Miss Chambers – The Beloved Missionary in Kessab

 By Vahe H. Apelian PhD, Columbus OH, USA, 4 November 2009

 

Missionary Effie Chamber courtesy Danette Hein-Snider

I first heard Miss Chambers’ name in my early teens. It may have been from my maternal grandmother or someone else of her generation in our extended family. My recollection puts me in company of family and friends in Keurkune seated cross-legged on the floor under the dim light of the kerosene lantern chatting of the bygones. Other than the endearing memories she had left behind, nothing else seems to have been known about her, not even her first name. She was simply the beloved Miss Chambers of the Kessabtsis who uttered her name in one breath and in local accent making Miss part of her name but not the title. 

My curiosity of her rekindled recently upon reading Haigaz Terterian’s article about the founding of the Kessab Educational Association in 1910. Haigaz, quoting Dr. Albert Apelian, makes reference to Miss Chambers’ positive influence in fostering education and learning in Kessab at the turn of the 20th century. Coupling her name with Kessab I embarked on a search trusting that the powerful Internet search engines Google and Bing will shed some light about her. Not only I found more than I was expecting, but I also serendipitously came across her grand niece’s email, a lady by the name of Danette Hein-Snider who has been doing research on her grand aunt’s life and has managed to gather quite a bit of material in way of photos, reports written from the field, newspaper articles, and personal letters. 

Mrs. Danette writes “She (Effie Chambers) first planned to enter the missionary field with her soon to be husband. But unfortunately he did not pass the physical, and so she had to make a choice to stay home and marry or go to the missionary field. She chose the missions and left her fiancé’ and never married. Her home was burned at least twice and her friends insisted that she come home, but she told them God sent her to the Armenians and He would tell her when she was supposed to leave, and until then she would live with them and care for them to the best of her ability.”

Her obituary states that “Miss Effie Chambers, fourth child of Mary and Harlow Chambers, was born 3 October 1863, at the family home north of Anderson (Iowa). She was one of eleven children, six daughters and five sons, seven preceding her in death. Her education was begun in a rural school close to this home and then moved to Sidney to enter the public school, where she prepared herself for teaching. At this time she united with the Presbyterian Church in Sidney under the pastorate of Rev. H. B. Dye. She taught in the Fremont County Schools, and then entered Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls. Then she was given an appointment as teacher in the Creek Indian School in the Indian Territory, where she decided on Foreign Missions as her life’s work. To prepare herself for this work she entered Tabor College, receiving her diploma in June 1893, and was accepted by the Congregational Board of Foreign Missions, and in the fall of 1893 sailed for Turkey, in Asia. There she remained 19 years in the service of Christ.”

Miss Chambers did not go to Kessab when she first moved to Turkey. A report by the Woman’s Board of Missions in 1898 places Miss Effie Chambers in Ourfa. Ephraim K. Jernazian in his book Judgment Unto Truth: Witnessing the Armenian Genocide‬ translated into English by Alice Haig, places Miss Effie Chambers in Urfa in 1896. The 1905 Mission Studies: Woman’s Work in Foreign Lands, Volumes 23-24 report that Miss Chambers has gone to teach in the Aintab Seminary. Both Urfa (Ourfa) and Aintab, depopulated of their Armenian inhabitants now, had sizable Armenian populations then. 

The 1904 Annual Report of the American Commissioners of Foreign Mission, to the credit of the Kessabtsis reported the following: “Miss Chambers’ first year in Kessab has been a good one in spite of many trying circumstances. The people welcomed her coming with cordiality and have aided her in many ways. The people here are not close-bound by customs and are ready to learn and put into practice new things. The Sunday school has about a thousand pupils. Miss Chambers makes earnest request for another lady to join her in this promising work at kessab”. It is not known if another lady joined Miss Chamber. She stood alone in the memories of her contemporaries in Kessab. Her grandniece, Mrs. Danette reports that she found these verses in her writings: *Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. Galatians 6:2 *The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.” Matthew 9:37

 
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Thus we can safely conclude that Miss Effie Chambers arrived to Kessab in 1904 and remained there until her return to the United States in 1912 and thus endured the atrocities along with the rest of the Kessabtsis during the 1909 massacres. 

The New York Times on Monday April 26, 1909 reported the following: “Constantinople, April 25 – Dispatches reaching here from points in Asiatic Turkey bring tidings of Armenian and Turkish conflicts all over the country. Dr.JM Balph, who is in charge of the missions at Latakia, Syria, telegraphs that the refugees are arriving there from outlying parts of the district who report massacres and the burning of towns. He also reports that there are the gravest apprehensions concerning the conditions at Kessab where Miss Chambers is one of the missionaries”. Edward Latimer Beach in his autobiography titled ‪From Annapolis to Scapa Flow states that Miss Chamber’s presence in Kessab became a justifiable cause for foreign powers to interfere in Kessab and prevent further atrocities in protecting an American citizen. Dr. Albert Apelian in his book in Armenian entitled Kessab and its Villages states that 152 persons, mostly old and young were killed during the pogroms, 516 houses, 62 businesses and 4 churches were destroyed causing widespread despair.

