Category: 2022

In May 2014, I was traveling from Van to Kars with my wife and a group of close friends. Not long after passing the northeast-most corner of Lake Van, I was looking up at the countryside when a structure along the mountain ridge caught my eye, and I had our driver stop. There was no access for our vehicle, and the structure was too far in the distance to walk, but I grabbed my most powerful camera lens and took some photographs of what was obviously a church.

Sourp Sdepanos in 2014 (Photo by George Aghjayan)

With a bit of research, I was able to determine that the church was known as Sourp Sdepanos, located in the region of Pergri or Berkri, which is now known as Muradiye. The church was dedicated to the son of the priest, Der Housgan. 

Sp. Sdepanos viewed from the south (A. Haghnazarian 1971)

The Research on Armenian Architecture collection by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute details an interesting legend surrounding the church. It is said that the wife of Der Housgan was kidnapped by Tatar soldiers and sold to a Christian woman in Tabriz. This woman agreed to release Der Housgan’s wife if a son was born to the couple and committed to the priesthood. “The son that was born, whom they named Sdepanos, did indeed display saintly ways and powers, and a great passion for helping the poor.” Der Sdepanos is considered to have died at the end of the 13th century, and the church was built in his honor.

It is believed that the original church was destroyed by the 17th century. The current church was built sometime during the same century through the efforts of Pilibos I, Catholicos of Aghtamar. 

Various Turkish media outlets recently reported on a new road being constructed by the Muradiye municipality to improve access to the Sourp Sdepanos church. The primary objective is to encourage tourism. It is claimed that the Museum in Van has initiated research on the church and that Mehmet Top, a faculty member at Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi, has been investigating the church over a number of years. While acknowledging the role “man” has played in the destruction of the church, equal attribution is given to natural conditions. 

Anyone who has traveled over a period of time in the region of Van, and elsewhere in Turkey, can well imagine the role looters and treasure seekers have played in the years since the Genocide, prior to which the Armenians constituted at least two-thirds of the population in the region of Pergri. 

Just as significant are the ruins of an even older Armenian monastery of Arkelan on the cliffs above Sourp Sdepanos. The monastic complex included the church of Sourp Asdvadzadzin and dates to a much earlier period, most probably prior to the 11th century. The monastery was famous as a scriptorium, producing important manuscripts into the 17th century. We can see that the monastery is largely in ruins from satellite imagery, yet there still are remnants. J. M. Thierry, in his volume on the Armenian monuments of Vasbouragan, details the Armenian inscriptions at both sites and includes numerous photographs.

It remains to be seen if the increased accessibility to the church ruins will decrease or increase the likelihood of further vandalism. As we see even today, the security of both Armenians and our cultural heritage cannot be taken for granted.

The Davidkhanian Mansion on Sepah Street, now owned by the Iranian government (Courtesy of H.D. Wright)

Nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran recently resumed. It is unclear if the talks will lead to a mutually beneficial agreement or come to represent yet another step backwards in the historically fraught US-Iranian relationship.

Far before these two great nations first sat down at the negotiating table in 2015, my mother’s family, originally from Armenia, served Persia. The Davidkhanians played a leading role in the modernization of the Persian state, occupying posts in politics, diplomacy, and the military since the Great Game. When the Pahlavis replaced the Qajars in 1925, my family continued to serve, setting aside partisan loyalties in service of the greater Persian nation.

At roughly the same time in history on the other side of the world, my father’s family set sail for the New World. Upon arrival, they built homes in New England. One ancestor, William Brewster, served as the religious leader of the Plymouth colony.

Over two centuries later, these two realities came into contact, a miracle only possible in the nation of immigrants. My great-grandparents left Iran for New York in 1944, my grandmother in tow. My mother was born just over two decades later and grew up in the New York apartment where Lois Lane interviews Superman, all the while dreaming of Iran. In 1991, she met my father, a recent graduate of Columbia University, on a blind date. Soon after, my twin sister and I were born, at the confluence of these two worlds.

Growing up, I visited the places that represent the American part of my identity, but Iran has always remained distant, invisible and unknowable.

I hope that one day I can see what my grandmother saw on Avenue Pahlavi as she was ferried out by a British military escort. I hope that one day I can visit the graves of my ancestors at St. George’s in the Armenian quarter of Isfahan.

I want to visit the portraits of my ancestors in the Vank Cathedral. I want to visit the house on Sepah Street where my great-grandparents lived. I want to see the baths behind the house, where thousands of Armenians came to bathe, free from the pollution of religious persecution. I want to walk around the lily pond where Reza Shah and Alexander Khan strode arm in arm, if it is still there.

