SOS Children’s Villages
Sept 5 2009

Turkey and Armenia Announce Talks to Normalize Relations

September 4, 2009: On Monday, August 31, the Turkish and Armenian
governments jointly announced that they will hold talks aimed at
creating diplomatic ties. The two nations, which share a border that
has been closed since 1993, have been bitter enemies for nearly a
hundred years.

A deep dispute between the two countries revolves around the massacre
by Turks of more than a million Armenians during World War I. The
killings took place toward the end of the Ottoman Empire. Armenia
considers the massacre genocide; the Turkish government argues that
those who lost their lives were casualties of civil war.

According to Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, the ongoing dispute
will not prevent the normalization of relations between Armenia and
Turkey.

Mediated by Switzerland, the talks are expected to take six
weeks. They reflect, in part, pressure from U.S. and Europe for
reconciliation — including hopes expressed by President Obama during
his trip to Turkey earlier this year.

SOS Children’s Villages Provides Homes for Children on All Sides

A Turkish boy holds a puppy in an SOS Children’s Village in Bolluca,
TurkeyThe likelihood that two longstanding enemy nations are about to
establish formal diplomatic links is heartening for SOS Children’s
Villages.

SOS is a charity whose sole concern is the welfare of orphaned
children and needy families around the globe. SOS operates Children’s
Villages in both Turkey and Armenia. (SOS also runs Villages in Israel
and the Palestinian Territories).

SOS’s work is based on the belief that in order to thrive, children
need a loving mother, a secure home, and a supportive community. SOS
Children’s Villages provides these essential elements to vulnerable
children in 132 countries.

In Turkey, SOS Children’s Village-Bolluca is located in a suburb of
Istanbul. It was built in 1992, and enlarged in 1999 following the
devastating earthquake that left so many children homeless. In
neighboring Armenia SOS created a Children’s Village in Kotajk, after
having provided emergency aid to children who had lost their parents
to the 1988 earthquake.

Strengthening Families

Three girls pose for a picture in an SOS Children’s Village in Kotajk,
ArmeniaThe SOS Children’s Villages in both Armenia and Turkey include
an SOS kindergarten, a youth facility for teenagers, and family
strengthening programs for nearby populations.

One of SOS’s goals is to keep families intact wherever possible. By
offering financially distressed families advice on parenting skills
and how to start small businesses, SOS works to prevent child
abandonment to begin with.

Help an Armenian or Turkish child find a bright future. Sponsor an SOS
child today.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress