Author: nina hovnanian

AUA TO EXPAND REACH IN RURAL ARMENIA

March 11, 2013

Turpanjian Family Educational Foundation Pledges $750,000

YEREVAN-The American University of Armenia (AUA) recently announced
that it is establishing a Continuing Education Program (CEP) to
curtail rural-urban migration in Armenia. The CEP is funded through
a generous multi-year pledge of $750,000 from the Turpanjian Family
Educational Foundation.

(L-R) Gerald H. Turpanjian, AUA trustee and president of the Turpanjian
Family Educational Foundation, with Dr. Bruce Boghosian, AUA president.

“AUA is a small institution that’s a kaleidoscope of Armenia,” said
Gerald H. Turpanjian, AUA trustee and president of the Turpanjian
Family Educational Foundation. “We are pleased to increase our support
to allow AUA to expand its reach.”

The program, to be implemented by AUA Extension, will offer a tailored
curriculum to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the
local workforce in rural communities. The ultimate aim is to increase
local employment and stimulate stagnant rural economies.

“We are keenly aware that rural-urban migration is a serious problem in
Armenia, as it is in many developing countries throughout the world,”
said AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian. “Thanks to the vision and
philanthropic leadership of Mr. Turpanjian and the Turpanjian Family
Educational Foundation, AUA will offer high-quality extension courses
for professional development in Armenia’s rural areas, playing an
important role in mitigating this problem.”

The CEP will initially be launched in Shirak and Tavush in the
first year, expanding to two other regions in the following
year. Courses offered will specialize in business management,
tourism, and hospitality management, as well as career development
and professional training.

“Improving human capital in rural Armenia is essential to creating
new opportunities that will eliminate the need to migrate,” explained
AUA Extension Director Dr. Arpie Balian. “The courses offered through
these programs will address the respective labor markets and the
demand for different skills and competencies.”

AUA is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia.

Founded in 1991, AUA is affiliated with the University of California.

Through teaching, research, and public service, AUA serves Armenia
and the region by supplying high-quality graduate and undergraduate
education, encouraging civic engagement and promoting democratic
values. AUA is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior
Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges, 985 Atlantic Avenue, #100, Alameda, CA 94501.

AUA Extension’s mission aims to expand Armenia’s academic, industrial,
and technological development by fostering growth through accessible,
high-quality education, adult training, and lifelong learning
opportunities. For more information on AUA Extension, visit
For news about AUA, visit the university
Newsroom at newsroom.aua.am or follow developments as they happen on
social media at facebook.com/americanuniversityofarmenia.

AZERI SOLDIER KILLED BY SNIPER NEAR NAGORNO-KARABAKH

WorldBulletin.net, Turkey
March 11 2013

Azerbaijan accused forces backed by neighbouring Armenia on
Monday of killing an Azeri soldier near the occupied territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Azerbaijan accused forces backed by neighbouring Armenia on
Monday of killing an Azeri soldier near the occupied territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that the soldier
had been shot dead on Sunday by a sniper near the line of contact
with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is controlled by ethnic Armenians but
is inside Azerbaijan.

The ministry described this as a violation of a truce signed in 1994
but a military spokesman in Nagorno-Karabakh said the statement by
Azerbaijan “does not correspond with reality” and denied violating
the terms of the truce.

ARMENIA REVENUE CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Tax-news.com
March 11 2013

By Tatiana Smolenskaya, Tax-News.com, Moscow
11 March 2013

The head of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee has reaffirmed his
support for business investment in the country, in the face of
media reports claiming he was “hindering” the French hypermarket
group Carrefour from entering Armenia. A press release from the SRC
complains of media “disinformation,” and that clarifications sent by
the SRC to the news outlets concerned have not been published.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan expressed support for
Carrefour’s entry into Armenia last month, and SRC Chairman Gagik
Khachatryan confirmed shortly afterwards that there were no tax or
customs obstacles. However, Carrefour had been scheduled to enter
the country in autumn 2012, and reports have suggested that the delay
is because local oligarchs have been pressurizing the Government in
order to protect their own retail interests.

Khachatryan told the press last month that if it was the case that
someone in the customs service had been creating obstacles, he would
be willing to discuss the claim in public, but he explained that any
problems faced by Carrefour were unrelated to tax or customs.

Armenia’s largest supermarket chain is currently Alex Grig, which
is officially owned by the wife of a member of parliament with the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia. Khachatryan also announced last
month that 160 tax service experts were in the process of checking
Alex Grig’s finances.

ARAM SARGSYAN: FACTIONS SHOULD GIVE UP THEIR SEATS IN PARLIAMENT

Monday,
March 11

“I think Raffi Hovannisian is a true Christian. He has taken an
extreme step by going on hunger strike,” said the head of Republic
Party Aram Sargsyan who visited the ex-presidential candidate Raffi
Hovannisian in Liberty Square of Yerevan today.

“It is so regrettable that the candidate who took first place has to
go on hunger strike, demanding justice,” A. Sargsyan noted.

As a solution, the leader of Republic Party proposes that factions
of Armenia’s National Assembly should give up their seats.

“HAK (Armenian National Congress), Heritage Party, ARF-Dashanktsutyun
believe that Raffi Hovannisian has won, therefore it would be correct
if they gave up their seats in parliament,” A. Sargsyan said.

In his words, what he said does not apply to Prosperous Armenia Party
(BHK) because “BHK does not clarify whether it supports people who
voted for R. Hovannisian or those who voted for S. Sargsyan”.

In the opinion of Aram Sargsyan, thanks to the following three
circumstances, namely the hunger strike, the renouncement of
parliamentary seats, and the presence of many people at the next rally,
it is quite possible that Serzh Sargsyan will come to Liberty Square
or new parliamentary elections will be held.

TODAY, 19:16

Aysor.am

CULTURE IS BEYOND POLITICS, SAYS ARMENIAN NATIONAL HERO

TERT.AM
10:41 ~U 11.03.13

A hero of the Nagorno-Karabakh liberation war and the founder of
the traditional song and dance ensemble Karin, Garik Ginosyan, finds
large crowds’ protest against the official voting results absolutely
justified but says he remains maximum neutral to the post-election
developments.

Speaking to Tert.am, Ginosyan said he attends the opposition rallies
at Yerevan’s Liberty Square but avoids rising to the podium for
delivering speeches.

“Whatever the solution, a representative of culture has to after
all keep doing his job – create culture and bring up a generation,”
he said, adding that a passive stance on the processes would not be
justified either.

Ginosyan said he doesn’t approve of the intellectuals’ conduct, with
some backing the ruling authorities and others taking sides with
the opposition.

Asked whether such a situation doesn’t mean that the governing circles
and the opposition are using the intellectuals’ potential for their
interests, the artist answered, “I cannot say the sides are using
them. If they do, then they [intellectuals] are ready to be used.”

Ginosyan continued, “I wouldn’t like to sign credentials reaffirming
my support to them and my readiness for a revolution or just vice
versa. I don’t want to accuse anyone; it’s just my opinion [that it
is important] to stay beyond anti-ideological disputes to prevent
them from developing into internal splittings.”

To avoid clashes or scenarios similar to the 2008 post-election
protests, Ginosyan proposed that the sides initiate a dialogue to
realize the importance of drastic reforms. “So in case the ruling
authorities remain [in power], they are obliged to implement drastic
reforms; otherwise we will see – yet another time – the society’s
disintegration and degradation, which actually exists. In case new
authorities come to power, they too, are obliged to launch drastic
reforms. In both cases, however, they have to be maximum wise not to
hurt the country and the society,” he added.

BAKO SAHAKYAN SIGNS MEASURE TO COMPENSATE DEVALUED DEPOSITS

TERT.AM
12:47 ~U 12.03.13

President of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic Bako Sahakyan
signed Tuesday a bill for rewarding compensation to the citizens who
had their bank deposits devalued since 1993.

Under the measure signed, the sums will be paid by the Artsakh
Bank CJSC.

In addition, the cabinet has been tasked with making budgetary
allocations to give preliminary compensation to citizens born until
1974, as well as the families of the deceased Karabakh war heroes
and war veterans having first group disability.

I had a dream

Naira Hayrumyan, AGBU
14:22 09/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