I want to see it all.

I have tried to uncover what I can about the places my ancestors inhabited, but the vast majority of Iranian archives are inaccessible to the American expatriate. The US State Department has long cautioned Americans from visiting them in person.

All I have now are snapshots of history, moments frozen in time, that have led me to these dreams. Each generation, my family’s history slips closer to oblivion. If we fail to repair the fractured relationship, our shared history could be lost forever.

Amidst the chaos of international politics, it is easy to lose sight of the consequences of enmity. My family’s fragmented relationship with Iran is but one example of loss among many. The diaspora is enormous, and each family has lost something sacred.

Although the nuclear deal offers a rare opportunity for dialogue between the US and Iran, it will not bring us closer to recovering the history that is at risk of being lost, nor will it repair the relationship that has been damaged. The nuclear deal is yet another example of the US strong-arming Iran into serving national interests, just as they have done since 1953 when the C.I.A. deposed PM Mohammad Mossadegh.

Until the US sees Iran as a partner rather than an adversary to be manipulated and exploited, true progress will remain elusive.

It was over 33 years ago that a devastating earthquake shattered Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri. Since then, the city has been recovering, albeit very slowly. One of its great advantages has been the creation of the Gyumri IT Center (GITC) in 2005, initiated and financed by the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR). The goal of GITC was to develop and support a qualified labor force for the IT industry in Armenia which would encourage businesses already functioning in Yerevan to gradually open branches in Gyumri.

“This program would empower young talented people from Gyumri with technological abilities” so that this skilled labor force would attract businesses to follow. And most of all, these young skilled people would have a decent job and stop looking to other countries for employment benefits. They would stay in their homeland and work for its brighter future.

Now 16 years later, Gyumri has become the second hub of IT in Armenia with more than 30 high-tech companies headquartered there. GITC is not only helping Gyumri today, but it is also providing high-quality training to talented youth all across the homeland. In 2021, it opened a branch in Yerevan. GITC graduates are almost 100 percent employed with some getting jobs even before they graduate.

“As members of the FAR Board of Directors, one of the most critical roles we serve is to nurture and guide promising programs to advance and build a better life for the next generation of Armenians. From a pioneering idea 16 years ago, GITC has already impacted the lives of thousands of young Armenians who have acquired high level technological skills and good paying jobs in Armenia as a result of advanced training at GITC,” says Dennis Tarzian, FAR board member and one of the founders of GITC. 

GITC executive director Amalya Yeghoyan

Interestingly, the majority of GITC’s decision-making managers are women, including executive director Amalya Yeghoyan, who revealed in a telephone interview that GITC “is becoming a partner of the biggest technological companies like DISQO, SmartClick, etc…in scaling high quality training in the most advanced sectors of IT across all of Armenia and thus, securing employment.”

“We are very proud of Amalya and her growth as a leader who continually seeks new ways to partner with other tech companies and leading universities to ensure that GITC’s curriculum is evolving alongside the rapid changes in the technology sector,” continued Tarzian. 

The next vision for GITC leaders is to make Armenia “a regional hub” for high quality IT training. A program has already begun to train a group of high schoolers in engineering disciplines with amazing results.

Yeghoyan’s goal has always been to teach young people “how to fish, not receive fish for eating.” A graduate of Gyumri’s Pedagogical University majoring in English, her goal in the tech sphere was not to be proficient in the technical aspects of the industry, but instead “to be a good manager.”

Becoming GITC Executive Director in Gyumri in 2010, she was mentoring 50 percent male students, and 50 percent female. She proudly said that in the world Armenia has the highest percentage of females in tech, more than 35 percent.

In 2018, Yeghoyan joined the Ministry of Transport, Telecommunications and Information Technology in Armenia as deputy minister. “I made a decision as a female,” she said with understandable pride. “Women can be better leaders, but the most important factor is to be professional. Women should perform as professionals,” she stressed.

Since the pandemic began two years ago, GITC courses have been online. Since 2005, GITC has supported more than 5,000 young people to enter the burgeoning IT industry of Armenia. Many found positions, including senior ones, with the most famous tech companies. There are more than 200 students in its various technical education programs annually.

“GITC is unique,” she declared, “because it offers low fee technical education that is in high demand by employers. Though technical education is not cheap, it can develop and empower young people,” she added. “Thanks to the Fund for Armenian Relief, which subsidizes our trainings, it became affordable for young people, especially those coming from poor families. It is one of the few industries in Armenia where there are more jobs available.” She emphasized that it “is the only important program to prevent young talented people from leaving Armenia, and this is true for all developing countries. Technology is the answer.”