After the atrocities Miss Chambers stayed with the Kessabtsis and worked to ameliorate their situation. The June 1911 Missionary Herald reports the following: “ With us in America the memory of the Armenian massacres of 1909 in the region of Adana may be becoming dim; on the ground the misery they entailed is very real and present. At Kessab they have yet no church building to replace the one that was destroyed, and Miss Effie Chambers is almost heart broken at finding no place where can be gathered the remnant of the church, further discouraged and burdened by the sufferings of a terrific winter. What is most needed is uplift of spiritual life, and this is hard to promote with no meeting place for worship and fellowship. If the money could be found for rebuilding, it would not only provide a sanctuary, but as well timely work for the people, to help them get their bread. Though the missionary herself with the rest is in need of clothes and a comfortable bed, the cry is not for these things, but for help that will prevent the passing of another winter without the blessing of a church home. It seems to this lone woman, tugging at her task, as though help for her distressed flock must come from those who are more abundantly provided with the aids and comforts of religion.”

The dire circumstances took a toll on Miss Chamber’s heath as well. Her obituary states that her health was so affected that she returned to the United States in the spring of 1912, where she spent several years lecturing for the cause of Foreign Missions. On Wednesday May 8, 1912 College Eye, a publication by the students of Iowa State Teachers College, reported that “Miss Effie Chambers who graduated from the Teachers College some thirty years ago is spending a few days in the city. Miss Chambers has been engaged in missionary work in Armenia for several years. It will be remembered that she is responsible for sending Bedros Apelian to the college to complete his education. Miss Chambers addressed the students on her work in Armenia at the regular prayer meeting hour last Sunday night”. After Iowa Rev Bedros Apelian continued his education at the Columbia University and served his calling on the east coast and among others officiated the wedding of Henry and Virginia Apelian on April 4, 1959. Miss Effie Chambers spent the remaining years of her life with her brother Will in the old family home where she died on October 3, 1947 at the age of 84 and was buried in Chambers cemetery, which was given to the community by her grandfather, Ezekiel Chambers, in the year 1857.

Thus ended the life of Miss Effie Chambers, who left an indelible and enduring impression on her contemporaries in kessab some of whom as pupils in her Sunday school or as young men and women carried her memory into their old age and passed it to the next generation. The legacy of her contribution to the Kessabtsis endured, however much like other unwritten stories, over time she faded into oblivion to have rightful place in the memories of the younger generations of Kessabtsis.

Reproduced from Keghart.com

Ժողովուրդէն, ժողովուրդով, Ժողովուրդին Համար

Շնորհակալութեամբ «Հօրիզոն» Շաբաթաթերթին

Պարզ է վաղուց, որ Հայաստանի անկախ պետականութեան լինելիութեան հիմնահարցը սերտօրէն առընչուած է աշխարհակարգի ընդհանուր իրականութեան։ Քանիցս դիտարկուած փաստ է, որ առանց գործօն և ուշիմ դերակատար մը ըլլալու աշխարհակարգի ուժային աղիւսակին մէջ և առանց ձևաւորելու լծակային կարողականութիւններու հայկական ԻՆՔՆԱՊԱՇՏՊԱՆՈՒԹԵԱՆ զինարանը, այս ճակատագրական ժամանակներուն մէջ,  Հայաստանը պարտաւորուած է գործելու սնանկ պետութեան դիրքերէ։ (Մենք Խրիմեան Հայրիկը ղրկած ենք Պեռլին և զինք թողած առանց շերեփի)։ ԴատարկՈՂ/ԿԵՂԵԳՈՂ ձեռքերով կարելի չէ արդիւնք ապահովել այս խաղատախտակին վրայ։ ԴատարկՈՂ/ԿԵՂԵԳՈՂ ձեռքերով՝ Հայաստանը միայն իր քաղաքական անատակութիւնն է, որ կը ցուցադրէ և ինքզինք կը դնէ լքեալ գոյքի կարգավիճակին մէջ։

Հարցո՛ւմ։ Հայաստան պիտի կրնա՞յ ԿԱՆԳՆԵԼ իր ինքնիշխան անհատականութիւնը իրերու այս նուրբ կէտին վրայ։

Փաստը այն է, որ տարածաշրջանի դիւանագիտական ներկայ եռուզեռին մէջ, ՔՈՉԱՐԵԱՆ/ՍԱՐԳՍՅԱՆ ԸՆԴԻՄԱԴԻՐ համակարգի տնօրինումներուն յանձնուած Հայաստանը գործնականօրէն տեղ չունի։ Ան չունի լինելիութեան յստակ վարդապետութիւն (doctrine), չունի յստակ ռազմավարութիւն, չունի կարմիր գիծեր, չունի ազգային ընդհանուր համախոհութիւն իր գոյութիւնը լիազօրող գերամեծար առաջնահերթութիւններուն շուրջ։ Ունի ԸՆԴԻՄԱԴՐՈՒԹԻՒՆ, որ կը յամառի ՏԻՐԱՆԱԼ իշխանութեան դիրքերուն շնորհիւ իր ԿԵՂԵԳԱԾ յենարաններուն և շնորհիւ հասարակութեան ՆՕՍՐ շերտի մը քաղաքական ինքնուրոյն կամքի պակասին։