As a school girl I dreamed about my city one day becoming a really big
capital to host presidents of foreign states, as well as ordinary
tourists from abroad window shopping large local stores and dining at
fancy local restaurants.But life in the small provincial town of
Soviet-era Stepanakert proceeded at a measured, conservative step,
leaving little room for any expectations of real big changes, and even
smaller ones weren’t anywhere in the offing. After graduating from
school many Karabakhis would leave for studies in big cities, some of
them later pursuing really successful careers as scientists and
scholars, military men, etc. They usually visited Karabakh during
summer vacations. Back then, Stepanakert resembled a large town of
summer homes. By the accents of those visitors one could easily tell
whether these `holidaymakers’ were permanent residents of Yerevan,
Baku or the North Caucasus (Russia).Everything changed in Karabakh in
1988. At one point I even thought my dream was beginning to come true.
First there were demonstrations – people marched through the city,
chanting `Miatsum’ (meaning a unification with Armenia) and `Lenin,
Party, Gorbachev’ (early naïve illusions that the Bolshevik Communist
Party founded by Lenin and led by reformist Secretary-General Mikhail
Gorbachev at that time could allow Karabakh Armenians, once wrongly
placed under Azerbaijani rule by Stalin, to reunite with Mother
Armenia). In 1991, the year that brought the formal demise of the
USSR, real presidents came – Boris Yeltsin and Nursultant Nazarbayev,
the first democratic leaders of Russia and of Kazakhstan. It was also
then that Stepanakert became a real capital of a real (if
`unrecognized’) State.And then also came the foreigners – albeit
dressed in uniforms of fedayeen. They spoke Armenian, but in some
strange dialect barely comprehensible to me. It turned out that they
were Diaspora Armenians from the United States, Syria and Lebanon. It
was also then that I started to learn the Armenian language and
Armenian history anew.My dream came true, but things worked out not
quite in a way I wanted them to be. It turned out that for my dream to
come true my city and myself had to go through the worst – a war. The
city was heavily bombed. People hiding in the basements of houses,
mostly women and children, were all together counting the number of
Grads – deadly artillery rockets of Soviet make used by Azeris to
shell Armenian towns and villages – falling all over the place,
destroying houses, killing and wounding civilians. The count was
usually 40. Then, while the Azeris were recharging their mortars, we
had some 20 minutes in which we could run outside to get to a spring
and fetch some water. My mother-in-law would come out of the
basement/bomb shelter and for some reason start sweeping the broken
glass caused by the shelling off the area at the entrance to the
house. She kept saying that order must be maintained at all times.Many
families lost their homes, many people lost their parents, children,
and had their fates ruined by these hostilities. My dream, meanwhile,
seems to have come true, as now Stepanakert has a presidential
administration of its own, government ministers, even SUVs in which
these officials drive (or are chauffeured) around the town. Foreign
visitors can be seen at almost every corner, fancy shops are full of
goods, there are fancy restaurants offering fancy menus, but for some
reason one wants to dream about something else. Maybe about a durable
peace and a real ceasefire on the borders where deadly skirmishes are
still an unfortunate and almost daily occurrence…In 1993 I worked as a
Russian-language teacher at a school in Stepanakert. Once I asked my
sixth-grade students to write a really-really short essay consisting
of just a couple of sentences. I asked them to explain briefly what
they thought war was. `You’ve got two minutes to put down your
thoughts and explain what war is,’ I told my students. I was sure that
they’d write about people being killed, crippled, houses being
destroyed under bombings. But they started to whisper to each other
and finally turned to me and asked: `What is the Russian word for
`looting’?’Looting, or plunder, is when, under the guise of war,
people take someone else’s property; something that does not belong to
them. For many in Karabakh it became a disease of sorts, an obsession,
a source of enrichment, while for some also the only escape from
hunger and cold. Then came the humanitarian aid, when Diaspora gifts
were being distributed. Getting it also became an obsession for
many.And while the common people survived on humanitarian aid, meager
`looting’ and some gardening, there suddenly began this emergence of
the new rich, these new generals, posh cars and big private homes in
my town. To people’s questions of whether it was moral to be building
such houses in post-war Karabakh, the then-president of Karabakh and
future president of Armenia Robert Kocharian answered that people need
to feel confident about their future so that they will continue to
live in this country.I don’t know if people could get that kind of
confidence from the sight of luxurious homes, but for sure they could
get mixed feelings, having watched the northern part of Stepanakert
turn into a huge city gravesite with more than 3,000 young, handsome
men buried there. Not far from that cemetery someone opened a
restaurant, naming it `The Living and the Dead’. At first glance, the
name is terrible and it can send shivers down your spine, or a flinch
of anger. But in post-war Karabakh the attitude towards the dead is
different. For most Karabakhis these dead are still alive. And a
cemetery for Stepanakert is just a large bedroom where their family
members are resting after a tiring battle.In the courtyard of this
restaurant there is a small church, Vararakn. Vararakn is the ancient
name of Stepanakert, which means a `full-flowing stream’. The legend
has it that some 1,500 years ago King Vachagan the Pious vowed to God
to build 300 churches across the Armenian land. He traveled around the
country and in the place where his horses were stomping on the ground
to warn there was water underground, he would dig a spring and build a
church on that site. Vararakn is one of those surviving churches.But
for some reason the church does not function, perhaps because it is
part of private property as it is situated in a territory privatized
under the restaurant. This is very much like the history of Karabakh
proper, as there wasn’t a single functioning church in Karabakh for
more than half a century.The first time I saw a `real’ priest was in
1986 when I was on an excursion to Echmiadzin, to the Holy See of the
Armenian Apostolic Church. Before that the church seemed to me
something fabulous, non-existent. In the 1930s the last church was
closed in Karabakh. My mother kept, in a closet, a portrait of
Catholicos Vazgen I and that image of the supreme head of the Church
embodied Christian morality in our house. The first church to open in
Karabakh in 1988 was Gandzasar, a majestic 13th-century edifice in the
Martakert province. Then other churches were reopened one after
another, and it turned out that almost every village had a small
church and it was enough to clean a thin layer of dust off them to get
their bells ringing again.Now a cathedral is being built in
Stepanakert. Meanwhile, in the lower part of the Karabakh capital a
small church has been constructed at the expense of Armenian American
philanthropists, the Vatche Yepremian family, from California. It is
never empty – people come here to pray for the repose of the dead and
for new births; students come here to ask God for good marks during
exam sessions, and this itself demonstrates that Karabakh has returned
to God.Generally speaking, there’s a lot of building going on in
Stepanakert. A guest who visited the city during AGBU’s Assembly in
October, compared the main street of Stepanakert to the famous
Champs-Elysées in Paris. This is, of course, a bit of a stretch, but
the street has greatly improved.In a way, though, things still look
like fancy props, as the beautiful facades of the buildings hide that
same measured provincial life of Stepanakert, with men playing
backgammon and women skillfully hanging linen and clothes on lines
stretched between the houses.Stepanakert courtyards generally resemble
a large exhibition of underwear. And visitors happily take pictures of
this `tourist attraction’. Most women in Karabakh are laundry-hanging
freaks, as they treat the job as a sacred art – linen and clothes need
to be arranged neatly on the washing line, following a special order
and keeping in mind the colors and sizes. And God forbid you break
this order. My mother-in-law, for example, taught me how to hang
clothes correctly `not to lose face in front of our
neighbors’.Karabakh has a provincial way of life in the positive sense
of the word. It is a fairly quiet place where life does not have a
frantic pace typical of big countries and cities. Here people appear
to have more time and space for pondering about life and stuff…But
this measured pace of life and this typical post-war aspiration for
stability at times turn the place into a stagnant bog in which people
are afraid to speak out, even to defend their common rights. Although
during the latest presidential election in July more than 30 percent
of Karabakh voters who went to the polls refused to support the
incumbent, but voted for the candidate who, in fact, criticized him,
nothing has changed after the elections. People are still afraid to
speak out, perhaps remembering that their president’s resume includes
having been a former KGB boss.But Stepanakert has never been
provincial in terms of the scale of local thought. Folks in the
Karabakh capital think globally. As one person used to say, everyone
in Stepanakert knows about the potato crop in Honduras, and who
assassinated JFK and why. The locals are able to dream on a universal
scale. They even joke that if it weren’t for their dreams, two of the
three presidents of Armenia would not have been natives of
Karabakh.Today’s Stepanakert, a beautiful, clean and cozy city, has
been built on these dreams as well as on a very clear understanding of
liberty and equality. And even the threat of war does not stop the
locals from looking into the future to see tomorrow and the day after
tomorrow. Why not? Shushi could turn out to be the capital of a united
Armenia.My dreams often come true, and this one could be no exception.