Apart from providing tech education and employment opportunities to talented young Armenians GITC is partnering with international and local organizations to support specific groups of populations in Armenia. After the Artsakh War, it has been providing tech skills to the veterans and family members of martyred soldiers through the funding from Armenian Bold Women Association, UMCOR Armenia and Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America. Up to 100 beneficiaries have already graduated this year and are ready to enter the IT labor market.

Another valuable partner is the California-based Armenian Educational Foundation. AEF supported the establishment of the Deep Engineering Laboratory and the program for high school students in Gyumri Polytechnic high school.

Ani Vardanyan

Twenty-two year old Ani Vardanyan was born in Russia and came to Armenia with her family in 2007. A graduate of the Polytechnic University in Yerevan, she understood at age 17 that technology, as a growing sector, is her field. As a student at GITC, she applied for a job and was admitted to Solicy Company in Yerevan as a software developer.

She related that IT development in Armenia is the key to making her country wealthy. Enthusiastically, she praised the GITC program which she said gave her “the technical skills, as well as training for the job interview in order to be a good employee.”

Armenia, she said, “is top in high technical innovation and research creativity.” There are up to 800 IT companies in Armenia that have hired 20,000 IT workers, and GITC graduates enter the field with 90-percent employment.

For Vardanyan, GITC “was so inspiring” with its advantages of “huge teamwork.” She readily shares her knowledge with other students and even trains others with them. “I owe all this to GITC.”

Shoghik Grigoryan

Shoghik Grigoryan was born in 1989 in Gyumri. After graduating from Yerevan State University, she completed the full GITC program. Later, she got married and moved to Stepanakert with one child.

“I received general theoretical knowledge at the university, but GITC allowed me to choose a specific Web programming profession.” This led to a job offering upon graduation in her favorite field. “I attach great importance to the period of study there. It gave me professional knowledge, but also the experience that I later applied to my teaching methods at Artsakh State University.” She also taught at Shushi Technological College.

During the start of the 44-day tragic war, she was in Artsakh, and moved to shelters, then to Armenia with the women and children. Her husband stayed to defend the homeland. “The war changed almost everything in our lives. Thousands of Armenians, including my students, relatives and friends gave the ultimate sacrifice. Luckily, her husband survived.

“The pain, anger and fear are still lingering. But Artsakh needs us more now. Of course, I will continue to live here, when my people need all of us more now.” Artsakh is in “great need of the GITC program, because as we became convinced during the war, it is critical to have qualified specialists in the field of IT.”

GITC, she continued, “was the only established institution during my studies that provided practical knowledge for requirements of the labor market. The important role of the Gyumri center is great because it is constantly evolving, innovating and basing its teachings on the demand of the IT market. It was number one when I studied, and it is number one today.”

A center like GITC “not only provides theoretical and practical knowledge and skills, it also prepares its students like no other schooling in the hi-tech business, where the demands are much higher than just technical knowledge.”

With GITC having many graduates in its 16-year existence, she called on all graduates “to always walk ahead of time, taking into account the rapid developments in our field, to always be ready to take everything new, and to develop and invest in them for the sake of strengthening our homeland.”

“There are always new challenges but as we look out into the future we hope to scale GITC with new approaches such as distance learning and self-paced online instruction to reach even more students. Armenia is blessed with a vast resource of talented STEM students; our job is to prepare them to compete for those jobs anywhere in the world and help young people become more optimistic about their future in Armenia,” concludes Tarzian.

Harry Keshishian’s 100th birthday celebration at the Oakley Country Club, December 29, 2021 (Photo provided by Albert D. Parseghian)

WATERTOWN, Mass. — Harry Keshishian, a member of the Armenian American Veterans of Greater Boston (Amvets), has turned 100 years old.

The new centenarian, who was drafted to the US Army in October 1942 at the start of World War II, was the guest of honor at a small celebration hosted by Amvets at the Oakley Country Club on December 29, 2021.

“I said to myself, how long can this go on?” he chuckled, when asked what he wished for upon blowing out his candles. “I take it as it comes,” he sighed, referencing a well-known Yogi-ism: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!”

Born on December 30, 1921 in the Bronx, Keshishian moved to Watertown, Massachusetts with his family at a very young age. He attended Watertown High School, where he fondly recalled building scale models of flyable airplanes with three close friends, who have since passed. He later attended Wentworth Institute of Technology, where he studied to become a machinist. During the war, he served in cities across the US, working hard at aircraft factories. He says he never experienced battle and was ultimately discharged in 1946.

In the years that followed, Keshishian worked with his father at a Boston-based photo engraving company. He raised three children with his wife Osnif, who he lovingly cared for during her long battle with multiple sclerosis. She passed away in 2007. That same year, Keshishian joined the local Amvets.

A self-proclaimed “fierce American,” Keshishan is an all-around history buff. “I love this country. There’s no other country like it,” he told the Weekly. 

But his heart also beats for his homeland. Keshishian, who said his maternal grandfather was the prolific author and educator Tavit Khachgonts, was pained to witness from afar the tragedy of the 2020 Artsakh War. “It bothers me very much that Armenia is always suffering from these turmoils,” he expressed, “Being such a small country, there’s very little friendship around Armenia except maybe Russia. It seems no one pays attention to Armenia. I just hope that they can keep the peace because it’s so small and powerless that they can’t do very much.”

Keshishian, who now lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, says he values the friendships he’s built over the years. “When I reminisce, it’s strange how life starts and ends,” he shared, “It’s nowhere near what you’d expect. You just have to do the best you can.”

Artists in Hamazkayin Children of Artsakh arts program hard at work creating while the masterpieces of other little artists dry

During the height of the Artsakh War in November 2020, the Hamazkayin Central Executive launched an art therapy program called Children of Artsakh with financial support from three Hamazkayin regional executives (Eastern USA, Western USA and Canada). Executive Director of Hamazkayin’s Artsakh office Hermine Avagyan, who was herself displaced with her three young children, organized the program for the children of Artsakh who had fled to various regions of Armenia during the war. Thanks to Avagyan’s tireless efforts, the project was created to meet the cultural, social and psychological needs of these displaced children.

Most of these children were living in very cramped and sometimes unhealthy quarters with their mothers, grandparents and extended families while most of their fathers (in fact, almost all of their male relatives) were on the front lines in Artsakh. The children were not attending school and there were no programs for the children to have social, educational or any type of interaction with other kids.  These children were living day in and day out absorbing the fear and anguish of the adults in their lives with the additional constant worry about the well-being of their fathers and male relatives. There were no activities being offered to these kids so at the very least they could come out of these traumatizing conditions for a few hours a day. This is the backdrop as the Children of Artsakh program was initiated.

At first, it was challenging to find and gather these children scattered throughout various regions of Armenia. In the chaos and overwhelming pressures of the war, it was also a delicate process to convince the mothers of these children to participate in these programs. Hamazkayin’s Artsakh office team, with the assistance of displaced Artsakh teachers, began searching for children whose families had sought refuge in Yerevan hotels. They also announced the launch of the project on social media. As word spread, the number of participants grew by day. The Children of Artsakh program in Armenia began in Yerevan, Abovyan and Dilijan and continued until May 2021. As displaced families started to move back to Artsakh, the program followed and was relaunched in earnest in various regions of Artsakh itself.

A participant in the Children of Artsakh program shares his artwork of Saturn

Initially, the purpose of the program was art therapy. No other organization was focused on the psychological well-being of these children as they endured the hardships of war, including having their fathers on the frontlines. Most of these children were living in less than desirable conditions with the adults around them understandably consumed with worry, grief and anguish. Avagyan and Hamazkayin Central Executive felt this program was vital to safeguard what could be salvaged of these children’s psychological well-being.

“During the war, when we started the program in Armenia, the biggest challenge was to help the children cope with the trauma of the war. Most of these children were depressed and stressed which was reflected in the dark and ominous drawings they produced. With therapy and continued focus on their psychological well-being, and of course with the passage of time, the children began to choose brighter colors and produced more colorful drawings. Thanks to the great team of teachers and psychotherapists that Hamazkayin brought together, the children regained some of their cheerful and optimistic outlook,” recalled Avagyan.

In January of 2021, the program relaunched in Stepanakert as most families from the capital city were the first to return to their homes. From January to May of 2021, the program ran concurrently in Armenia and Artsakh. Today, Children of Artsakh operates exclusively throughout Artsakh proper, including villages in the regions of Martuni and Martakert most of which now sit on the line of contact with Azerbaijani soldiers looking down on these villages.

Children of Artsakh has expanded its programs beyond art to include Armenian traditional dance, chorus and crafts for children ages 8-14. The program has active groups in Stepanakert, as well as in the villages of Gaghartsi, Ashan and Majgalashen in the Martuni region and the village of Maghavouz in the Martakert region. In addition, the Hamazkayin Artsakh office also runs a tutoring program for high school seniors who are preparing to take their college entrance exams. Prior to the war, these students would have resources dedicated to them by their schools or even their own families’ abilities to hire tutors in order to prepare for these exams. As a consequence of the war, many of these services are no longer available and the families themselves do not have the resources to hire private tutors. As an extension of the Children of Artsakh program, exam preparation classes are provided in Stepanakert. One program is for the students in Stepanakert, and the second program is for students who come from villages across Artsakh to Stepanakert every week to take advantage of these classes. Without exception, all the students who participated in this tutoring program last year passed their exams and were accepted to university, and the teachers are confident that the bright students in the program this year will also succeed.

In addition to the various art classes, Hamazkayin’s Children of Artsakh program also takes the children on educational field trips to museums and to watch plays in theaters and other cultural adventures. Hamazkayin’s Artsakh office also organized two art shows featuring over 100 pieces of work created by the children of Artsakh. These art exhibits were well received by communities in Armenia and Artsakh. In addition, they provided yet another opportunity for these children to have some semblance of normalcy following the trauma they endured, and continue to endure, as a result of the attacks on our homeland. There are now preliminary plans underway to organize a dance and music festival to bring all Children of Artsakh participants together to perform in various parts of the region.

Early on, Hamazkayin’s Artsakh office decided that in addition to helping children cope with the trauma of war, they would also find ways to help displaced families. As a result, most of the teachers Hamazkayin hires for the Children of Artsakh program are from displaced families. The teachers are from Shushi, Hadrut, Berdzor and other regions that were surrendered to the enemy. In this way, displaced families who have lost their ancestral homes and more are able to earn a living to support their families.

“It was very important to Hamazkayin that the teachers involved in this program come from the most needy families who today are obviously the families from the surrendered territories who have lost their homes and livelihoods,” said Avagyan.

The Armenian Cultural Association of America (ACAA) Artsakh Fund supports the Hamazkayin Children of Artsakh program by providing financial resources so that the program can continue to serve the needs of the bright children of Artsakh. ACAA board member Ani Tchaghlasian visited Artsakh in early December to deliver art and school supplies to every participant in the Children of Artsakh program. Over 250 backpacks packed with various age-appropriate art and school supplies were delivered. 

“It was crucial for the ACAA Artsakh Fund board members that the children of Artsakh and their families, as well as the teachers and program directors, feel that they are not alone in these trying times in our homeland,” said Tchaghlasian. “It is with great pride and humility that we acknowledge the courage and steadfastness of our compatriots in Artsakh who, with determination and will, remain in our ancestral homeland,” she continued.

Tchaghlasian, accompanied by AYF-Eastern Region Central Executive member Alex Manoukian, ANCA communications director Elizabeth Chouldjian and Hamazkayin Artsakh office program manager Tiruhi Gasparyan visited with every Children of Artsakh program. The visits began at the Boarding Institution No.1 for the Care and Protection of Children in Stepanakert. Children of Artsakh provides an arts program for these children with disabilities. In Stepanakert, they also met with the children in the arts program and the students who participate in both of the college prep classes. In addition, the team visited with the children who participate in programs in Gaghartsi, Ashan, Majgalashen and Maghavous. They also met with the principals of the schools in those villages and the  dedicated teachers of the Children of Artsakh program.

“It was inspiring to meet with these children and teachers who continue to learn, teach and live willfully while staring down the barrels of Azeri guns,” said Manoukian.

AYF Eastern Region USA Central Executive member Alex Manoukian with the talented little artists of the Hamazkayin Children of Artsakh Art Program in Stepanakert

These gifts were made possible by funding provided by the ACAA Artsakh Fund. In addition, a generous donation was made by the Salt and Light Youth Group of St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church in Douglaston, New York, led by the indefatigable Fr. Nareg Terterian. The Salt and Light participants raised funds and made cross bracelets for the children of Artsakh which were well received. The kindhearted students of Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School, guided by their dedicated principal Seda Tavitian Megherian, also raised funds for this project. In a most touching gesture, the students also made handwritten cards with lovely messages to the children of Artsakh. Several individuals and families also generously supported this program for which the ACAA Artsakh Fund and Hamazkayin are truly thankful.

Hamazkayin Central Executive intends to continue the Children of Artsakh program, as it has provided hope and healing for the beautiful children in our homeland. There are requests from mayors and city councils from many border villages in Artsakh requesting that Hamazkayin also provide this programming in their villages. “The Hamazkayin Artsakh office fields calls several times a week from different village leaders requesting that we provide similar programming for their village as well. It’s a matter of resources. We could expand the program very quickly, providing an outlet for the children and employment for displaced teachers and bringing a great and needed service to our villages,” reported Avagyan.

If you would like to help ensure the continued success of the Children of Artsakh program, you can make your tax deductible donations to the ACAA Artsakh Fund with a designation to Children of Artsakh in the notes.