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The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 31; August 9, 2008
AYF Section:
1. Alumni Spotlight: Paul Jamushian
2. AYF Youth Corps Builds Bridge to Homeland with Gyumri Day Camp
By Vartan Doudukjian
3. New York AYF Honors Khanasor, Lisbon Events
***
1. Alumni Spotlight: Paul Jamushian
Born in Providence, R.I., Jamushian and his family moved to Fresno, Calif.
when he was still very young. It was there that he joined the local AYF
Juniors at the age of 13, alongside his sisters and brother. "Joining the
AYF was a family thing," explains Jamushian. "Given that both of my parents
were survivors of the genocide and nearly all of our family friends were
Armenian, joining the AYF was almost a natural outgrowth of my family life."
Once a member, Jamushian became active on various committees and held
executive positions in his local chapter. As a Junior, he held such
leadership positions as treasurer and athletic director and continued taking
up similar obligations upon transferring to the Seniors. During this period
in AYF history, there were essentially only four West Coast chapters:
Fresno, Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Despite their distance from
the center of AYF activity on the East Coast, these chapters still fell
under the jurisdiction of the national headquarters in Boston. Jamushian
recalls how, as Seniors, "We would especially be excited when we had
conventions, invariably somewhere on the East Coast."
He recalls how that era was different in other ways, as well. For instance,
he points out that most parents at the time looked forward to the day when
they would be able to go back to the "old country." Living in Fresno was
seen as a temporary thing and this upbringing obviously influenced the kids
who were involved back then. In addition, growing up, Jamushian remembers
meeting legendary figures such as the Armenian general and hero Drastamat
"Dro" Ganaian on a visit to Fresno. As a result, the spirit of the homeland
and the stories of the fedayee movement were, in many ways, instilled much
deeper within the generation of that era.
Jamushian was also very involved in athletics and succeeded in scoring the
highest in the 220-yard dash and the running broad jump at the 1956 West
Coast AYF Olympics. "Some of us who also participated in high school track
and field were the ones who excelled," recalls Jamushian of his days as an
AYF Olympic athlete.
Upon graduating college, Jamushian went off to complete an active duty tour
in the Air Force as part of his ROTC commitment, effectively sidelining his
activism in the AYF. Following his service in the military, he continued to
work for the Air Force in various civilian capacities and completed the last
10 years of his career at the Office of the Secretary of Defense in D.C.
Through his experiences in the nation’s capital, Jamushian gained a much
better understanding of the importance of being involved in politics and
began taking a more active role within multiple facets of community life,
including the Armenian Church and the ARF. After moving back to Fresno, he
also became heavily involved in ANC work and became an integral part of the
ANCA-Western Region Board for several years.
Jamushian’s long-term dedication to the community illustrates how, for him,
being involved in the AYF was more than something conscribed to his youth.
He carried on the principles of commitment and justice that he learned there
well into his adult life, through virtually every capacity available to him.
He also stayed involved with generations of youth as an ARF advisor to the
Washington "Ani" AYF. For his lifetime of involvement and contributions to
the community, Jamushian was crowned AYF Olympic King at the 1992 games held
in Washington, D.C.
Today, when asked to reflect back on this long track record of activism,
Jamushian openly relates the special meaning the AYF has always held for
him. "For me, the AYF-since my youth until now-has been a major influence on
my life. It has just been a huge influence on my life-period."As for the
fate of the organization and what the future holds for the next 75 years,
Jamushian feels that "dealing with assimilation will be a considerable
hurdle to overcome." Yet, he adds, "to do this means dedicated parents
instilling in their children the sense of being hayaser." Just as he
remembers his early years in the AYF being an extension of his family life,
Jamushian continues to view the AYF as a "family thing." "The future of the
AYF is vested in dedicated parents," he insists. Indeed, with its legacy of
producing life-long relationships and individuals so heavily bonded to the
community, perhaps Jamushian is right. Perhaps the AYF does resemble more of
a family than an organization.
