Stepan Dardouni and his Memorial Album (2/2)

Vahe H. Apelian

 

George Aghjayan emailed me Stepan Dardouni’s immigration declaration upon entering the U.S. on  October 3, 1922. Stepan has declared that he was born in Cilicia in Armenia and entered the U.S. as Dardouni, effectively officializing his family name and ending his ancestral family name Der Matheosian. He listed James Mandalian, the editor of  “Hairenik” as his contact and 212 Stuart Street, Boston, “Hairenik”’s former building, as his address. I could not find out at what point he abandoned his ancestral family name Der Matheosian.

Garo Derounian is an independent researcher in Lebanon and is in charge of  Kohar Symphony Orchestra’s library in Lebanon. He also has in his possession primary sources regarding the history of Birds’ Nest in Lebanon. It revealed that Stepan Dardouni was known as an Armenian nationalist when he taught the orphans in Birds’ Nest. His ardent nationalism appeared not have sat well with some in the administration of the orphanage. His teaching did not last long but left an indelible impression on his orphaned students. Many of the orphans continued to remember him as the favorite teacher they had. He had started a journal in the orphanage titled “Hosank” (Հոսանք), which means “Current”. After his departure Haig Balian had continued it as “Doun” (Տուն), that is to say “Home”. Haig Balian was the proprietor of the Aztag Daily which he subsequently  passed on to the ARF.

Surely the same zeal drove the aging nationalist to compile the memorial album. He might have authored other books, but I image that the memorial album is  Stepan Dardouni’s literary opus, although it is not a creative work but is a labor of love. In the preface he noted that he felt morally indebted to the many members of the A.R.F. – ungers - who passed away serving the organization. Their deaths were announced in “Hairenik” and remained buried there. He thought it was fair that their names be preserved in a memorial album and compiling the album was what he did. I quote from his preface. “ The ‘Hairenik’ weekly first appeared in May 1899 in New York. From that date on I have perused the pages ‘Hairenik’ until 1984, more than 90,000 pages”.

Stepan Dardouni from Birds' Nest Memorial Album

The memorial album is 420 pages and contains the names of 1146 deceased members of the A.R.F. in North America, listed chronologically. The first name is Haroutium Megerian (Յարութիւն Մկրեան) who passed away in Palou having left the U.S. six months earlier. His name is the only one mentioned in that time frame that spanned from the first issue of “Hairenik” until November 17, 1914. Henceforth the names are listed yearly. 

Not all the announcement were posted in “Hairenik” as obituaries we understand today. Many were reported by bereaving friends to “Hairenik” notifying of the passing away of the unger. Some of the announcements were accompanied by articles about the deceased, but many were just that, the few lines breaking of the sad news;. many of whom  Stepan Dardouni had personally known through some six decades of active involvement in the organization.

Reading about the deceased members of the A.R.F. is like  patching a tapestry of an era long by gone now. One encounters names of gomidehs (A.R.F. groups) that no longer exist and also comes across to tidbits that paint a picture of a community whose members lived in closer physical proximity to each other, worked in the same trade, such as photoengraving, met each other more often and socialized, and yes, they also beat each other during the tumultous times of the 1930’s when the church was being literally split in two camps.  

Relating to the present, two ungers were reported to have died due to the influenza pandemics. Vartan Sarkisian (Վարդան Սարգիսեան) of Niagara Falls was reported on November 16, 1918  to have passed away due to the influenza pandemics, so was Yesai Balian (Եսայի Պալեան) of Detroit who was reported on November 19, 1919 to have also passed away due to the influenza pandemics. Let us bear in mind that these are the dates when their deaths were announced, which may not necessarily be the date of their passing away.

The early announcements of the deceased ungers also paint a picture of an A.R.F. as an extended community whose members mostly knew each other. On November 21, 1941 an unger from Chicago, IL, notified the death of Unger Toukhmanian ( Թուխմանեան) who had immigrated to the U.S. in 1909 and was a longstanding member. His first name was not mentioned. I presume it was assumed that whoever would read the announcement would know who he was ! There are a few more of such announcements. There is one that particularly stands out. I quote: “July 22, 1954 - Brooklyn, NY – Unger Garabed Khanbigian wires “ ‘Hadj’  («Հաճին») suddenly died." Nothing else is mentioned. "Hadji"s name remain forgotten. Most of the deceased depicted, especially during the earlier decades, were born in historic Armenia and appeared to have found a niche of support and camaraderie in the ranks of the A.R.F.