 Հայաստանը պիտի կրնա՞յ ետ շրջել պատմութեան ԱՅԴ ծուռ դարձած անիւը։ Այս վճռական հարցին պատասխանը ազգն է, որ պիտի տայ այսօր։ Աւելի ճիշտ, ազգին քաղաքական կամքը ներկայացնող արթուն և գործօն ուժերն են, որ պիտի կտրեն այս գորդեան հանգոյցը։ Մէկ բան յստակ է։ Քաղաքական կամքի դրօշակիրը կրնայ ըլլալ միայն այն, որ գործնականօրէն և ԺՈՂՈՎՐԴԱՎԱՐԱԿԱՆՕՐԷՆ – եւ գետնի վրայ — կը ցուցաբերէ այդ կամքը։ Այդ կամքը վերացական չէ։ Ան ազգին կենդանի մկանն է, որ պէտք է արժեցնէ իր գոյութիւնը՝ ԺՈՂՈՎՈՒՐԴԷՆ, ԺՈՂՈՎՈՒՐԴՈՎ, ԺՈՂՈՎՈՒՐԴԻՆ ՀԱՄԱՐ։

Ուրիշ Հայաստան և ուրիշ հայութիւն գոյութիւն չունին։ Այս Հայաստանն է և այս Սփիւռքն է, որ պիտի դուրս գան զիրենք պատուհասող պատմական այս թակարդէն։ Այս ազգն է, որ պիտի կերտէ բանալին համաշխարհային գերոյժին (leverage)։ Այս ազգն է, որ պիտի վերջ տայ իր անվճռականութեան։ Այս ազգն է, որ պիտի յաղթահարէ իր ներքին «դև»երը։ Իր ինքնավստահութիւնը ջլատող ներքին և արտաքին գործօննե՛րը։ Ինչքան ալ, որ համաշխարահային ներկայ ՔՈՉԱՐՅԱՆ/ՍԱՐԳՍՅԱՆ ԸՆԴԻՄԱԴԻՐ համակարգը իր գործիքակազմով կը ջանայ մեր ժողովուրդին ներշնչել քաղաքական թերարժէքութեան մտայնութիւնը. հայկական կողմը պիտի կարողանայ կազմակերպել իր պատմական շրջադարձը և ինքզինք կրկին պարտադրել աշխարհակարգի կարծեցեալ տէրերուն։ Այլ ելք գոյութիւն չունի։

Հայաստանը անզէն չէ։ Հայաստանը անօգնական չէ։ Հայաստանը անտէր չէ։ Հայաստանը պիտի կարողանայ տէր կանգնիլ իր ԻՆՔՆԱՊԱՇՏՊԱՆՈՒԹԵԱՆ ռազմաքաղաքական զինարանին։ Ան պիտի կրնայ անմիջապէս դուրս շպրտել իր ներկայ զինաթափՈՂ ԸՆԴԻՄԱԴՐՈՒԹԵԱՆԸ և տիրականօրէն տէր կանգնիլ տարածաշրջանի ԽԱՂԱՂՈՒԹԵԱՆ ԽԱՉՄԵՐՈՒԿԻ իր պատասխանատւութիւններուն՝։ Մեր փրկութեան բանալիները ոչ Իրանի, ոչ Ռուսաստանի և ոչ Արևմուտքի մէջ կրնանք փնտռել, եթէ անոնք, առաջին հերթին, մեր իսկ ձեռքերուն մէջ մեր գերագոյն շահերուն չեն ծառայեր։

ԾԱՆՕԹ՝ Բացառելով գլխաքիր բառերր եւ տառերը՝ հատուածը իր ամբողջութեամբընդօրինակած եմ «Հորիզոն» շաբաթաթերթին մէջ, Կարօ Արմէնեանէն « ԱՄՆ-ի գործարքըԿովկասի մէջ եւ Հայաստան» յօդուածէն՝ Վահէ Յ Աբէլեան

 

 

 

The Çankırı Worry Beads by Garbis Harboyan, M.D.

  Բնագիրը կցուած է ներքեւը։ I was saddened to read today the passing away of Garbis Harboyan, M.D. I met him for the first time in NJ in early 1990's and we corresponded on and off. My condolences to his family, relatives, friends. The attached is my abridged translation of an article he wrote about “ THE 99 BEADS WORRY BEAD OF CHANKER, AN IRREFUTABLE WITNESS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE. - Vaհe Apelian.  

“24 April, 1915, government officials in Bolis (Istanbul) conducted a widespread arrest of individuals named on a list prepared by the Turkish government. Approximately 200 Armenian community leaders including intellectuals, merchants, physicians, pharmacists, clergy, lawyers, activists and politicians were unexpectedly arrested and were imprisoned in Ayash (Ayaş), a small town near Istanbul.  

Forty-five individuals from the list were killed and the rest were exiled to a prison in  Çankırı, a city on the north coast of Turkey. Some of those who were sent there were also killed there. Among those remaining was Vartkes Atanasian (Վարդերես Աթանասեան), who was a merchant from Istanbul and an official representative of his neighborhood (թաղապետ). Vartkes Atanasian carved on the 99 beads of his worry-bead the names of the remaining imprisoned Armenians. On the larger piece through which the two strings of the worry-bead were brought together and tied, he carved the following: “Çankırı, 1915, April 11, memorial”. 

While he was in prison, a Turkish coachman presented himself to his wife Srpouhy and told her that her husband gifted the coachman a watch and asked him to deliver to her his worry-bead. Srphouhy accepted it without realizing that the individual beads are engraved. Vartkes Atanasian did not return home. He was subsequently deported and was martyred in Der Ez Zor.

