Old Dreams New Prospects - April 1996 by Armenian International Magazine

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CnLIFORNIn-ARMENIA ITvESTMENT AND TnnoE OpPoRTUNITIES WUY To INvEST IN AND Tnaoe wITH AnrugruIA, AND How ro Do IT SuccEssFULLY A

DAY

ONE

JUNE

CONFERENCE

6, I 996

THE WESTIN BoNAVENTURE HoTEL

& Y

4O4 SoUTH FIGUERoA STREET LoS ANGELES. CALIFoRNIA

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UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FoR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SEcToR AGENCIES TO BECOME INFORMED OF THE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN RESEARCH, MANUFACTURING AND TRADE ORGANIZED BY THE

COITISuIATE GENERAL oF TUE REpuBLIC oF ARMENIA IN LoS ANGELES IN CoNJUNCTIoN WITH THE EMBASSY oF THE REpuaIIc oT ARvIEITIIR Co-oRGANIzERS TOWN HALL, CALIFORNIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA TRADE AND CoMMERCE AGENCY, LoS ANGELES AREA CHAMBER oF CoMMERCE, THE GREATER LoS ANGELES WoRLD TRADE CENTER ASSoCIATIoN. CALIFoRNIA STATE DEPT. oF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE. LoS ANGELES MAYoR,S OFFICE oF ECoNoMIc DEVELoPMENT, MTDLAND ARMENIA BANK. wrrH rHE pARrtclpArtoN or THE WoRLD BANK AND THE OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CoRPoRATIoN.

7:30 A.M.-8:15 A.M. 8:2O l.tvt.-NooN NooN - I:30 P.rra. l:4O p.u.-3:OO

p.tvt.

3:OO p.na.-6:OO p.u. 6:00 p.u.

PRoGRAM REGISTRATIoN WELCoME, MoRNING SESSION LUNCHEoN. KEYNoTE ADDRESS: VAHAN MELKONIAN, MINISTER OF TRADE AND TOURISM PANEL DISCUSSIONS: INDUSTRY; ENERGY, BANKING AND AGRICULTURE AFTERNooN SESSIoN RECEPTIoN

HIGHLTGHTS PoLITICAL STABILITY LEGISLATIoN THAT SUPPoRTS INVESTMENT GoVERNMENT,S CoMMITMENT To MARKET REFoRM DIASPoRA NETwoRK DIPLoMATIC/CoMMERCIAL NETwoRK TRADE WITH EUNOPg, MIDDLE EAST, NIS, U.S. REGISTRATION FEE: US $55.OO INCLUDES MORNING CoTTeE, LUNCHEoN, RECEPTION CONTACT: ANAHID STEPANIAN AT THE CoNSULATE GENERAL oF THE REPUBLIC oF ARMENIA

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The First All-Armenian Recording. Khachaturian Piano Concerto

photo: Al Rubin, NewYork

Dora Senriarisfr-Kuhn Pianist

Loris Tleknavorian Principal Conductor and Artistic Director

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra xConductor, pianist, composer, orchesffa, and recorded in Khachaturian Hall in Yerevan, Armenia. Available now on CD at leading record stores worldwide.

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--, :..::.::i: : ,,.:;....,...::: APRIL I996

vol-.7, NO.4

EDIIOR'S ]'lOTE

TETTERS TO THE EOIT()B

BYIES ON

FILE

FOCUS

t0 12

ARMENIAN SURVEY FOREGROUND COVER STORY

SHAMIRAM GETS ORGANIZED

The strongest women's group organizes chapters

IR BUII.DING

throughout Armenia.

BRIDGES

From Oiaspora to

Amenia, ftom Armenia to Kambakh, lhe Armenia Fund is consruding infrasfucutre and secuilng

luture.

EDUCATION

DIPLOMATS' ARMENIAN IOI

Leaming a language isn't what it used to be.

A GIANT AMONG BOTANISTS

St. Petersburg and Brooklyn share a genius.

s0ctErY

Sports holds the key to the rehabilitation and menlal health of Armenia's disabled.

HELIGION

The Armenian Apostolic Church welcomes members

of the World Council of Churches to Ejmiatsin.

1fl THEW0RLD C0UNCTL u

0F CHUBCHES

No longer just a guest, Ejmiabin hosh

fie

ecumenical body and makes the case I0r 0reater assistance.

AHTS

FOUR OF A KIND

PHOTOS WHICH DIDN'T GET PAST

SOVIET CENSORS THE BEAST IS A BEAUTY

38 zg o

OT}IER PEOPLE'S MAIL

z l o Y

UNDERE)(POSED

ESSAY

GTOBAI- AGENDA

E E

EDUCATToN

Eminent scholar and botanist has a

CovrR lrrusrRarroru eruo

loot in two worlds.

DESrcr,r By RAFFI TeRpruralr

qn s0clffY IU

Oirrtlrl, lrt ,rtive,

they are heating

odds.

AIM ISSN 1 050.347 1 ) APRIL 996, Vol. 7. No 4 rs publrshed monthly. $45 pâ&#x201A;Źr year, by The Founh Millennium Sociely, 207 South Brand Boulevard, Suile 107. Glenddle. CA 91204. Phone t8181 246-7979. Fax: 18l8l 246 0088. Second Ciass Poslage pa'd al C,enoale. CA a1d addilronar maihng ollices. Canada Posl Pub|catrons L4a I P'od"cl Sales Ag'eemenl No 0516457. Copyrghr 1996 by The Foulh Mrlrenniun Sociely. All rights reserved. AIM may nol be reproduced in any manner, eilher rn whole or in pail, wilhout written permission irom the publisher. The edilors are nol responsible lor uf,so|ciled Tanuscr,pts o'arl -nless a slamped. se' addressed envelope rS enclosed. Op,ntonS exp'esseo tn sig.ed articles do not necessariy represenl lhe views of rhe FoJlh l\,'til FnniLo Socrely. For adverlrsing queaes call 1-818-246-7979. Subscilpnon 'ales lor one year. JS: $45 Ca.ada $55, F'ance: 350 FF ($55) Europe Far Easl, S. Amenca, Atrrca Commonwealth ol lndependent Stales: $55r Middle East, Austral a, Armenia: $50. Poslmaslers: Send address chanoes to: All\y', PO. Box 3296. I\,lanhattan Beach, CA 90266, U.S.A (

AIM Apnrr-

1996

EBIil9rts.S gg"itr.E i

ii::i:ii

e received this last week from Contributing Editor

Taline

Voskeritchian via e-mail.

Dear Friends and Compatriots: I had meant to send this note last month to comment on the art w,ork on the cover of the February issue. But I v,as busy writing. Now that the March issue has arriv,ed, I feel compelled to make my voice heard regarding the work of one, Rffi Tarpinian.Who is this Jbllow? And how does he do such good work? Whoever he is, keep him, pay him, feed him u,ell. I like the cover very much. Careful that in the future these covers don't get too artsy. But he is good and I wish you and he the best. Now, u,hat v,ill he do for the April issue?

FOUBIH MIIIENNIUM SOGIETY A Not-for-Protit, Public Benelit Corporation

DIBECTORS

MICHAEL NAHABE,T VARTAN OSKANIAN RAFFI ZINZALIAN ASSOCIATE TRUSTEES

KHACHIG BABAYAN FLORA, GEORGE DUNAIANS CAI,IFORNIA

Well, he's done it. The bridge that the Armenia Fund is between Armenia and the Diaspora, between the lone Diasporan aching to do his or her part, and the individual in Armenia whose life and future stand to benefit immeasurably, could not have been better imagined.

RAZMIG HAKINlIAN CANAI)A

I-OU ISE MANOOG IAN

SIMONI'-

NIiW YORK

JACK MAXIAN HONC KON(I

FOUl{DING TRUSTEES

Beirut-born Tarpinian, 28, is a graduate of the Melkonian Institute in Cyprus. An erstwhile resident of Montreal, he is now in sunny Califomia, where graphic design is one of the fastest growing industries. He works not only with major design companies, but also with AIM, whose product and market are so very different from the rest, but whose readers are no shallow judges of quality. Like Dikran Kassouny before him, and Vahe Fattal at the start, each of AIM's art directors have been fortunate to have such a broad and disceming audience.

GAREN AVEDIKIAN CALIFORNIA

VAROUJAN ISKENDERIAN AUSTRALIA

MARDO KAPRIELIAN CALIFORNIA

HAGOP KOUSHAKJIAN FLORIDA

ZAROUHI MARDIKIAN PENNSYLVANIA

EDWARD MISSERLIAN CALIFORNIA

BOB MOVEL

But back to Taline Voskeritchian. A writer and teacher herself, AIM's readers will enjoy Voskeritchian's essay in this issue on the [few] pros and [mostly] cons of more genocide monuments. Her essays on filmmaker Parajanov, singer Aznavour and Ambassador Rouben Shugarian have appeared in previous issues. We look forward to sharing more of her work with you.

CALIFORNIA

VAROUJAN NAHABET CALIFORNIA

NORAIR OSKANIAN CALIFORNIA

EMMY PAPAZIAN CALIFORNIA

ZAREH SARKISSIAN CALIFORNIA

RAFFI ZINZALIAN

4fu*/+.

CALIFORNIA

207 SOUTH BRAND BL\'D.

SUITE IO7 GLENDALE, CA 91204, USA Tefephone: 818 - 246 - 7979 Fax: 818 - 246 - 0088

atu

Apnrr- 1996

/\INI

BRA\D BL\ D. sl, ITE 107 (iLu\DAt_u. CA 9120{. t sA 207 SOT'TH

'felâ&#x201A;Źphone: 818 - 2.16 - 7979 Far: tllS: 2{6 - 001t8

spousal abuse, child abuse, childhood preg-

nancy. and child molestation. AIDS has

Fldilor . Publisher

also started invading Califbmia's Armenian communities, along with suicides and

SeLpt HeaotrttNt.tN CHAZARIAN

Assistant Editors Syr.v.q Dlxessrex. Los AN(iELEs MARK GRIGoRIAN. YEREVAN

desertion.

Art Director

To pass this off as problems only affecting

RAFH TARPINIAN

Production AREC AsffiRrAN. DARIN BECKi R. PALrL

Califomia Armenians or as a sign of the

PApp

times would be callous. To bury our heads in the sand like ostriches and pretend that it can't happen to us would be recklessly

Editorial Assistants CoHAR SAI{AKtA\. YtRL\AN MEGAN BARRON. LoursE A. SMTTH NEw YoRK

Translators

naive. Our

ARAM OHANIAN. An:s Srvec

l9l5

Director of Operations Sem KHooelrlN

to reestablish their honorable existence did not do it with the foresight that it might someday fall victim to liberrine ways or criminal passions.