Stepan Dardouni appeared to relate to most as an extended family member, adding few words of his own about the deceased. He remembered one as the barber who gave him free hair cut when he was student in the Springfield College. Others having helped him in various other ways, be he a dentist. For all indications he had no family member when he landed on these hospitable shores. The address he gave on his immigration declaration, as noted, was “Hairenik”s building, the contact he listed was James Madalian a prominent A.R.F.er and henceforth Stepan Dadrouni's social life appeared to have immersed in the A.R.F. 

I related to some personally. Among them:

Kahana (married priest) Mesrob Amrigian (Տէր Մեսրոպ ՔՀՆՅ. Ամրիկեան). It is not mentioned in the album that he was from Egypt. The family for a while stayed in the inn, Hotel Lux my father ran, on their way to the U.S. He and his family became friends to my parents and left behind endearing notes my mother had kept among her papers. I did not know that he was from Mush nor did I know that he was a member of the A.R.F. He has passed away in Union City, N.J., on January 16, 1966, where the family presumably had settled.

 Diran Apelian was my mother’s maternal uncle. Diran’s  sister, my maternal grandmother Karoun, was born Apelian and married Khacher Chelebian. His daughter Zvart Chelebian, my mother, married my father Hovhannes Apelian. They all hailed from the same village of Kessab, Keurkune. I had learned that Diran was a pharmacist having graduated from a pharmacy school in Constantinople. It was he who had asked her sister to name her fist born daughter, my mother, Zvart. Stepan Dardouni knew him personally and socialized with when he volunteered in the French Armenian Legion, although Diran had not. He reminisced noting that “he (Diran) was spirited, enthusiastic, cheerful, peopled person…we harbored dreams but we did not know that we will encounter so many disappointments.”

Mesrob Kahana Amrigian on the Veranda of Hotel Lux

Stepan Dardouni ended his memorial album listing the death of unger Mesrob Adishian (Մեսրոպ Ատիշեան) on December 27, 1984. Unger Adishian and I struck a friendship early on, not long after I set foot in the U.S. on July 9, 1976. I used to pick him from his house to attend A.R.F. meetings and social events. He appeared well into his eighties and did not drive. He had purchased the property on which he had his house built before the George Washington bridge was built. After the construction of the bridge, the area naturally had changed and his house now sat at the junction of a major route and busy street to his and especially his wife’s expected dissatisfaction. He was an avid reader of A.R.F. literature.

I remember to this day when I received the phone call from him letting me know of his wife’s death. He said I was the first person outside his family he called. Naturally he was all shaken and emotional. I never forgot what he said: “ Unger Apelian, I had not experienced death in my immediate family before. Most of my parental family members died during the genocide, but I was not there.” 

The last time I met him was when he was hospitalized. Somehow he found me that day dressed up more than the usual and wondered if I was attending an A.R.F. meeting or function. I recall Stepan Dardouni’s obituary during Unger Adishian's funeral service. He said when he first met Unger Mesrob Adishian in the “Hairenik” building, he wandered what this handsome Irishman doing there. He mentioned the same in the album. 

It was fitting that Stepan Dardouni ended his memorial album listing Unger Mesrob Adishian’s death. They were of the generation whose lives evolved and revolved in and around the A.R.F. as a sort of an extended home for them away from their ancestral homes.

 

Stepan Dardouni and his Memorial Album (1/2)

Vahe H. Apelian

“we come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. We all know, either implicitly or explicitly, that all we really have is our place in the memories of others. We exist to the degree that we know and remember one another; even the most isolated among us. We share a collective understanding that we are all part of a greater whole”. Eric Bogosian, "Operation Nemesis".

Stepan Dardouni (Der Matheosin)

Lately I have been reading Stepan Dardouni’s memorial album titled “A.R.F. Memorial Album of Northern America 1898-1984” (Հ.Յ.Դ. Յիշատակարան Հիւսիսային Ամերիկայի 1898-1984). I will comment on the memorial album in the second part of this article. 