 His daughter Eugenie, having survived the Armenian Genocide, found refuge in Paris carrying her father’s worry bead. In 1965, in the aftermath of the 50th commemoration of the Armenian genocide, she realized that her father’s worry-bead is a cherished relic not only for her family but also for the nation as a whole. Consequently, she gifted the worry-bead to the Armenian Genocide Museum in Armenia. The worry-bead ended up in a display case in the Armenian genocide as a memorial of the Armenian genocide museum bearing no caption. It was simply displayed as a “19-20th century art”.

Until 1984, no one had realized that the worry-bead is not only a mere relic from a martyred Armenian but that it is, in its way, an important historical document. None of the officials of the genocide museum had taken any interest in the worry bead as a document. Iremained in the display case. 

In 1984, Garine Avakian (Կարինէ Աւագեան), a senior researcher, historian, and antiquarian, who has been affiliated with the genocide museum for the past 27 years became attracted to the worry bead that had 99 beads (far too many than a customary worry-bead). 

Garen studied the worry-bead with scrutiny and found out that that Vartkes Atanasian had engraved on each bead the name of an Armenian thrown in jail in Çankırı. On the larger bead that tied the two ends of the string, he had engraved, “Çankırı, 1915, April 11, memorial.” Thus, Vartkes Atanasian had engraved 103 names from those who were jailed there. Some of the beads had more than one name.

The following are the names engraved on the beads: 

1.Gomida V. (Կոմիտաս վ.), 2.  Hovnan V. (Յովհան Վ.), 3. Kachouny Khn.1 (Քաջունի քհնյ.), 4. Jevaherje J (Ճեւահիրճի), 5.  R. Sevag (Ռ. Սեւակ), 6. (Meskjian (Միսքճեան), 7. Topjian (Թօփճեան), 8.  Vartan Khn. (Վաբղան քհնյ.), 9.  T. Delar (Գ. Տէլալ), 10. Kazazian (Գազազեան), 11. Torkomian (Թորգոմեան) – physician (բժիշկ), 12. Boghosian (Պօղոսեան), 13. Denanian (Տինանեան), 14. Merza (Միրզա), 15. Altounian – dentist (Ալթունեան – ատամնաբոյժ), 16. Gkhlkharan (Կխլիառան), 17. Zareh (Զարեհ), 18. Yeznig (Եզնիկ), 19. Asadour V. – pharmacist (Ասատռւր Վ. – դեղագործ), 20. Manegian (Մանիկեան), 21. Zarifian (Զարիֆեան), 22. Meskjian (Միսքճեան), 23. Hajian (Հաճեան), 24. Chazaros (Ղազարոս), 25. Terzian (Թէրզեան), 26. Nshan (Նշան), 27. Nor-Gelejian (Նար-Կիլէճեան), 28. Arsenian (Արսենեան), 29. Tanielian B. - lawyer (Դանիէլեան Պ. – փազտաբան), 30. Cheraz (Չերագ) 31. Movses (Մովսէս), 32. D. Keleg – editor (Տ. Քէլէկ-խմբագիր), 33. P. Kgian (Բ. Քկեան), 34. Topjian (Թօփճեան), 35. Andonian (Անաոնեան), 36. Tolayan (Թօլայեան), 37. Shahnour (Շահնուր), 38. M. Mrents – teacher (Մ. Մրենց – ուսուցիչ), 39. Khonasarian (Խօճասարեան), 40. Varoujan (Վարուժան), 41. Shamdanjian (Շամտանճեան), 42. Chavoushian (Չաւուշեան), 43. Tabazian (Թապագեան), 44. Dkhpou- Okh (Տխբու-Օխ) 45. Aghababian (Աղապապեան), 46. Parselian (Բարսեյեան), 47. Dorian (Տօրեան), 48. Yessayan (Եսայեան-տաղարտը), 49. Kochoy Srpen (Գոչոյ Սրբին), 50. Yerchanig (Երջանիկ), 51. Zenop (Զենոբ), 52. Hoscheg (Հոսչիկ), 53. Hrant (Հրանդ) 54. Ereoum (Երէում), 55. Levon-2 (Լեւոն-2), 56. Azpeg (Ազբիկ), 57. Kantarian (Գանթարեան), 58. Gozmos (Կոզմոս), 59. Beylerian (Պէյլերեան), 60. Tashjian (Թաշճեան), 61. Hanesian (Հանեսեան), 62. Aram (Արամ), 63. Zeef (Russ.) (Ցիֆր (ռուս.)), 64. Deovletian (Տէօւլեթեան), 65. Kahayan- artisan   (Քէհեայեան – արհեստաւոր), 66. Maysbajian (Մայսպաճեան), 67. Basmajian (Պասմաճեան), 68. Sekonian (Սէքոնեան), 69. Chbj – architect (Զպճը – ճարտարապետ), 70. Arsajian (Արսչանեան), 71. Varteres – (Վարդերես – մուխբար), 72. Ferou-Khan (Ֆէրու- խան), 73. Sarafian (Սարաֆեան), 74. Avtounian (Աւթունեան), 75. Jambaz (ճամպազ), 76. Hrach (Հրաչ), 77. Momjian (Մոմճեան), 78. Kalender (Գալէնտէր), 79. Vaghenag (Վաղինակ), 80. Kalfayan – office – employee (Գալֆայեան – պաշտօնեայ), 81. Beyepian (Պէյեբեան), 82. Barouyr (Պարոյր), 83. Noyeg-commissioner (Նոյիկ – յանձնակատար), 84. Tatarian Թաթարեան, 85. Keoleyian (Քէօլէեան), 86. Ohnegiank (Օհնիկեանք)-4, 87. Terlemez-money-changer (Թէրլէմէզ սեղանաւոր), 88. Der-Kevorkian (Տէր-Գէորզեան), 89. Basmajian (Պասմաճեան), 90. Tayezjian (Դայըզճեան), 91. Injjineyan (Ինճիճէեան), 92. Kapageozian (Գաբակէօզեան), 93.Maneasian (Մանէասեան), 94. Ghonchegul (Ղոնչէկիւլ) 95. Parisian (Փարիսեան), 96. Korian-merchant (Գորեան – վճռկն), 97. Keropian – reverend (Քերոբեան – պատուէ)- Փ, 98. Toumajian (Թումաճան), 99. Balakian-. (Պալազեան- ծ.վ).