La Voix du Nord, France
jeudi 7 mars 2013

VALLEIRY Les photographies insolentes de Vahé Markarian

C’est une très belle exposition de photos que présentent actuellement
les Ateliers du Vuache. Paysages de nature somptueux, portraits
cocasses de gendarmes ou de maquignons, alpinistes tutoyant les
sommets ou chats complices, les photos de Vahé Markarian ont pour
point commun d’avoir été réalisées à l’instant juste, au moment précis
où l’émotion, la drôlerie, l’insolence ou la grce se trouvaient
fugacement dans le viseur de l’appareil ! Habitué des expositions et
des concours de photographies – 38 premiers prix !

– Vahé Markarian est un homme au destin peu commun. Né en Syrie en
1941, ce fils d’un sergent-chef de l’armée française débarque à
Marseille à l’ge de huit ans. S’il ne parle pas un mot de français,
le jeune Vahé va très vite s’intégrer, notamment grce à ses talents
de gardien de but, qui lui permettent d’être adopté par les autres
écoliers ! De Marseille, la famille rejoint bientôt
Issy-les-Moulineaux, une ville de la région parisienne qui accueille
une partie importante de la diaspora arménienne en France. Tout en se
formant aux métiers de la micromécanique, Vahé Markarian reste un
gardien de but performant qui joue en division d’honneur et en CFA
dans des clubs de la région parisienne. Et c’est justement le foot qui
va décider de son avenir, car un dirigeant du club de Thonon a repéré
ses talents de gardien de but et va le faire venir sur les bords du
Léman, une région dont il tombe immédiatement amoureux ! Poursuivant
sa formation professionnelle, notre homme s’installe bientôt à
Jonzier-Epagny et travaille à Genève, où il continuera à pratiquer le
football, évoluant en ligue nationale B, à Meyrin. C’est à cette
époque qu’il se découvre une passion pour la photographie. Bien équipé
en argentique, il développe lui-même ses photos noir-blanc dans le
labo qu’il a installé dans sa maison. Au début des années 1980, il
abandonne le foot pour se lancer dans la randonnée et l’alpinisme.
Aujourd’hui retraité, ce grand-père épanoui s’est mis au numérique
sans état d’me, toujours intéressé à saisir dans son viseur les
moments de grce que lui offre la vie… D. ERNST

Revues.org-
8 mars 2013

Dédéyan, Gérard (dir.), Histoire du peuple arménien (Toulouse, Privat, 2007)
Julien Gilet
Référence(s) :

Dédéyan, Gérard (dir.), Histoire du peuple arménien, Toulouse, Privat,
2007 (1ère éd. 1982), 991 p., ISBN 9782708968745.

2009

Texte intégral en libre accès disponible depuis le 08 mars 2013.

Afficher l’image1Publié dans le cadre d’ « Arménie, mon amie, année de
l’Arménie en France », ce livre est une refonte quasi complète de la
version parue vingt-cinq ans plus tôt sous le titre Histoire des
Arméniens. De nouveaux auteurs sont venus compléter et modifier son
contenu et sa présentation.

Cet ouvrage n’est pas le premier à traiter de l’histoire des
Arméniens. Il reprend d’ailleurs le titre de celui de J. de Morgan
paru au sortir de la Première Guerre mondiale1. Le premier du genre
date du début du xixe siècle et fut écrit par A. J. de Saint Martin2.
Plus tard, R. Grousset3, qui se limite uniquement au Moyen ge, ou
encore H. Pastermadjian4, écrivirent leur propre histoire des
Arméniens. Des ouvrages de langue anglaise5 ou encore arabe6 sont
également à mentionner. Mais de part sa richesse documentaire
l’ouvrage publié sous la direction de Gérard Dédéyan nous paraît être
le plus complet.

7 Il est toutefois regrettable qu’un livre de cette qualité contienne
un court article (une page et d (…)
3De la même manière que dans les autres ouvrages cités, on suit
chronologiquement cette histoire du peuple arménien depuis les
Ourartéens jusqu’Ã la République d’Arménie en 2007. Mais six des
vingt-et-un chapitres sont, au contraire, thématiques : « Terre,
peuple et langue », « Débris d’indépendance nationale et diaspora (des
origines au xviiie siècle) », « L’Église dans l’Arménie contemporaine
(1921-2007) », « La culture dans l’Arménie contemporaine (1921-2007)
», « La grande diaspora arménienne (XIXe-XXIe siècle) » et, enfin, «
Les Arméniens en France du début du xie au début du xxe siècle ». Ce
sont ces chapitres qui sont sans aucun doute les plus intéressants
puisqu’ils ne se contentent pas de suivre de façon linéaire un déroulé
des faits, mais font des synthèses sur des périodes et territoires
étendus. Le premier tente de préciser avec plusieurs points de vue ce
qui caractérise un Arménien et cherche une définition à ce que l’on
peut appeler « l’arménité »7 en interrogeant des critères ethniques,
géographiques ou encore linguistiques. Le dernier chapitre fait le
point sur la présence arménienne en France depuis le Moyen-ge, en
mettant en exergue quelques grandes personnalités.

