The first student protest

Vahe H. Apelian

I leave it to historians to negate me. In my view the first  Armenian students' public protest against the Turks took place on April 6, 1970 in the American University of Beirut. Attached is my recollection of the protest. I and my classmate Movses Hovsepian who would become my brother-in-law, appear in the  attached picture that appeared on the front page of the  Aztag Daily the following day.

April 6, 1970 marks the date that I, along many other Armenian students, participated in our first ever protest against Turkey over an exhibit that was organized by the Turkish Embassy to take place in the West Hall building located in the center of the American University of Beirut campus. The timing of the exhibit in the month of April, when we commemorate the genocide, could not have been coincidental. The exhibit would have highlighted Turkish culture.

To be fair to the University authorities, I would like to note that they had allowed the Armenians organize an exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 1965 in the same West Hall building, five years before the Turkish exhibit.

The protest was spearheaded by the student members of the A.R.F. Zavarian Student Association, arguably the oldest university or college level Armenian student association in the Diaspora. Simon Zavarian had founded the student association in 1904 during his field trip to the Armenian communities in greater Cilicia. Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire then. Some of the members of this student association were martyred during the Genocide. Years later the student association was renamed after its founder who was also a founder of the A.R.F.

The Zavarian Student Association enjoyed a privileged status within the A.R.F. hierarchy. While other bodies needed to have a certain number of members to attain a similar status, the Zavarian Student Association was exempt from such requirement. Consequently, the organizers of the protest reported to their superiors of their intention. The latter’s response became akin to what Khrimian Hayrig had told those who wanted to abide by the wishes of the young poet Bedros Tourian and have him buried with a music band playing during the funeral procession, contrary to the accepted norms and hence the church had not given them permission. In desperation they appealed to the Patriarch Khrimian Hayrig, who famously told them that he too will not give them his permission but will forgive them for doing so. So was the case this time around. The party higher ups did not give their explicit permission but would not reprimand the students for doing so.  It later became evident, without telling the student organizers, the ARF leadership had provided security should the demonstrating students would be mishandled by unlawful elements.

As the date of the opening of the exhibit on April 6 approached, the student members of the Zavarian Sutdent Association had a flyer distributed. I have kept one flyer all these years having it cross with me oceans and continents. It is posted below. The language appears to be confrontational. It forewarns that unspecified “serious consequences might ensue” should the Turkish exhibit take place as planned.

 

The opening of the exhibit was planned in the afternoon of April 6, 1970. Checking the date revealed that it was Monday. That very afternoon the Armenian students started heading towards the West Hall and were directed to sit next to each other on the stairways leading to the building. As the attached picture of the front page of the next day’s “Aztag” Daily shows, the students sat tight next to each other. The circle on the picture depicts me and my friend and classmate Movses Hovsepian, who would be my brother-in-law. Some of the students carried banners. Dignitaries started coming for the opening of the exhibit but they encountered the students barricading the building entrance with their sit-in and hence could not enter. To the credit of the University authorities, they did not call police or have university’s security to dispel the students. The Turkish exhibit thus could not take place. The next day, the “Aztag” Daily heralded that 500 Armenian students had foiled a Turkish exhibit by peaceful demonstration, (see the attached April 7,1970 front page of the “Aztag” daily).

Fifty years have come and gone by since that day. Those young and restless Armenian students are now parents, grandparents and surely have mellowed a bit and are “wiser”, if age ever imparted wisdom. Some have left this world for good such as my brother-in-law Movses. Most if not all surely remember the event, much like I do, as a watershed moment in their lives.  First experiences remain entrenched in our memories for good. They now watch a new generation of students carrying the torch. 

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From Memorial Monument to Memorial Monument: The longest march

The Armenian community in Lebanon will commemorate the 109^th anniversary of Medz Yeghern on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 with a torch light procession from Bourj Hammoud to the catholicosate in Antelias. I was reminded of the 1971 commemorative march. Attached is my reproduction of a blog about the march I wrote on April 18, 2017. Vahe H Apelian

Arguably it was the longest Genocide memorial march in the Diaspora and it was called from Memorial Monument to Memorial Monument. For all those who came of age in Lebanon in 1965, the year we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Genocide, likely remember the commemorative march on Saturday, April 24, 1971. That march, in my estimation, remains the longest Armenian Genocide commemorative march in the Diaspora. The participants were bused to the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument situated on the premises of the Catholicosate’s summer monastery in the mountainous Bikfaya, and walked all the way to the Catholicosate of Cilicia in coastal city Antelias. Wikipedia tells me that the distance is 16 Km or 10 miles of steep down-hill walk. 

I was reminded of this march when Laura Vartan Agnerian from Canada, after having read my article titled “The First Protest”, posted on my Face book page a copy of the tickets issued by the organizers of that march, who were members of the A.R.F. Zavarian Student Association. I doubt that any other exists. It is fair, I thought, that I pen my remembrance of the event aided by the reporting that appeared on the pages of “Aztag” Daily on Tuesday April 27. 1971

The ticket Laura posted is telling of the era. The clenched fist had become the standard poster displayed by the youth then. I can state with some confidence that it was designed by the member/s of A.R.F. Zavarian Student Association at the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Genocide and was often depicted on Genocide commemorative posters henceforth and to this day. The ticket also notes of one (1) Lebanese Pound due (dourk), not a donation, but a due for Hai Tahd, the Armenian Cause. This ticket is No.8445. Such tickets were usually issued in whole numbers. One can easily surmise that at least 10.000 tickets  were issued.   

The 1971 Genocide commemorative march was called “From Monument to Monument” (houshartsane houshartsan) because, as noted, it started from the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument on the premises of the Catholicosate of Cilicia monastery in Bikfaya. The monument there was designed by Zaven Khedeshian. It depicts an abstract figure of a woman standing with her hands extending towards the sky. The following is inscribed at the foot of the monument in Armenian and Arabic as well: “This monument, commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Armenian genocide was erected with the cooperation of the whole Armenian Community in Lebanon to celebrate the rebirth of the Armenian nation and to express gratitude to our country, Lebanon, April 24, 1969”. 

“Aztag” daily noted that the Saturday, April 24, 1971 March was a community wide undertaking but the event was conceived, planned and organized by the A.R.F. Zavarian Student Association. The event was a cornerstone. An upcoming generation had started asserting itself and assuming the mantle pursuing the peaceful but determined resolution of the Armenian Genocide.  "Aztag" Daily reported that an estimated 30,000 marchers participated in the event.

The Friday evening to the Saturday morning became a period of uneasiness both for those who planned to march and for the organizers as well due to a capricious weather. In spite of all indications that a downpour awaited them, the marchers started coming to the assigned sites from where they were bused to Bikfaya. By 9 a.m., when the march started, some 25,000 people had gathered around the Genocide Memorial Monument. Fortunately, it did not rain. The marchers on their way to Bikfaya in buses had encountered a moving sight. They saw a young man shouldering a huge wooden cross with a two-pan scale mounted on the cross, symbolizing quest for justice, braving the steep uphill walk towards the monument all by himself.

George Azad Apelian carrying the wooden cross

The bearer of the wooden cross was the late  George Azad Apelian who was a student at the Haigazian University, a College then. He had embarked on his lone march towards Bikfaya very early that day to meet the marchers at the monument on the scheduled time. He had his relative Stepan Panossian fabricate a large wooden cross to accentuate the event and draw attention. The late Stepan Panossian is the father of Dr. Razmig Panossian, the director of the Armenian Department of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The cross was big enough when George carried it on his shoulder its long arm touched the ground at its far end. On the front arm a double pan balance was attached. The attached picture depicts George mounting the cross with its double beam balance, nearing the Bikfaya Genocide monument. Henceforth George, in close circles, was endearingly called, “The Cross Bearer” (khachager - Խաչակիր). George’s maternal grandfather, Rev. Georji Shammas was an Armenian Evangelical pastor who was killed in 1909 during the Adana Massacre. His paternal great-grandfather was also killed during genocide in the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour. 

The march from Bikfaya started at 9 a.m. The marchers were lead by the scouting organization, student associations, community dignitaries lead by the long standing 76 years old Lebanese Armenian Parliamentarian, Movses Der Kalousitan. The marchers walked in an orderly fashion along both sides of the road not to disturb the ongoing traffic. The marchers themselves made a 2 miles long procession. At times the progression of the march slowed down because of fatigue and then resumed its pace. It lasted more than 3.5 hours. Reporters from various local and international organizations were also there to report on the event. As the marchers approached Antelias city center, their rank swelled with those waiting for their arrival and both then headed towards the catholicosate where Archbishop Dajad Ourfalian, the prelate in Lebanon, addressed the marchers from the steps of the Armenian Genocide Chapel that houses bones of victims collected from the killing field, the desert of Deir-ez-Zor.