In 1992 Garine met Vartabed Grigoris Balakian, the author of “Armenian Golgotha” and noted that his name is engraved on the last, the 99th bead. She read his book and realized that Grigoris Balakian had only mentioned the names of 69 individuals imprisoned, while Vartkes Atanasian had engraved the names of 103 individuals imprisoned in Çankırı.  After long research about the names engraved on the bead, she was able to track down the descendants of many, whose names were engraved on the beads and  contacted them and collected detailed information about the person whose name is engraved. 

In 2002 Garine Avakian published a book about the worry-bead titling it «Եղեռնայուշ Մասունք Կամ Խոստովանողք Եւ Վկայք Խաչի» - A Genocide Relic  or  Confession and Witness of the Gross. The book is the story of the worry-bead. After the publication of the book, Garine received more information about the names engraved on the beads from some of the descendants of the survivors. 

In the book, Garine Avakian presented the biographies of the persons whose names are engraved on the bead detailing their deportation routes. She noted that thirty-five of the engraved names were martyred, and sixty one had survived. She has not been able to collect information about the rest. The information she gathered about the names engraved on the beads revealed interesting details. For example, doctor Jevaherje survived because he was the gynecologist of the Sultan’s women. 

Thanks to Garine Avakian’s diligent work, the worry-bead has ceased to be an art piece for display and has become and irrefutably primary source of the Armenian genocide. Garine Avakian noted in her book; “The worry-bead has become a piece of history, an engraved witness of the Armenian Genocide and a rosary that ties generations”.

Garbis Harboyan, M.D.

Montreal, November 10, 2015

                                        *** 

Link: Բնագիրը՝ https://hairenikweekly.com/?p=35155

GARBIS HARBOYAN M.D.  had the  “ THE 99 BEADS WORRY BEAD OF CHANKER, AN IRRIFUTABLE WITNESS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE - ՉԱՆՂԸՐԸ-Ի 99 ՀԱՏԻԿՈՎ ՀԱՄՐԻՉԸ՝ ՀԱՅՈՑ ՑԵՂԱՊԱՆՈՒԹԵԱՆ ԱՆԺԽՏԵԼԻ ՎԱՒԵՐԱԳԻՐ”, published in Armenian newspapers and had it posted on his Facebook page as well.  He was a prolific author and an expert about Armenian medical professionals martyred during the genocide of the Armenians. He resided in Montreal, Canada with his family. Vaհe H Apelian

Garbis Harboyan M.D.

Two Massachusetts April 24, 2025 proclamations

Vaհe H Apelian

Not only April 24, 2025, the day we commemorate the Armenian Genocide, is behind us. The month of April is behind us as well. We have now formally stepped into the post April 24, 2025 phase of our Armenian lives. The Armenians in the Diaspora and the Armenians, as citizens of the Republic of Armenia, lead different post April 24 lives. The latter live and make their living in Armenia. Obviously, the Diaspora Armenians do not. 

It is a fact of life that round figures illicit more intense feelings in us. This year we marked the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It seemed to me that the Armenian Genocide commemoration this year was more intense than it was last year. In making this generalization, I bear in mind that next year we will commemorate a no less memorable date, the 111th anniversary of the genocide as the Republic of Armenia will be in the closing phases of its decisive June 2026 election.

Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide is also a barometer of some sort. If I read the barometer correctly, this year’s - April 24, 2025 – commemoration broke apart another Armenian myth, that the commemorating the Genocide martyrs unites us. Genocide commemoration is as much a political tool as anything else. April 24 is an official holiday in Armenia with pay. Many visit the Genocide Memorial and place flower around the eternal flame while the government officials, the PM, the President and the Speaker of National Assembly place wreath in an official ceremony. But this year a larger than usual torchlight Genocide commemorative procession also took place at night, on April 23, accompanied by the burning of the Turkish and Azeri flags. It was not a mere genocide commemoration. It was rather a political statement by the opposition having torch bearers upholding the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims but not with the flower bearers doing the same on the Genocide Memorial Day.

