PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian, Coordinator of Public Relations
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 44; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
September 7, 2005
HURRICANE KATRINA UPDATE:
STATUS OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN LOUISIANA
An Interview with Mr. Vasken Kaltakjian,
Chairman of the Baton Rouge, LA, mission parish
* * *
The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) has spoken at
length with Vasken Kaltakjian, chairman of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
mission parish, who offered the following information about how the
local Armenian community has been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
NO LOSS OF LIFE, SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD
First and most importantly, there has been no loss of life among the
local Armenian families. There has been a substantial loss of property
due to wind, rain, and flooding. And the Armenians who run businesses
in New Orleans expect that those businesses are lost or in ruins–which
obviously may leave the greatest long term consequence for community
members.
Armenian residents of New Orleans itself, and its suburbs Kenner and
Metarree, have been evacuated; their properties remain flooded. In
general, people who left New Orleans did so with very little in the form
of personal property, cash, or clothing, since they expected the crisis
would endure for only a matter of days. Armenians in La Place were not
affected by the flood, but their houses did suffer significant wind and
rain damage. Electrical power is now operating in La Place, and
displaced families have begun congregating there.
HOUSING DISPLACED FAMILIES
Baton Rouge and La Place are the two main locales where displaced
Armenian families have been domiciled. Mr. Kaltakjian attests that
conditions in Baton Rouge are relatively “normal,” given the
circumstances elsewhere in the state; but the resources of the area are
strained by the influx of refugees from the disaster zone. In the
immediate aftermath of the hurricane, the Armenian residents of Baton
Rouge hosted four Armenian families–two of which have already moved on
to stay with relatives in La Place. Other families have been notified
and welcomed to come to Baton Rouge.
Mr. Kaltakjian has driven to La Place, LA, where four Armenian families
permanently reside. These four households are currently housing five
additional Armenian families, which have escaped from hurricane-ravaged
areas. With phone service out, it had been difficult to get information
on the five displaced families. Mr. Kaltakjian visited with the
families, confirmed that they were accounted for, and tried to assess
their situation with regard to relief needs.
Several Armenian families remain incommunicado; Mr. Kaltakjian is aware
that they have left the disaster area, but he has not been able to
confirm their current whereabouts. He expects to receive this
information as soon as normal phone service resumes.
BRIEF RETURNS HOME TO INSPECT DAMAGE
Earlier in the week, authorities designated a 12-hour window to allow
every home-owner in New Orleans to return temporarily to their homes,
inspect damage, and take pictures to submit insurance claims. Only a
few of the affected Armenian families were able to enter the city,
however.
For those who have been able to return to their homes, many report that
everything is flooded, and stench is already oppressive. Moreover,
people are worried that all the rancid standing water will propagate and
spread disease. Today Mr. Kaltakjian plans to bring a generator and
gasoline to one family, whose house now stands in two and a-half feet of
water, so they can start the long process of cleaning up.
As far as a permanent return, no one knows exactly when this will be
able to occur; the authorities have stipulated the anywhere from two to
six weeks may elapse before people are allowed to return home. In any
event, currently there is no electric or water service in the disaster
area.
LOCAL CHURCH REACHING OUT TO MEMBERS
The Baton Rouge mission parish owns a church facility of 4,000 square
feet; adjacent to it is a 1,500 square-foot reception hall, which seats
about 100 people. The parish has notified displaced Armenian families
that they are welcome to stay in the facility, but none has as yet taken
up that offer; for now, they have preferred to stay in the private homes
of Armenians unaffected by the disaster. However, several families
presently staying in Texas may take up temporary residence in the church
building when they return to Louisiana.
At the behest of the Diocesan Center, Mr. Kaltakjian has made a list of
all the Armenian families in the areas: about 70 people in total–of
whom 27 are children–comprising 23 families. According to Mr.
Kaltakjian, the immediate need for area Armenians is to acquire some
basic items to help them get by day-to-day. Many have no income for the
foreseeable future, and are cash-poor after 11 days of displacement from
their homes.
A PLEA TO FELLOW ARMENIAN AMERICANS
Asked what message he’d like to convey to fellow Armenian Americans, Mr.
Kaltakjian remarked that it’s a hard time in his state, and everyone
affected deserves help. But please, he asked, remember your Armenian
brothers and sisters in Louisiana. He fears that the community is
insufficiently organized to aggressively pursue and secure immediate aid
from relief agencies, and he appeals to America’s other Armenian
communities for assistance.
He explained that contributions of clothing and canned goods would not
be helpful in the present circumstances. Instead, the community would
be best benefited by monetary donations, or by contributions of gift
cards to retailers like Wal-Mart or K-Mart, which will allow the
displaced Armenians to purchase clothing and other goods for themselves,
give them something to do, and generally boost morale in depressing
situation.
At the directive of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, the Eastern
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America has arranged for special
collections to be held at all Diocesan parishes on successive Sundays:
September 11 and 18. Half of the collected donations will go toward the
general relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims (to be distributed
through Church World Service, the humanitarian aid arm of the National
Council of Churches).
The other half will go directly to the Baton Rouge parish, whose leaders
will distribute the relief aid to affected Armenians according to their
need.
The most efficient way to contribute is through the Diocesan website,
, where you can click on the “Donate” link and
make a credit-card donation on our secure server. Individuals and
parishes can also send checks via mail to the Diocesan headquarters in
New York (please write “Hurricane Katrina Relief” in the memo).
ARMENIANS IN LOUISIANA
The Armenian community of Baton Rouge, LA, is about 30 years old. When
Mr. Kaltakjian first came to Baton Rouge in 1977, he estimates that
about a third of the present community was already resident there. Most
of the residents (then and now) hail originally from Lebanon; some come
from Syria; and there are families from Egypt and Armenia itself.
Living in a hurricane zone, the community has seen extreme atmospheric
conditions, as well as flooding, in the past; but certainly nothing like
the present crisis.
–9/7/05
# # #
Diocese: Status of The Armenian Community in Louisiana
www.armenianchurch.org
www.armenianchurch.net