AZG Armenian Daily #181, 23/09/2006
Concern
STOP SPREADING MALICIOUS RUMOURS!
Recently, Mrs. Sonia John, who was relieved from her
position as the Manager of the ACPA by His Holiness,
the Catholicos of All Armenians, has started a new
crusade against the management of the College, using
the ACPA Old Boys website. Her emails are full of
hatred and like venomous arrows aimed at the New
Manager and the Administrator of the ACPA, namely Very
Rev. Father Oshagan Gulgulian and Deacon Tigran
Baghumyan respectively. The aim of her letters dated
13 and 16 August 2006 is to create mistrust in the
minds of the former students against the management
and Holy Etchmiadzin.
When dealing with issues of public importance, one
must be objective and justify one’s accusations with
material evidence. The Armenian College Old Boys
website is not a pond where people should be permitted
to wash their dirty clothes stained by personal
grievances and grudges! It is disappointing that the
Armenian College Old Boys website has published Mrs.
John’s malicious attacks on the management of the
College, without verifying the facts. One would have
expected from persons in charge of the website that
they would have first contacted the "accused’ and also
obtained their comments, before publishing Mrs. John’s
letters which, by the way, serve no useful purpose
whatsoever, except to cause confusion, mistrust and
animosity.
In the past, malicious rumours have been put out to
the effect that Etchmiadzin was planning to sell the
ACPA building and together with Haik Sookias to put up
a 7 star hotel in its place! The spreader of this
rumour was also Mrs. John. The Administrator has
confirmed that the management has a letter sent by
Mrs. John to an ex-student, informing him that there
are rumours in Calcutta that Etchmiadzin plans to sell
the College. Soon it became apparent that this was a
malicious lie. This story too was published without
verification, in the ACPA Old Boys website under the
title; "Armenian College in Crisis, Sookiases in hand
with Etchmiadzin", which should have never been
published!
It was hoped that after Vehapar relieved her from the
College, Mrs. Sonia John would have retired
gracefully, preserving her honour and dignity. Instead
she is now engaged in spreading new baseless rumours,
which no person, with the interest of the College at
heart, would dream of doing. Mrs. John should realise
that she no longer has any role in the life of the
College. The new management, together with the
Principal and the teachers, are doing their utmost to
ensure that the ACPA attains the highest standards,
which will benefit the present and future students of
this ancient institution.
Everyone knows for a fact that after Mrs. John was
replaced, conditions, particularly the standard of
education in the College, were improved greatly. On
this point we are attaching herewith letters dated 17
and 28 August 2006 written by the Principal of the
ACPA, Mr. James Diasto Mr. A. Guzelian, at Mr.
Guzelian’s request, which are self-explanatory. After
reading the letters one is reassured that Mrs. John’s
accusations are baseless and malicious. This is not
surprising, as she mistakenly now considers she is the
injured party and has a grudge against Etchmiadzin and
the new management. Blackening someone’s name with
malicious rumours and accusations for the purpose of
creating hatred towards the representatives of
Etchmiadzin amongst the former students of the ACPA
should be condemned by everyone who has an interest in
the betterment of the College.
We have contacted a number of people, who are closely
connected with the College, including the Principal,
Deacon Tigran Baghumyan, the Administrator of the ACPA
and collated important information, some of which is
used in this report.
Let us now examine some of the issues raised by Mrs.
John in her letters.
She accuses the Manager and Administrator of the
College of being ignorant of "child psychology".
One does not need a degree in "child psychology" to be
a good Manager and/or Administrator. Numerous problems
were created during Mrs. John’s period of office, as a
result of dictatorial methods employed by her, (e.g.
mistreatment and degradation of the students) which do
not speak well of Sonia the "child psychologist". In
fact the main reason for her replacement was the
mistreatment of the children. We do not even wish to
refer to a full range of abusive words used by her to
degrade the girls in particular. A girl was so
vilified by her that the poor one-armed child
preferred to stay at an orphanage in Armenia, rather
than return to Calcutta. In fact many of the students,
who went to Armenia on vacation, did not return to
Calcutta at all! It is worth mentioning that this year
all the students who went on vacation returned and
indeed an additional student was even brought to the
College by the Iranian Armenian students already
studying at the ACPA.