The two Massachusetts April 24, 2025 proclamations I have in mind for this blog, are by the governor of the state and by the  mayor of the City of Worcester. Arguably no other U.S. state is more intimately associated with the healing of the Armenian Genocide’s mortal wound than the State of Massachusetts and no other U.S. city can rival to that of Worcester MA when it comes to Armenian American history.

Massachusetts governor Maura Healey proclamation had come about thanks to the efforts of an Armenian high school student. Those interested my read the link below.

The governor had designated her April 24, 2025 proclamation as AREMANIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, and had urged “all the residents of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance”

Worcester’s popular mayor Joseph M Petty had designated his April 24 2025 proclamation as GENOCIDE AWARENESS, AND PREVENTION MONTH, and had urged “all citizens to work to promote human dignity and. Confront hate whenever and wherever it occurs.”. It is all behind us now, as the month of April behind us.

I remain under the impression that while we regard the Armenian Genocide, as a historical great crime – Medz Yeghern - and call for its recognition, restitution, and reparation, but the greater society in the Diaspora, such as in the U.S., apparently defines us more by the genocide than anything else. While we hold onto the notion that we overcame the genocide to continue and cherish our millennia old culture and history when two of us get together. But, apparently we are being perceived differently, that the Genocide is our culture. There may be a reason for it. Let us face in the Diaspora, save a few select pockets, the Armenian language is for all practical purposes lost and with it our literary culture. There remains the observation of the genocide that more than anything else gets us together in the month of April but apparently, how we observe it, also divides us as well.

It is fair that I note that apparentlyI am not the only person that is left with that impression. I quote the following post Martin made in the Armenianweekly in response to the linked article.

“Martin says: (April 17, 2025 at 5:41 pm)

Why April? Why must we be defined by the genocide?

October is Armenian Cultural Month, a time for Armenians worldwide to celebrate their rich heritage, including the creation of the Armenian alphabet and the accomplishments of the Holy Translators, through cultural events, lectures, and sacred celebrations.

The designation of October as Armenian Cultural Month stems from an encyclical by Archbishop Karekin Hovsepian in 1942, emphasizing the importance of Armenian language, literature, and culture.

The month commemorates the Feast of the Holy Translators, celebrated on the Saturday before the 5th Sunday after Khatchveratz (the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), and focuses on the creation of the Armenian alphabet and the accomplishments of the Holy Translators.

The Holy Translators, including Mesrob Mashdots (founder of the Armenian alphabet) and Catholicos Sahag, are central to the month’s significance, along with other notable figures like Yeghishe, Movses of Khoren, David the Invincible, Gregory of Nareg, and Nerses Shnorhali.

The month serves as a reminder of the enduring cultural heritage of the Armenian people and their contributions to literature, language, and the arts.”

 

Link: How Armenian-American Heritage Month was proclaimed in Massachusetts: https://armenianweekly.com/2025/04/16/how-armenian-american-heritage-month-was-proclaimed-in-massachusetts/

 

 

 

Lest we forget: Bayard Dodge, a great friend to the Armenians

The attached is my translation of the late Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian's article he posted in Simon Simonian’s "Spurk" weekly on Dec. 31, 1972.  Bayard Dodge hailed from a prominent American family. In 1923 he succeeded his father-in-law, the founding president Howard Bliss, and became the third president of the American University of Beirut that had formerly been known as "The Syrian Protestant College". The article is also a testament to young bishop Mesrob Ashjian's care and concern to pay homage to those who helped the destitute Armenians in their hours of need.  Vaհe H Apelian

Bayard Dodge (1888-1972)

“The Armenian media kept a strange silence at the death of a great friend of the Armenians, Bayard Dodge. Strange, because he was a towering figure in Lebanon and a great number of people have been beneficiaries of his good deeds. He contributed greatly towards the establishment of the Lebanese Armenian community.

It was my pleasure in the last two years to meet him and relive with him the period when caravans of destitute Armenians would arrive in Lebanon and find shelter in orphanages preparing to face life and end up establishing the vibrant present Armenian community in Lebanon. I feel a debt of gratitude towards him and belatedly pen these lines in his memory. More than others, he deserved to be remembered and eulogized by Armenians.

Bayard Dodge was born in 1888 in a family known for its humanitarian missionary zeal. His name, along with that of his father's Cleveland, great paternal uncle Steward, and father-in-law Daniel Bliss remain forever associated with the American University of Beirut (AUB).

After attending Princeton and other top American universities, Dodge headed to Lebanon. It  would become his adopted country. He set foot in Lebanon in 1913 and immediately assumed a variety of responsibilities. His caring heart and generosity of spirit would reveal themselves when he was appointed director of the Near East Relief Association in 1920 where he rendered incalculable assistance to the Armenian orphans. From 1923 to 1948 he acted as president of the AUB. During his distinguished tenure he made the university a center of learning and knowledge to people in Lebanon, in Asia, Africa and Europe.

After his retirement he returned to the U.S. For the next quarter-of-century he maintained his ties with Lebanon and continued to work for the betterment of the country. Prime Minister Saeb Salam eulogized him saying: “Bayard Dodge exemplified the best in Americans. He understood the people of Lebanon as well as the Arab peoples. He identified himself with them and made their social, educational, and national struggles his own.”

Bayard Dodge was also known as a man of faith. Even though he was a devoted Christian he saw much commonality with Muslims. In a statement that appeared posthumously, he said:  “A good Muslim and a good Christian are alike in many ways. It is a blessing that the American University of Beirut was founded in Lebanon, which is a unique country”.