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2. AYF Youth Corps Builds Bridge to Homeland with Gyumri Day Camp
By Vartan Doudukjian
GYUMRI-Seven young Armenians from Southern California have decided to spend
their summer as volunteers in Armenia running a day camp for underprivileged
kids in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri.
Organized by the AYF’s Youth Corps, the camp opened its doors on Monday
Mon., July 28, accepting 40 children for its first session. Word spread
quickly around town and on Tuesday twice as many campers turned out, eager
to sign up and meet the diasporans who dedicated their summers to fly half
way around the world to open a day camp for children in Armenia.
The day camp, which operates five days a week, is managed and run solely by
a team of seven Armenian-American college students-Talar Boyajian, Sahag
Yedalian, Hilton Sarkozian, Ani Petrossian, Anahid Yahjian, Nina Dangourian,
and Vache Thomassian.
The seven Youth Corps volunteers are working as camp counselors, offering
children, ages 10-15, English language courses, organized sports activities,
song and dance lessons, and arts and crafts classes. In addition, campers
are also taken on weekly field trips, the first of which was a trip to a
local museum on Thursday.
"Our mission this summer is simple," explained Thomassian, the group’s
leader. "We want to connect Armenians in the diaspora with Armenians in the
homeland.
"Through this day camp, Youth Corps can do just that and also provide direct
assistance to underprivileged youth-Armenia’s most valuable and vulnerable
citizens."
"It’s only been a couple of days and you can already see the bond forming
between our campers and the Youth Corps counselors," Boyajian added. "This
really expresses a connection between Armenians despite their geographic
origins."
"In the diaspora, we have grown accustomed to the idea that Armenian youth
activism starts and ends with educational lectures and protests, but that’s
just one small aspect of what it means to be an involved Armenian," Yedalian
remarked. "When you send money to Armenia, the people only see the money.
But when you come here, role up your sleeves, and help, they see that
Armenians in the diaspora care.
Taking time to experience Armenia as more than just a tourist is very
important, they all agreed during a 2 a.m. group interview over the phone.
Quieting the others, Dangourian grabbed the phone and stressed that she
joined the Youth Corps team because she wanted to experience Armenia not as
a tourist but as an Armenian.
"I wanted to build connections with the people here. As a camp counselor I
am doing just that," Yahjian said, echoing Dangourian’s sentiments.
"You really feel that this is your homeland after spending an entire day
working and playing with the campers," exclaimed Sarkozian, who is in
Armenia for the first time this summer. "I am literally investing my time,
energy, and talents into my country and my people."
"The people here are really reaching out to us, coming up to us on the
streets to talk and thank us for opening the camp," Thomassian added. "We’re
doing something right here."
Landing in Yerevan on July 17, the Youth Corps team spent a week exploring
Armenia and Karabagh before arriving in Gyumri where they quickly began
converting a local school into their campground. In the days leading up to
the camp’s opening, the seven volunteers worked around the clock to prepare
the facilities where they would bring to life a day camp.
"We had spent months planning the camp, working in coordination with the AYF
in Armenia to find a camp site, create a curriculum, and work out all the
logistics," explained Youth Corps chairperson Sose Thomassian. "That took a
lot of work, but the most challenging part of organizing this year’s Youth
Corps mission was figuring out how we were going to fund the venture."
Many thought the project was too big for a committee of young volunteers to
take on, she explained, but a lot of dedicated people sacrificed their time
and came together to help raise the money needed to make the camp possible.
"Funding for the camp was done the old-fashioned way," explained Youth Corps
alumni and committee member Veronica Siranosian at a car wash in Pasadena
two weeks before the group left for Armenia. "We held car washes at gas
stations, hosted breakfasts at community centers, and sold CDs and T-shirts
from the trunks of our cars to friends and family at churches, community
centers, the Navasartian Games, and all types of community events."
When asked why she volunteered to help with this year’s program, Siranosian
paused momentarily and asked, "Isn’t it obvious?" Youth Corps changed her
life, she said. "It gave me a chance to make a difference in Armenia. Some
of my best memories are from laying bricks with my friends in a Karabagh
village."
The AYF Youth Corps program is open to all youth over the age of 18 who are
motivated and enthusiastic about helping Armenia. The program gives
dedicated individuals a unique opportunity to spend approximately six weeks
in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh working with people on the ground to make a
tangible contribution to the homeland.
For more information, email [email protected] or call (818) 507-1933.
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3. New York AYF Honors Khanasor, Lisbon Events
On July 25, the New York "Hyortik" AYF joined the ARF "Armen Garo" Gomideh
in commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Lisbon 5 and the 111th
anniversary of the Khanasor Expedition.
A capacity crowd joined both organizations in the Armenian Center in
Woodside, N.Y. to recall and celebrate the historical significance of these
two decisive episodes of the Armenian Cause.
The event began with the singing of the Armenian national anthem, followed
by welcoming remarks offered by AYF member Sossi Essajanian. "With these two
important events in our history, we show that we stand guard for our nation’s
right today, tomorrow, and forever," said Essajanian.
Mher Janoian of the AYF Central Executive was also on hand to offer a
message on behalf of the governing body. After noting the impact both events
had on the spirit of resistance among the Armenian people, Janoian turned
his attention to the large numbers of youth in the audience and stated, "The
AYF calls on all Armenian youth organizations and associations to bring
together their members and organize meetings to work on keeping the Armenian
culture in the diaspora and strengthening Armenia."
The program continued with several presentations made by AYF members
outlining the history of both events. A 30-minute documentary on the Lisbon
5 event was also shown, highlighting the personalities and lives of the five
young men from Lebanon who partook in that solemn mission.
Five members of the "Hyortik" AYF then took turns reading letters from
relatives of the Lisbon 5, reflecting on their loss and contemplating the
reason why they chose their actions. "We know that the destiny of the
Armenian has always been full of pain," read one of the letters.
"My consolation is that my son did not die an ordinary death; he sacrificed
the spring of his life and became a martyr along with his comrades on the
road to the liberation of his nation and his fatherland," it concluded.
A dramatic skit prepared and performed by members of the "Hyortik" chapter
followed the expression of these powerful sentiments. After the five boys in
the skit kneeled shoulder to shoulder in a circle in the darkness, inspiring
words from a poem dedicated to the Lisbon 5 were recited, bringing them
slowly to their feet.
This was accompanied by the raising of the Armenian flag and posters reading
"1915 Never Again," "Armenians Demand Justice," and "Recognize the Armenian
Genocide." This moving ending brought the audience to its feet for a
standing ovation.
Ara Caprielian of the "Armen Garo" Gomideh then took to the podium to speak
about the historical and psychological significance of the Khanasor and
Lisbon events.
"During the latter part of the 19th century, Western Armenians were
subjected to harrowing conditions in the Ottoman Empire where they were
denied elementary rights," said Caprielian in his description of the context
that gave rise to the Armenian liberation movement.
He highlighted how acts such as Khanasor and Lisbon ignited a new rigor for
struggle and victory within the Armenian nation. Caprielian concluded by
stating that "the struggle on behalf of Hai Tahd continues and we will
succeed as long as our commitment is forever, our resolve steadfast, and our
willingness to sacrifice unshaken."
Finally Bishop Anoushavan Tanelian closed the program by reflecting on the
event and commending the continued spirit of the youth. "Today, if we weren’t
here, where would we be?" asked Tanelian.
"At home or in front of the television, it would be a normal day. But I am
proud, happy, and congratulate the youth who brought us all together to
connect us with our roots."
Two days later, the "Hyortik" members joined the "Armen Garo" Gomideh in a
hokehanisd that took place at the St. Illuminator’s Armenian Cathedral to
remember the martyrs of the Khanasor Expedition and the Lisbon 5 event.