Subscriplions ASHOT BCX;HoSSIAN. YEREvAN

AdYertising EDWARD JAMGorcHrAN. MELTNE

OLTNJTAN"

Contributing Editors

As this article goes on to explain, we Armenians have an "Achilles Heel."

ToNy Helprx, Srnrrs SHvevoNrrN. RoNALD GRtGoR Suruy Jtvelr TABIBtAN, Tet.tNe VosxsnrrcHreN

Contributors AneM AeR,{HevreN, ARTASHES E:wN. YEREVAN: HRATCH TcHILINCrnrlN. Srrslr Pame. LoNooN:

Los AN(iF:r.Frs: MARK MALKASTAN. RHoDE IsLAND: GEoR(;E Bol,RNorrrrAN. LoLA KoUNDAKJTAN. NEw Y()RK:

LOOKING GOOD

JANET SAMUELIAN.

MooRAD M(x)RADres. WlsHrnr;tox. DC

I woulcl like to compliment you on the cover design of the March issue. I have been a subscriber to

Pholographers MKHITAR KHACHA'I.RtAN, ZAvEN KHACHIKIAN. R0TIBEN MAN(;AsARrAN. YEREvAN: ALrNE MANor.rKrAN. ARMTNEH JoH.qNrues. Pe,nrs: EDMoN TERAI(optAN, LoNtx)N; KARTNE ARMEN, KEvoRK DJANsEztAN. Los ANGET.Es: ARr)EM AsLANTAN. NEw JERsFty: Hlxtv Kotruolx:rlr. New YORKi BERCE ARA ZoBrAN. RHoDE lsr-AND

March cover was one of the best.

Henour DeoeyeN Nontunloce, Cer.rronrrl

gift lbr me. Living in a small town f'ar

best Christmas

Editorial Consullanl M1\AS KoJATA\

As A Pt BI-tc sER\t( E

THE Fo(:RTil

away

from any big city or any Armeian community, you are the only link with my

l99O tsotJNDI\(; EDIT(IR F0T'}DIN(; PIiBI-ISHER IARTA\ OSKA\IA\ !IICHAEL NAIIABET PUBL|SHED

AIM since the

very first issue and in my opinion the

Your December '95 issue was the

Edilor Emerilu\ CItARt.[s NAZARt,\\

For'\DED

people. Please be there always. Eupre EocenreN

M[-r E\\rL\r S(lETy

A \O\.PROFII CORR)RAftr)\

Vnlexcra. INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Razmig Hakimian. 6695 Henri Bourassa West, Montreal, PQ, H4R 2El, Phone 51,1 339 2517 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Sebouh Amenagian, P.O. Box 3000, Sharjah, UAE. Phone 97 I 6 3-3 I 36 I

SperN

"Better late than never." Best

CANADA:

wishes for success.

Salpr PexnepouNr,

UNITED KINGDOM: Misak Ohanian. l05A Mill Hill Road. Acton, London W38JF. Phone 0lll 992

MoNreseLLo, CaLrronnre

I FRANCE: Jean-Patrick Mouradian. 3 Rue Juies Guesde, 94140-Altbrtville, Phone 33 I 41t 93 l0 33

462

ITALY: Piene Balanian, Via Morlacca,

forebearers who escaped the

Genocide and who came to America

A4l-5,

Rome, Phone 995 1235 HONG KONG: Jack Maxian. RM. A2. I l/F. Block A. 26 Kai Cheung Rd., Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Phone tl52 795 98tllt ATJSTRALIA: Alfied Markarian. PO. Box 370. Hanis Park NSW 2l-50 Sydney, Phone 02 ti97 ltl,16: Artin Goc. 29 Mayfair Ave., Ferntree Gully. Victoria 3156, Phone 03-752-3873 Fax 03-7-52-363ti

WRITE TO AIMI We uel( ome all ( ommunicalion. Although u'e read all lerters and submissions, *,e are unable to acknou'ledge everuthing u,e receive due to limited staffing and resources. \\/rite to us l We can be reached at AI]\14]\1@WE,L|,.CO]\1 or the traditional u,a.v at AItrl P.O. Box 10793 Glendale, Califbrnia 9 1209-3793. or b-y [hx, 818.246.0088, or phone, 818.2467979. Letters to the E<litor ma-v be edited fbr publication.

A SAD COMMENTARY Your March I 996 issue had a very trag-

ic accounl ol'what our Armenian communities are facing in Southem Califomia. According to the article entitted "Hear No

Evil,

See

No Evil" by Theresa Moreau and

Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian, Southem Calilomia's Armenian communities are starting to tace the same social ills that have been plaguing the American commu-

nities that they are a part

of. It

is no longer

uncommon for Armenian names to surface in cases involving murder, larceny, narcotics, rape, prostitution, street gangs,

Because we are so proud, we do not readily own up to some of our failings. Our first generation Armenians in America would have rather died than be disgraced. And inherently. they would sometimes ignore an embarrassing situation out of existence. "Hear No Evil, See No Evil." This may have been feasible in the old days when our ancestors lived in small villages and had some control over their cornnlunites, but not today in an expanding Califomia Diaspora that already exceeds 500,000 Armenians who live in dispersed communities that they have no control over. According to the article, there are four Armenian Relief Society offices throughout California, one Armenian Evangelical Social Service in Hollywood and, singularly, Father Shnork Demirjian of St. Peter Church, who have picked up the gauntlet. Culture shock? Ignorance? Whatever the underlying reasons, it is a problem and one that need confronting. We must come out

of our

shells and accept the fact that

Armenians are no more or no less human than the rest - that we are susceptible to all of the same social afflictions that are currently plaguing all of today's free societies. "Hear No Evil, See No Evil" was a stark and sobering account of what is happening in the heavily populated Armenian communities of Southem Califomia. I would like to commend AIM for having the courage t<r bring this issue to the attention of our people. Question is: What are we going to do about it? JosepH VossrrrA.N

HuNnNcooN VaLLsY, PsNNSyr-vRNe

AIM Apnr

1996

l'7

Name

Address

ARMINEH JOHANNES

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AlM, 207 S. Brand, Gle.'dal., CA

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Rl,lflR

Helief for Lebdrtort

It is estimated that the recent bombardment olsouthern Lebanon by Israeli armed forces has created about 500,000 [,ebanese reflugees. This sudden influx ol refugees into Beirut and northern Lebanon has disrupted normal life and created widespread hardship. The Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) quickly recognized the seriousness ol the situation and allocated $10,000 to help provide basic reliel supplies-fbod, medicine, blankets-fbr the refugees. In Beirut, the Union of the Armenian livangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) is actively involved in helping the relugees. Two o[ the UAECNE,! buildings-the Yeprem and Nlartha Philibosian College and the Haigazian University College Mehagian Buildings-have been converted to housing fbr about 600 refugees, most of them women and children. The Social Action Committee of the UAECNE is providing fbod and clothing for these refugees.

The AMAA donated another $2,500 to support the reliel ef'forts of the Church World Service (CWS) of the National Council of Churches of ChristUSA, which in cooperation with the Middle East Council ol Churches (MECC) has launched a $286,000 reliel'program. Although an April 27,1996 cease-fire has halted the hostilities, the impact olthese latest bombardments will be felt fbr manyyears to come. This makes relief aid to Lebanon absolutely crucial as the victims of this tragedy engage in the daunting challenge ol rebuilding their homes and lives. HE,LP THE HE,I,PLE,SS

IN I,E,BANON.

ARMENIAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIAIION OF AMERICA 14O Forest Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07552

Ves,

I'd like to participate in the AMAA's relief efforts in

Lebanon. Enclosed is mv gift.

Name

Address Ciry, State, Zip Make your tax-deductible check payable AMAA Lebanon Relief

9 /AIM

ApnLl996

2 Number of times Russian Special Envoy Amtassador Vladimir Kazimirov has been involved

a car accident in Armenia

V 2 rrrillion Amount in dollars spent by the Los Angeles Police Department to provide round-the-clock protection to the Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles, beiween 1982 and 1984

V lor4oo Population of city of Jermuk:

30 Percentage expected to be employed in mineral-water related industries

AO-l OO mllllon Number of bottles of mineral water from Jermuk to be bottled in 1996

Y 4 Number of regional conflicts in the world in 1985

20 Number of regional conflicts in the world in 1995 (including Karabakh-Azerbaijan; Bosnia, Burundi, Iraq)

42 rnillion Number of people in danger of starvation or life-threatening disease due to regional conflicts

l3 lrillion Value in Drams, of Armenia's industrial production, during the first quarter

UN, Haratch, AIM Research, Lragir Or

1996.

NEW RELEASES Pfltn0ilt 0f THE ruffiIH iITI.STUJM $OGETY Patrons ol the Fourth Millennium Society are committed to the well-being, growth and development of Armenians and Armenia through the promotion of open discussion and the free flow of information among individuals and organizations. Their linancial contributions ($1 000-$5000) support the work of the Fourth Millennium Society and ensure the independence of AlM..

â&#x201A;Ź

KolillTAS2Ant

Uultfud,f'lenilFofiSom $30 Mtgnnru eruo ELZABETH Aoeasnt.r LABRY AND SEoA BARNES VABTKES AND

Zevrlr

Jelru Bnnsatt

AVIK MAHDESIAN ALEX MAN@G|AN

VIoLET DAKESSIAN

Srcpalr

ARolsH nruo MARY ANN Denoenrlru AnueH DeRoenleru

Hlnour

KEVoRK MINASSIAN

Glcrr rruo KlraR Gn-srnru

Rrrr Ounmum Mrcsnel lruo HeRurrue

PIERBE AND ALIcE HAG HARoUTNTAN

HARour

Anpnn nNo

ISTANBULIAN

HERMTNE JANoYAN

KEVORK AND SATENIG KARNERJIAN

GeoRce lNo GRACE

Grno

KAY

Kexevrru

Jlsurrue Mcnorcxteru MrcrRDrc AND ANr MrcrRotcyAN

VaHau nlro AuoRey GneooR

-.q

nruo RrrA MESRoBIAN

Meruousunc Fseunrurmr

llro Enotntrr MARKARTAN

STEVE AND LUcILLE ESTEPHANIAN

AHAXTE

KntxoR KRrxonnr.t

BERJ AND HERA BoYfuIAN

KRTKoR AND

HnRRv eruo AIDA KoUNDAKJIAN

Hanny aruo ALVABT BARSEGHTAN HAGOP AND

aruo Soua KHerulreru

Alex Smrrssraru Dona SenvnRnt-KuHu RoeeRr lNo HeuH SHruunt JoSEPH AND Jovce Sreru PerRos nruo GlRne Tlcr-vlr.r Rnlps lr'ro Sevev Tureruxtlr.r Grrozlo

aruo Dzovro

ANAHIT

Fatthf,SrI3

{= -

l.llumIil

PrRnrurnru

810

. F s E

Zerrlrat

JoHN AND Rose Kercxrynru

I =' U

mEuD$ 0F flM

AN\HUB IilESCHIAII Warfin

The Fourth Millennium Society is gratetul to the tollowing for contributing $10-$999 during the last month to help secure AIM's financial future.