The aftermath of the 50^th anniversary commemoration was marked by a youthful activism. The 1971 Armenian Genocide commemorative march in Lebanon came to symbolize the young’s  quest for a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide. Over fifty years have come and gone by from that date. Some of the young organizers of the march are not with us anymore.  I can claim that generation did not fail their parents and grandparents and carried on the torch for just resolution of the Armenian genocide with determination. No wonder "Aztag" Daily heralded the event on its front page giving due tribute to the upcoming generation, as follows:  "A SENTIMENTAL EXPRESSION OF RESPECT, A MAGNIFICENT PICTURE OF REBIRTH”

A genuine call by the eminent Armenian-American educator Gabriel Injejikian

Vahe H. Apelian

This is a repost of the blog I posted on October 31, 2019 under a different title. I thought its fair that I post it again pursuant to the April 5, 2024, the Hamazkayin Eastern U.S.A. Region Executive presentation the challenges of the schools the Hamazkayin Central Executive administers in Lebanon, Marseille, Paris and Sydney. Other than the one in Lebanon. The Armenian school in the Diaspora receiving state assistance, a new trend and a new challenge, as well as new opportunities in the U.S., which will be the Charter School. Gabriel Injejikian, the pioneer of the Armenian schools in the U.S. was a proponent for Charter Schools. Vahe H. Apelian

The news of AGBU closing Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School, the last Armenian school established in greater Los Angeles, has understandably upset the community. In 2017 the community experienced a similar situation when Tekeyan Cultural Association closed Arshag Dikranian School. I want to believe that legitimate reasons have forced these esteemed Armenian organizations to take such drastic measures. Consolidating Armenian schools by closing some has become an unfortunate reality in the hub of the Diaspora Armenian communities in Beirut and Aleppo as well. 

The unfolding of this reality necessitates the Armenian community leadership to reassess their traditional way running Armenian schools in the Diaspora.

I am not an educator. However, since childhood I have been exposed to issues about Armenian schools. I have been privy to conversations among educators, thanks mostly to my mother, who taught in Diaspora Armenian schools for five decades. I remember her saying that the late Yetvart Daronian, the principal of Sourp Nshan Armenian School, would say during deliberations regarding the state of the Armenian schools: “Keep the government away from our schools.” Times have changed and I do not think we can afford to dismiss the schools run by the states and ignore them as possible avenues for our students to learn our language while attending state-run schools, although the apparent thinking within our community leadership is still to have our schools all together independent from the schools run by the governments of our host counties. Of course that would have been the idle situation but we cannot ignore anymore the reality that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so and is bound to be more challenging.

During the 2011/2012 scholastic year, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the West Coast allocated $800,000 to the Armenian schools in its jurisdiction. The money was raised during Catholicos Aram I’s pontifical visit to the West Coast U.S.A. During his pontifical visit Catholicos Aram I stated over and over again that no Armenian student should stay away from Armenian school because of lack of money. The call is noble, of course, yet there is the economic reality that plagues our communities that stands on the way to live by that noble call. Whether infusing such sums of money would have been possible in the coming years as well remained a moot question. Eight years have come and gone by since that visit, I have yet to hear such an infusion of money as two schools closed in Los Angeles.

There was a time when the Armenian schools in the Diaspora had their pay scale. Not anylonger, at least not in the United States. The teachers in Armenians schools rightfully expect to be paid commensurate to their education and on par with the teachers in public schools, and other expenses are necessitating budgets in the Armenian schools that are becoming more difficult to meet. 

Hence comes Gabriel Injejikian's call - the pioneer of the Armenian day schools in the U.S. - for Armenian educators led charter schools in the U.S.

I do not regard Gabriel Injejikian's call to have charter schools in Los Angeles as a back door to teach Armenian. I regard it as a genuine call for Armenian-American educators to bring their expertise in running schools to better the state of education wherever they are, in particular in Los Angeles, by making better use of the funds the state provides towards educating students and in the process offer Armenian language classes to students interested in learning the language. They may not necessarily be Armenians. It is estimated that there are some 60,000 Armenian school age students in greater Los Angeles but less than 10%  attend Armenian schools. Let us be mindful that the parents of Armenian school-age children pay mandatory taxes towards public education and yet they do not make use of their taxes it if they send their children to private Armenian schools whose cost is increasing year after year.

On June 6, 2011, in an article by Stephen Saul in the "New York Times, titled “Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grows in Texas” noted that “followers of Fethullah Gulen, a charismatic Turkish preacher of a moderate brand of Islam whose devotees have built a worldwide religious, social and nationalistic movement in his name. Gulen followers have been involved in starting similar schools around the country — there are about 120 in all, mostly in urban centers in 25 states, one of the largest collections of charter schools in America.” 

 I cite this as an example that community-wide supported Charter schools is a possibility. I do not advocate of course closing the Armenian day schools., which are private and hence financially burden the parents well beyond the mandatory tax they pay.