I met Stepan Dardouni in the early 1980’s in the New York Armenian Community center when he was well an octogenarian and had firmly established himself as an active and devoted member of the A.R.F. for the past many decades. I was told he lived in the city but was regularly present in the community center.

What caught my attention was his last name. Recently reading the memorial album he compiled, I realized that it was a pen-name that he had adopted and used it socially to the apparent exclusion of his official family name. So much so, that it had become a permanent part of his social identification. His family name is Der Matheosian. He might have hailed from a priestly family to have the designation Der in the family name. Strikingly, he signed the dedication and the preface of his album as Stepan Dardouni putting Der Matheosian in parenthesis. I remained under the impression that even he had become estranged from his family name. Records indicate that he was using Dardouni as his family name when he taught in the Birds' Nest orphanage during 1920-1922,  in Jbeil, Lebanon. 

It was obvious from first glance that his last name Dardouni is a compound name derived from the word “dard”(տարտ) that is rather commonly used in colloquial Armenian, and “ouni” (ունի), which means "has". I inquired about the word “dard” with the eminent Western Armenian linguist Dr. Armenag Yeghayian, who is a dentist by profession and a Western Armenian language scholar. Armenag was a teacher to us when I attended Sourp (Saint) Nshan School in Beirut and Lebanon. The school’s name was changed in mid to late 1960’s to Khanamirian College after the benefactor of the school and its upgrading to an high school. It was a middle level school in my days.

According to Armenag Yeghiayan, the word “dard” is derived from Persian and has made inroad in Turkish lexicon. The Eastern Armenians have also adopted the word, much like many other Persian words, in their distinct pronunciation and hence dictation as “Tart” (Դարդ). The Western Armenians have purged the word for their literary use and have used it only colloquially and hence the word “dard” is not found in Western Armenian dictionaries, although it is commonly used and understood. The literary word for it is “vishd”  (վիշտ), which means, according to Nairi dictionary, grief, anguish, sorrow, woe, suffering. 

The implication of Stepan’s choice for a last name is obvious. Stepan Dardouni  carried a sorrow. 

There is no reflection in his dedication and in his preface of the memorial album he compiled as to why he had adopted Dardouni as his last name. There was an incident he noted in the album he compiled reminiscing about Unger Mgrditch Topalian (Մկրտիչ Թօփալեան). An unidentified friend from Syracuse had broken the news of Unger Topalian's death to  Hairenik  Daily, which in turn included the sad news it its  October 21, 1976 issue. 

Reminiscing about Mgrditch Topalian, he wrote that at one time Stepan Dardouni was invited to Syracuse to deliver a speech on an occasion. He flew there on a bitter cold winter day and was welcomed by Unger Mgrditch Topalian who chaired the local gomideh. The weather condition was so treacherous that they wondered if they were going to make to the church on time, where the occasion was being observed. Part of the church was turned into a social hall. The event was held. Unger Aharon Sachaklian was present with his wife who recited a poem to the pleasant surprise of Dardouni. On their return to the airport they encountered a heavy traffic because of a football game which appeared to have just ended. To kill time, they got engaged in a conversation. I quote: “Unger Dardouni, said Unger Mgrditch, let us change your name, let us find another name for Dardouni. I said, with a smile, I understand. I will think about it.” That is all the reflection Stepan shared regarding his choice of Dardouni as his last name.

His biography may shed light as to his choice of his last name. He survived the genocide and the twists and turns of life cast him far from his native land, against his will. Keeping the verb tenses the same, I translated and attached  below Stepan Dardouni’s biography the publishers included in his memorial album. 

“Stepan Dardouni was born in Marash on March 21, 1899. He had his elementary education in the local Saint Sarkis school, after which he has attended central school. He was accepted as a seminarian in the Sis seminary. But during his last year, along with many destitute Armenians, he was driven to the deserts of Arabia.

Along with other survivors he reaches an Arabian village known as Tafilah, close to the Dead Sea in Jordan. Young Stepan takes upon himself assisting the Armenian refugees. He teaches Turkish and French in a newly opened school for the government employees. He also tutors the children of an influential Arab chieftain. Through such connections he contributes to the welfare of the local Armenians.

During those days many Armenians were going away to Egypt. Stepan along with the majority of the Armenian in Tofilah, join a French detachment among the retreating forces of Sharif and reach Akaba. From where they move to Suez. 