$15

Daniel H. & Anush Abdulian, CA; Suren & Rusan Abeghian, CA; Raffi Allaverdi, NJ; Antranig & Anne Arslanian, Argentina; Robert & lsabel Avakian, MA; John Boyajian, CA; Janet Chakarian, VA; Caro Danielian, CA; Hrire Der Avanessian, CA; Earl S. Hamlin, CA;Varujan & Karine Keledjian, CA; Leon & Nina Kostanian, CA; Haig & Rima Kurdian, KS; Jirair Kuyumjian, Canada; Haik Marcar, CA; Charles & Charlene Nickson, TX; Salpi Pakradouni, CA; Fransuhi Partikoglu, NY; Chris & Jeni petrosian, CA; Badros Qasabian, Australia;Vartkes Shirinian, Australia; Armenag Topalian, UK

FOURTH MILLENNIUM SOCIETY A Not-for-Profit, Public Benefit Corporation 207 S. Brand Blvd. Glendale, California 91204 Phone: 81 8.246.7979 Fax: 81 8.246.0088

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AIM Apnn- 1996 I

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- \al"-,*. 3I, r -""tr1 ' '. " t" , "e'-# \a,., ''' r" 'l:b t't

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On the 8lst anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman

Turkish government in

1915,

Armenian government representatives raised the issue in various forums. Chairman of the National

murder and it remains a viable and effective political option for states."

Ararktsian

Senior Presidential Advisor Jirair Libaridian completed another

Assembly Babken addressed

a session of the

European

Council Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg on April 24, and among other political and economic issues. referred to the Genocide and its aftermath, when today, "without recognition and condemnation of all acts of genocide, mankind cannot consider itself safe... at any time. in any coun-

try;'

Deputy Speaker Ara Sahakian spoke of the Genocide while in Turkey for the 95th session of the Intemational Parliamentary Assembly. Deputy Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian addressed the UN Human April and Rights Commission reminded the nations of the world that "although there are changes in the

ffi :

r -

14 /AIM Apnrr

1996

such denial remain the same: What was called genocide has come to be called ethnic cleansing. But, still, it is mass

terms which describe the ultimate denial of human rights for the purpose of clear political gain, the methods of

series

of meetings with high-level

T[rkish officials, culminating with a visit to Turkey and talks with Turkish president Suleiman Demirel and Prime

Minister Mesut Yilmaz. Libaridian's visit received a great deal of exposure in the Turkish press, which stressed Armenia's continued rejection

linkage between bilateral relations with Turkey and the signing of the political agreement on the Karabakh conflict.

Armenia's Foreign Minister Vahan Papazian met with his counterpart in Kiev, Ukraine, in midApril, in preparation for bilateral agreements of friendship and coopera-

tion which will be signed by the presidents of the two countries in Yerevan later this year.

front of the presidential palace, the protestors demanded additional scholarship assistance, restored transportation privileges, higher salaries for professors and additional study opportunities at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Increaed military activity in Eastern Thrkey between Tirrkish military and Kurds resulted in the Turkish govemment banning access to certain parts of the region of Kars across from the Armenian border, The Turkish government frequently claims that Kurdish guerrillas cross the border from Turkey into Armenia, where they receive Armenian support. The Armenian government denies offering help to any terrorists. Lack of funds was cited as the reason for another decrease in the supply z x z o

V c

of natural gas from Turkmenistan. Armenia's inability to maintain payments resulted in a curtailment of deliv-

eries by the Russian-Turkmeni joint venture. Just as the head of Armenia's eleqtoral commission and others involved in the upcoming elections ccimpleted a trip to the US to study optimal election

and

procedures, US Ambassador Peter Tomsen extended an

processes After nearly a year in court, the Dro trial appeared to be nearing an end. On April 9, both prosecution and defense submitted their cases to the three-judge panel for a decision. The prosecution repeated the charges of terrorism and treason and called for sentences rangirig from capital punishment to eight to l5 years imprisonment. The defense insisted on the innocence of the accused and demanded their release.

The National Assembly of Karabakh established a Constitutional Commisslon consisting of 15 members, headed by President Robert Kocharian and including the Speaker of Karabakh's Parliament Artur draft constitution is expected by the end of the year.

Tovmasian.

Vazgen Manukian, former prime minister and defense minister, and

currently head of the National

Democratic Union was nominated by that party. He joins former dissident

Paruir Hairikian who had

alreade declared. The other expected candidate

Communist Party leader Sergei

Badalian.

A large official delegation from the People's Republic of China visited Armenia and met with President Levon Ter Petrossian, Prime Minister Hrand

Bagratian, Speaker

of the National

Assembly Babken Ararktsian and discussed economic, political and cultural matters of mutual concem. Although no agreements were signed, Ter Petrossian is expected to sign several on his trip to

China in early May.

Although President Levon Ter Petrossian has not offrcially announced

his candidacy for a second term in offrce, his opponents are lining up.

Student organizations and independent trade unions organized a week of protests in April. Gathered in

to the head of Armenia's Constitutional Court, Gagik invitation

Harutunian, to visit the US Supreme Court. There is no end to the stories about

the undependable nature of Armenia's telephone system. The announcement

Deputy Minister

Communications, Robert Harutunian that a cellular telephone system will be installed, even as coritemporary dig-

ital equipment are install.ed in existing Yerevan telephone stations was met

with pleasure. The project will

be implemented by Armentel joint venture, through an agreement with the Siemens company of Germany.

As fears about British beef spread

Ministry of Food and Agriculture announced that all meat sold at narket will first be inspected and certified by veterinarians at lcical laboratories, who are around the world, Armenia's

under conffact with the government.

AIMApnu- 1996

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YiY,,'"r

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nother organization on

the

Armenian horizon should be no reason for anyone to stand up and take notice. Unless. of course. its

Board of Trustees includes the presidents of Armenia and Karabakh, both Armenian Catholicoi, the heads of all Armenian churches, political parties and major philanthropic organizationsfrom the Armenian Relief Society to the Armenian General Benevolent Union, from Argentina to the United Kingdom,

Armenia

to Iran, or

_ . "*.I:::-*-,-

out the world have been working for nearly four years to develop the ground-

work to mount a massive National Giving campaign commensurate with

from Azerbaijani rule to Armenian

the need. One of the first major demon-

self-rule.

strations

Just as important, there are the challenges of ensuring lasting independence and sovereignty. These problems are as basic as finding and securing water sources to ensuring the econom-

ic viability of

Armenia's border

regions, particularly Zangezur in the south. The agenda of the Armenia Fund is so massive and all-encompass-

list goes on: there are the ministers of

ing that it's no wonder that

finance, economy and foreign affairs; the prime ministers of both Armenia

Armenians throughout the world are being called upon to stand up and

and Karabakh, the heads of the Central Bank and the Armenian Assembly--and they're all holding an agenda that would be daunting by any normal standards. For starlers. there is reconstruction. No small matter for a people plundered by communism, devastated by war, and flattened by a killer quake. Then, there is the matter of building infrastructure:

deliver.

Angeles)

whether it's highways linking isolated Karabakh to Armenia. or landlocked

Janeiro. Indeed, the Fund's various chapters and representatives through-

1996

"\"L

d:a

.ffi

j v5fig

schools in

Vatche Manoukian and Charles Aznavour. The

l6 / AIM Apn[

";.**&eb:l,.,

Karabakh's villages and towns left without support in the transition from communism to a market economy and

taries as Alex Manoogian,

and such important and visible digni-

-.,-

the

For Manushak Petrossian. the executive director of the Fund, it's simple. "We wanted a country, we got it. now we have to keep it." She does not discriminate when speaking of "us"-it's all Armenians from Stepanakert to Sydney, from "Los Armenios" (or Los

to Montreal and Rio

of this push is a

l2-hour

telethon to be televised on May 27, in Southern California and throughout the

US. Plans are underway for similar efforts elsewhere. The task of rebuilding and restructuring may appear daunting and monumental, but as Edward Balasanian, executive director of the Armenia Fund USA of the eastem US stresses, "the Armenia Fund, by the concept of national giving, in the form of annual dues, has created the possibility for every Armenian to be present and participate in the resolution ofthese problems." Rafi Ourfalian, president of the Armenia Fund of the westem US, adds "Our focus is to ensure widespread participation throughout the community, each within their own means, so that through participation, a nation that has been divided is a result of cruel fate, shall feel affinity again." Between them. Oufalian and Balasanian point to the two critical elements which set apart

ii;*iiwli.$$,#iiitlfi iiii#'*ffi

the Armenia Fund and its structure from

the remaining Armenian organizalions. Through the Fund, not only does each individual have the opportunity to participate in the reconstruction of a homeland and a dream. but at the same time.

the Fund makes it possible to link Armenians to Armenia, Armenia to Karabakh, the Diaspora to the home-

land.Still, there are those skeptics who are uncertain about sending funds to

Armenia. The horror stories about Diasporan organizations which collected and never delivered, or Armenian institutions which were supposed to demonstrate an improvement and never did, are still easily bandied about. Perhaps for that reason, the Fund is structured such that management and financing are key components of its administration. The Fund's books are audited regularly by the French-Armenian Amyot firm, and its intemal construction and oversight department was developed by Balasanian, an architect-engineer from New York, who spent more than a year

Yerevan, setting up the process. Beyond these skeptics, there are the political cynics who are uncertain about donating to a country whose political administration is not to their tiking.

Pierre Terzian, head

of the

French branch of the Armenia Fund, dismisses such concems. "Every deed is done,"

explains Terzian, "with one goal in mind-to help Armenia become more independent each day.

