Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

Signature ANCA Career Development Program Gears Up for Winter and Spring 2021 Sessions

WASHINGTON—Recent university graduates – participating in the first-ever virtual class of the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program – praised the ANCA’s signature job-placement initiative for helping them kick-start their careers in Washington, DC amid a national health crisis.

For the first time in its 17-year history, the Gateway Program went fully virtual, working online with nine fellows from across the U.S. seeking to start careers in Congress and across the ever vigorous policy-making and political landscape of the nation’s capital.

“Being a part of the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program has helped me expand my network in DC and has allowed me to visualize my career path there,” explained Shant Arzoumanian, an alumnus of Lafayette College with a degree in Economics and Government and Law.  “It’s a very well-connected community that is very welcoming to young professionals seeking to start a career in DC.”

Adrienne Tazian Schwartz, who has degrees in Informatics and Economics from Indiana University, explained “I’m thankful for my experience participating in the ANCA Capital Gateway Program and I highly encourage any individual looking to start a career in Washington D.C. or otherwise become more involved in the Hai Tahd community to apply. The guidance I received from mentors within the ANCA community and connections I made will carry with me the rest of my career.”

Participants appreciated Program Director Sipan Ohannesian and the Capital Gateway Program Advisory Committee’s (CGPAC) coordination of a series of career placement workshops on a range of issues including resume and cover letter preparation, effective interview strategies, and networking. The CGPAC – comprised of a rotating group of successful program alumni – also connects fellows with mentors most closely aligned with their career goals for one-on-one advice and encouragement.

For Tania Eprem, who holds a Business Management degree from Farmingdale State College, these customized programs “established a great foundation for my job search process in Washington, D.C. They helped prepare me with professional development seminars, mentoring, and an invaluable network of professional Armenians in the area.”

Thanks to the program, Davit Petrosyan strengthened his professional ties in Washington, DC, expanding his LinkedIn network by 300%.  “I began reaching out and talking to a manager, director, supervisor level employees in different organizations who, to my surprise, not only found the time to speak to me but also helped me to improve my applications, suggested where to look for positions that match my background and skills and encouraged me to reach out at any time I believe they might be helpful,” said Petrosyan.  “Even though the program lasts only three months, its lessons contribute to a lifetime of professional growth and success.”  Petrosyan came to Washington, DC with a Masters in Security Studies from Charles University in Prague.

“I’m grateful to the Capital Gateway Fellowship for guiding me through my D.C. job search. Our networking, professional development, and mentorship seminars gave me the skills and confidence to pursue my dream career on Capitol Hill,” explained Flora Adamian, who has a Bachelors in Diplomacy and World Affairs and a minor in German from Occidental College. “It’s so important to have young Armenian-American representation in our nation’s capital, and I’m proud to be an alumna of the fellowship.”

“The Gateway fellowship has truly given me the tools to establish myself as a professional in this saturated market,” explained Gary Jamgotchian, who has a Bachelors in Economics with a minor in Sustainability from California State University, Northridge.  “I will always cherish the friends I was able to make in this program and the wonderful experiences it has given me.  I look forward to continuing my journey with the ANCA while creating positive changes for my community.”

Gevorg Novshadyan summed up his experience this way: “As a recent graduate looking for opportunities in a tough economy, I knew I had to get professional help to make myself a more attractive candidate. The ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program taught me vital skills about resume building, networking, and giving effective elevator pitches. I am now better prepared to enter and succeed in DC’s competitive job market.”  Novshadyan has a Masters in International Affairs (Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies) from Middlebury Institute of International Studies of Monterey.

Applications for the upcoming Winter and Spring 2021 sessions, are available at anca.org/gateway/application.  Winter 2021 applications are due on December 31st, with a session start date on January 11th.  The Spring session application deadline is February 20th, and will start on March 29th.  Additional information about the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program is available at anca.org/gateway, by emailing [email protected] or by calling (202) 775-1918.

“Starting a career in the middle of a pandemic can be a challenge, but one we have been eager to tackle in partnership with this remarkable class of bright, ambitious, and hard-working graduates and our incredible alumni,” said ANCA Programs Director Sipan Ohannesian, a seasoned policy professional with international experience in the defense industry. “As each finds success in their chosen field, the Armenian American community’s voice grows ever stronger in the nation’s capital.”

