Category: 2023

Houry Boyamian has been a centerpiece of St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School in Watertown, Massachusetts for the past 35 years. A strong advocate for Armenian education, Boyamian has supported the thriving  of the language and culture in the only Armenian day school in New England. After three and a half decades of service, she is retiring this June. Her role as principal will be filled by Garine Palandjian, Ph.D.

Houry Boyamian receiving her high school diploma from Principal Simon Vratsian, Nshan Palandjian Djermaran

Growing up in Beirut, Boyamian studied at Nshan Palandjian Djemaran, at which her father Karnig Panian was vice principal. “I remember very well how he interacted with the students…he was the kindest man, but he was also very firm,” she reminisced recently in a conversation with the Weekly. “He had high expectations for himself and for others. He had a lot of integrity, and he loved his students.” Boyamian noted that “he was a great influence on me,” and this influence is seen in her work. 

Houry Boyamian’s high school graduation from Nshan Palandjian Djemaran in Beirut. Boyamian’s father Karnig Panian is pictured third from the left in the first row and Principal Simon Vratsian is fifth from the left. Boyamian is fourth from the right in the second row.

However, Boyamian did not always intend to follow in her father’s footsteps. She studied pharmacy in college, graduating in 1970 from St. Joseph University in Lebanon, and worked for Harvard Community Health Plan after moving to the United States during the Lebanese Civil War in 1986. It was only after school board representatives approached her that she decided to pursue a career in education. She accepted the role at St. Stephen’s in 1988, received her masters in education in 1994 from UMass Boston and set on a lifelong path of service to the Armenian community in Watertown. 

Houry Boyamian’s 1994 graduation from UMass Boston with her masters in education

“I did this because Armenian education is so important for the perpetuation of our culture, heritage and language,” Boyamian remarked. 

This mission has motivated and guided Boyamian in her role as she encountered various challenges over time. In recent years, St. Stephen’s has flourished despite the teacher shortage, sharing space with sister organizations, and the COVID-19 pandemic. During that difficult year, Boyamian shared that “we had a very good health committee…we made everything possible for in-person education.” 

Additionally, the administration is cautious with spending in hopes of keeping tuition low for families. “We do not spare funds when it comes to education, to the students, but on the other hand we are very cautious…In the administration, we wear different hats.” Through this budget, St. Stephen’s can be a school “for every Armenian who desires to give to their children Armenian education.” 

After her retirement, Boyamian hopes that St. Stephen’s will work towards establishing a middle school, and one day, a high school. “Why not?” asked Boyamian. “We have many on the west coast; we should have one here on the east.” 

With these challenges and hopes in mind, St. Stephen’s will continue to thrive under the leadership of Garine Palandjian. Boyamian praises Palandjian: “She cares about everything Armenian, and I’m very pleased and very happy that a young woman has decided to come and serve Armenian education.” Boyamian wishes her “a lot of success and a bright future.” 

Palandjian will be working closely with a second generation of St. Stephen’s students. Boyamian shared that the passing down of Armenian education is her “biggest joy, when I see alumni students bringing their children to St. Stephen’s.” This year, for the first time, a child of an alumni will graduate. 

What keeps families coming back to St. Stephen’s? “I have noticed that those children who know their language, who know their history, they are more confident in life. They know where they came from,” said Boyamian.

Houry Boyamian pictured in the center with alumni at the 35th anniversary gala for St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School

As a 35-year career at St. Stephen’s comes to a close, Boyamian continues to put her students first. “I am so busy that I’m not thinking about my retirement,” she confesses. “I’m just getting ready for the closing of the school, the graduation ceremonies, and all of the events that take place in June.” With the year’s end quickly approaching, she anticipates missing the people most, though she plans to remain local and stay in touch. The students, teachers and parents have made her role at St. Stephen’s a rewarding one.   

I must admit from the very start of this column that participation in the Armenian community is not without conflict and internal stress. Most of our readers will immediately think of the organizational or institutional disagreements that often lead to disputes and the unfortunate exiting of valued individuals. I am referring, however, to the inner conflicts within ourselves that constitute moral dilemmas. These are much more difficult to resolve since they are based in a values conflict. There are times when our participation in our nation crosses paths with these dilemmas. My own experience has identified two, in particular, that deserve some level of analysis. 

We are a people who have suffered unspeakable horrors over our history. In modern times, the unpunished Genocide has cast a shadow over the inner peace of Armenians who are reminded of the murder of our ancestors and the resulting dispossession on a regular basis. We don’t want to forget. We consider it disrespectful, but it is particularly frustrating when the wheels of justice are slower than a snail. Unresolved crimes lead to stereotypes, anger and even hatred. These are generally unproductive emotions but are human reality. Wars have been started over such behaviors. As a result, the word “Turk” will usually draw an immediate negative response from nearly all Armenians. Is this productive? Is this morally correct given our Christian foundation? How do we reconcile this dilemma? Another moral crisis has been internal to our community, specifically the relationship of the diaspora with the Republic of Armenia’s policies. For many in the diaspora, the absence of an independent homeland was replaced with pictures of Ararat in our homes, displaying of the tri-color and advocacy. The diaspora carried the burden of Hai Tahd for decades, particularly after 1965. When Armenia became a sovereign state in 1991, the diaspora readily accepted the additional responsibility to assist in the nation building process. Three decades later, it is no secret that the diaspora has been underutilized, and it is frustrated by the level of progress. The leadership crisis and overt disagreements on policy have only heightened the tension. It is an odd dilemma. Most diasporan Armenians remain very patriotic and openly display their love for the homeland, yet the current policies have created an awkward reality. Should criticism of the government be discouraged or encouraged when there are policy differences? Does our disunity assist our enemies? For years, it was considered inappropriate to be publicly critical, but that was when the stakes were not as high and the relationships had more upside. How do we protect the diversity of thought in our global nation while adding value and stability to the homeland? Is it possible to be critical and strengthen the nation? Improving our behavior on these two issues will impact our effectiveness as a community.

Our relationship with Turks has multiple faces. At the core of our discontent is the lack of justice for the Genocide. The recognition campaign has been very effective with the Armenian Genocide now generally accepted as fact by scholars and governments. The focus has now moved into mandated genocide education in the United States and the very early phases of reparations. The Turks, of course, still deny the Genocide and why shouldn’t they? They have no problem lying since the ramifications are negligible. There has been no military or economic impact to denial. There has been some back door pressure applied which has resulted in an evolution of their position from outright denial to offering empathy for those Armenians killed during the war as “shared pain.” Of course, Turkey is the leader of duplicity with Erdogan offering disingenuous olive branches when it suits his needs and then referring to the diaspora as “remnants of the swords” – an insulting reference to the survivors. Foreign Minister Cavusoglu has led most of the efforts for normalization but is also notable for flashing the notorious ultra-nationalist racist Grey Wolves hand gesture to Armenian protestors during his visit to South America. Each of these incidents reinforces the longstanding racial intolerance of the Turkish leadership for Armenians and further increases the presence of angry and hate-driven responses. 

Yet, at the same time, we proudly profess to be a Christian nation with values rooted in love and forgiveness. I struggle with this and am guilty of emotional reactions to Turkish denial, racism and oppression of Armenians. Intellectually, I understand that anger and hatred offer no value to our sacred cause and that our Christian values should be the mechanism for keeping us balanced. Despite these rational thoughts, we don’t want to relate to anything Turkish despite the fact that most of us know very few Turks and most of our Western Armenian grandparents spoke Turkish (my Adanatzi grandmother spoke Turkish in her home with her brothers and sisters). The frustration with our Turkish “problem” is sometimes used as an excuse for our stereotypes. It should not be. If we are committed to our cause and our faith, then we need to be more disciplined. Our cause needs educated, focused and talented individuals who are not distracted by a few moments of relief by insulting Turks in general. Do we have empathy for the Turks that died in the recent earthquake? Is our faith strong enough that we can pursue our rights without hating a people? I know I always need to remind myself of this risk. We must come to the realization that our cause cannot be fueled by negative emotions because they are incompatible with the skills that will bring us success. One of the reasons that I admire the Aurora Initiative and the Future Armenian is because they are based on looking forward and shedding the victim mentality. This is a therapy needed in our global nation. The absence of ethnocentric thinking does not diminish our mission but refocuses it on results and not “feel good” activity. How many of our people come out on April 24, express their anger and return to political hibernation? There is a clear path of intersection for political activism and our  Christian values – maintaining an activist discipline focused on our goals and purging our thinking of hatred. There will be times when we stumble, but our quest for justice and our faith deserve our very best. We can honor our cause and not lower ourselves to their mentality.