This is an obsession, and

every-

ir+liffi $l:ft

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ii$lSsXW**i"i'i:

thing we do helps Armenia go in this direction." Terzian cites the FrenchArmenian community's accomplishments: Since 1993, the Fund has collected l0 million French francs (or US $2 million) and used that money for the installation ofelectric cables, building a

matemity hospital, connecting 30 universities to the intemet, rebuilding a college of physics and mathematics,

ARMENIA

FUNIT and supplying water to five renrote villages. The largest project planned so far is the Iran-Armenia gas line, estimated at a cost of US $10 million. As a non-

govemmental organization, the Fund does not put political conditions on its giving, stresses Terzian. "It is up to them what kind of govemment they want; the only condition is that the govemment be democratically elected. We do not have the right to get into petty

politics and lose perspective

says he emphasizes repeatedly that local will not be

needs should not be and

neglected, that it is the Fund's long-term

goal to assist community priorities worldwide when the need arises. Indeed, in France, the Fund devoted a substantial amount to a local school which was in danger of closing. This would have denied the community of its only Armenian school, in a city where not too long ago, there were a dozen schools. In Califomia where the community has many cultural and other

needs, Ourfalian says the time will come when the Fund can address thoseneeds. "But now the message has gone out to everybody, and they know we are not duplicating them, we are not doing

anything that somebody else is doing, and now they acknowledge this as something new and in complement to what was being done for Armenia. This is the only specihc tool tailored to the

needs

of an independent Armenia,"

repeats Terzian. The message does seem to have gotten out, because most organi-

zation representatives echo this sentiment. Flora Dunaians, born and raised in Southem Califbmia, and well known

the

essential point: Armenia's independence. "Further, many in the Diaspora still worry whether the Armenia Fund will draw resources away from local needs. The various representatives of the Armenia Fund are quick to point out that this is not to be the case. Ourfalian

AIM Apnr 1996 I 17

PROJ ECTS

OF !I J{/NYZASTA] As of June

EART HQAAKE D I S AST E R ZAN E 539 residential uryts, a pedagogical institute, and a kindergarten have been completed. Construction of a polyclinic is in progress.

Gyumri

375 apartments

$1,196,571.10

Vanadzor

128 apartments

808,899.62

* Special Pu.posg Contributions

made by Armenian Earthquake Committee of Ausfialia.

ng 1994-95, total spent on these projects has been $1,445,854.09. ZANGEZUR DEVELOPMENT Roads, gas pipeline, pdio-television fransmission station, and other public service projects comprise this sector of the Fund's activities.

"Vaik-Sarlvan" 1.3 km road*

$4r7,943.97

101,944.18

* Completon of

theae

prcjecx has been turned over to the Ministry of'Transportation of the Republic of Armenia.

During 1994-95, the Fund spent $838,197.54 tnZangezw.

Total spent by "Hayustan" All-Armsnian Fund during FiscalYear 1994-95,

l8 /AIM Apnr

1996

-,B*c*:t:b:,",.s"'*:&tI,l';1*".rs.:li.."i,,p{$e.$@:j"t*d."q.:*;*.fi$d-:.YtT"4,Ew

ALL-ARfVIENIAN FUND KARABAKH So far, the following projects have been undertaken by the Fund in Karabakh:

ITOUSING:

HUMANITARIAN AID:

lbating tuel

2.017.291.48

During 1994-95, the Fund spent $2,454,122A2 in Karabakh.

ORPHAN S' SA PPORT PROGRAM The Fund has assumed the responsibility of coordinating the provision of financial aid and welfare for the children of the martyred and first degree invalid freedom fighters. During 1994-95, the Fund distributed a total of $197,718.00 to more than 3,000 children. Of this amount $99,900 was allocated to children in Armenia and $97,818.00 to children in Karabakh. These allocatoins of monthly stipends were made basd on information provided by the authorities of Armenia and Karabakh, in cooperation with their respective Social Services Departments.

M I SC ELLANEOU S PROIECTS These projects included:

Refusee housins. 24 units in 2 buildi

During 1994-95, the Fund spent $236,755.62 on above projects.

ding $21 million spent on the "Winter 94" project, has been $26,789,544.00.

AIM APRrL 1996 I 19

@41qffff" . *.:i.r.;+r.-!t "*ka*!&!{1!@1!!i\ffi:€.ff:slfifi.(M;e&,3F&9d1re"""i",;,:d*-Bu-!s!!*!d.!sr.e(e1sF!-+r!@.:..e1*l .,dqi!s,,@'@e*rsan-f;+"ffi. ",**,.*s$:1*t"Bi+i#W!qeffiffiri*lggw*ic*..Bi€*if*lse*Ni'Bji{.lsa.}iBIild:!!$fiffi!l$,it{{s&BFjIY"gqeisi@iffi lH$tryWl9ffi!!SE!X**iei*$tSS&F$friHSStBS, HlBiliB[,iilqSBWiHgry#S:S'.6]:sqS€!6i+q:sHS*y.HSffiH*ffi{i+H*sW

throughout the US as a fundraiser and

Sosi Bocchieriyan, former president of

organizer, explains that she became involved in rebuilding Armenia

Armenians of Colorado, favored the Fund from the beginning. One of her pet peeves with the community, she explains. is that with no many organiza-

"The Fund was not intended to supersede local organizations and hurt normal activism. I'm just as active and involved in local organizations, as I've always been." Only now, she says, her husband George, acknowledging the Fund's appeal for national, annual giving, socks away whatever extra the family can afford "all in the belief that

tions, each with their own agendas, effort is dispersed and lacks a single

through the efforts of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church.

this is something that has to be done. This is what the Armenia Fund is trying to stress: there's no difference between your mother and father--in this case, Armenia and America. Love the country ofyour birth, but give allegiance to your nationalisty and homeland. "Armenians in far-off communi-

ARMENIA

FUNII ties are equally supportive of

the Fund's activities, for different reasons.

20 / AIM AORIL 1996

telethon, just one month ago, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) announced that it, too, would join in. Vicken Sonentz-Papazian, executive director of the ARF's western region office of the Armenian National Committee, says his organization, dedicated to promote the interests of the

Armenian-American community. "seeks to gather funds to promote the

independence

of Armenia and is an

Karabakh, and where there

endeavor that promotes nation-building in both countries. then we are going to

support it."

focus.

With many existing organizations

joining the Fund, they form a union

with one goal in mind--to assist Armenia and Karabakh. The Stepanakert-Goris Highway, which will be the telethon's chief beneficiary is a most visible way of assisting both Armenia and Karabakh. Perhaps for that reason, not just many, but most organizations are joing the fund, and Ourfalian, among others, is pleased. In

This was a welcome announcement considering the ARF had at one point pulled out its represenative from the Armenia Fund's Board of Trustees. Ourfalian observed, "In the past, all of us in the community have come together at best to commemorate the martyrs of the Genocide, but never before to pool our resources inividually and institutionally to actually accomplish something as critical as, this highway, this link between Armenia and Karabakh, between the Diaspora and the homeland."

addition to the nearly 100 US based organizations which have endorsed the

by Theresa Moreau

a in '96 lnternational Medical Conference Armenia The medical conference

ticipate

will be held for 4 days. You will also be able to paron meetings with your

pre-arranged 0ne-to-0ne hands

Armenian colleagues in their hospitals. Travel via Aeroflot with transatlantic R.Travel lnc. flights on Beoing 767, arrangements through

Accommodations will be at the Hotel Armenia 1, the renovated sectton based on double occupancy. Spouses programs are planned daily sightseeing tours planned including visits to the Turkish Armenian border to view the ruins of Ani from the Armenian side, Garni Etchmiadzin Khor Virab, Genocide Memorial, and many other sites via private motor coach with an English-speaking guide throughout the period. Prices include all transfers, sightseeing, breakfast and one meal daily. 0ptional helicopter tour of Karabagh is available. 0ptional arrangements will be made for those

wlshing to attend the 0pera or Philharmonic 0rchestra. Tour ends a day after the Blessing of the It/uron at Holy Etchmladzin set for September B. Tour departs New York's Kennedy airport on August

1996 at 1:00 p.m.

to Moscow. Returns on September 9, 1996 at 1:00 p.m. or Tour departs LosAngeles airport on August 28 1996 at 5:05 p.m. and returns on September 9, 1996 at 8:30 p.m. lncluded will be a sightseeing tour oI Moscow. Total Tax deductible cost is: $2 500.00, per person from New York City's JFK, A Registration fee of $500.00, per person is required at this time. Departures from Los Angeles International Airport cost is $2,750.00 per

pers0n. THIS TOUR IS OPEN TO ALL, AND IS NOT LIMITED TO PERSONS WITH

A MEDICAL BACKGROUND. R.S.V.P, tO: MEIIIGAT OUTREAGH FOR ARME]IIAIIS, I]IG.

Arthur M. Halvajian,

Varkes Najarian M.0.,

Co-Chairman

33-00 Broadway, Sulte 201

1030 S. Glendaie Ave, Suite 407

Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410

Glendale, CA 91295 (818) 548-1990

(201) 796-0050

PROGRAM COORDINATOR:

Murat Acemoglu,

M.D.

P0.Box (51

438

Newtonville, New York 12128

8) 235-6606

EfvrS,

(Number ol Persons) wish to attend- Enclosed is my check in the amount of $500.00 per person, made payable to:

Medical 0utreach for Armenians. lnc. or Charge My CreditCard:# Expiration date

My departure is preferably from Please PRINT

NAME: ADDRESS:

TELEPHONE:

(

)

MEDICAL SPECIALITY

FAX:

(

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REI\DERII\G I/IATERI\AL CARE TO THE COUNTRY of those elected to the country's parliament, continues proudly. "We are not feminists either. We just feel that our country is rather young and like a baby it needs maternal care. When our baby grows older, then there will be no need for either matemal care nor our organization. Then Shamiram shall dissolve and give way to the men." At the moment, Shamiram, does

not look at all like it's going

away.

After winning some 40,000 votes in last

September's election, it registered some 7,000 members and now has a central offrce in Yerevan and 25 local chapters in small towns and rural areas. According to members of the executive body. more ofllces are in various stages of development. Nana Togoshvili, another member

of the

authorities. Management problems

will be solved as well-the Board will deal with I 1 regional offices, and not with dozens of local ones."

At Shamiram's

annual meeting, to

be held in May, Togoshvili explains that

changes will have to be made to the organization's bylaws, in keeping with the new Constitution, and plans made for their future activities. "There is a vacuum in our society," explains Bakunts. "There are those who don't trust the Govemment, and don't believe in the the opposition. This vacuum can be filled either by the communists, or by women. We were more active during the elections last year and we are doing our best now, to maintain momentum."