At a meeting, which took place in Etchmiadzin (autumn
of 2004), when Vehapar demanded to know if she was
verbally abusing the children, Mrs. John could not
deny the allegations. His Holiness was extremely angry
with Mrs. John for her words and deeds. Incidentally,
the above-mentioned meeting, according to the
Administrator, was attended also by Fr. Ktrij Devejian
and Deacon Tigran Baghumyan, who were then in charge
of the ACPA affairs. During the same meeting Vehapar
told Mrs. John that no one was permitted to degrade
our children by calling them "street girls", "orphans"
and other degrading names. "Students of the ACPA are
Etchmiadzin’s children", Vehapar had said. These are
facts that may be verified by contacting the above
mentioned persons. On her return from Armenia, Mrs.
John started a crusade against Etchmiadzin and His
Holiness, forgetting that she was appointed by
Vehapar. She told the children that Etchmiadzin and
His Holiness were doing nothing for them.
According to Mrs. John the management "do not consult
the Principal or the heads of department and want
their doctrines followed".
According to the Administrator however, all issues
related to education, are always discussed with the
Principal (see attached letters), and sometimes with
other specialists. During Mrs. John’s time in office,
the Principal, Mr. James Dias, was Principal in name
only without authority and respect. She used to talk
with the Principal through either Michael Stephens or
the Secretary. "Now she is accusing us of ignoring the
Principal", says the Administrator. In fact, Mrs. John
has phoned the Principal a few times before writing
her letters, but the Principal did not wish to talk to
her and he has made the following remark. "After all
these years, all of a sudden she has remembered me!"
In her letter Mrs. John also gives considerable praise
to the previous Administrator, Mr. Amin Mirza, who
happens to be a close friend of hers from the races.
Mirza was brought to the College with the aim of
undermining the Principal’s authority. As already
stated, the Principal, now praised by her, was then
completely ignored, when she was the Manager, so much
so that at one point he intended to resign. The then
Administrator, Amin Mirza, was getting a huge salary
for doing nothing. Until now no one knows the reason
why he was brought to the College. Mirza introduced
the wrong textbooks to the College with the result
that the students became very weak in maths,
particularly those from the higher classes. When Mirza
was dismissed, new textbooks were introduced under
advice from the Principal, and as a result, the
students passed their ISCE examination successfully.
According to Mrs. John, Michael Stephens was supposed
to have told the staff "no one must go to the
Principal unless they are called". Michael
categorically denies this. He can be contacted for
verification. It is worth mentioning that Michael
Stephen was brought from Madras by Mrs. John. Now her
arch enemy, then Michael was the apple of her eyes!
The new management could easily have sacked Michael,
when Mrs. John was replaced, but he was given a chance
and asked to mend his ways, which he did and he is
happily working at the College. According to the
Administrator, members of the staff have been told on
many occasions that the Principal’s door, as well as
those of the Manager and Administrator is always open
and their comments and suggestions are welcomed.
The ACPA management have formed the impression that
the ACPA Old Boys website is only publishing pro-Mrs.
John letters. Apparently Michael Stephens has written
to the website, but his letters have always been
ignored. Why? What is the reason for excluding Michael
Stephens’s correspondence from being published?
The Administrator has confirmed that instead of
bringing his personal belongings, he brought with him
from Armenia text books, donated to the ACPA by the
Ministry of Higher Education. These books are
dedicated to the Armenian Language, Arm. Literature,
Arm. History, and Arm. Music and are essential for the
students. Deacon Tigran has also purchased (with his
own money) recently published (in Armenia) excellent
Encyclopaedias, English-Armenian and other
dictionaries, literary books for the library, maps of
Armenia (in Armenian and English), which presently
adorn class rooms of the College. The Deacon has also
brought photographs depicting various aspects of
Armenia. Father Oshagan in his turn has brought
beautiful photographs from Iran, which are also
displayed in the class rooms. The purpose of these
photographs, maps and other materials is that the
children should not be cut off from the history and
culture of the countries from where they come. The
Administrator has also acquired a collection of
Armenian films produced specially for students.
Most of the above mentioned items have been purchased
and paid for by Father Oshagan and Deacon Tigran
themselves!
At the suggestion of the teachers and with the
approval of the Principal, the management has
purchased a number of books from Calcutta book shops.
After many years of neglect, now the College has a
well-organised library.
The Administrator has confirmed that; without the
knowledge of relevant teachers and approval of the
Principal, no book has been purchased, which once
again makes Mrs. John a person who is very economical
with the truth.
The students are involved in the following sports;
Football, basketball, volleyball, cricket, table
tennis, chess, swimming etc.
Here too Mrs. John misrepresents the facts! Many
people including Mrs. John’s friends have been present
at the College Sports Day and taken photos, which
speak for themselves.
Zaven Stephen, an ex-student, volunteered to teach the
College boys rugby when Mrs. John was the Manager. He
was refused by Mrs. John, who told Zaven that "Rugby
is a barbaric game".
There is also reference to punishments in Mrs. John’s
letter. According to the Administrator when Mrs. John
was acting as the Manager of the College, punishments
were very harsh. Students had to go down on their
knees, carry heavy weights and hear degrading and
hurtful words. Today, when a child is punished, he or
she is given a book to read or an essay to write!
Let us look at another untrue picture painted by Mrs.
John, regarding letter writing. When Mrs. John was the
Manager, all letters were censored, some even
photocopied. According to the Administrator, now
children themselves seal their letters and hand them
over to the office. In the past, children were not
permitted to write long letters. Now they can write as
long and as often as they wish. All these facts can be
verified by the parents. The Administrator has
confirmed that he has personally written to all the
parents informing them that the children are being
encouraged to write to their loved ones. The
management makes sure that all children write
regularly to their parents.
Regarding the electronic mail referred to in Mrs.
John’s letter, the Administrator has the following to
say: "A number of parents have requested me to forward
their children’s letters through my email address. I
am happy to be of assistance in this regard. Contrary
to indifference shown to the parents by Mrs. John, I
personally know most of the parents and am aware of
their social and financial circumstances."
Moreover, contrary to what Mrs. John says in her
letter, children are permitted to receive telephone
calls on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, as well as feast
days. In fact, a special telephone has been installed
for this purpose. This also can be easily verified!
We have asked the Administrator if it is true that the
teachers are not permitted to express their views
about issues related to the College, according to Mrs.
John.
Deacon Tigran has said in reply that "teachers are not
only free to express themselves, but are also
encouraged to make suggestions and recommendations. We
have a very good management-Principal-teacher
relationship. We all work together to raise the
standard of the ACPA."
Mrs. John has also talked about the two young
teachers.
The Administrator has confirmed that the letter
confirming the employment of these teachers was signed
by Mrs. John on 14-02-05. The salary of one of the
teachers was increased, because she obtained an MA
degree. After consulting with the Principal and in
compliance with the existing law, the management was
obliged to increase her salary.
According to the Administrator, no one has been sacked
from the College either for smoking or for health
reasons. 3 of the children were sent home at the
request of their parents. Some remaining students were
sent home after their cases were discussed with the
Principal and relevant teachers. Unfortunately the
Administrator was obliged to send them home because
not only did they have minimum intellectual aptitude
to cope with lessons, but also no regard for the
College rules and regulations. One of these children
failed in 11 subjects. It must be remembered that the
ACPA is not an orphanage nor is it an institution for
backward children. If the College is expected to
attain high standards educationally and otherwise, it
is the management’s duty to pursue a realistic policy.
"Is it true, – we asked the Administrator-, that
students who fail in 3 subjects are sent home"? His
reply was, "If that be the case, very few students
would remain in the College." Obviously here too Mrs.
John is being very stingy with the truth!
Regarding the children’s nourishment, we are informed
that Mrs. John is again far from telling the truth.
"Contrary to the sad past, today new dishes are
introduced to the children’s menu, for the simple
reason that the students were fed up eating the same
food over and over again. Conditions in the restaurant
have also improved and as a result many children have
become overweight. We do encourage these children to
play sports", says the Administrator.
Mrs. John has criticised the management for increasing
the pass mark to 61%. However, after the introduction
of 61 % as the pass mark, we are informed that
students are paying more attention to their lessons
and, as a result, a sharp improvement has been
observed in the educational standard.
Mrs. John has referred to a letter received from
Delhi. This is true, but it has nothing to do with
education. The letter in question is about the Union
workers. Mrs. John is wrong in assuming that only the
priest knows about the letter. If that is the case,
how is it that she knows about it? The readers can
draw their own conclusions! To put the record straight
it must be said that the problem with the Union
started when Mrs. John was the Manager of the College.
The present management is facing problems because Mrs.
John took certain unwise and arbitrary steps,
according to the Administrator.