The matter of criticizing other Armenian institutions, such as the government of the republic, is often rooted in emotion with a significant presence of power and egos. All democracies need diversity. Managing the diversity in a civil manner with the nation’s interest at heart is the challenge. Even the most successful democracy in the world, our United States, struggles at times with the partisan chaos in Washington. As has often been stated, democracy can be messy. I was fortunate to learn from mentors that in community or national life criticism should always be accompanied with commitment and solutions. We are raised in the Armenian community to love and respect all things Armenian, yet we find our adult lives consumed with judging others. What about our Christian values in communal life? Is our behavior in our communities exempt from our faith? Why is it so difficult for us to sustain respect? What I find discouraging is our wanton disregard for these principles, as our dialogue becomes about winning the argument with no path for improvement. 

Armenian politics currently lack civility with the objective seemingly to knock someone off the pedestal to be replaced by another. Thoughtful objections to current policies should never be discouraged. In the case of the government and its opposition, both parties have a sacred responsibility. Those in power have the responsibility to listen to all their constituents, even those with whom they disagree. Those in opposition have the responsibility to approach the issue with respect for the democratic institutions and to refrain from personal attacks. When a political process is dominated by personalities rather than policy, the focus becomes the individual and subject to rumor and gossip. Unfortunately, neither party today is fulfilling that responsibility. 

Given the current crisis, a national unity government with diverse factions would be a bold step to eradicate instability. Armenia must not cede territory, whether that be Artsakh or border regions, without a mandate from the parliament, the courts and even a popular referendum. Armenia may be making commitments beyond the agreement of the citizens, yet these changes can become permanent. Recents polls conducted clearly suggest an estrangement between the government and its citizens on matters of national security. The opposition has few legislative options but claims to have the hearts of the people. If that is true, then where are the people? In 2018 the people rallied publicly against corruption, and it resulted in a peaceful transfer of power. Give former President Sargysyan credit for at least that. The decisions of sovereign territory must be ratified through democratic processes. The absence of such will lead to an eroding of the people’s confidence in our institution. Giving up territory is a very serious decision that cannot be mandated by a few if they expect political stability. The church has suffered from this perception for years. There is a general feeling that the democratic institutions of the church are a veneer. Authority is very concentrated, and change in a diverse diaspora becomes nearly impossible. Leaders must understand that the base constituency has the final say in their participation. Adherents of the church can simply stop coming, as thousands have done for identity reasons. When the citizens of a nation disagree with its direction yet feel powerless to impact the direction, they become ambivalent. What is the point of sovereignty if it can be so easily bargained and people stop caring? Despite these difficult choices and painful conflicts, our leadership must be about unifying our small nation, and those seeking change must focus on the “what” and the “how” with less emphasis on “who.” Allowing the moral dilemma to run rampant creates division.

These are a few of the moral dilemmas for each of us. Each comment, action, decision and voice has implications. Governments come and go, but the nation is eternal. Whether we are leading organizations, countries, provinces or municipalities, we are merely the current caretakers. If we are on the outside looking to influence the outcome, we need to maintain civility for answers. The crisis in our nation today is significant. The Turkish alliance is enough for our small nation. We can overcome the distractions and negative impact of our moral dilemmas by subordinating our egos for our future.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will be hosting a hearing focusing on Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) security and Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression on June 21.

WASHINGTON, DC – Members of Congress will shine a legislative spotlight on Azerbaijan’s genocidal actions against the indigenous Armenian Christians of Artsakh during a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) hearing set for Wednesday, June 21 at 2:15 p.m. EST, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).  The Capitol Hill hearing is organized by TLHRC co-chairs Chris Smith (R-NJ) and James McGovern (D-MA).

“We welcome Chairman Smith’s leadership in shining a Congressional spotlight on America’s responsibility to stop Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, and want also to thank Ranking Member McGovern and all those on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission who are working to hold the Aliyev regime responsible for its genocidal actions against the indigenous Christian Armenians of this sacred Armenian land,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “As these legislators know, any deal that forces democratic Artsakh into genocidal Azerbaijan is a death sentence for more than 120,000 at-risk Armenians.”