National Assembly and of

Shamiram's executive body, explains

Just half a year after they won eight seats in the National Assemblymore than any block outside the ruling Armenian National Movement. a member of the Board of the most powerful women's organization in Armenia says, "Shamiram is not a political party." The speaker, Angela Bakunts, one

work with the local

that the Shamiram structure will parallel Armenia's new administrative divisions. "We shall have the central office in Yerevan at the top of the pyramid, the second level will be the l0 regional offrces in the newly formed administrative Marz (or regional) centers (and an I lth one in Yerevan) and the third level will consist of local organizations. This kind of structure will make easier to

by Mark Grigorian Photo credit:

Mkhitar Khachatrian

DAILY NEWS FROM ARMENIA Get information about Armenia on a regular daily basis. ARAGIL is a daily digest of the Armenian press in English. Based on newspapers and additional sources, ARAGII will provide you with up+o-date information about

the events taking place in Armenia and Karabakh. You can have ARAGIL delivered by electronic mail every day. Send your payment today with your e-mail address or contact us via e-mail at: request@aragil.arminco.com Personal subsciotion: I -3 months $7 per month 4-6 months $6.50 per month 7-l I months $6 per month

Palment in $US checlc or monev orders should be sent to: PR Research Attn: Mr. Manucharian P.O. Box 021785

Brooklyn,

22 lAlM.Apnrr- 1996

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DrpLoMATs' AnMENTAN 101 he Monterey Institute

International Studies (MllS), which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, has long been known

for its excellent language courses. Located on Califomia's central coast, MIIS offers instruction in a host of tongues. Armenian, however, has not been a part of the Institute's curriculum. When Armenia became indepen-

in 1992, Armenian immediately gamered the status of a diplomatic language. The US government started to send diplomats to former Soviet republics but lacked the means to train them. Ruth Larimer, Associate Dean of Languages and Educational Linguistics at MIIS, presented Washington with a proposal for an Armenian program. It was accepted in part because the Foreign Services Institute wanted diplomats to be taught using authentic materials, and this technique is Larimer's specialty. Next. Larimer fbrmed a team which spent over two years culling source malerials and writing texts in dent

ronment, she says, students learn Armenian as a "live" language with the MIIS method. And what better way is there to make a language come alive than to bring the voices ofnative speakers right into the classroom? "The material uses real people in authentic conversations," Hairapetian explains. Larimer adds, "Ifyou don't get students involved in what's really going on, they won't be able to get out and use the language when they have to." To gather authentic dialogue, the team visited Armenian communities in the Diaspora and twice travelled to Armenia. Hairapetian recorded conver-

sations "often without the speakers' knowledge" and filmmaker Ara

toms and traditions, for example, Hairapetian and crew attended and recorded a baptism in the beautiful Geghard Monaster, carved in a mountainside just outside Yerevan.

Since the object is to "use Armenian in a natural setting," students pretend to carry out tasks such as making hotel reservations, asking directions and making purchasss-4ll basic surtraveller. Moreover, the advantage of listening to native speakers is that students quickly

vival activities for any

realize the variety of expressions used in

"real life." For example, whereas

hear "No problem," "Sure" or "Don't

mention it."

was the multi-volume

Task-Based

Approach to Armenian.

Head Cuniculum Writer Srbouhi Hairapetian was part of the team from

cassettes.

former UCLA lecturer and research fellow, Hairapetian made a few discoveries along the way. "I did not anticipate the difficulty of creating the Armenian-language course. Until I delved into the project, I didn't realize how

Madzounian shot 12 hours of video to illustrate specific topics. Students get a taste of colloquial Armenian from these

overheard exchanges: they hear the pauses, rhythms and vocabulary of natural speech that are absent lrom tradi-

Institute of Literature of the Armenian

tional "staged" audio recordings. For

of literary

Academy of Sciences, Hairapetian is the

samples

author

Hairapetian made recordings of recent television and radio broadcasts. The two-year course is thorough: student workbooks and grammar textbooks in addition to resource modules that provide background on history and geography. A special unit is devoted to

of A History ofArmenian Literature as well as numerous lan-

guage textbooks used in Armenian and public schools throughout the Diaspora.

She explains that Approach consists of

workbooks, videotapes and audio cassettes organized by themes and tasks rather than by grammar and vocabulary. But what exactly does this mean for the student? Hairapetian puts it more

clearly: rather than being subjected to rote memorization in an artif,rcial envi-

24 I AIM Apn[ 1996

different Armenian is from English. Its declensional end-

zz ings, articles, cases and some ysft 1e1sss-these have no English equivalents." a z For the Monterey Institute & course, therefore, Hairapetian and cowriter Gayane Zargarian

the

the beginning. A graduate of

It is exactly this unpre-

dictability that is captured on the audio-

Eastern Armenian for English-speaking students. The resu

English grammar book of the past might have taught that "You're welcome" is the automatic response to "Thank you," anyone familiar with the English language knows that it is just as common to

Armenian,

reading newspapers. as journalism employs a style of its own and current events are of particular importance to diplomats. The videos depict life in full color-to illustrate the chapter on cus-

an English teacher at

the

American University in Armenia) had to create grammar texts in a completely new

way-

"based on the conversations

we recorded," she says. Armenian was taught daily for one

quarter last year at the Institute, with each intense session lasting six hours. It won't be offered regularly, however. As with other "request" languages such as Hungarian, classes will be held as the need arises.

In the meantime, the Armenianlanguage program is in use at the Foreign Services Institute: their embassy staff is currently receiving spe-

cialized training for their stints overseas. And once in Armenia, one can be sure that these diplomats won't be at a loss for words. r MBceN BnnnoN

Takhtajan is the Kine of Flora

rmen Takhtajan is visiting the New

York Botanical Gardens (NYBG) Harding Laboratory. Again. Takhtajan. 85, who has just com-

pleted his Diversity

and

Classification of Flowering Plants, wlll see the book published by Columbia

University Press. It's dedicated to his friend, the late Arthur Cronquist of the NYBG. The two botanists first corresponded in I 955 and 10 years later met in Leningrad. Home base for Takhtajan is the V.L.

Komarov Botanical Institute Russian Academy

the

of Sciences--origi-

nally established by Peter the Great for pharmaceutical purposes in l7 14. Takhtajan, one of the world's great experts on systematic and evolutionary botany, acts as scientific consultant to the Komarov. He was its director from 1973 to 1987, and is not only a member of the science academies of Russia and Armenia, but also of the American,

Finnish, Norwegian, Polish

and

German academies. He is a Fellow of

the Linnean Society in London and a past president of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy. He

also acted as president during the International Botanical Congress of 1915.

He has authored 45 books, includ-

ing some in English. His first English

title was published in 1969 by the Smithsonian Institution. His research

classical geneticists. Although he was able to continue to work and teach (at

travels have taken him through Europe, Asia and North America, where he also

the more independent

has a special tie to the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. The Garden's director, Peter Raven, sees Takhtajan's work as a distillation of "over 60 years of understanding and mastering the intricacies of the plant kingdom in all its manifest diversity,

come until decades later, when

glory and geographical spread."

The

Colleagues say it takes a detailed, personal knowledge of plants, an eye for differences and similarities, and the ability to analyze vast data in order to sort out plants according to their evolu-

Panax Pharmaceutical, listed on the NASDAQ, is located on Park Avenue

tionary relationships. The genealogy must be accurate enough for practical use by academic botanists, evolutionary biologists, conservationists, as well as those who prospect for medicinal plants or work to preserve rare species. Bom in Shushi and educated in Tbilisi, Takhtajan first studied botany at

age 14. He continued his studies at Yerevan State University, earned his doctorate, and soon held two postsone teaching botany and the other in the

Sciences section of the Natural History Museum. In 1936, on an archaeological dig

Life

Leningrad University) official vindication didn't Gorbachev made him a Hero of Labor. This scientist who has outlasted

various regimes has now tumed businessman. He heads a joint effort to develop drugs from medicinal plants grown in the former Soviet Union.

nearly four year old company,

New York City, and utilizes American funding, Russian expertise and the medicinal plants of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

"So far," explains

Takhtajan,

'Armenia is only collecting. But I want Armenian-Americans to help them with a chemical lab for medical study. We are in a unique position: we have plants, and we have the ancient Armenian manuscripts with information about their medicinal value.

As Panax Board chairman, he recommends field expeditions to Armenia and extols the beauty of Armenia's forests, the sub-tropical climate of Meghri, the meadows and forests of Lori in northem Armenia.

Meghri, in southern Armenia, he found artifacts encrusted with plants,

guided garden tours, plant excursions

flowers, and even leaves and insects. He

for collecting fruit

loaded down two donkeys with his exciting data and proceeded to study. Takhtajan recalls the intelligentsia 1930s Yerevan with pleasure. Martiros Saryan was a great friend who painted him. Takhtajan himself paints, for relaxation. His subjects? Still life with flowers, of course. In 1944, Takhtajan organized and became the first director of Armenia's Botanical Institute. His unique plant maps and books like Flora of Armenia and Flora ofYerevan influenced a generation. Yet, he was dismissed in 1948 for questioning false theories of politically correct scientists, in favor of the

His eyes gleam at the prospect of seeds, bulbs and living plants. His stories and plans may sound far-fetched until one is reminded of

his

successes.

He proudly

recounts

that he had formed a hypothesis that a certain primitive plant might be found in Fiji. Eventually, in 1971, he made his way there and climbed to a dangerous point on a rock overhanging the sea and indeed found the plant degeneria. He also discovered a rare

insect-which now bears Armen Takhtajan's name.

by Janet Samuelian

AIM APRrL 1996 125

'd*"

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li.;

"There

is no sex in the Soviet

Union," said a Leningrad woman during one of the first live TV satellite hook-

ups between Soviet citizens and American TV viewers back in the 1980s.

Similarly, it can safely be said, there are no disabled individuals in Armenia. Even after the earthquake of December 1988 left several thousands without arrns or legs, and exploding mines and bombs in Karabakh resulted in hundreds of others losing limbs or eyes, there are no disabled individuals

on Armenia's streets, in stores

in public parks. Nor have there ever

schools,

been.

According to Soviet logic, special residential schools were evidence of the government's huge concern for the needs of the disabled. So, children with mental and physical handicaps were

most flats in the city are privatized, we cannot do anything about them. At the same time, we don't have enough

money

to run a fund for the needy,

including the dis-

abled, to

buy

appropriate flats for them."

In the midst of this disastrous situation, rises

business of seeking funding and developing sports-based programs for the

disabled. And by trying to raise public awareness. After all, as construction and rec on struct ion

takes off in Yerevan and throughout Armenia, building ramps in sidewalks and around

Pyunic, a non-gov-

public buildings

ernmental organization formed

will not be expen-

right after the I 988 earthquake by a group of able-bodied professionals whose aim was to help the

disabled with concems beyond mere

physical health. The president of Pyunic, Hakob Abrahamian is an engineer. Rather, he was an engineer. These

days, he is occupied full-time with the

sive. But

it won't

happen

unless

city planners and others are aware of the problems facing the disabled and poten-

tial solutions. One of the biggest problems continues to be isolation. Pyunic's great success is its winter and summer camps where sports are used to increase indi-

isolated at childhood. This isolation continued through adulthood when a very real shortage of wheelchairs, prostheses and other assistive devices meant that the disabled were not on the streets,

or in universities, or in factories. Not much seems to have changed.

Today, Armenia's Social Welfare Ministry estimates the total number of

Physical therapist Suzanna Khachatrian is a Pyunic volunteer. Mary is one of her many young charges, here enjoying summer camp at Lake Sevan.

disabled at I 18,000. Of these, 8,000 are children.