In Egypt for a while he continues his studies for a while but his mind and soul remain with his homeland, the Armenian Cilicia.  He volunteers in the Armenian Legion and is moved to Cyprus, where he gets his military training attending officers’ school. Thanks to his knowledge of French he also assists his fellow Armenian volunteers.

Allied forces prevail and Turkish forces retreat. The Armenian legion enters Beirut where law and order start taking place giving hope for the Armenians. After a short while Dardouni moves to Cilicia and takes part in organizing the defense but the French forces start leaving Cilicia in haste necessitating a second exodus for the Armenians. 

Dardouni returns to Beirut and meets the Catholicos Sahag and reveals to him his desire to continue his education in Geneva. However, fate would have it otherwise.

One day Dardouni pays a visit to a newly opened orphanage for the Armenians in the coastal town Karantina, where orphans from Aintab and other parts of Armenia were being cared for. Mr. Travis, the director of the orphanage, seeing Dardoun's interest in the welfare of the Armenian orphans offers him a teaching position. For the patriotic Dardouni the choice is clear. He tells the Catholicos of the choice he has made and after receiving the Catholicos’ blessing embarks on teaching the Armenian orphans.

The orphanage moves to Jbeil, where Dardouni continues his teaching for the next two years. He instills in his students love of Armenian nation as well as hope and faith that the Armenian will prevail. 

Dardouni becomes not only a teacher to the orphans but as well as a brother and a father. He establishes a library devoting almost all of his salary towards the project. His efforts bear fruits. Out come a generation from these orphans committed to their welfare and patriotic. In this regard he says the following: “I can safely without hesitation that I lived purposeful and rewording days during those two years, 1920-1922.”

Dardouni arrives to America in 1922 and follows English language course in the Springfield International College. Subsequently he is called to office in “Hairenik” for the next five years. 

Later on, he moves from Boston to New York. He becomes an active member of the community. For decades he becomes an active member of Armen Garo gomideyoutiun. Many times, he is elected a member of the local gomideh and as well as a member of the central committee of Northern U.S. He takes part in the 20th A.R.F. world council. He brings his undeniable contribution towards the purchase of the New York community center.

Dardouni remained true to the inspiration he received from the A.R.F. leaders and remained steadfast in the pursuit of the big  dream for a free and independent Armenia. Along with Vartkes Aharonian, Assadour Khederian, Yetouart Sahagian, he remained a torch bearer in the New York Armenian community.

He has contributed to “Hairenik” and to the “Outreach” journal of the Prelacy. During the last few years, in spite of his health issues, at the cost of great sacrifice he compiled this memorial album immersing himself in the “Hairenik” archives. In the hospital where he remained hospitalized for a few weeks, his only concern was this album’s publication. Sadly, when his manuscript was submitted for publication he passed away on Saturday, February 19, 1988. The same day an outcry reached from Karabagh and Yerevan for “One Republic and One Fatherland”. Did Dardouni hear the outcry? 

We believe that he heard the outcry and left this world in joy and hopeful.” 

The fact that, quoting from his biography, "he was accepted as a seminarian in the Sis seminary" gives credence to the probability that he hailed from priestly family and hence his parental family name was Der Matheosian.

 

 

ԶԱՒԱԿԻ ՄԱՍԻՆ - Թարգմ. Վահէ—Վահեանի

ԶԱՒԱԿԻ ՄԱՍԻՆ

 

Հատուած՝ Ճպրան Խալիլ Ճպրանի Մարգարէն—էն

Թարգմ. Վահէ—Վահեանի

 