Titled “Safeguarding the people of Nagorno Karabakh,” the hearing will include testimony by former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Michael Rubin and Columbia University Director of the Peace-Building and Human Rights Program, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, David Phillips. The hearing will be open to members of Congress, Congressional staff, the interested public and the media.  The ANCA is encouraging Armenian Americans throughout the DC area to attend the hearing.  Streaming video will be available.

An announcement posted by TLHRC co-chairs Smith and McGovern expresses concerns about the escalating tensions resulting from Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and the latest Azerbaijani military checkpoint installed on the corridor that is widely viewed as inconsistent with the provisions of the 2020 ceasefire agreement.

“This hearing will examine the measures required to adequately safeguard, during this period of blockade and negotiation, a vulnerable ethnic population, and offer recommendations for US policy,” explain hearing hosts.

The newly-renovated Cabin Circle at Camp Haiastan, Franklin, Massachusetts

FRANKLIN, Mass.—AYF Camp Haiastan will launch its 73rd camping season on Sunday, June 25. This summer the Camp will welcome over 450 campers, a 16-percent increase from last year and a 24-percent increase from the pre-COVID year. 

This summer, the campers will enjoy the major renovations of the Cabin Circle area, the expansion and upgrade of the Under the Tree seating area, the benefits of all new kitchen appliances and the introduction of a revised contemporary program that challenges, entertains and educates today’s camper. 

Interim executive director Peter Jelalian

In preparation for the 2023 season, the Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Peter A. Jelalian as the interim executive director (ED) of the Camp. Current executive director Kenar Charchaflian will be on maternity leave this summer. Charchaflian and her husband Nareg Mkrtschjan are expecting their first child in late June. 

“Peter’s extensive knowledge of the Camp operation and his capability to manage made it easy for the Board to select him as the interim ED,” stated Hratch Najarian, chairperson of the Board of Directors. 

Jelalian, who has worked with all the executive directors, expressed his appreciation for their collective accomplishments. “I look forward to the challenge and working with the summer directors and staff to implement the revised program, enjoy the upgraded facility and most of all welcome a record-setting number of campers; it is an exciting time for Camp,” added Jelalian. The camp senior staff will report directly to Jelalian. Steve Mesrobian and Mimi Parseghian will assist him and have been assigned various duties. Ani Aroyan will continue her position as administrative assistant. 

The counselor staff will be led by summer director (SD) Nairi Koroghlian. She will be assisted by co-directors who will each serve a 2-week session: Hagop Soulakian, teen session; Garin Kaligian, first session, Nevart Mikaelian, second session and Nareh Mkrtschjan, third session. “I am grateful for the assistance of a co-summer director that will be on a rotating schedule – this will ensure that we are able to fully support all the needs of campers and staff members alike,” commented SD Koroghlian. 

The camp season will end with the one-week third session which gives an opportunity for children new to Camp Haiastan to acclimate. 

Program director Seran Tcholakian, who developed the revised Camp program, has been working with the summer director to map out the implementation of these new activities with the traditional ones that have defined the Camp experience. 

Ani Changelian has returned as day camp director. This year, the Board extended this program which serves children from 5-7 years old to include an additional week. A record number of staff members – 82 – have been hired to serve as cabin counselors, day camp counselors, lifeguards, Armenian school teachers, and staff-in-training. “We are quite pleased with the staff that we have assembled. They represent a wide age group, different levels of Camp Haiastan experience, geographic diversity and varied skill sets,” stated Charchaflian.

“Our dedicated staff has been actively preparing for an exciting 2023 summer season! New and returning ungers and ungerouhis are committed with maximum continuity and consistency to make for an engaging camper experience,” added SD Koroghlian. 

The Board of Directors invites all Camp supporters to visit on the following Sundays: June 25, July 9, July 23 and August 6 to see all the major improvements to the facility and to enjoy the unique atmosphere the Camp provides.

The AYF Camp Haiastan Board of Directors invites all camp families to join us on Sunday, July 23 for the official unveiling of the newly-renovated and expanded Under the Trees and Cabin Circle areas. This ceremony will commemorate the lives of three lifelong Camp alumni: Mark Alashaian, Vaghinag Koroghlian and Regina Najarian.