The AUB’s modest and unpretentious president was also a scholar, and a capable administrator devoted to good causes. He was honored by many universities receiving honorary doctoral degrees. Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Iranian, Polish, French, Greek and British governments decorated him with medals of distinction.  In 1960 he was honored the “Woodrow Wilson" award. Suleiman Franjieh, president of Lebanon, posthumously bestowed upon him the National Order of Cedar First Class.

Bayard Dodge died on May 30, 1972. Memorial services were rendered in Princeton and in Lebanon. Alas, we Armenians could not express our gratitude on these occasions for the services he rendered to us, among them for his decisive role in the acquisition of the [Antilias] property for the seat of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

The world bestowed upon him all the accolades it could. Surely it is the God’s recognition of him as a devoted servant mattered most to him, for he worked tirelessly to live up to the motto of the university he served: “That they may have life and have it more abundantly”.

The Dodges displayed in their home with affection the attached photo of Bayard Dodge receiving the plaque the Armenian community presented to him in 1948 as a token of its gratitude. Also in the photo, Catholicos Karekin I Hovsepian is sitting next to Mrs. Dodge.”

It's high time we abandon that ambiguous, trivialized term genocide

 Vahe H Apelian

"This is where the debate about calling it genocide or not becomes absurd, trivial, and tertiary". (Raffi K Hovannisian). It's high time we advocate the use of our own term MEDZ YEGHERN.

The 2025 April 24, the Armenian Genocide commemoration day, is over. It is high time that we abandon, the trivialized, ambiguous legal term genocide that is structured to legally hold a party responsible for INTENDING to commit just that, genocide. Instead, we should have the world adopt our own term our surviving forefathers coined, MEDZ YEGHERN, for what happened to the Armenian race in that time frame.  

President Donald Trump issued the customary April 24 proclamation denouncing man's inhumanity to man on Armenian remembrance day.  We honor the victims of the MEDZ YEGHERN, he proclaimed, as he had done during his first term. I commend the president for using our own term for the genocide perpetrated on our forefathers and remain dismayed at the Armenians who feel compelled to deny our own term. 

We tend to associate the president's use of the G word Joe Biden. But he was not the first president to use the G word. President Reagan, had used the word genocide before. President Joe Biden’s use of the G word had a different contextual meaning. But, presumably, much like Joe Biden, we also as Armenians did not ascribe anything substantiative to Joe Biden’s proclamation, other than being a lip service.  Most American Armenians apparently did  not support him or his party during the last election. Joe Biden also did not enjoy the support across the Diaspora, simply because deep in our hearts and minds we had dismissed his recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a lip service.  

Joe Biden also was not the first to use our term, Medz Yeghern. It was president George W. Bush who used it first. President Joe Biden was the first president who used Armenian Genocide and Medz Yeghern in the same context. He did it in 2024 as he did last year, during his April 24, 2023 Armenian Remembrance Day.

Raffi K. Hovannisian, the American born and raised Armenia's first foreign minister, summed what happened in that period as follows: “ (It was) the premeditated deprivation of a people of its ancestral heartland.  And that's precisely what happened. In what amounted to the GREAT ARMENIAN DISPOSSESSION, a nation living for more than three millennia upon its historic patrimony-- at times amid its own sovereign Kingdoms and more frequently as a subject of occupying empires-- was in a matter of months brutally, literally, and completely eradicated from its land.  Unprecedented in human history, this expropriation of homes and lands, churches and monasteries, schools and colleges, libraries and hospitals, properties and infrastructures constitute to this day a murder, not only of a people but also of a civilization, a culture, and a time-earned way of life. This is where the debate about calling it genocide or not becomes absurd, trivial, and tertiary".

We are not in a legal court and we are not engaged in legal proceedings. We are dealing with the court of the public opinion and letting the world know what happened to the ancient Armenian race on their native land, in the Ottoman Empire. It is high time that we disassociated the  fateful Armenian experience from the narrow - or maybe broad - definition of genocide, which is defined as “a crime committed with the INTENT TO DESTROY a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, IN WHOLE OR IN PART.” 

 Tell me, which warring party can be absolved from not intending to destroy the national, racial, or religious group it is fighting, if not in whole, but in part? Do not Russians intend to wipe out of Ukrainians, if not in whole but in part? Did not the Azeris intend to wipe Karabakh Armenians if not in whole but in part? Does not China intent to wipe our Tibetans in part if not in whole? To lump all these tragedies under one common term  genocide, yes, as the first FM of the third Republic of Armenia stated, " is absurd".

Let us face it, the term genocide has lost the significance we Armenians attribute to the word. Norms have changed; words have evolved. The term Raphael Lampkin coined has lost its significance. It would not surprise me if he were alive, he would have realized the legal and moral dimension of the legal term he coined has been trivialized.  We all know that the suffix -cide -comes from Latin and it means to kill or cut down. The sad thing is that we cannot not accuse someone of infanticide, fratricide, matricide without the person having committed the act. But we can accuse almost any nation in conflict for committing genocide. Does not Israel intend to wipe the Palestinians in part or in whole?

It is time that we introduce the term MEDZ YEGHERN (THE GREAT CRIME) in the English lexicon to uniquely define and term the Armenian experience, as Jews have succeeded in doing the same with the word Holocaust in capital letter. 