Ծնունդները ձեր չեն ձեր զաւակներն,

այլ՝ տղաքն անոնք եւ աղջիկներն են այն կարօտին զոր

Կեանքը կը տածէ ինքնիրեն հանդէպ։

Կու գան ձեր մէջէն, սակայն ոչ ձեզմէ։

Թէեւ ձեզի հետ՝ բայց չեն պատկանիր անոնք ձեր անձին։

Կրնաք տալ իրենց սէր ու գուրգուրանք,

Բայց ոչ մտածում,

Զի ունին անոնք իրենց խոհն ուրոյն։

Կրնաք տալ դուք տուն անոնց մարմինին,

Բայց ոչ հոգիին,

Զի կը բնակին հոգիներն անոնց՝

Տունին մէջ վաղուան, զոր այցելել դուք

չէք կրնար նոյնիսկ ձեր երազներով։

Կրնաք ջանալ որ նմանիք անոնց,

Բայց զանոնք ձեզի դարձնել նման՝ մի ձգտիք երբեք,

Քանզի չ՛ընթանար կեանքը դէպի ետ, ու ոչ ալ երկար կ՛ուզէ յամենալ ան երէկին մօտ։

Աղեղներ էք դուք, ուրկէ կ՛արձակուին ծնունդները ձեր՝ շնչող նետի պէս։

Ու նետաձիգն ինք, անսահմանութեան շաւիղին վրայ,

կը տեսնէ թիրախն իր նպատակին

ու կը ճկէ ձեզ Իր հզօրութեամբ,

որ նետը սուրայ եւ հասնի կէտին։

Թող նետաձիգին ձեռքերուն մէջ ձեր

ճկումը բերէ խնդութիւն միայն,

Վասնզի, ինչպէս որ կը սիրէ Ինք Նետը սլացող,

կը սիրէ նոյնպէս աղեղն ալ կայուն։

 

On Children
 Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, 
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 
and He bends you with His might 
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

 

 

 

 

Governance and Opposition in the Armenian National Assembly

Vahe H. Apelian 

 

First let me note that I jot in my blog instead on my Facebook page because my blog offers a better archiving. It enables me to retrieve rather easily what would have been a posting on my FB page and  over time, for all practical purposes, remained buried somewhere in my Facebook page.

Recently, I got engaged in a conversation over the legitimacy of the Pachinyan government, questioning the legitimacy  of the “My Step” coalition he led. The argument was based on the claim that My Step coalition got 70% of the votes when only 48% of registered voters voted during the election. According to records presented in Wikipedia, 1,261,105 persons out of 2,683,140 registered voters voted. The exact percentage is 48.63%

The argument presented is not legitimate. In a democratic process voting is a privilege and some do not exercise it for a variety of reasons and thus differ judgement to those who participate in the process. Cursory review of voters’ participation in some 250 years old Republic of the United States of America indicate voter participation has varied from 49% to as high as 80% but never to 99 and a fraction percent, much like the percentage of voters who voted to Saddam Hussein at one time.

Some of the registered voters in Armenia cannot vote because they are not in Armenia during the voting. We should bear in mind that only those registered voters who are in Armenia during the election can and may vote. We all know that many Armenian registered voters have left the country permanently or have left seasonally for work. Therefore, we cannot exactly know how many constitute the electoral base in Armenia at the time of the election. In all likelihood it is less than the registered voters. Therefore, we should bear in mind that the figure 48% voter participation is based on the total number of registered voters and not on the actual number of voters who could vote at the time.

The other issue is that such argument is self-defeating. While My Step coalition got 70% of the 48% of the registered voters, so did the others as well. That is to say, Prosperous Armenia got 8.26% of the 48% of the registered voters and Bright Armenia got 6.37% of the 48% of the registered voters, and so on. Implying that the relative preference of the voters is the same. 

The other argument that was brought was the Pachinyan government’s hegemony over the legislative body. True, that My Step coalition is the Constitutional majority in the Armenian National Assembly. However, its relative dominance against the two oppositions parties that met the criteria of having achieved over 5% of the registered voters, is diluted. The two opposition parties that got enough votes to be eligible for National Assembly representation,  together have approximately 15% of the votes, while My Stop coalition has 70% of the votes, that is to say almost 5 times the combined votes of the two opposition parties.  But the government and the opposition together constitute around 85% of the voters and consequently Armenian National Assembly cannot claim to represent the people of Armenia, if it were to be based on the sum total only of those who were eligible to be in the National Assembly. Such representation would have disfranchised the 15% of the voters who are not qualified to have a representation in the National Assembly, because they could not meet the requirment.