Yet, they are, for the most part, invisible. For those who have lost one or both legs and are fortunate enough to have a wheelchair, access to almost all buildings is prohibited-not by law, but by a few small steps. Concrete steps.

in front of every public building from the opera building to schools and theaters, from the social welfare ministry itself to the large

Everywhere,

neighborhood markets, the several stairs which lead into a building are equivalent to "Do Not Enter" signs for those

with mobility problems. Then, there are the many stairs out-

side and inside the hundreds of high-

rise residential buildings throughout Armenia. Although at one time, many of these buildings had elevators, today, they no longer work.

Samvel Hakobian, Head

Yerevan Department

of the

Residence

Registration and Exchange, says, "In the old days, when whole residential units belonged to the city, we had the opportunity to give flats on the first floors to the disabled. But now when AIM APRrL 1996 127

vidual self-esteem and confidence. In the process, disabled children and adults are

that same team will participate in the Paralympic Games which follow the

trained in various spofts-mountain skiing, table-tennis, sailing, basketball. This

quadrennial Olympic Games in Atlanta,

1995, and won second prize in table tennis. Perhaps the biggest achiever is Artur

Georgia.

Grigorian. He lives

Pyunic's athletes have place in other competitions, as well. Gagik Gasparian from the Voskevaz village placed sixth in

Gogaran, near Spitak, and became disabled after the earthquake. Artur took part in a 9,000 km. (5,400 mile) wheelchair super-marathon which started in St. Petersburg, Russia, and crossed many states of the former Soviet Union, finishing in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Grigorian was declared the best sportsman of the event and was decorated with the Russian order "For Courage"-the only Armenian to have received that honor.

is serious sports and Pyunic's

athletes

have achieved some significant victories.

They have taken part in many intemational competitions including the World

the 1993 European

Disabled Sailing Championship, in Great Britain, where the four-man team representing landlocked Armenia came in llth among 20 competitors. This year,

Championships. This year, he will be in Atlanta competing in the Paralympic Games. Tigran Grigorian took part in the Goodwill games for the disabled in June

Athletics

For

in the village of

days, the participants

the

marathon stayed in Armenia. "Everyone agreed that this segment was the best organized," says Abrahamian proudly, of his organization's work.

In August

1995, Grigorian was

invited to take part in an expedition to the peak of Kazbek, one of the highest mountains of Caucasus at 5,033 m

(15,000 ft.). Five disabled sportsmen from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Norway and Russia almost reached the peak, and it was a great victory for these

mountain-climbers anchored

their

wheelchairs.

Grigorian isn't the only one who registers victories. The children who

ffi W ffi t6t& ;'Ieffi

i$ #i ttffi

# :){ slll

ffi

& $ s $

I I I

Lifting himself off his chair, a young paraplegic gains muscle strength and self-esteem.

28 / AIM Apnrr t996

ffiffiffiffi*$ffi#s uous assistance, however, comes from

attend the camps are also victors. Eleven-year-old Mary lost both arms

the Chicago and Los Angeles-based "Brothers of Pyunic". These volunteer

and a foot when a mine exploded in her border town in Karabakh. You'd never know it by listening to this bubbly, happy-go-lucky beauty. But she wasn't

fundraisers have helped purchase a van, donated a modem notebook computer, and sponsored parts of summer and

always this way. Karen Koloyan, an

winter camps. Unlike other charitable

orthopedic surgeon and vice-president of Pyunic remembers that Mary and dozens like her were dumbfounded at the freedom and challenges afforded by the Pyunic summer and winter camps.

organizations formed to help Armenia, the "Brothers (and Sisters) of Pyunic"

During the three years that she

are almost

thing very specific for a

attended these fully-paid two week sessions of sport and socializing, she has blossomed. "Sport is only a means for the social rehabilitation of the disabled.

But it's not enough. Sport is a detail.

geon at Yerevan's Marash Orthopedic Hospital, and vice-president of Pyunic. "We use sports to rehabilitate both the

Gagik Gasparian (above) will partici-

disabled, and the larger society. We use it as a way of calling attention to the needs and problems of the disabled.

Games in Atlanta; Pyunic's disabled

This was the main purpose of two

athletes are members of Armenia's

"It is very

pate in this year's Paralympic

bobsled and skiing team (far left); One of Pyunic's trainers teaches an armless child to swim (p.27).

\unik

the

From the Diaspora, the Tekeyan

Cultural Association sent special

for Pyunic's basketball players. Aznavour Pour L'Armenie wheelchairs

We have to work now, together with the disabled and their families, and those in the larger society. I would wish to see a

in the Armenian National Assembly. He would speak about the needs of the disabled," says

Koloyan, who spent a year in the United States in 1992, training at the Shriners hospital in Portland, Oregon, before retuming to Armenia.

Pyunic offices, located on the fourth floor (and no elevator) of the Trade Unions building on Republic Square are constantly humming with new ideas and new work. Just as the

winter camp season seems to have ended, and work has begun on the Paralympic Games in August, the telephone rings. It's Belgium. More ideas. More work.

Sapphire Enterprise, Armimpexbank and the Ministry of Defense. There are many other such "partners" including the Ozone children's studio in Gumri camps.

Atlanta games in August. "The main purpose of our organization is to create possibilities for the disabled to live like able-bodied persons. According to UN statistics, 10 percent of the world's population is disabled. That is no less true in Armenia. We cannot wait for this or any government to begin to think for the disabled.

disabled person

important," he explains, "that disabled children spend time together with ablebodied children and adults. The disabled children start to forget that they are not like others. It's also psychologically important for the other children who begin to forget that their friends and neighbors are different. The camps create an environment where they can open their souls, where they are not ashamed of their disability." To fund their camps, Pyunic has developed good working relations with different organizations in Armenia and abroad. In the past, the camps have been sponsored by the Yerevan-based

whose pupils give concerts

real

end in Los Angeles collected enough for part of this year's winter camp. The current project is finding financing for four sailors and their coaches to realize their dreams and participate in the

One has to study, to work," says Karen Koloyan, a pediatric orthopaedic sur-

partially Koloyan's idea.

very

human need. They appeal to members of their own generation for help and contributions. A three-on-three basketball toumament on Thanksgiving week-

has

march-a-thons, in 1992 and 1995, from Yerevan to Ejmiatsin, when 40 persons traveled 22 kilometers in wheelchairs." The summer and winter camps are

all under-40 professionals

drawn together by the need to do some-

Riding the 22 km lrom Yerevan's Opera Square to Ejmiatsin, these wheelchair-bound individuals enhanced Pyunic's visibility as well as the rights of the disabled.

by Mark Grigorian and Salpi Haroutinian Ghazarian Photos by Mkhitar Khachatrian

donated a special van. The only contin-

AIM APRrL 1996 129

!;X3$d

t* r.i);i *risr

0r DmKoNrA AND KorNoNrA The World Council of Churches Offers Service and Fellowship international church-related agencies met for four days at the Seminary in Ejmiatsin. First they introduced themselves to each other, they heard about the social and economic situation in Armenia and presented and analyzed proposals for programs and initiatives to be implemented by the Round Table in Armenia over the next several years. Discussion focused on the needs and opportunities of the churches in Armenia, and of the social, economic and political realities of the country. The participants were faced with devastating numbers: Of a population of 3.6 million, there are more than 300,000

refugees, 400,000 are

still

suffering

from the consequences of the quake

he flurry of activity around the

includes both Armenian Sees-

Holy See of Ejmiatsin does not stop. Visitors are ushered in and

Ejmiatsin and Cilicia-as members. With an annual budget of over US $33 million, the WCC's programs include

out of the ofhces of Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians. The press service e-mails news to publications around the world. Local television and radio and foreign journalists arrive weekly to tape various interviews and serrnons by the Catholicos. In the midst of all this, the church's involvement in ecumenical activities continues. During the last two months,

the Armenian Apostolic Church's active

involvement in the Geneva-based World

Council of Churches (WCC) was made evident. The WCC's Armenia Round Table convened in Ejmiatsin in March,

and Konrad Raiser, the

General Secretary of the WCC paid an offrcial visit to Ejmiatsin in April. The WCC, an ecumenical fellow-

mission and evangelism, dialogue with people of different faiths, interfaith and refugee assistance, intemational affairs, Christian medical assistance to developing countries and youth work. The WCC's Round Tables are ecumenical forums for building partnership and cooperation among churches and international organizations in a country.

This second Armenia Round Table was jointly organized by the WCC and the Catholicosate of

All

Armenians to

reach a consensus on resource sharing,

program priorities and implementation, based on the WCC's guiding principles

of diakonia

and koinonia--Sreek for

service and fellowship.

Over 40 participants from

ship of Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Old Catholic, Lutheran

Armenian Apostolic,

Reformed and various other independent denominations in 105 countries.

together with representatives

30 /AIM

Apnrr- 1996

the

Catholic,

Evangelical and Baptist churches,

local

and international organizations

and

earth-

1988, 40,000 children are

orphaned or otherwise vulnerable, and there are 650,000 pensioners.

Catholicos Karekin I, who delivered the opening speech, summed up the situation as an urgent need for "a process of rechristianization of the daily life of the people." "The service of our Catholicosate is geared to contributing towards the process of our people's becoming more and more self-reliant. I personally believe that the national health of our country lies in this kind of self-understanding and self-realization,"

explained the Catholicos. 'All assistance from outside should promote this line of action," he stressed. "I emphasize this point because I realized in the last year of my ministry as

Catholicos of All Armenians that the earthquake calamity, the conflict in Karabakh, the blockade imposed on our

country for political reasons, the economic conditions of our country as we come out of the Soviet economic system and enter a new system of free

ffi

Bffi

SWl!\1i!E**r

economy, all these have contributed towards a sense of dependency, the emergence of what I call an attitude of

expectancy-looking

to the outside

A Manifestation of Unity visiting the Pope in Rome, and was pre-

world for assistance."

verrted from coming here myself. I wanted, therefore, my fint visit to you to coincide with the first anniversary of

The Catholicos proceeded to list the challenges facing the Church. First, he presented the urgent need to increase the number of clergy and to thoroughly

your election, thus tq manifest symbol-

ically, all the prayers rvith which we

reform their educational curriculum.

have surrounded you ever since you were elected to this very august honor and responsibility as the Wiritual leader of all Armenians." The Catholicos, who as one of the WCC's Vice-Moderator$ r,lha6''',*Or**

The Catholicos also made the Christian education of children and adults a high

priority, together with the training of teachers and the development of teaching tools. The unavoidable need to build

new churches and repair the old ones constitute one of the major priorities for the church in Armenia, explained the Catholicos, where "this is not a matter of brick and mortar; rather, it's a matter

with Raiser in the past; Brystd the General Secretary "aad tl]rqugh you all the Churches that are nremhers of the World Council of Churches, and the staff and all your colleagues with whom you spend long hours to promote the cause of unity we have and we share." Raiser and the Catholicos met witJr

community life." Finally, the for the church to

Catholicos called

become actively engaged in serving the social needs of the people.