The U.S. presidents have already familiarized the term Medz Yeghern to the world. Inadvertently they have paved the road for us. All we have to do is introduce the term in the language and with time educate the world. American English is a very inclusive language. It has accepted Kwanzaa among many others, as bona fide American term. Any American who claims does not know what Kwanzaa means, parlays ignorance or insensately if not outright racial indifference if not bias.

I firmly believe that what happened to us in the 1915-time frame cannot be defined by U.N.’s narrow definition of genocide any longer. Genocide perception has radically changed. The term has been gutted. It has been disemboweled.

What happened to us was a crime that is unprecedented in scope and magnitude and has no parallel. 

What happened to us was indeed the GREAT ARMENIAN DISPOSSESSION, of lives, property, honor, and “time-earned way of life”. 

What happened to us was MEDZ YEGHERN and we are or should not be a nation that denies its own term and disparages the officials of a nation for using our own term.

 

Hyortik was sung at the 110th commemoration of the Armenian genocide

 Vaհe H. Apelian

Below is the lyrics of Hyortik, maybe the signature song of the Five Fingers Band. The song as sung during the commemorating of the 110^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Lebanon, the birth place of that song. 

The above is the lyrics of Hyortik, maybe the signature song of the Five Fingers Band. I owe the lyrics to Vahig Vartabedian, a musician who was active on the Armenian pop music scene and knew the members of the band.

The Five Fingers band was made of a group of talented Armenian musicians, such as Stepan Frounjian who continues to share his talent on the Facebook from Racine, Wisconsin while also serving the Armenian Apostolic Church there as its arch deacon.

I got to know more of the Five Fingers band because I translated Boghos Shahmelikian’s memoir of the band that came onto the Armenian pop scene scene in late 1960’s. Those interested to know about the band and the era may read my introduction of the book I translated with the help of my cousin Jack Chelebian (https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2021/04/dawn-of-armenian-pop-music-primary.html )

Hyortik is a complex word made of “hye” (Հայ) and “Vorti”, which according to the Nairi dictionary means son, child. We know that the Armenian language does not have different pronouns for males and females. By extension Hyortik may be translated as “Children of Armenians” or “Sons of Armenians.” The first sentence of the lyrics addresses to “Հայորդիք որ կ՚ապրիք դուք հեռուն” (Sons of Armenians who live far away). 

But who were the children of the Armenians who lived in "far away" places?  The song urged them not to forget the Armenian language, but to speak it, to love one other, not to be assimilated, and in turn, teach the history of the Armenians to their children so that their children too would also know “արժէքը հայերուն” (the value of the Armenians). 

It is hard to fathom now that that message was for the Armenian youth growing in the west, in the Armenian sense of the designation of the West (Europe, Americas,....). I may even say that they meant to Armenians of their age who lived far from the Armenian community of the Middle East, especially Lebanon and Syria, the cradles of Diaspora Armenian culture. The members of the band remained concerned that their brethren may be on the verge of assimilation. They ended the song by repeating the following two sentences of the lyrics over and over again: "Let's not assimilate, let's love each other. Let's keep our holy honor high." 

The members of the Five Fingers were born and raised in a veritable Armenia that was the Armenian community of Lebanon. The state of the Armenianness of their brothers and sisters in those “faraway” lands of America and Europe, concerned their youthful souls. It is for them they composed HYORTIK.

But, little did they knew that in a few short years they too will cross oceans and continents and settle on the very same real estate that dreaded them once. And, in another twist of fate, I ended up dedicating my translation and publication of Boghos Shahmelikian’s memoir, both of which were a labor of love, to the children of those popular Armenian pop music musicians who changed the landscape of the Armenian pop music, so that their children now may be able to read about their parents in the language they, unlike their parents, are brought up and understand, English.

After some vacillating, I decided to add the following concluding paragraph to end my reflection on the one-time popular song by the Five Fingers band. Those in Diaspora, who have something to say as to how best the elected government of Republic of Armenia should govern Armenia, or whether the citizens of Armenia are patriotic enough or not, have their priorities misplaced. Instead of minding and mending their own in the Diaspora, they have resorted to say something as how best the citizens of Armenia should mind and mend their own. I say, something is not  right there. 

A few decades after the release of the Hyortic extolling the Armenian youth in the west, I wonder what message is being conveyed to our communities in Lebanon and Syria that also are culturally if not existentially threatened. Of the six Armenian members of the Lebanese parliament, only one can read and write Armenian. The rest either have a working Armenian speaking knowledge, or no knowledge at all, per Ara Sanjian.

It was fitting that the Hyortic song was sung during the 110 anniversary of the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Lebanon, the birth place of Hyortic,  and I wonder if the Diaspora is living up to the lyrics of that song and...

Are we not forgetting our sweet mother tongue?

Are we singing and always talking (Armenian)?

Are we seeing how sweet it is?

We’re few. But are we remaining Armenian?

Are we not forgetting our mother tongue?

Are we endlessly supporting each other?

Are we always holding our nation high?

Are we always high? And are we remaining lofty?

Are we not assimilating? And are we loving each other?

Are we keeping our holy honor high?

As Armenians we live far away (from Armenia)

Are we not forgetting our Armenian history?

Are we telling our children to know?