Charter schools advocated by Gabriel Injejikian would run with the expertise of Armenian-Americans who have a long tradition of running exemplary schools and have an innate appreciation of education and are driven by a genuine mission to improve the state of education of the upcoming generation. These values can be put in use to improve public education in the U.S while also teaching Armenian for those interested, along with Spanish, for example, as is done in the Ararat Charter School, in Los Angeles.

Most charter schools fail, I am told, after a few years of operation because they cannot maintain the education standard expected of them. The continuity of a charter school is not assured if the students attending it do not meet those standards as attested by the mandated tests. Surely the government funds the schools with an expectation of excellence. The Alex and Marie Manougian School in Southfield, Michigan has been chartered since 1996 and is thus the longest-running charter school administered by the Armenian community. It is also a testament of how well the Armenian community has run a charter school and help school age children of the many nationalities that have made the United States of America their own. The school’s program mandates Armenian as part of the school’s curriculum.

Each community will have to address the issue of the Armenian schools in the Diaspora. In the United States, the pioneer of the Armenian day schools Gabriel Injejikianhad already proposed to light a candle instead of crying foul over the unfolding reality. The candle he proposed was Charter Schools and he spearheaded it with the founding of Ararat Charter School in Los Angeles.

Gabriel Injejikian, the pioneer of the Armenian schools in America has brought forth a daring and bold idea. His call needs due attention. The answer he said is the charter school (http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-answer-is-charter-school.html )

The answer is Charter School

 Gabriel Injejikian  

On April 5, 2024, the Hamazkayin Eastern U.S.A. Region Executive held a zoom conference and presented the challenges of the schools the Hamazkayin Central Executive in Lebanon, administers in Lebanon, Marseille, Paris and Sydney. Other than the one in Lebanon, Melanton and Haig Arslanian Jemaran, the remaining three Hamazkayin affiliated schools receive funding from the state. Jemaran in Lebanon does not receive state funding not out of choice but because of the chaotic state in Lebanon and absence of a coherently functioning government. The Armenian school in the Diaspora receiving state assistance is a new trend. It presents a new challenge to the school’s Armenian administration but also opens new possibilities. In the U.S. that will be the Charter Schools. Gabriel Injejikian, the pioneer of the Armenian schools in the U.S. was a proponent for Charter Schools. On December 31, 2011 Gabriel Injejikiian posted an article he wrote in Asbarez Daily’s New Year special issue. He titled the article “The Answer is Charter Schools.” I translated his article. Gabriel read and approved my translation. On January 8, 2012 I posted my translation of Gabriel Injejikian’s said article in Keghart.com. Given the emerging trend, I thought it would be timely to have the article reproduced and posted again in my blog. Vahe H Apelian

 

“What are Charter Schools and why do I think that they provide a golden opportunity to teach Armenian to the Armenian American students?

The laws governing Charter Schools in California were enacted in 1991. They came into effect because many public schools were not living up to the educational standards expected of them as evidenced by the poor academic performance in national achievement tests. Charter Schools come about in two ways. An existing public school may be converted to a Charter School, or an individual or an organization may start a Charter School.

The Charter Schools are semi-independent public schools. These schools are expected to outperform the public schools within their designated area as evidenced by the higher academic performance of their students on national achievement tests. If they succeed in their mission, their permit is renewed every five years. If they do not succeed, their permit is revoked.

Charter Schools must offer the students the state’s mandated curriculum. Besides the mandated curriculum they may offer students additional subjects such as foreign languages, longer school days or academic year. Charter Schools are not permitted to teach religion. They do not have the right to refuse a student. In the event the number of students applying is more than the seats available, then the students will be chosen by lottery.

The state funds Charter Schools at the same rate as the public schools according to the number of the students enrolled. Charter Schools are not permitted to require parents to pay tuition. However, parents are permitted to make donations for the betterment of the school.

Why do I think that Charter Schools present a golden opportunity to teach Armenian language and culture to a much larger number of Armenian American students?

There was no Armenian School in the United States until1964 when thanks to the overwhelming encouragement and support by the Armenians in Lebanon “Ferrahian” school was started in Encino, California with 12 students. During the following 25 years, 25 Armenian schools were established, enrolling around 6000 students.

The Armenian community in Los Angeles more than doubled during the last two decades during which time the only new Armenian School that was founded is the AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena in 2006 (see the note below). However, in spite of more than doubling of the Armenian Americans, the number of the students attending Armenian schools has noticeably declined.

Presently there are approximately 60,000 Armenian American students in California. Less than ten percent (10%) attend regular private and one-day Armenian schools. One of the most important causes for this sad state is definitely the cost of the tuition.

Times have changed. There was a time when the American public schools advocated the students from immigrant parents to shed away their culture and accept and adapt to the American culture. Nowadays the prevailing mentality is that we need to retain our ethnic language and culture to enrich the American culture.

The first Charter School in California to teach Armenian is the Ararat Charter School (see WWW. AraratCharterSchool.com.) It is situated in Van Nuys. The school was established two years ago by a group of self-appointed pioneer educators. It started with 120 students from kindergarten to third grade. This year the number of the students increased to 257 and we added a fourth grade. To accommodate the growing number of students we established three more kindergarten classes as well. We had 140 applicants for the 66 available seats. To our great regret, we had to turn down those who were not lucky enough to have their names drawn in the lottery.

Ararat Charter School is the only Charter School in Los Angeles that teaches Armenian and Spanish languages and cultures to every student starting with kindergarten. Ninety-Five percent (95%) of its students are ethnic Armenians. The only Armenian School in Michigan, Alex and Marie Manougian High School in Southfield, was chartered in 1995 and also teaches the Armenian language as an inherent part of its curriculum.

Let us preserve and improve the excellent private Armenian schools we have established over the past decades. Let us also have more of these semi-independent Charter Schools as well.

Honestly, I hope that it will not take additional decades for our community leaders to start establishing Charter Schools to teach Armenian language and culture to the ninety percent (90%) of the ethnic Armenian students who do not or more importantly cannot afford to attend the private Armenian schools.

For further details, you may contact me at 818-885-5232. I will gladly respond to your questions.” 

***

Note:  AGBU Vatche & Tamar Manoukian High School was a private Armenian-American school located in Pasadena, California, United States, which opened its doors in September 2006 and closed in 2020. The campus is owned and operated by the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the largest Armenian philanthropic organization in the diaspora that also sponsors 17 Armenian day schools around the world. The school was administratively and academically affiliated with AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, a college preparatory high school in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. The school met high school requirements, which included a science lab, library, indoor gym, computer lab, assembly hall, and cafeteria.

 

The fallacy

Vahe H Apelian

It is said and rehashed over and over again and was amply stated again by Harut Sassounian in his latest editorial that “while Armenians are a wonderful people, they have had a major shortcoming during their entire history which is the lack of skill in diplomacy.”

If that is true, what is the point of rehashing it over and over again and editorializing against the PM Nikol Pashinyan? Surely, the next person who is going to assume the role of a diplomat and occupy the prime minister’s seat will come from the wonderful Armenian people who…..read the above quote in italics.

I have another quote and my quote is from no other than the extraordinary George Carlin. This is what he said. After reading it, I ask the reader to read it again but substitute Armenian/s any time the reader comes across the word American/s, and substitute Armenia any time the reader comes across the term America.

George Carlin’s quote:

““Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. F*ck Hope.”

Paraphrasing Carlin maybe it’s the Armenian public that sucks and  f*ck Armenia’s future.

A person not being a good politician can be ascribed to heredity. But not conducting good politics, I believe is a matter of culture. In the case of the former, there cannot be much that can be done. Nature has made the person that way. But in the latter case, it is a matter of culture. I ascribe that in our case, it is the latter and not the former and for all indications it is in a , if not maturing but growing process.

I, on the other hand, believe that Armenians make astute politicians, each and every one them. Had they not been astute politicians in their daily lives, they would not have survived for centuries under the brutal Ottoman rule, let alone thrive. If you have any doubt to what I say, read the first impression of the first American missionary among the Armenians Rev. William Goodell. This is what he said: “The Armenians were an enterprising people, and the great wealth of the bankers, who were nearly all Armenians, made them very influential throughout the empire, even with the Turkish officials, who were largely dependent upon them for pecuniary advances and assistance. The various connections of this people with different parts of the country, and the influence which they were in a position to exert,……..”. (see the link below).

I do not want to go into a lengthy discourse, because I simply blog and do not editorialize or analyze. I see Armenia undergoing labor pains and the object of their labor is to give birth to a firmly established democratic process. On may 8, 2018, the people of Armenia brought about a peaceful, bloodless revolutionary change, unique in the annals of revolutions in any country. They termed it a Velvet Revolution. The reverberations of that change are still on going and will go on because Armenia, like any other democratic country, is pursuing a race without a finish line. In fact, it will forfeit its race if it ever claims it reached its finish line. 

In my estimation, there is small but a vocal segment of the Armenians who offer no other alternative but oppose the change the people of Armenia brought about. But the citizens of Armenia have threaded along and alone and I support them.

Note:

Rev. William Goodell among the Armenians: http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2017/04/goodell-among-armenians.html

 

 

In praise of: cucumber - Վարունգ – خيار - Concombre - pepino

I copied this from a posting on a friend’s Facebook page. It is all about cucumbers - varounk (Armenian), khyar (Arabic), concobre (French), pepino (Spanish). Is cucumber  a fruit or a vegetable? According to Wikipedia it’s both. Iquote: “It's widely cultivated and makes a nutritious addition to any diet. Cucumber is usually considered a vegetable because of how it's used in the culinary world. However, as it grows from flowers and contains seeds, it's botanically a fruit.” After reading all the benefits a cucumber offers, you really care not whether it's vegetable or a fruit and you may cease making it a butt of your jokes. Vahe H Apelian

 

1.   Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2.     Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3.   Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4.      Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5.      Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6.      Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7.   Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8.      Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9.      Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10.    Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and  place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11.    Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12.    Looking for a 'green' way to clean your taps, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13.    Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems.

Lamartine and his poem «Le Lac”

After having exhaustively presented Felix Arvers' famous love of a married woman whose identity remained a mystery and puzzled poets and fired their imagination for decades to come, Armenag Yeghiayan presented  to his readers another famous French poet's - Alfonse de Lamartine, «Le Lac» poem and in a footnote drew a comparison between Felix Arvers' lightening love and to Apegha, a hero of Levon Shant's «Ancient Gods» (Հին Աստոաւծներ), who rescued Seda from the stormy weather of Lake Sevan and carried her to the island and from that moment on fell madly in love with her.  Attached is my translation of the introduction. Բնագիրը կցուած է։

 

A contemporary of Felix Arvers and in many ways similarly fated, we also have another French romantic poet, Alphonse de Lamartine and his poem "The Lake" (Le Lac), his literary masterpiece.

Time has taken away a lot from Lamartine's former glory, but his poem «Le Luc», which is a testimony of an unhappy love, remained unscathed.

Lamartine was born in 1790 in the province of Bourgogne, which is adjacent to Paris and extends towards the Mediteranean, in the Milly community there, where his ancesteral home remains preserved to this day. It is there that Lamartine spent the first decades of his well-to-do and peaceful life.                                                                      

In 1816 he visited the town Aix-les-Bains in in south-west of France, known for its rich mineral water and where Frances largest lake, Lac du Bourget, is located. Lamartine would visit it eight times, the last time in 1830. During his first visit he met a married woman six years older than him  who had also come there to recuperate in its mineral water and was staying in the same inn, in an adjacent room to his. Her name was Julie Charles

It so happened that one stormy day Lamartine rescused Julie from drowning in the lake Lac du Bourget, because the boat she was on had capsized. In his memory-book recorded the following: «The other day I rescued a young woman from sure drowning. Today she fills my days.» :

The affection was mutual.

From there one, throughout their stay at the lake, they remained unseperable and their relationship continued in Paris. 

The following year, as agreed, Lamartine returned to Aix-les-Bains,  where he stayed from August 21 to September 17. But throughout his stay, Julie being sick,  could not join him.  During this peiod Lamartine wrote his  «Le Lac» poem, where he referred to the heroine by the name Elvire, who passed away after two months on December 18, 1817 at the age of 33. After her death she remained Lamartine's inspiration throughout his life.

--«Lamartine became Lamartine only after knowing Julie», wrote one of Lamartine's biographer academician ՝ René Doumic , (a member of the French Academy).

Subsequently Lamartine married an English woman named Elisa. They had a daugher they name Julie who passed away at young age. Along with being a writer, Lamartine tumultous political life.  

He pased away in 1869.

In 1820 he published his first book titled՝ «Méditations poétiques» - «Poetic Meditations» that is regarded the cornerstone of French romantic poetry and is considered the crowning achievement of Lamartine's literary works and among them the poem «Le Lac» remains its jewel. 

***

Lac du Bourget, also locally known as Lac Gris or Lac d'Aix, is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely within France, and either the largest or second largest after Lac de Grand-Lieu depending on season

Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages, Dans la nuit éternelle emportés sans retour, Ne pourrons-nous jamais sur l'océan des âges Jeter l'ancre un seul jour ? Ô lac ! l'année à peine a fini sa carrière, Et près des flots chéris qu'elle devait revoir, Regarde ! je viens seul m'asseoir sur cette pierre Où tu la vis s'asseoir ! Tu mugissais ainsi sous ces roches profondes ; Ainsi tu te brisais sur leurs flancs déchirés ; Ainsi le vent jetait l'écume de tes ondes Sur ses pieds adorés. Un soir, t'en souvient-il ? nous voguions en silence ; On n'entendait au loin, sur l'onde et sous les cieux, Que le bruit des rameurs qui frappaient en cadence Tes flots harmonieux. Tout à coup des accents inconnus à la terre Du rivage charmé frappèrent les échos, Le flot fut attentif, et la voix qui m'est chère Laissa tomber ces mots : « Ô temps, suspends ton vol ! et vous, heures propices, Suspendez votre cours ! Laissez-nous savourer les rapides délices Des plus beaux de nos jours ! « Assez de malheureux ici-bas vous implorent ; Coulez, coulez pour eux ; Prenez avec leurs jours les soins qui les dévorent ; Oubliez les heureux. « Mais je demande en vain quelques moments encore, Le temps m'échappe et fuit ; Je dis à cette nuit : «Sois plus lente» ; et l'aurore Va dissiper la nuit. « Aimons donc, aimons donc ! de l'heure fugitive, Hâtons-nous, jouissons ! L'homme n'a point de port, le temps n'a point de rive ; Il coule, et nous passons !». «Temps jaloux, se peut-il que ces moments d'ivresse, Où l'amour à longs flots nous verse le bonheur, S'envolent loin de nous de la même vitesse Que les jours de malheur ? «Hé quoi ! n'en pourrons-nous fixer au moins la trace ? Quoi ! passés pour jamais ? quoi ! tout entiers perdus ? Ce temps qui les donna, ce temps qui les efface, Ne nous les rendra plus ? «Éternité, néant, passé, sombres abîmes, Que faites-vous des jours que vous engloutissez ? Parlez : nous rendrez-vous ces extases sublimes Que vous nous ravissez ? «Ô lac ! rochers muets ! grottes ! forêt obscure ! Vous que le temps épargne ou qu'il peut rajeunir, Gardez de cette nuit, gardez, belle nature, Au moins le souvenir ! «Qu'il soit dans ton repos, qu'il soit dans tes orages, Beau lac, et dans l'aspect de tes riants coteaux, Et dans ces noirs sapins, et dans ces rocs sauvages Qui pendent sur tes eaux ! «Qu'il soit dans le zéphyr qui frémit et qui passe, Dans les bruits de tes bords par tes bords répétés, Dans l'astre au front d'argent qui blanchit ta surface De ses molles clartés ! «Que le vent qui gémit, le roseau qui soupire, Que les parfums légers de ton air embaumé, Que tout ce qu'on entend, l'on voit et l'on respire, Tout dise :  “Ils ont aimé !’’».  ==================                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ***In another poem from the same collection, he wrote: «centuries will pass over your remains Anvers and you will live forever.» :

So driven onward to new shores forever, Into the night eternal swept away, Upon the sea of time can we not ever Drop anchor for one day? O Lake! Scarce has a single year coursed past. To waves that she was meant to see again, I come alone to sit upon this stone You saw her sit on then. You lowed just so below those plunging cliffs. Just so you broke about their riven flanks. Just so the wind flung your spray forth to wash Her feet which graced your banks. Recall the evening we sailed out in silence? On waves beneath the skies, afar and wide, Naught but the rowers’ rhythmic oars we heard Stroking your tuneful tide. Then of a sudden tones untold on earth, Made echoes ring from your enchanted shore. The tide attended; and I heard these words From the voice dear to me: O time, suspend thy flight ! and you, propitious  hours, Suspend your  pursue! Let us enjoy the transient delight That fills our fairest day. «Unhappy crowds cry out to you in prayers. Flow, Time, and set them free. Carry  off whit their days their worry and  sorrow! But forget the happy be. «In vain I pray the hours to linger on, And Time slips into flight. I tell this night: “Be slower!” and the dawn Undoes the raveled night. «Let’s love, then! Love, and feel while feel we can The moment on its run. Man does not have a port, time does not have a shore,  It flows, and we go on. «Covetous Time! Our mighty drunken moments When love pours forth huge floods of happiness; Can it be true that they depart no faster Than days of wretchedness? «Why can we not keep some trace at the least? Gone wholly? Lost forever in the black? Will Time that gave them, Time that now elides them Never once bring them back? «Eternity, naught, past, dark gulfs: what do You do with days of ours which you devour? Speak! Shall you bring back those sublime ecstasies? Return the raptured hour? «O Lake, caves, silent cliffs and darkling wood, Whom Time has spared or can restore to light, Beautiful Nature, let there live at least The memory of that night: «Let it be in your stills and in your storms, Fair Lake, in your cavorting sloping sides, In the black pine trees, in the savage rocks That hang above your tides; «Let it be in the breeze that stirs and passes, In sounds resounding shore to shore each night, In the star’s silver countenance that glances Your surface with soft light. «Let the deep keening winds, the sighing reeds, Let the light balm you blow through cliff and grove, Let all that is beheld or heard or breathed, All say: “They did love !”».   ===================                                          ***Mais les siècles auront passé sur ta   poussière, Elvire, et tu vivras toujours !

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Արմենակ Եղիայեան

 

Բնագիրը՝

 

Առվերին ժամանակակից եւ զանազան առումներով անոր բախտակից՝ կը գտնենք ֆրանսացի  երկրորդ քնարերգակ բանաստեղծ մըն ալ,  որ Ալֆոնս դը Լամարթինն է իր «Լիճը» բանաստեղծութեամբ, որ կը հանդիսանայ  անոր գլուխ-գործոցը:

Ժամանակը շատ բան խլեց անոր երբեմնի փառքէն, որմէ անվթար մնաց այս մէկը, որ դժբախտ սիրոյ մը վկայութիւնն է:

                                                             *   *   *

Լամարթին ծնած է 1790-ին, Փարիզի կից դէպի Միջերկրականը տարածուող Bourgogne նահանգի Milly համայնքին մէջ, ուր մինչեւ հիմա կը պահպանուի անոր հօրենական տունը, ուր եւ անցուցած է ան բարեկեցիկ  կեանքի մը առաջին  խաղաղ տասնամեակները:                                                                           Լամարթին

1816-ին կը մեկնի Ֆրանսայի հարաւ-արեւելքը՝ հանքային ջուրերով հարուստ Aix-les-Bains քաղաքը, ուր եւ կը գտնուի Ֆրանսայի մեծագոյն լիճը՝ Lac de Bourget-ն: 

Լամարթին այստեղ պիտի  վերադառնար ութ անգամ. վերջինը՝   1830-ին:

Առաջին կեցութեան իսկ ան կը ծանօթանայ իր կարգին բուժում գտնելու  համար այնտեղ եկած եւ իրմէ վեց տարի մեծ ու ամուսնացեալ  կնոջ մը՝ Julie Charles-ին. անոնք իջեւանած էին նոյն պանդոկի երկու պատկից սենեակներուն մէջ:

Կը պատահի, որ Ժիւլի Պուրժէի լիճին մէջ   եւ փոթորիկի մը հետեւանքով ունենայ նաւաբեկում մը, եւ Լամարթին  զայն գրկած  փրկէ  ստոյգ խեղդամահութենէ, եւ քիչ անց գրէ իր յուշատետրին  մէջ. «Առջի օր փրկեցի մանկամարդ կին մը, որ կը խեղդուէր, այսօր ան կը լեցնէ օրերս» :

Համակրանքը փոխադարձ էր:

Այնուհետեւ Պուրժէ կեցութեան ամբողջ տեւողութեան անոնք անբաժան են՝ քիչ անց  Փարիզի մէջ շարունակելու համար իրենց տեսակցութիւնները: 

Յաջորդ տարի Լամարթին   ժամադրուած  կը վերադառնայ  Aix-les-Bains, ուր կը մնայ  21 օգոտստոսէն մինչեւ 17 սեպտեմբեր 1817, սակայն այս ամբողջ միջոցին Ժիւլի, շատ հիւանդ ըլլալուն, չի կրնար միանալ իրեն: Իր այս կեցութեան ընթացքին է, որ Լամարթին կը գրէ «Լիճը»՝  անուանափոխելով անոր հերոսուհին ու զայն կոչելով Elvire  ծածկանունով, որ կը մահանայ երկու ամիս ետք՝ 18 դեկտեմբեր 1817-ին, 33 տարեկանին,  յետ մահու դառնալով Լամարթինի  ողջ կեանքի գլխաւոր ներշնչարանը:

--«Լամարթինը Ժիւլին ճանչնալէ ետք միայն Լամարթին դարձաւ»,-- պիտի ըսէր իր կենսագիրներէն   ակադեմական մը՝ René Doumic :

Հետագային Լամարթին ամուսնացաւ Էլիզա անունով  անգլուհիի մը հետ, ունեցաւ վաղամեռիկ աղջիկ մը, որուն տուաւ Ժիւլիա անունը: Ան գրականին կողքին ունեցաւ քաղաքական շատ փոթորկալից կեանք մը եւս՝ վերիվայրումներով յատկանշուած: 

Մեռաւ 1869-ին:

1820-ին ան հրատարակեց իր առաջին գիրքը՝ «Méditations poétiques» “Բանաստեղծական խոկեր”, որ անկիւնադարձ մը պիտի հանդիսանար ֆրանսական քնարերգութեան մէջ. ան պիտի ըլլար նաեւ Լամարթինի հարուստ գրականութեան թագն ու պսակը, իսկ «Լիճը» պիտի կազմէր այդ թագը զարդարող գոհարը: