McLean Connection, VA
Aug 12 2004
Building Connections Between Virginia and Armenia
McLean resident is nominated to the state’s Commission on Armenia.
Sandra Adelstein
A tradition exists among Armenians that they are descended from Noah.
Like the ancient patriarch, Sarkis A. Satian has traveled far from
his origins and has been fortunate in his life’s work. Like Noah, he
has a calling that extends beyond providing for himself and his
immediate family. He is devoting his time, energy and resources to
building a democratic Armenia, a mission he takes seriously and which
he imbues with idealism and pragmatism. His recent nomination to Gov.
Mark Warner’s Commission on Armenia is a means for this Virginian to
exercise his influence in revamping the Armenian economy.
The McLean resident’s story begins with his mother, who was the only
survivor in her family of the 1915 genocidal slaughter of Armenians
by the Turks. Forced to leave the county, she went to Egypt, where
Satian was born and lived until 1962, when he immigrated to the
United States seeking a new life. Five months after arriving, he was
drafted into the Army, and he served for two years as a medic at Fort
Gordon in Georgia and Fort Sam Houston in Texas. After his discharge,
he returned to Virginia working for some years as a civil engineer
and then starting his own business, Satian Enterprises, a
construction company, which he headed until the age of 62, when he
sold the business to his son and retired. Not content in his
retirement, he started a new company called Land Quest, which he said
buys, engineers and sells land to construction companies.
An individualist and an entrepreneur, Satian has admired Thomas
Jefferson since his adolescence, because of Jefferson’s intellect,
patriotic virtues, and his constant striving to create a just society
in which the people’s noblest instincts would be manifest. Satian’s
approach to rebuilding the struggling Armenian nation combines
Jeffersonian idealism with business savvy.
Satian is a member of the Armenian Assembly of Washington. “The
Armenian Assembly of Washington is a 501c3 advocacy organization,
which means that it is nonprofit. Its purpose is to promote Armenian
interests. It is not affiliated with the Armenian government,” said
Satian. The Armenian lobby has become one of the most influential on
Capitol Hill, winning millions of dollars in foreign aid for that
nation. As a member of this organization, Satian is indirectly
involved in the planning of a new Armenian museum to be located in
Washington. As a recent appointee to Gov. Warner’s Commission on
Armenia, Statian said that in his view the primary objective is to
promote business and trade between Virginia and Armenia. According to
Beddros Banbandazian, who is the head of the Governor’s Commission on
Armenian Affairs and a friend of Satian’s, the commission will also
cultivate relationships in the agricultural, technological and a
cultural sectors.
A country the size of Delaware, Armenia gained its independence from
the Soviet Union in 1991. A war with neighboring Azerbaijan and
hostility with Turkey have caused serious economic problems that
resulted in the migration of approximately 1 million people, among
whom are many professionals. Satian says however, that it has the
least oppressive business environment of all of the former republics
of the Soviet Union and a developing high technology base that
generates approximately $50,000,000 a year.
According to Satian, Virginia is an excellent business partner for
Armenia because in addition to its flourishing high technology
industry it is close to Washington and has a port in Norfolk. He
hopes that the relationship will stimulate investment in Armenia,
which will stem the tide of emigrants and create jobs for people. He
thinks that the new relationship will be beneficial for Virginia and
Armenia. A leader in his church, a commission member and a delegate
to the Second Armenian Diaspora Conference, an advisory conference of
Armenians living abroad, Satian says, “I would like to share my
experience of living in the U.S.A. to chart a healthy and prudent
course for our government to take.”
Satian’s daughter, Rosemary Edwards, said of her father, “I have
always been impressed by my father’s desire to achieve. Growing up,
he worked six and sometimes seven days a week, and we were never at
need for anything. Armenia is such a rich country, culturally, and he
has always stuck to his Armenian roots. He wants to give back, and he
has the ability to do it now.”
Surrounded by friends and family, including eight grandchildren, he
said, “I would like to keep myself busy, keep myself active, enjoy
life and give more of my time.”