Armeirian President Levon

Since the first Armenia Round Table of 1993, the WCC has already been active in providing help for such needs. In Karabakh, the WCC together with the Armenia Fund established a

hospital

Petrossian on the first day

Raiser's visit. The conflict in Karabakh was one of the items of discussion. Over the

of several days, Raiser visited with various clergy, including Diocesan

course

for infectious diseases.

Residential construction in the earthquake zone is lacilitated by help from the WCC and the Fund for Armenia Relief of the Armenian Apostolic Church's Diocese of the Eastern US.

Over the several days of meetings and after visits to the earthquake zone and to various churches and schools in Yerevan. and based on the new priorities which have become evident in

Armenian society since 1993,

Ter

month after the conof the WCC Round

ess than a

Lclusion Table, Konrad

Raiser, the General Secretary of the WCC paid his first official visit to Ejmiatsin. Raiser, who had been unable to attend the enthronement of the Catholicos a ypar earlier, said "W'hen yeu were first eleyated to the throne of Ejmiatsin, as you know, I was

Vicar General Archbishop Garegin Nersisian at Yerevan's St. Sarkis Church, the headquarters of the Yerevan Diocese.

Raiser also visitsd the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Monurnent and the recently-opened Genocide Museum. BY Se,lpr

Henormxnn Gnezaxnx

Pgcnos av Snrrus Hel,tsArrsutmAN

the

Round Table participants focused on

developing new programs. A Core Group was appointed to manage the process until the next Round Table. Over the next several years, the WCC

will develop detailed plans and budgets for individual projects, coordinate and facilitate fundraising for their implementation and establish a plan of action and division of tasks.

Beyond meetings. participants were received by Prime Minister Hrand Bagratian, the

and visited

Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Monument, where they laid a wreath to the memory of the victims of the 1915 Genocide of Armenians.

AIM Apnrr- 1996 I 31

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TOTROTAKIITD Southem Califomia exhibition entitled "Four Aces" is a rare opportunity to examine the work of four

work, and their contribution to contemporary art. The artists-Charles Garabedian,

established

Sam Tchakalian, Zadik Zadikian and Jirayr Zorthian-have achieved their successes through entirely different forms of artistic expression. Much like the Armenian nation whose people are

visual artists

Armenian origin in a single show. "Four Aces" focuses on the depth and influence that the Armenian experience has had on the artists' creative

scattered around the world, this group provides a kaleidoscope of its diasporic people. Each born in a different placeDetroit, Shanghai, Yerevan and Kutahya, respectively-they have all chosen visual art to express their perspectives and

life experiences. Although each has developed a different artistic style to communicate his own outlook, humor is the underlying common thread throughout their art. Not only does humor become the key in the execution of their work, but it becomes the force for each artist to shape his unique style ofexpression. There is a strong sense of playfulness, toying with accepted concepts of

art forms permeating throughout their creations.

Although the art form of each artist

falls within a broad school of artistic style, each has managed to hammer out his unique form and carve out his own niche within general artistic categories. Because of this common approach, none of their works can be distinctly categorized within the mainstream schools.

In the works of Garabedian, the humor becomes most apparent in the way he handles the sex and violence of epic sagas that repeatedly crop up in his paintings. The characters take on cartoonish features that make them accessible and modern looking. There is satire in the way he portrays the tragic and the profound. And to accomplish his goal, he employs an abstract figurative style that is uniquely his own. By combining elements of surrealism, folk and outsider art with graphic fancy, Garabedian is able to relay primordial facets of human nature with considerable ease.

Even though Tchakalian

abstract painter, and uses palene-knife strokes to execute his paintings, there is a humorous touch in his execution. The main unit of his paintings, the "brushstroke", has been ridiculed by the pop artist Lichtenstein as a way of expressing an artist's inner feelings and Tchakalian knows this. So, his "brushstrokes" are aloof and playful. He tries to avoid using them both as a unit of expression and as a means of conveying ihe lyricism of color field paintings, by emphasizing the

34 /AIMApn[

1996

material aspect of his paintings. In a way, his paintings become the documentation of a performance, where light , space, rhythm and scale are all in balance.

To convey his message, Zadikian borrows the theoretical aspects of pop art. Instead of using popular cultural icons as did the founders of pop art, however, Zadlkian employs Armenian cultural objects that have come to be recognized as traditional art forms. Whereas in his previous exhibit, he used oil paintings of l3th century manuscript illuminations on silk-screen to blend contemporary values with traditional Armenian cultural objects, today he is using the same method to work over silk-screens of traditional Armenian rug designs. His methodplaying around with "serious" cultural

objects-rnables them to be seen in a new, contemporary and witty limelight. Zorthian, the most eclectic of the four, employs many means to convey his message. Painter, sculptor and craftsman, he is best known for his murals, and above all, as the founder for Research and Center

the

Development

for

of Industrial Discards

with emphasis on aesthetics. For

From works 0n display at the Four Aces

Exhibition in Pasadena, California.

Left: Death oI Zorthian, Top:

" x 39".

Untikf

1e81, 1$il,ffiffi,t"iifi Zadikian,

silkscreen on

years, he has used his 45 acre ranch to

recycle materials and construct buildings, tower sculptures and walls (one features the skull of a pig, a telephone and toilet bowls.) This show, unfortu-

1 by Jirayr

Sam

Tchakalian, 1988, 132.1

x'lB0 cm., oil

canvas.

nately, can only display his color pencil

drawings. But even there, the satire in his interpretations is evident. In his

"Beauty and the Beast", the Beast is seen standing guard next to the naked Beauty. But what makes this drawing a parody of the original allegoric fable, is

the way that the Beast is showing off his Mickey Mouse wrist watch. Is she late in waking up, or is he concerned about missing his next appointment? By using a modem utility object in a

classical setting, Zorthian gives the drawing its humorous edge. Being the descendants of a people who have been uprooted and dispersed

throughout the four corners of the world, the "FourAces" makes it appar-

ent that humor and play are key elements of survival in a world full of uncertainties. nv Hrac VenlesEpIAN VeuesBoleN

IS AN ANTHRopoLocIsr

LrvINc

IN Los ANcs-es.

AIM Apru 1996 I 35

f,I

r ult the

secret documments which

days, photojoumalists often saw censors

III I "..rn"a durine the wave of seize images at the last moment because -r Gorbachev's perestroika and glasthe Glavlit instructions had been II I' nost, the most intriguing was the

breached. It was like a game without rules

desk book ofSoviet censors. It was a col-

lection

instructions

for Glavlit,

Main Directorate for Protection of

And they did not exist because no except censors, ever saw that Book.

So, go ahead, test your ingenuity: take a careful look at these photos and try

the

one,

guess why they were banned

the

Soviet censor.

State

Secrets in the Mass Media, which in turn

worked under the auspices of the KGB and carried out all political censorship. hat was unacceptable about these

These instructions listed every subject

harmless pictures of everyday life?

that could not be referred to in the Soviet press under any circumstances. The

ness

It was never obvious. Said to be a threat to the security and national interests of the USSR, they often were rejected without any explanation. It was a situation in which normal logic and common sense were useless. Publishing panoramic photos was forbidden purely for security reasons, whether the image was of a

thick-

of this volume is impressive.

The

censors who monitored joumalists, edi-

tors

-and,

ultimately, the truth-were

accountable only to their bosses

the

appropriate KGB department. Taboos were also extended to visual

infor-

mation, including photographs. In those

36 /AIM ApnL

1996

or a strategic facility. I

because these rules existed and did not

countryside

exist at the same time. They

remember an awful scandal which broke out one day in the printing house: a zeal-

existed

because the Great Book of Glavlit existed.

Wffiwffiffisffiilffiffiffi3.iF}i:ilg*ixr$**::::-Try.;"Ii::^*:,;*l;".::,"::...,e.,.i".,..;t:,"lil:tH;sIs$Etrl}::!:Fi;'It:.#::g,iHh,l.,:.,

to this: problems were ignored, announced hn;;:* nonexistent. Anyone who hinted of these things was !!liiii: ::::i:ffi smart solution

According to the official

Ten years later,

propaganda, there were no abandoned children and old people in the USSR,

confiscated from a prepared paper:

nating nationalist

another photo was

children (far left) were never published. According to official propaganda, there were many things that did not and could not exist. Thus there was no ecological

movement, and

demonstrations

protesting barbarous pollution environment or the operation

of the of the

Armenian nuclear power plant.

The dump (below) was used as a place to discard old tires. Collected in huge heaps and bumed, they discharged

in Meghri. Bearing that in mind, when I later shot a panoramic photo I diverted the viewer's attention with a laundry line stretched along the balcony--the baby diapers and undergarments (top, far right) apparently disguised the "strategically sensitive" background and made the publication ofthe picture possible. In many circumstances, I would weigh the

More than five people (bottom, right) might constitute an unsanctioned rally. The most unforgivable transgression was to take liberty with the Soviet ideological canon. A photo taken during the

last parade of

Soviet

large amounts of poisonous gas. In this case the censors simply prohibited

We had neither ecological problems, nor sex, moreover, we had no tragic history. Indeed, in that theatre of the absurd no one could guarantee anything, so it was easier to reject reality and common sense. But here is the irony:

upside

tragedy may become a farce, just as the Soviet tragedy has tumed into postSoviet farce. Today this story is seen as no more than a documentary fragment, evidence left on this side of the past.

publi-

cation of the picture. And a photo of one of the first environmental rallies in Armenia (below) upset the high-ranking ideological officials in the propaganda department of the Central

TExr

AND PHoros BY ZaveN

K}lecurrnl

the

Armenian Communist

not

ed the prints and

Party, so they confiscatthe

published

was lucky:

because some-

negatives.

one saw implied irony the

the editor and

aged

monu-

ment's reflection in the side mirror. Under the Soviet propaganda system, the reporter found himself in an ambiguous situation. On the one hand, he was supposed to work with reality; on the other, he was not to notice social

problems. Soviet propaganda found

grandchildren appeared quite innocent; however, the vigilant eye of the censor detected that the subjects weren't hannless after all. The grandfather (top, left) was the father of then-Soviet dissident (and now member of Parliament) Rafael Babayan, who had served a term in prison. Maybe the grandchildren were plotting against the empire?

one day everything may tum

(bottom

Lenin

it belonged to the favorite genre of Soviet editors, the so-called "photo sketch," typically devoted to the links between generations. The image of a grandfather with

down: the sad may become funny, the

Committee

troops

left) in Yerevan, was

ical shortsightedpropaganda.

mentally and physically handicapped

artistic objectives against the ideological cliches before photographing. A street scene with more than five people in it?

paper was scolded at length for polir ness and dissemi-

no starvation, no prostitution. Thus, pic-

entire newspaper issue because of a panoramic photo of an apartment block

of party functionaries. The editor of the

automatically entered onto blacklists of politically unreliable people.

tures taken at the Kharberd Home for

ous censor stopped the publication of an

;

I manto invent lame

excuses and save the film. About 15 years ago, on the front page of a communist party paper, censors discovered a photo of happy Soviet schoolchildren whose textbooks were opened to a page depicting the 1915 Genocide Memorial. This produced the effect of a bomb exploding in the offices

AIM Apnu- 1996 I

r-ffitw ww*3

3 Mk{

ntr&ry&t ry

*$&*

ffiffi&ffi Xffi -& ow can a 41-year- old American of

Polish descent write a powerful, award-winning play about Armenian

immigrants coming to America in the 1920s?

Richard Kalinoski's Beast on the Moon, depict;ng the struggle of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, continues to gain praise and please audiences around the country. It has been nominated as the Best Play for 1995 outside of New York

by the American

Theater Critics'

Association. For Armenians the play provides the rare opportunity to see themselves portrayed historically by a talented nonArmenian playwright. Kalinoski's connection with Armenians goes back to his

near-decade

long marriage to

Armenian-American. Divorced in 1979, Kalinoski's interest in Armenians deep-

ened

1989 from the kindling

friendship with Jack Chelevian, a psychiatrist in Rochester, New York where Kalinoski teaches at Nazareth College.

"My colleagues at Nazareth encouraged me to re-visit the play," says Kalinoski. "My tendency as a writer is to research by talking to people who have an in-the-marrow interest or that are 'of the issue.' heard of Dr. Chelevian and

tracked him down to talk. His father was an Armenian historian and I became fas-

cinated by the highly specific texts of Armenian history his father had devel-

38 /AIMApn[

1996

oped. From that "experience" I launched the idea that I could write this play not out of history per se, but by listening to a lot of Armenians." Chelevian became a conduit and sounding board for Kalinoski's efforts as he invited Kalinoski to become an exofficio member of the Armenian community and of the Church Parish Council in Rochester.

"I always begin with the uncertainties that I can actually do the writing the way I want," relates Kalinoski, "but with this project it just kept growing more and more dense. I saw more ways into the

characters'

souls."

Furthermore, he

re-imagined the original play because I began to understand some limitations in my ability to share feelings." admits,

In the play, the two protagonists, Aram Tomasian and his wife, seta, are both orphaned by the Armenian genocide. Aram has found his way toAmerica and marries Seta by proxy, choosing her from pictures sent by an orphanage in Istanbul. The play opens as Seta comes to America and fuam brings her to his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the first time. The couple's labors to live in a new American world form the drama. How they bear the horrors from their past creates turmoil for their marriage. Full of surprises, the play leaves the unforgettable impression of the scars of cruelty

and the strengths

of survivors.

"The search for me is to hnd the most authentic voice in these people," Kalinoski says, "not a rote recording say of Armenian immigrants-but language that's re-imagined in my own specific aesthetic." Kalinoski uses the Armenian experience as a prism to reflect human behavior. "I thought it would be interesting," he says, "to write a love story that develops as a result of a commitment to mar-

riage rather than romance, and finding friendship as its bond. It was influenced by my own divorce and my own selfadmitted failure. I wanted to play out the notion that force of will makes it work." Both Aram and Seta share the will to make their marriage survive. However,

they have very different motivations. Aram's will comes from his drive to alleviate the pain of the Genocide's annihilation of his family. Having children with Seta becomes his obsession. A large photo of his dead family with theil faces cut out is the play's most disturbing prop. He has pasted the faces of Seta and him-

self into the holes while the remaining spaces will presumably be filled by their offspring. But their inability to conceive leaves

Aram frozen. Seta's barrenness, an outgrowth of her starvation during the Genocide, looms over him cruelIy, reverberating the Genocide and his life's

more inward. Seta's spirit and ability to continue, to see what's good in the world makes her, a survivor in the best sense not just getting by, but making the best of her situation."

For Kalinoski the characters of Aram and Seta symbotize a struggle he has seen within theArmenian community:."There's a bifurcation in which some in the community say let's behave as if this didn't happen and others say let's stop and point a1 it. These groups are almost in a cold war with each other. The play deals with both these impulses simultaneously in the two characters. Aram overdoes it, saying.we're never going to forget this. We're never going to get beyond this.".

Ultimately, the play's power comes

from

Kalinoski's ability to write the

story on many levels, representing pow-

play a more personal focus. "I haven't had to suffer, so I have the luxury ofbeing interested in it for its psychological truth, ds a human story-intellectually and emotionally synthesized with my own emotional stuff. I haven't been preoccupied by making sure everybody undentands the Armenian holocaust story. For me, it's simply Aram's personal crisis. Therefore, since I am not tying to represent all Armenians in this play, maybe that is exactly what is happening,

anyway'' Based on the play's successful runs

such non-Armenian centers

Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon, the story obviously toubhes a univerial chord. Currently running in London, the

play will be seen in Long Califomia,

Beach,

October and Rochester,

New York' in the sPring orl'J^];

r.*"-^"

erfully the Genocide, but transmuting that tragedy to a very personal level. Kalinoski speculates that, as an outsider, hii insulation from the Armenian Genocide trauma freed him to give the

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emptiness. In contrast, Seta takes her life and marriage at face value. Aram is now her family; America her place. Her steadfast grounding in reality echoes to Aram to accept life's painful limitations. "There's a forlomness, a silence, in some Armenian men," says Kalinoski, "and I've tried to put that in Aram. The character was influenced by my own father, a first generation Pole, who at times would shut down. He was without the language or facility to cope in any other way."

In the character of Seta, however, Kalinoski finds hope. At the play's climax, her pertinacity in reaching out to another orphan-an American breaks through her husband's frozen pain. "I fear forAram without Seta," says Kalinoski, "because he would just go

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472 7920 AIM APRrL 1996 /39

THESE ARE REAL LETTERS TO REAL PEOPLE. SEND US YOURS

@ffi;

affairs, even during the really hard days.

Dear M,

hope this letter reaches you. For

now, back to silence. Excuse me for my silence, but I've been very deeply depressed, because of some family problems. My grandmother is 89 and my wife refuses to come back

from Moscow to live with her. There are my occasional health problems, too, but thank God, they are not serious. Of course, I have had to undergo one course of acupuncture to deal with them, and I actually didn't even complete it.

But I've made know

this far.

you know, but

even hospitalized.

1994,

don't

was

nerves were almost completely shot after two years of fantastic poverty, when very often, we

didn't have money to buy bread, when butter in the refrigerator was a holiday for my children, when during the first difficult winter, my l0-year-old daughter and I collected old boards from the attic of our house, just so we could keep the internal temperate around eight to l0 degrees Centigrade. For you, that's around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I thought then that I would prefer to die from the cold than to cut a single tree. And all that happened despite my working in five

different places:

was teaching

school, at the State University and at a private university. I had my own TV program. I was also working in a private artist management firm. Also, during the second difficult winter, my father had three heart attacks during one month,

and we were seriously afraid that we would lose him. Then, I left the private university and the management firm and started to work at a newspaper. That's where you saw my name. don't like speaking about those times because it was a dark period in my

life, but on the other hand, I am happy and proud that I survived them, and

intelligent and very American children will feel like they belong in what to

Yours,

t{Nr#fiffi Dear

You don't know how many times

I've written this letter to you in my mind. It's an eloquent. articulate letter-nothing resembling this collection of thoughts. Now that you have actually decided to move, my long overdue letter won't be of much value, but I thought I'd write to you anyway. The crux of your letter to me was questioning whether you should pack up the family and move to Armenia.

My visceral reaction then (as it is now) was.a resounding "No!" Spurred by totally selfish concerns and reasons, I find the idea of moving to what I envision as a third world country full of rubble, strife and pestilence simply unacceptable.

is rather I'm not sure

suppose that picture

extreme. Nevertheless,

whether the spiritual rewards you expect to reap are worth the price of transplanting a family to a whole new culture. Yes, you're all Armenians and belong to theArmenian culture and heritage. But do you really? Is that what

you expect to find by going to Armenia-a sense of belonging? Even

though I'm a

"thoroughbred"

Armenian, as Jerry likes to put it, I have never felt like I belong. I have always straddled that uneasy gap between American and Armenian. And I honestly feel more comfortable in the American world-surprise, surprise. Remember when we went to

never had to compromise my profession,

Armenian school together? I always felt on the periphery because I was born

and never became involved in dubious

here and not there.

40 /AIMApnn

1996

with the other kids, even though my own parents were immigrants too. What makes you think your bright,

couldn't identify

them is a foreign counuy? How accepting are native ArrRenians,of those from America? My guess is that you stand a better chance if you're from anywhere but Ameica. (Are all my woeful misconceptions of our Motherland becoming painfully apparent?) And then there's something else. Children should grow up sunounded by the people they love.

You know, what I don't see on those cherubic faces when I look at photos of Armenian kids are smiles. There's a feeling of repression, of heav-

iness-maybe, with good reason. And your children will come to understand those reasons, and realize how fortunate their lives have been here. And I worry that a long-term stay will hold them back emotionally. Is the trade-off worth it? What is the trade-off? I'm worried that the frustrations you would encounter here will only be magnified there. I would find that absolutely maddening, and ultimately, depressing.

But. still, I don't want you to get the idea that I think a six to nine month hiatus to Armenia is going to do any of you irreparable harm. On the contrary, I think the experience of being immersed in one's own culture and actually living a life that's so different from what is known here will be an invaluable experience. But as a long term commitment,

I don't think I could justify it. By the way, do they have chocolate chip cookies there? Don't you

think some street-side vendors would brighten up the average Armenian's day?

It works for Yours, R

me...

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The semi-annual meeting of t ation of International American Colleges and Universities (AIACU ln Cairo this April. Present to speak about mutual matters of concern in administration and academia were (from left to right) the presidents of the American University of Armenia, Mihran Agbabian, President Donald McDonald of the American University of Cairo, Douglas Denby, president of the AIACU, and John Khanjian, president of Haigazian College in Beirut. Absent were the presidents of the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University, who were unable to leave Beirut due to the Israeli attacks which began that day.

42 leru

ApnIL 1996

z o z a

The

Armenian

Woodwind

Ensernble. which is featured on the Carni Productions Wind.s of' Passion CD perfbrmed live at the Burbank

Genocide

Survivors used to

Media Center Virgin Megastore, one

tell their stories to their own children and grandchildren. Several

the