Mrs. John does not seem to be happy that the College
building has been painted and other renovations are
currently in progress. For many years the College
building had not been painted. The management has not
only painted the building, but also started a number
of renovations. The toilets and bathrooms of the
Davidian Girls School are being renovated and work is
in progress to repair the roof. Mrs. John is accusing
the Management of wasting the College funds. Here too
she is misleading the readers. Let it be absolutely
clear to all concerned that the College is not
spending a single rupee for any of the work done. THE
WORK IS COMPLETELY FINANCED BY THE ARMENIAN CHURCH,
CALCUTTA! Anyone can call the church and verify it. We
know about considerable losses the church suffered,
when she was the Chairperson of the Church. People
living in glasshouses should not throw stones!
"Yes, the uniform of the students has been changed",
said the Administrator, who has confirmed that the
students themselves had chosen the material, as well
as the colour. "Everyone is happy with the new
uniform. In fact there is also a different uniform for
special occasions and feast days", confirmed the
Administrator.
Mrs. John criticises the introduction of new and
better quality hygienic items, such as good quality
soap, deodorant etc. The management has done this so
that the children do not smell of sweat and take
better care of their body. As far as quality is
concerned, a lot has changed for the better for which
the students are grateful. Some of the girls are 16-17
years old. They require a qualified person to discuss
their problems and needs. For this purpose the
management has engaged a young lady doctor, who is
liked by everyone. When Mrs. John was the Manager, no
one talked about these issues.
Mrs. John talks about the aftershave and eau de toilet
used by Father Oshagan. It is nothing to do with Mrs.
John nor anyone else for that matter what aftershave
Father Oshagan uses. This is a personal matter and no
one is permitted to interfere. He can buy any brand he
likes with his own hard-earned money.
The Administrator has confirmed that the College has
never been asked to pay his or Father Oshagan’s
restaurant bills and says: "These are malicious lies
fabricated by Mrs. John for the sole purpose of
creating mistrust in the mind of the reader. She does
not have a single shred of evidence to support her
allegations. Our accounts are open and anyone wishes
to examine them, are welcome."
Below is a quote from Mrs. John’s letter to Zohrab
dated 16/08/2006.
"The girls were very fortunate to have a previous
student, resident in the UK to take charge of them.
Mrs. John knew this person when she and her sister
were in Calcutta. She is an educated person, with an
exceptionally fine personality, character and high
principles. She did voluntary work as she was grateful
for her years in the Academy. All she got was a room
and food. Sadly she left after the Priest took over as
she could not conform to his behaviour with the girls
and his dictats. It was a great loss to the Academy."
To prove that all Mrs. John’s allegations are baseless
and do not correspond to the reality, we are attaching
herewith without comment, a copy of the letter sent to
Father Oshagan in April 2006 by the above mentioned
"previous student" (Elizabeth Mackertich) and the
reply sent by Father Oshagan dated 20 April 2006. Let
the readers come to their own conclusion.
Mrs. John has also written:
"Every month or six weeks, the priest makes a journey
overseas. Large amounts are withdrawn for his
expenses". We have asked the Administrator to give us
his comment and his reply is as follows:
"Father Oshagan went to Beirut to attend his father’s
funeral. The second visit was on the occasion of the
"karasounk" (40 days prayers)."
The Administrator has confirmed that.all the points
made by him are documented, contrary to the malicious
lies fabricated by Mrs. John. "Anyone wishing to
challenge us, (said the Administrator), should do so
with factual evidence and not hearsay rumours. The
door of the College is open to everyone. Anyone can
visit the College and find for him or herself the
truth. The management will be very happy to receive
them."
We cannot stop Mrs. John and others writing unfounded
letters attacking the College administration,
Etchmiadzin and creating animosity and division
amongst the different groups of the former students,
as well as the Armenian Community in Calcutta. As far
as we are concerned Mrs. John has now lost her
credibility as an unbiased and truthful person and
therefore she ca not be taken seriously in the future.
We strongly recommend that the ACPA Old Boys website
stops publishing letters such as the ones written by
Mrs. John without verifying the facts. These letters
not only do not reflect the truth, but they also harm
the progress of the College, create animosity and
division and serve no useful purpose whatsoever.
Assadour Guzelian, Ex-Chairman OPASCI, HerosAvetoom,
Ex-Chairman OPASCI, Jeannette David, Ex-Secretary
OPASCI