ENDURING GRATITUDE: ARMENIAN DIASPORA MOBILIZES ON BEHALF OF LAND THAT TOOK IN FOREBEARS
By Christopher Atamian
The Daily Star – Lebanon
Nov 10 2006
Armenians the world over owe a special debt to Lebanon and the Lebanese
people. From 1915 to 1923, starved Armenian refugees – victims of a
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks – came straggling across the
desert into what is now Syria and Lebanon. Whether out of compassion –
so say idealists – or demographic politics – so say cynics – Armenians
were welcomed with open arms.
Statistics are hard to come by, but by most measures some 50,000
Armenians started their lives again in the land of the Cedars –
principally in the Karantina camp (they later moved on to Bourj
Hammoud) and in the village of Anjar.
With time, as most Lebanese will tell you, Armenians became successful
in all areas of life in Lebanon and numbered as many as 250,000 to
350,000. At the height of their presence, the Armenians operated 40
schools and opened the only Armenian university in the diaspora –
Haigazian University.
Many Armenians left Lebanon during the Civil War and the diaspora
spread elsewhere. But many remained. As many as 150,000 to 200,000
still call Lebanon home.
It is no surprise, then, that Armenians from all over the diaspora
have responded to the war in Lebanon this past summer with the same
compassion once extended to them. In France, an Armenian Web site –
– reported from Lebanon throughout the 34-day
Israeli offensive.
The exposure meant a lot to people stranded in Beirut or Broummana or,
for that matter, Southern cities such as Tyre.
"The support of Yevrobatsi meant that we felt that someone out there
understood what was happening to us during the Israeli bombings
and that we were not alone," says Nada Haddad, who served as a
correspondent for the site from Beirut.
In New York and Washington, curator and Aleppo-born cultural critic
Neery Melkonian, who spent her adolescence in Beirut, led protests by
a group of repatriated Armenian-Lebanese demonstrating against the
war. The collective Melkonian formed – Armenians in Solidarity with
Lebanon – issued a mission statement of sorts, outlining its support
for Lebanon.
"We deplore the Bush administration’s approval of Israel’s excessive
military response to a political conflict," the statement read. "We
believe that all countries in the region have the right to exist
in peace and security. All sides to the conflict must recognize
this reality."
Finan cial support for Lebanon has also begun to arrive from
organizations in the Armenian diaspora, ranging from small individual
donations to million-dollar cash infusions. The Armenian Network
recently donated several thousand dollars through the charity organ
of the Armenian Diocese, the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR).
Most recently, Harut Sassounian, president of the United Armenia Fund
(UAF), boarded a plane to Beirut on November 2. The purpose of his
trip was to lend assistance to 28 Armenian schools currently operating
in Lebanon.
The UAF is a collective effort of several Armenian-American
associations, including the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the Armenian Missionary Association
of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Eastern Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of America and the Lincy Foundation (the latter being the
charity arm of multi-billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s operations).
All in all, the UAF will donate a total of $4.7 million to Lebanon’s
Armenian schools.
The support coming from the Armenian diaspora is also more than
immediate and urgent. Mid- to long-term assistance is in the works
as well. On November 22, three youth organizations – the Armenian
Students Association, the AGBU Young Professionals and the Armenian
Network – are teaming up with the Hye Q’s, the Armenian Gay and
Lesbian Association of New York, at a downtown nightclub called Earth
to party and raise money for both Armenia and Lebanon.
As one Armenian-Lebanese aptly puts it: "Lebanon took in our
grandparents. It’s our second home. The least we can do now is give
back as much as we can to the country."
Given their history, Armenians have tended to look out for themselves
and to donate disproportionately to Armenia and Armenian causes.
Now, perhaps wealthier and more confident than in the past, they are
returning a long-term favor to those who, in their hour of gravest
need, opened their arms to them some 90 years ago.
Christopher Atamian is a New York-based writer and journalist of
Armenian-Lebanese origin who writes on culture and politics for The
New York Times, Gourmet, New York Press and more.
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