Launched in 2003 with a founding grant by the Cafesjian Family Foundation, the ANCA Gateway Program has emerged as the pre-eminent Armenian American career development program in the nation’s capital.  When the program is not virtual, fellows are offered three months of free housing at the ANCA’s Aramian House, located in the heart of Washington, DC, in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, just blocks from the ANCA offices.

The ANCA Gateway Program is named after Hovig Apo Saghdejian, a beloved young community leader who lost his life in a tragic car accident and whose eternal memory continues to inspire new generations of Armenian Americans.

His family generously established the Hovig Apo Saghdejian Memorial Fund in his memory and, over the past decade, has played a vital role in the expansion of the program. Substantial support has also been provided by longtime ANCA benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Frank and Barbara Hekimian and the Armenian American Veterans Post of Milford, Massachusetts (AAVO).

The purchase of The Aramian House was made possible through a generous donation by the family of the late community leader and philanthropist Martha Aramian of Providence, Rhode Island. The Aramian family – led by sisters Sue, the late Margo, and the late Martha – have long been among the most generous benefactors of ANCA programs as well as of charitable projects in the Armenian homeland and the Diaspora.

In response to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s invitation on Friday to all political forces to explore the possibility of holding snap parliamentary elections, the Homeland Salvation Movement, the coalition of 16 opposition forces calling for his resignation, responded by vowing to continue its efforts for his removal and the establishment of a National Accord government that will be tasked with organizing the said elections.

Pashinyan’s move on Friday signaled the prime minister’s refusal of both the Homeland Salvation’s calls, as well as growing number of political, academic and civic organizational circles, as well as President Armen Sarkissian, for the establishment of a national accord administrative body.

Below is a translated text of the Homeland Salvation Movement’s announced issued on Sunday.

Nikol Pashinyan announced his intention to convene consultations with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary forces to hold snap parliamentary elections in 2021.

We are confident that the prime minister’s willingness to hold immediate snap parliamentary elections stems exclusively from the unabated protests by the people generated by the Homeland Salvation Movement, as well as the people’s anger toward the disgraceful defeat in the war.

The collective demand of tens of thousands of our compatriots, the spiritual leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the intelligentsia, the legal community and various segments of the society is the to force Pashinyan to resign, which has forces him to address the snap election agenda.
We can state that this is the first victory of the Homeland Salvation Movement. However, at the moment, this is a fake political agenda aimed at manipulating and diverting public attention from the demand for the prime minister’s resignation.

A prime minister who has not moral or political legitimacy and cannot guarantee a free and fair electoral process. He has cause an unprecedented national schism, betrayed our national interests throughout the capitulating agreement, has endangered the country’s sovereignty by causing the country’s political diplomatic, socio-ecamonic and diplomatic collapse.

As we have previously declared, only an interim government formed following the prime minister’s resignation can make it possible to create an atmosphere of public solidarity in the country, to prevent the loss of statehood through crisis-prevention measures, after which early parliamentary elections will be held.

Our struggle is just, our demands are well-founded.

We will fight to the end for the salvation of the homeland.

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

Khrimian Hyrig is a highly revered clergyman. But, he is also a great leader who has given wonderful political advice to the Armenian nation.

His Holiness was born in Van, Western Armenia, in 1820 and became the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1869. Due to his nationalistic views, he was forced to resign by the Ottoman government in 1873. He was then installed as Catholicos of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin in 1893 and died in 1907.

Khrimian Hyrig is well-known for his participation in the Berlin Congress in 1878, hoping to receive from the great powers a decision to force the Ottoman Empire to establish substantial reforms in the Armenian provinces. He did not accomplish his objective because Armenians were powerless. He likened the failed Armenian efforts in the Berlin Congress to his attempt to eat from a bowl with a “paper ladle,” while other nations had an “iron ladle.”

The highly nationalistic Khrimian Hyrig exhorted his fellow Armenians to arm themselves: “People of Armenia, of course you understand well what the gun could have done and can do. And so, dear and blessed Armenians, when you return to the Fatherland, to your relatives and friends, take weapons, take weapons and again weapons. People, above all, place the hope of your liberation on yourself. Use your brain and your fist! Man must work for himself in order to be saved.”

