PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]
24 July 2006
SAFE ARRIVAL HOME FOR SYDNEY-BASED DANCE GROUP
Sydney, Australia – The last of the 80 plus group of the Hamazkaine
Sevan Dance Group caught up in the bombings in Lebanon touched down
in Sydney on Saturday evening after a harrowing ordeal.
The 45 person dance troupe, mostly made up of teenage youth, with their
minders had been on a concert tour of Armenia, Syria and Lebanon and
were due to fly out of Beirut the same day the airport was first
bombed. The group was part of the first convoy organised by the
Australian Government to evacuate from Beirut, enduring a 17-hour
road trip which saw them enter Syria through a northern border and
onto Amman, Jordan. The evacuation operation, considered high risk,
was kept secret for security reasons until word was received that
the group had arrived safely in Damascus, Syria.
Thereon in, evacuees and their loved ones back home took some comfort
as the group spent anxious but safer days in Amman awaiting a flight
back to Sydney. The group finally made its safe passage in three
waves with the first arrivals on Thursday evening.
His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand joined contingents
of family, friends and concerned community members to welcome the
evacuees each day.
As they made their way into the arrivals hall of Sydney International
Airport there was much cheering and overwhelming emotions among
the commotion of ‘welcome home’ banners, balloons, well-wishers and
media frenzy.
As the members of the group arrived, reunited families gathered in
the arrival area altogether to receive the blessing of Archbishop
Baliozian, offering prayers of thanksgiving to the Almighty for guiding
the children of our community back to the safety of their loved ones
and homes.
Over the past two weeks, prayer services resonated at the Armenian
Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection, initially requesting of our
Heavenly Father His guidance in delivering our faithful safely out of
the dangers of the conflict region. On Sunday, prayers of thanksgiving
were offered for His careful delivery of the troupe to Australia as
well as prayers for peace to reign and protection of the thousands
of people affected in the region.
In appreciation of the Australian Government’s efforts and vigilant
care of the Armenian dance group in securing their safe passage home,
the Primate sent letters of gratitude to both the Prime Minister and
Foreign Affairs Minister of Australia.