, Mr. Boghigian repatriated to Armenia to establish several media outlets, including the Yerkir newspaper. He also set up the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Press Office, which provided indispensable daily reports from the frontlines of the Karabakh War and soon after, the newly independent Armenia. As founding editor of Yerkir Daily, he adopted the principles of independent journalism to satisfy an international public clamoring for news and analysis from the region.

“The movement had awakened a whole nation,” he says. “I couldn’t, with a clear conscience, appeal to the Armenian people to become a part of it, while sitting in Los Angeles.”

Upon returning to the U.S. in 2008, he assumed the editorship of Asbarez once more, and expanded the newspaper’s capacity, reach and coverage. He stayed with the Asbarez until this month.

Boghigian will lead Civilitas and CivilNet to new frontiers. “I always intended to return to Armenia. And to return as a member of the CivilNet family is a compelling and meaningful opportunity. It is also a huge responsibility. To be working among and to be defining a vision with a group of committed young professionals is very exciting,” he says.

With a staff of three dozen, CivilNet focuses on LIVE broadcasts, investigative, as well as advocacy and solutions-based journalism. Bilingual (Armenian and English) reporting, data-driven analysis from all corners of Armenia, Karabakh, and the Diaspora are at the heart of CivilNet’s work. In 2013, CivilNet was the only Armenian media organization to report from Syria. In 2018, 16 million people viewed CivilNet’s 24-hour LIVE broadcast of the “velvet revolution”. In between, it was CivilNet’s pioneering efforts to cover each of the small, targeted civil protests, which culminated in the successful political transformation of 2018.

“Civilitas was founded by former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian, at a time when civil society work needed to expand and be more impactful. Today, Civilitas can and will serve a new role as a center for exploration and analysis. CivilNet is an integral part of that operation to bring nuanced, complex understandings of the challenges facing Armenians to the public, in Armenian and in English. Apo Boghigian’s experience and passion are the perfect combination to carry forward this mission,” concluded Ghazarian.

Boghigian will step into his new position on September 1.

SYDNEY, Australia—Premier of Australia’s largest state of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian hosted the Republic of Artsakh delegation led by Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia.

Minister Mayilyan met Premier Berejiklian, New South Wales Legislative Assembly Speaker Jonathan O’Dea and New South Wales Legislative Council President John Ajaka in Sydney, along with fellow members of his delegation, Member of Parliament Davit Ishkhanyan and Foreign Affairs official Artak Nersisyan. They were accompanied by Artsakh’s Representative in Australia and members of the ANC-AU.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the development of cooperation and strengthening the ties between Artsakh and New South Wales, considering the Parliament recognized the Republic of Artsakh in 2012. Mayilyan presented the priorities of Artsakh’s foreign policy and the challenges in this sphere, and Berejiklian briefed on her recent visit to Armenia and the meetings she had there.

Mayilyan noted that the people of Artsakh highly appreciate Berejiklian’s promotion of pan-Armenian issues, and invited her to visit Artsakh for what would be the third occasion.

Earlier, the delegation met with members of the New South Wales Parliamentary Friends of Armenia group, where questions were Foreign Minister Mayilyan extended his country’s deep appreciation that many in the room helped Australia’s largest state recognize the Republic of Artsakh, have spoken on issues of importance to Artsakh, and some had even visited Artsakh.

Among the attendees at this meeting were Members of Parliament Jonathan O’Dea (Chair), Walt Secord MLC (Vice-Chair), Hugh McDermott and Member of the Legislative Council Fred Nile—all of whom join Gladys Berejiklian as part of the newly formed Australian Friends of Artsakh.