Khrimian Hyrig’s wise words are just as valid today, particularly after the latest disastrous defeat Armenians suffered at the hands of better armed Azerbaijan and Turkey.
A recently surfaced letter by Khrimian Hyrig, written over a century ago, is as applicable today as it was back then. It is headlined: “If You Have an Independent State in the Future, Do Everything You Can to Never, Ever Lose Your Independence.”

Here is Khrimian Hyrig’s meaningful counsel which I have translated into English:

In the future, I hope you already have an independent state and you have realized our centuries-old dream. If so, you are now living in someone’s dream come true; in the dream of millions. I hope you realize the power of luck that has befallen you.

I would like to know what that dream is like in reality, but since I cannot see it with my own eyes, let me express my remarks with this letter. If you read these lines, I will become a part of your present and my future.

When I went to the Berlin Congress to raise the rights of our people around the world, only then did I realize that we must first have the right to have a right. That right is acquired with weapons.

You’ve probably heard of the “iron ladle”. The civilized nations of Europe, which seemed to us to be law-abiding and fair, gave us nothing but pity. Russia, which seemed to be a great friend of our people, other than sympathy, sees and hears nothing but its own interests.

The Armenian people seemed to be like a hungry child outdoors in the frosty winter, before whom everyone closed the doors of their homes. The Armenian people were without a care-taker, but the most important thing I understood was that we should not look for care-takers from abroad. There, in the future, I am sure, you will not look for foreign care-takers and you will not pin your hopes on Europeans, Russians or other states.

If you have an independent state, your only care-taker must be your own government. I hope the government will not leave you abandoned, but if it abandons you, what is the point of your independence?

The greatest misfortune of the people is that its own leaders treat them in the same way as the foreigners. We lived under the yoke of foreigners for centuries. They treated us cruelly and unfairly. We sought justice and did not find it. If you have an independent state, I hope there is justice there.

The Turks treated Armenians very unfairly. Can an Armenian treat another Armenian the same way? Here, in the past, one of the greatest tragedies of our people is its ignorance. How can an uneducated people find their place in this cunning world? The Turkish authorities will not allow this, as they see their danger in the education of our people. The greater the education of the people, the more restrained the government will be.

I devoted my whole life to spreading enlightenment in the Armenian provinces, but alone I could not do much. If you have a state, educate our people, spread enlightenment in the provinces. The uneducated people choose uneducated masters who oppress them and one day the uneducated people are obliged to choose foreign masters.

At a time when ordinary people are living in the provinces under the heavy burden of the situation, wealthy Armenians in Istanbul are living in sheer luxury. They are indifferent to the situation of the people, as if they were foreigners. The Turkish authorities even ally with them to keep the people obedient. I hope that the rich in your country are not so arrogant and are not allied with the bad government against the people.

In 1876, when the Ottoman Constitution was adopted, the hope for salvation awoke in us. We thought that the five-hundred-year-old, infertile and old mother Turkey brought forth to the old world a new, young constitution, but our hopes were dashed and time showed that they were beautiful letters written on paper, while the people continued to suffer. There, in the future, perhaps you also have a beautiful constitution and laws. I want your laws not to remain on paper like the Ottoman constitution.

And finally, I want to give you a message. Have ambassadors who properly voice the demands of the people to the world, and the clergy will not engage in diplomacy, leaving aside their flock. Have leaders who love the people, because the Armenian people have suffered a lot from the hatred of foreign leaders. And never seek foreign care-takers. And if you have in the future an independent state, do everything you can to never, ever lose your independence again.

These wise words are an excellent advice to every leader of Armenia and to the Armenian people worldwide. They are as appropriate today as they were back then when Armenia was not an independent country. Not a single person should aspire to lead Armenia without heeding Khrimian Hyrig’s prudent counsel. Armenia has numerous problems. But the two most important problems are:

1. Armenia needs to develop a powerful military to fend for itself without relying on other countries. A weak nation is always subject to the dictates of more powerful ones, as we witnessed in the recent Artsakh War. If you are weak, you have no rights and no one cares to come to your rescue. Unless Armenia becomes more powerful militarily and economically, it will always be subjugated, particularly since we are surrounded by vicious enemies who constantly plot our destruction.
2. The next important requirement for our nation is to have a competent leader, something we rarely had throughout our long history, and we do not have it today!