4Cet ouvrage est sans aucun doute la référence incontournable
concernant l’histoire générale des Arméniens. Il s’adresse tout autant
aux non spécialistes qu’aux chercheurs chevronnés, lesquels trouveront
à la fin de chaque chapitre une bibliographie commentée leur
permettant d’enrichir et de poursuivre leur réflexion. Ã la suite des
vingt et un chapitres, nous trouvons une chronologie de plus de vingt
pages, deux index (noms de personnes et noms de lieux) et surtout
vingt-quatre cartes qui forment un mini-atlas très pratique et
facilitant la compréhension de cette longue histoire. Certains aspects
auraient toutefois mérité d’être plus développés, en particulier Ã
propos des communautés arméniennes médiévales du Proche-Orient.

Haut de pageNotes
1 De Morgan, J., Histoire du Peuple arménien depuis les temps les plus
reculés de ses annales jusqu’Ã nos jours, Paris, Berger-Levrault,
1919.

2 De Saint Martin, A. J., Mémoires historiques et géographiques sur
l’Arménie, Paris, 1819, 2 vols. On considère cet ouvrage comme
fondateur des études arméniennes.

3 Grousset, R., Histoire de l’Arménie des origines à 1071, Paris, Payot, 1947.

4 Pastermadjian, H., Histoire de l’Arménie depuis les origines
jusqu’au traité de Lausanne, Paris, Librairie orientale H. Samuelian,
1949.

5 Redgate, A. E., The Armenians, coll. The Peoples of Europe,
Blackwell Publishers, Oxford ; Hovannisian, R. G., 2004, The Armenian
people from ancient to modern times, 2000, 2 vol.

6 Al-MÅ«dawar, M., Al-Arman Ê»abr al-tÄ?rīḫ, Damas, Librairie Nobel,
1983. Contrairement à ce que l’on pourrait penser, l’auteur n’utilise
aucune source arabe et se base uniquement sur des sources arméniennes.

7 Il est toutefois regrettable qu’un livre de cette qualité contienne
un court article (une page et demie) d’anthropologie
physique/biologique, intitulé « Les Hommes » et écrit par Robert H.
Hewsen, nous ramenant à une époque que nous pensions révolue et à des
considérations d’un autre ge. L’auteur y évoque une certaine
morphologie (taille, forme du crne, couleur de peau…) typique des
Arméniens¦

Haut de pagePour citer cet article
Référence électronique
Julien Gilet, « Dédéyan, Gérard (dir.), Histoire du peuple arménien
(Toulouse, Privat, 2007) », Bulletin d’études orientales [En ligne],
Comptes rendus, Ouvrages d’Histoire, mis en ligne le 08 mars 2013,
consulté le 10 mars 2013. URL :

PETRA News Agency, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
March 10 2013

Queen Rania visits Armenian Relief Society

Amman, Mar 10 (Petra) – Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah paid a
visit today to one of the oldest societies in Jordan, the Armenian
Relief Society, in Jebel Al Ashrafieh in Amman.

Established in 1946, the society aims at preserving the cultural
identity of Jordan’s Armenians, improving the educational, social,
health and welfare of the community as well as encouraging citizens to
be more involved in public service and other local organizations that
support local communities.

The society also provides humanitarian aid to families in need and
scholarships to students regardless of their ethnic origin or
religious affiliation.

Upon her arrival, Her Majesty met with the society’s board members
including Vice Chairman Arsineh Jambazian who briefed the Queen on the
different services the society provides to empower the Jordanian
community and women in specific. She expressed the community’s pride
in its Jordanian identity and Hashemite leadership.

Queen Rania then met members of the society’s general assembly and
congratulated the women on the occasion of International Women’s Day,
which was marked last Friday. She also added that Jordan is rich
because of its diversity and the people who live in it, and the
Armenians are part and parcel of the broader Jordanian family.

Her Majesty added that this society is very unique, and is well known
for its high level of commitment and professionalism.

Board member Aline Banayan gave a presentation about the history of
the Armenian community in Jordan.

Other women shared their own stories and explained how they started
their social work.

Her Majesty also watched a performance by ARAZ, a junior and youth
Armenian folklore dance group which was established in 2007 as a way
to preserve the cultural identity of the Armenians in Jordan. The
group today consists of about 47 members.

Before ending her visit, the Queen checked on some products and
handicrafts as well as some traditional dishes and desserts made by
members of the Armenian Relief Society.

//Petra//SS
10/3/2013 – 07:07:35 PM