The laws of Armenia wisely mandate that opposition should constitute 1/3 of the Armenian National Assembly. Consequently, the number of the deputies in Armenia, which varies, is presently 132 of which 88 are deputies representing My Step coalition, that is to say only 2/3 or 67% of the Armenian National Assembly, making it constitutional majority in the National Assembly while the ruling opposition in the National Assembly constitute 33 %, which is far more than 15% they received.  The opposition in the National Assembly thus do not only represent their parties but also represent the other 15% of the voters who otherwise would have no representation in the National Assembly.

I do not believe that during the past three decades Armenia had a government facing such an opposition. The question arises of course, is the opposition doing its job? No, I do not believe the opposition is doing its job as expected. Case in point is the resignation of the of Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia deputies from the National Assembly. Instead of staying and arguing on the principles they allegedly stand for, they resorted not to participate in the democratic process. These deputies sort of took a passive aggressive, unprincipled, ill-fated stand.  They are far cry from the one-time small party called YELK (The Way Out) Nikol Pachinyan led and passionately argued on the National Assembly podium against the conduct of the president’s party that ruled the National Assembly with an iron grip.

No law can possibly empower the opposition more, if they do not want to be engaged constructively and do what they are expected to do in a constructive manner. That is to say, oppose the government policies, not for opposition sake of course, but on principle.

Հայկականութեան Մոմ Մը Եւս Շիջեցաւ

Ազդակ Օրաթերթ, Փետրուար 28, 2017

(Զուարթ Աբէլեան Դաստիարակի Յիշատակին)

Ս. ՄԱՀՍԷՐԷՃԵԱՆ

Յունուարի վերջին օրը Լոս Անճելըսի մէջ այս աշխարհին սուսիկ-փուսիկ հրաժեշտ տուաւ Զուարթ Աբէլեան անուն հայուհի մը, որուն վերջին յարգանք մատուցելու համար 9 փետրուարին շիրիմին շուրջ համախմբուեցան խումբ մը հարազատներ եւ նախկին աշակերտներ: Այսպիսով, փակուեցաւ կեանքի տաֆթարը բազմավաստակ ուսուցչուհիի մը եւ մօր մը, որուն իմացական ողջ կեանքը եղած էր յարատեւ ճամբորդութիւն մը` հայ դպրութեան ջահէն արձակուող լոյսը տարածելու իրերայաջորդ սերունդներու միտքերուն, բայց մանաւանդ` հոգիներուն մէջ: Այդ ճամբորդութիւնը չեղաւ սուսիկ-փուսիկ, այլ` մնայուն ակօսներ բացող սերմնացանի մը վայել «աղմուկ»-ով:

Զուարթ Աբէլեան մաս կը կազմէր սերունդին այն ուսուցիչներուն, որոնք իրաւա՛մբ իրենց անուան կողքին շահած են Հայ Դաստիարակ կոչումը: Ծննդավայր Քեսապէն մինչեւ Պէյրութ ու ամերիկեան ափեր` Լոս Անճելըս, անոր ուսուցչական վաստակը կերտուեցաւ աւելի քան 50 տարիներու վրայ. հաւանաբար ինք ալ չէր գիտեր, թէ քանի՛ հայ աշակերտ վարակուած է իր շունչով, իրմէ փոխանցուած է հայոց լեզուի, գրողներու եւ մշակութային ժառանգութեանց  բարի «ախտ»-ը: Հայ Դաստիարակի իր վաստակը ան այնքան չի պարտիր իր ստացած բարձրագոյն ուսման, որքան` իր հոգիին մէջ մանկութենէն իսկ բոցավառած այն խարոյկին, որուն ջերմութիւնը ո՛չ միայն կը տոգորէր իր դասաւանդութիւններն ու դասախօսական ելոյթները, այլ նաեւ լիովին կը տարածուէր զինք լսող աշակերտներուն եւ ունկնդիրներուն հոգիներուն մէջ: Խօսելու խանդավառ ոճն իսկ, զոր պահպանեց մինչեւ յառաջացեալ տարիքը, գրաւական մըն էր, որ դիմացինը վարակուի նոյն խանդավառութեամբ, ներշնչուի հայկականութեամբ եւ սիրէ հայ գիրը, բանաստեղծներն ու գրողները, մէկ խօսքով` այն բոլորը, ինչ որ կը կոչենք հայկականութիւն:

Զինք ճանչցայ Պէյրութի Հայ աւետ. Շամլեան-Թաթիկեան երկրորդական վարժարանին աշակերտութեանս օրերուն. նախակրթարանի վերին կարգերու հայերէնի դասատու էր: Այդ օրերուն ան կը ճանչցուէր տիկին Աբէլեան անունով.  քանի մը տարի անց էր, երբ իմացանք, թէ առաջին անունը Զուարթ էր: Իր աշակերտները այնքան կ՛ակնածէին իրմէ, որքան կը սիրէին զինք, որովհետեւ ծանօթ էր իբրեւ խստապահանջ եւ նոյնքան մըն ալ գուրգուրացող ուսուցչուհի:

Աւետարանական վարժարաններու մէջ կայ աւանդութիւն մը. առաւօտները, դասապահերէն առաջ, աղօթքի` պաշտամունքի պահ մը տրամադրուած է աշակերտութեան. տօնական օրերուն, այդ պահը կը յատկացուի տուեալ տօնին, որոնց շարքին` հայկական ազգային ու պատմական տօներու: Տիկին Աբէլեան երբեմն պարտականութիւնը կը ստանձնէր աշակերտներուն խօսելու տուեալ տօնին մասին, ու ամբողջ սրահը կը մագնիսանար իր խօսքով. կը զգայինք, որ իր բառերը կը բխէին իր հոգիէն, գիտելիքներու շտեմարանէն, բայց նաեւ հարազատ արձագանգ մըն էին դարերէն եկող կոչերուն, թէ հայ աշակերտը պարտի իւրացնել իր պատմութիւնը, ժառանգութիւնները, զանոնք վերածէ ապրումի, իսկ ինք արդէն գործնական վկայութիւն մըն էր իր աւանդածին:

Տիկին Աբէլեան, ինչպէս նշեցինք, կը պատկանէր սերունդին այն  դաստիարակներուն, որոնք հայերէնի ու գրականութեան դասաւանդումը չեն բանտարկեր լոկ դասագրքայինի սահմաններուն մէջ: Անոնց համար կային աշակերտական տրամախօսութիւններու, ասմունքի ու խմբային արտասանութեան «գործիքներ»-ն ալ, որովհետեւ այդ սերունդի դաստիարակները գիտէին, որ աշակերտը կը սիրէ բեմ բարձրանալ, յաղթահարել ամչնալու վիճակը եւ ԱՊՐԻԼ մեր պատմութեան դրուագները, իր մէջ վերապրեցնել հայ գրողները: Այսօր ալ կան նման դաստիարակներ, սակայն յիշեալ

«դարաշրջան»-ին սա համատարած երեւոյթ էր հայկական վարժարաններու մէջ:

Եւ ահա այդպիսի վաստակ մը ու ժառանգութիւն մը իրեն ու նմաններէն իբրեւ պատգամ կը մնայ նորահաս սերունդին:

Տիկին Աբելեան յաճախ կը մարմնաւորէր իր անունը` Զուարթ, հակառակ անոր որ կեանքը երբեմն հարուածներ տուաւ անոր ու խանգարեց զուարթութիւնը: Ինքզինք հանգստեան կոչեց բաւական ուշ, որովհետեւ կը հաւատար, որ Հայ Ուսուցիչի իր առաքելութիւնը պէտք էր շարունակէր, որքան որ կարող էր: Զերծ չմնաց ողբերգութիւններէ. ունէր երազ մը` հրատարակութեան տալ տարիներու ընթացքին իր պատրաստած խմբային արտասանութիւններու եւ բեմական արտայայտութեանց շարքը. զանոնք գեղեցիկ շրջանակով օժտուած էջերու վրայ ընդօրինակած էր գեղագիր ձեռագիրով: Ափսո՛ս, որ վերջին տարիներուն անոր յիշողութեան կալուածը դաւաճանեց իրեն ու լիովին չըմբոշխնեց երազին իրականացումը. տարի մը առաջ, շնորհիւ զաւկին` Վահէին ճիգերուն, հատոր մը լոյս տեսաւ իր հաւաքածներէն` իբրեւ գործնական երախտագիտութիւն հանդէպ վաստակաւոր դաստիարակին ու մօր:

Զուարթ Աբէլեանի մեկնումով հայկականութիւն տարածող մոմ մը եւս  մարեցաւ յունուար 31-ին: