Category: News

Photos by RYAN REMIORZ/THE CANADIAN PRESS

By by Giuseppe Valiante
The Canadian Press

When Syrian refugee Garouj Nazarian is asked how he likes working for his boss, the answer comes in choppy English — but the sentiment shines through.

“So much good,” he says with a big smile, offering a thumbs-up to emphasize his joy.

Nazarian, who’s been in Canada for about a year, has been working for six months at a Montreal plywood factory owned by Levon Afeyan, who fled Lebanon’s civil war with his parents and two brothers in 1975.

“I like working here very well,” Nazarian says in English before finishing his answer — “to take care of my family” — in Armenian.

Nazarian is one of 12 Syrian refugees among 80 employees and Afeyan intends to hire more as Canada opens its borders to thousands of people fleeing the Assad regime and the Islamic State.

One of the most difficult things for the Syrian refugees Afeyan employs is to accept that their move to Canada is likely a permanent one.

“They haven’t grasped that yet,” he says. “It takes time for a man to accept the fact that, well, this is it. I’ve lost (everything).”

Afeyan is the boss, but he’s also a pseudo social worker, overseeing a factory where immigrants from conflict zones around the world earn money for their families but also learn life skills and are paid to take French lessons.

His business, Seatply Products Inc., makes curved plywood used in chairs throughout North America.

The employees press plywood and glue veneers to create colourful combinations. They also cut and drill the wood with robotic machines and, while most of the production doesn’t require an advanced skill set, it’s work.

“They need a job to have respect,” Afeyan says. “Respect is a big thing in the Middle East. A man has to be a respectable man. Without a job he doesn’t have that.”

The low price of oil and the sinking dollar have triggered many layoffs across the country but for Seatply it’s time to hire.

On a tour of his factory, Afeyan intercepts Vasudevan Ratnasingham, from Sri Lanka, a country whose civil war ended in 2009 after 26 years.

Ratnasingham has become the supervisor of the pre-pressing veneer department.

“I came to Canada 15 years ago,” Ratnasingham says. “This was my first job — and my last job!”

Not far away is Vrej Baboian, a refugee from Iraq who moved to Canada in 2009.

The former car engineer is a sort of mentor to many Syrians who have started working at Seatply.

“We saw a lot of talent in him,” Afeyan states. “He became supervisor of his small team, then floor manager. Now he’s a full-fledged foreman in one of our of departments.”

Baboian, his walk brimming with confidence, says his first piece of advice to refugees is simple: “Find a job. Don’t depend on the government, depend on yourself.”

Afeyan believes refugees are often in shock when they arrive and adds that finding a job is critical to integrating successfully.

“We have to give them time,” he says. “Let them talk about it and slowly come to the realization that ‘I am now a full-fledged Canadian. My children will become Canadian. And Canada is my new home.”‘

Essential to feeling Canadian, Afeyan adds, is to start speaking English and, particularly in Quebec, French.

Starting in March, a teacher subsidized by the Quebec government will offer French lessons twice a week for free — inside his factory.

His employees have to stay an extra hour before or after their shifts to learn French, but they are paid to do so.

“We will encourage all of them to take the class and we’ll tell them not to say no,” he says with a smile.

And aside from language, Afeyan and his managers also teach refugees about elements of daily life other Canadians take for granted, such as efficient driving.

“We teach them about carpooling,” he says. “This is a concept they have never heard about. They like it very much by the way.”

While all Canadians can’t offer refugees jobs, they can help their integration by accepting displaced Syrians “not just as refugees but as new Canadians,” according to Afeyan.

He remembers what it felt like to be 16 years old and living in a new country.

“The best thing that ever happened to me is that one of my friends’ parents invited me to their dinner,” he recalls.

“That was amazing. I was actually invited to someone’s house for dinner. I was 16 and someone actually invited me. (Syrians) need to feel part of our society.”

Acting Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Aram Ateshian has downplayed the importance of the permission to celebrate Masses more often in the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, Ertmenihaber.am reports.

He said they can hold a religious service only once a year, because of decreased number of participants and the situation in the region. He reminded that the September Mass was cancelled due to the armed clashes in the region.

“People will hardly be able to come here more than once a year. The number of participants went down from 1,000 to 500 in  the past years. This decision brings no change for us. However, if some group arrives from abroad and asks for a Mass, we’ll be able to use this right,” the Acting Patriarch said. He added that in any case the annual Mass will be celebrated every year in the second week of September.

Aras Ozbiliz seems very close to a Besiktas move, reports, quoting  Haber1903.

According to the report, the Armenian international winger has reached an agreement on all terms with the Black Eagles and will arrive in Istanbul today to sign a contract for 4,5 years after he passes his medical.

Ozbiliz will be bought from Spartak Moscow for a fee of around € 3 million and will be directly loaned out to Spanish La Liga side Rayo Vallecano until the end of the season. Reason for this is because Gökhan Töre will most likely be sold at the end of the season. Özbiliz will have 6 months to get in good shape at a good level, La Liga, and he can immediately take Töre’s place when he is sold for a good transfer fee.

Ozbiliz played in the youth academy of Ajax Amsterdam before getting in their first team. He played two seasons for the Dutch club, in which he had some very good games. His most memorable moment for them was when he scored the equalizer at Old Trafford against Manchester United in 2012. At the end of that season he was sold to Krasnodar, before moving to Spartak Moscow only one year later for a transfer fee of € 8 million. Besiktas have been following him for nearly two years now and it seems like he will finally make his transfer to the club.

Photo: Reuters

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence in northern Kenya of what could be the earliest example of warfare between different human communities, the reports.

The 10,000-year-old remains of 27 people found at a remote site west of Lake Turkana show that they met violent deaths.

They were left to die there rather than being buried.

Many experts had thought conflict emerged only around 6,000 years ago after humans became more settled.

The archaeologists, who have been working on the site at Nataruk since 2012, discovered that the victims were clubbed or stabbed to death in a single event.

The dead included male and female adults, as well as children.

The evidence, published in the journal Nature, does not reveal exactly what happened but it was definitely the result of “some sort of conflict”, according to Cambridge University Professor Robert Foley.

The murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 was “probably” approved by President Vladimir Putin, a public inquiry has concluded, the BBC reports.

Mr Litvinenko died aged 43 in London days after being poisoned with radioactive polonium-210, which he is believed to have drunk in a cup of tea.

Chairman Sir Robert Owen said it was likely Mr Putin signed off the killing following a long-running feud.

Mr Litvinenko’s widow Marina said she was “very pleased” with the report.

Speaking outside London’s High Court, she said: “The words my husband spoke on his deathbed when he accused Mr Putin have been proved by an English court.”

Turkish Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık admitted that the investigation into the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink had been delayed, and blamed the “parallel state” for the delay, the reports.

“We accept that there has been a delay [in prosecuting the murder of Dink] because of the attempts of the Parallel State Structure to shadow the probe,” Işık responding to questions in the parliament on Jan. 19, the ninth anniversary of the prominent journalist’s assasination.

Dink, an outspoken activist for minority rights and former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul’s Şişli district on Jan. 19, 2007 by 17-year-old Ogün Samast, who had traveled to Istanbul from the Black Sea province of Trabzon before the murder.

“I underline that no cause can legitimize any attempt on someone’s life. This incident is being worked on with all details,” said Işık.

“But nothing remains secret. If we had thought different, we would not make that much effort to investigate all details of this incident and we would not give complete support to the judiciary. At the moment, we want and hope that all related institutions will work effectively in enlightening this incident as well as other unsolved murder incidents,” he added.

Işık also added that he wanted to see the instigators of Dink’s murder found and brought to face justice.
Relatives and followers of the case have long claimed that government officials, police, military personnel and members of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) played a role in Dink’s murder by neglecting their duty to protect the journalist.

On Dec. 9, 2015, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office approved the indictment prepared against 26 police chiefs into “negligence on public duty” in the killing of Dink.

A total of 26 police officers, including both current and former police chiefs, will be tried as the indictment in the nine-year-long investigation.

The indictment referred to U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who the AKP government now accuses of heading a terrorist organization. The officials currently being investigated were suspected of having links to the Gülen movement.

The 26 police officers were charged with one count each of “forming or heading an armed terrorist group,” “membership of an armed terrorist group,” “power abuse on duty,” “manipulating, destroying and/or concealing official documents,” “deliberate murder,” “fabricating official documents by public employees” and “deliberate murder on negligence” in the case filed into public officials at the time of the assassination. All of the 26 were on duty at the time of Dink’s murder.

Hakan Bakırcıoğlu, a Dink family lawyer, said on Nov. 4 that not opening a case against former police chiefs Ahmet İlhan Güler, Celalettin Cerrah, Reşat Altay, Engin Dinç and other suspects, would exclude their integral responsibility in Dink’s murder.

Laval’s 18-year-old Tina Garabedian, who has been with the Laval Figure Skating Club since she was four, along with her partner Simon Proulx-Senecal walked away with a bronze medal in Croatia last month at The Golden Spin of Zagreb tournament, according to .

“It was an amazing thing to see the Armenian flag raised,” Garabedian’s father John Garabedian said. “With tears in my eyes, I witnessed something I had not seen before. My mother nation’s flag slowly being raised alongside the Italian (first place) and the US flag (second place).”

Garabedian and Proulx-Senecal will be competing on Jan. 23 in the European Championships in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The duo hopes to be wearing the colours of Armenia in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Garabedian holds dual citizenship granted to her when the Armenian skating federation enthusiastically accepted that she represent the country at the international level.

“As a proud Armenian, she jumped at the opportunity to represent Armenia when her coach, Shawn Winters, suggested the idea. Tina is very proud of her heritage. She went to Armenian school up to the Grade 7 at École Armenienne Sourp Hagop,” the proud father boasted.

The duo has begun a fundraising campaign to raise money for their competitions.

“Each international competition costs between $6,000-10,000. With no support from Armenia we need to be self-financing,” John explained. “There are Armenians all over the world. We are trying to encourage them to support the team so they can make sure the Armenian flag stands out on the world stage. They did it in Zagreb and I am certain they can do it again.”

According to John, the website donation page has already collected over $5,000 from Los Angeles, Lebanon, Toronto, Yerevan and London.

Learn more about the team or donate to their Olympic dream on their Facebook page @Ice Dance Armenia or see their donation page at

Photos by Tom Smart, Deseret News

ABC 4 Sports – Six years ago, after helping RSL win the MLS Cup, Yura Movsisyan could not pass up the opportunity and big money to play overseas. But after playing in Europe and Russia, Movsisyan was itching to come back to MLS, and Real Salt Lake was the only team he wanted to play for.

“When I decided to come back to MLS a couple years ago, I told them that I only wanted Salt Lake,” Movsisyan said. “Salt Lake is home for me. I had success in Salt Lake.”

Georgian Energy Minister, Kakha Kaladze, said he will meet chief executives of Gazprom’s export arm, Elena Burmistrova, in Vienna on January 20.

“We will try to get a result, which will be acceptable for the country and the [energy] sector,” Kaladze said in an interview with Tbilisi-based Rustavi 2 TV.

According to the Georgian Energy Ministry it holds talks with Gazprom on terms of transit of Russian gas to Armenia via Georgia – Gazprom wants to pay cash as a transit fee instead of giving Georgia 10% of gas transported to Armenia.

Negotiations also involve possible purchase of additional gas from Gazprom, which will be required to fill the gap amid increasing gas consumption, according to the Georgian Energy Ministry. It says that the country will face this gap during the peak consumption in winter period before Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR upgrades capacity of pipeline infrastructure through which it supplies gas to Georgia and before the completion of the second phase of Shah Deniz project, scheduled for late 2018.

According to Kaladze, who met for three times with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller since September, Russia’s share in Georgia’s annual gas supplies may increase from current 11% to about 20% if Georgia starts importing additional volumes of gas from Gazprom.

Georgia consumed over 2.47 billion cubic meters of gas last year 88.5% of which was supplied from Azerbaijan, according to data provided by the Energy Ministry.

By Arin Mikailian

Opponents of a proposed Armenian American Museum in Glendale voiced concerns over the potential for traffic and parking impacts, while backers endorsed the idea of creating a cultural hub and community resource during a public forum earlier this week.

More than 100 people packed a meeting room at St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church for a forum organized by the museum development committee.

The contested site, a 1.37-acre, city-owned parking lot, is at Mountain Street and Verdugo Road, across from Glendale Community College and abutted by a residential neighborhood.

While concerned residents say they’re not against the idea of a 30,000-square-foot museum, they’re not a fan of the location.

“The museum should be in a central area of the city, where City Hall is, and there is a core civic center area,” resident Tom Searson said in a phone interview after the meeting. “I think that’s probably the best location; there’s an infrastructure there. There’s shopping, all these things that will attract pedestrian traffic.”

Adding a museum to the area could generate congestion that nearby streets can’t handle, he said.

Conceptual designs depict a two-story building with a façade resembling both local and Armenian mountains. Inside, a library with research facilities, exhibitions and a coffee shop are planned.

Teacher Taline Arsenian, who was among those at the meeting, called the location, which is within walking distance of the college, ideal.

“I’m looking forward to this museum opening, to students from our community and neighboring communities being exposed to all of the cultural awareness and education they’re going to get,” she said.

Berdj Karapetian, chairman of the museum’s project development committee, said half of the exhibits will be permanent, while the other half will be traveling collections that feature other cultures, including Korean and Indian.

He said the museum isn’t looking at other sites.

One resident asked why the design couldn’t reflect the architecture of nearby Spanish homes. Architect Aram Alajajian explained that differentiating the building was intentional, citing as examples the distinct designs of the Broad and Getty museums.

“A museum is an iconic project,” he said. “An iconic building needs to stand out.”

In response to concerns over potential activities, Tigranna Zakaryan, the museum’s outreach director, said the property would not host weddings or other events “completely unrelated to what the museum stands for.”

Several residents of the adjacent Rossmoyne neighborhood said they were worried about added traffic.

A traffic study is planned, as are future reviews by City Hall. The Glendale City Council eventually would have to give its approval for the project to move forward.

The traffic study likely will be conducted next month and take into account peak hours, especially when Glendale College students arrive in the morning, traffic engineer Jano Baghdanian said.

While data still has to be collected, some things already are known about museum traffic.

“One [factor] with museums is that they do not generate traffic during peak hours; they generate traffic during the day. … A majority of museum visits occur on Saturdays and Sundays,” Baghdanian said at the forum.

As for parking, the Verdugo and Mountain lot houses 176 spaces used by college students and visitors of the adjacent Glendale Civic Auditorium.

More than a year ago, the City Council granted an agreement with the museum’s committee not to lease the lot while a conceptual design was prepared.

While final details have a long way to go, the city already has stipulated that the museum’s construction must include an underground parking structure to replace the existing lot — accessible by students — in addition to spaces for visitors.

While there’s no price tag for the entire project, the first financial goal through fundraising is $10 million, Zakaryan said.

She declined to say how much has been raised.