My Mother’s Armenian Manual Typewriter

Vahe H. Apelian

An Armenian manual typewriter

My mother was born and raised in Keurkune, Kessab in Syria and taught Armenian language and literature during her entire productive life in Syria, Lebanon and then in the U.S. She left behind hundreds of beautifully handwritten pages. On unlined blank sheets of paper, she wrote neatly and on a straight line, line after line, hundreds of pages. She had a beautiful handwriting. At least, I know of no other whose natural effortless Armenian handwriting is as beautiful as hers was. She was also endowed with an uncanny ability for committing poems by heart much like a recording. She loved Armenian poetry and had a habit of writing them down for her enjoyment. She also loved and prepared group recitations, Khmpayin Asmoung in Armenian, for her students to recite. Such group recitations were, as I am not sure if they still are, time-honored traditions at the graduation ceremonies from Armenian schools.  I invite interested readers to read my blog about group recitation (see note)

Along with her handwritten papers, she left the following hand written instruction. 

-                Do not treat my handwritten notes ungently.

-                Keep my albums in a corner.  Do not throw them away. At times you look for something and cannot find them.

-                Love, learn and speak the Armenian language. That is a blessing and a sacredness.”

The instructions my mother left behind.

Surely it leaves me with a great burden as her only surviving child. A year ago, I had part of her handwritten group recitations assembled and published as 260 pages long, 8”x11” size book, titling it “Group Recitations” (Read the link below if interested).. I am in the process of assembling the rest of her group recitations as the second volume of a sequel.

Her handwriting reminded of the following.

Decades ago in Lebanon, my mother purchased an Armenian font manual typewriter. It was not an on the spur of the moment purchase. Armenian font manual typewriters were fabricated upon request. It was an expensive proposition, especially for a teacher in Armenian schools. It might have taken her a year maybe to set aside enough funds to buy an Armenian manual typewriter. She knew how to type on a regular typewriter. She committed herself learning to type on the Armenian font typewriter. But I do not think she ended typing a letter on it. She did not like the fonts. She stored the typewriter never to use it again.

Some time ago I found in her papers a typewritten report by the late Rev. Aram Hadidian, on the founding of the one-time Sin El Fil Armenian Evangelical School. The fonts indeed look very dull. There is no appeal whatsoever. It is made to be functional and that’s all.  The technology or the mindset may not have been there to impart to the fonts appeal along with their functionality. (link: https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2017/08/blog-post.html)

An example of the fonts on Armenian manual typewriter 

I was also reminded of a movie about Steve Jobs. In a dramatized scene Steve Jobs fired one of their best programmers because he questioned the need to devote time and effort to have different scripts on the McIntosh computer when they were facing so many challenges to overcome; but Steve Jobs was adamant. He attributed his appreciation of the importance of having different appealing calligraphy on the McIntosh to his attending a calligraphy class during his short stay in college.

By the time the computers became available loaded with beautiful Armenian fonts, my mother was too much set in her ways to ever consider learning word processing. She remained oblivious of the beautiful fonts out there. She resorted to the only way she knew, handwriting.

An example of mother's group recitation handwriting

As to the Armenian font manual typewriter, it was shipped along with other household items from Lebanon as the family moved in, one by one, and settled in the U.S.  Sometime ago I donated it to the Armenian Library and Museum of America, in Watertown, MA. The original ribbon was still on it. I typed a line on a page indicating that this typewriter is being gifted to the Armenian museum and had her Armenian manual typewriter shipped there.

Note: Group recitation - Խմբային Ասմունք։

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2017/10/tribute-to-art-khmpayin-asmoungner.html

Tribute To An Art: Khmpayin Asmoungner

The attached is the preface of my mother's book titled  "Group Recitations and Live Enactments" in Armenian.

Tribute To An Art: Khmpayin Asmoungner

As I write the Foreword in our house in Loveland, OH; my mother Zvart Apelian is thousands of miles away in the Ararat Nursing Facility in Mission Hills, California. She has made the facility her last residence since the past three years although she does not seem to know it. The once dynamic person has become silent and disengaged. Dementia, to avoid the other dreaded word, has ravaged her once beautiful mind and deprived her of memory and recognition. In September 2014 I had her 90^th birthday celebrated at the monthly social the facility’s Ladies’ Guild hosts on the first Tuesday of every month.  She was there at the table but she was not with us. She was elsewhere, somewhere apparently the best of the human mind and intention cannot reach her any longer. Ironically a few years earlier when we both had attended the same function, on the spur of the moment she wanted to recite. She was invited to the podium. She captivated and mesmerized the audience with her recitation.

I liken my mother’s state to a broken record and recorder, for lack of a better analogy. Her mind once recorded and stored countless poems she had taught her students. Anywhere, on the spur of moment, she could retrieve any one of them upon request and recite them. She loved poetry and recited them movingly. To distract her from her continued mourning of her younger son’s, my brother’s death, I asked her several months after his funeral if she would like to recite and let me record. She agreed. We went to a local park and I started recording as she recited from memory one poem after another. After an hour or so I stopped recording. I had run out of tape but she could continue on reciting.

Fortunately, she put her unusual talent to good use. Throughout her teaching career that spanned five decades, she directed group recitations and staged live presentations. The terms as such do not convey the sentiments their Armenian terms, Khmpayin Asmounk and Gentany Badger, respectively do. The former is a responsive recitation over a theme where soloists recite followed by the group responding or affirming in unison to what the person recited. The latter - Gentany Badger - is a live reenactment and thus the performers are attired accordingly and voice from a prepared text around a theme. Both are cherished traditions in Armenian schools although they seem to be dying nowadays. At one time no graduation ceremony would take place without one of them being performed on the stage.

Group recitation and live enactment texts have not been collected in books. After she retired from teaching she made her mission to record the texts of the group recitations and live reenactments she had taught her students and presented on stage. Their texts filled hundreds of handwritten pages. She had them arranged in several volumes. Each volume is titled after a theme reflected in the texts of the recorded group recitations in that volume. This book is a reproduction of two of these volumes. One is simply titled  Group Recitations (Khmpayin Asmounkner). The other is both group recitations and live enactment in memory of Vartanants.

Usually, the person who directed the group recitation or the live reenactment would have been the person who arranged the text around the theme by quoting from authors or by arranging an author’s poetry or prose in such a manner that it became a responsive group recitation or live enactment. She put together most of the group recitations she taught her students. In one such recitation, she cites having quoted from seven well-known authors. In another, she cites having quoted from eight authors. Naturally, it is not uncommon that the person who directed the recitation could also have presented an arrangement made by another person. In both cases, the person must have a good knowledge of the Armenian literature and the literary works of authors to put together such an arrangement around a theme and present it on stage.

Staging group recitation and or live enactment celebrating or commemorating an important Armenian historical date, such as the Battle of Avarayr the Armenians waged in 451 in defense of their right to worship their Christian religion or about the Armenian Genocide and others themes, cemented the sentimental bonds between the school and the community. It also became an avenue to delight the parents seeing their sons and daughters on the stage. The group reciting could number from a few students to many more. My mother claimed that she was always mindful to have many students in the group and many soloists taking part reciting thus giving an opportunity for many parents to see their children perform on the stage. It should be noted that group recitation did not require any elaborate stage preparation in having a group of students reciting in front of an audience made up mostly of their parents and relatives.

Group recitation and live enactment served a pedagogical purpose as well. Their staging helped train students express themselves publically.

My mother never warmed up to computers. She did not even attempt to sit in front of a monitor and have someone explain to her that computers can also be used as a typewriter of sorts she knew using. Many years ago she ordered a manual typewriter with Armenian fonts. They were not commonly available then and were made by special order. She never warmed up to it also. She found the fonts from the typewriter dull and unappealing. Had she warmed up to computers she could have learned that nowadays she would have a choice for different types of fonts and sizes. Having long given up typewriter she resorted to handwriting the group recitations and the live enactments in the several volumes that added up to hundreds of pages. She had a good handwriting. As I view the pages or read the recitations I remain at owe seeing her beautiful handwriting in straight lines over blank pages with the same consistency page after page. Her unusual memory became very helpful to her. Most of the group recitations and live enactments in these handwritten volumes were written from memory. Copying them from a source while making sure that they were copied correctly would have made her task exceedingly more difficult.

Why handwritten?

Finally, I might not be mistaken to say that she was the last of the Mohicans who practiced this art since she embarked on teaching as a young woman in Kessab, Syria and then in Beirut and in Bourj Hammoud in Lebanon and lastly in Los Angeles, California. The art seems to have died in Armenian schools, especially among the schools in the Western World. There is a good reason for it. The teacher and the students are not exempted from class to prepare a group recitation. A teacher had to make room during her lunch breaks and after school to have a group of willing students participate in the group recitation. That is what she did throughout those years. I am sure her uncanny ability to retain the recitation by heart helped her direct such presentations with relative ease. If a teacher were to hold the text and read from the text to train the group and subsequently continue on referring to text while hearing the students recite to correct their errors or remind them of the word or the sentence they might have forgotten would have made the task of training a group of students exceedingly difficult. In her case, she knew the group recitation by heart so it did not become difficult for her to correct a student, or remind the soloist or the group on that very spot of the word or the sentence they might have forgotten. I am sure she became a good example as well for the students to emulate. She claimed that having the group repeat the recitation over and over again is the key for successful stage presentation.

This book is meant to retain a glimpse of the art she practiced throughout her teaching career and to preserve her meticulous handwriting. Fewer and fewer of us nowadays in the Diaspora reads in Armenian, let alone writes in Armenian. Calligraphy in the caliber that was her norm has almost disappeared from our midst, as handwriting is becoming a thing of the past in this fast age of computers and word processing.

In the foreword of the volume reproduced within the cover of this book, she wrote about why she chose to handwrite instead of having the recitation typed. She also painstakingly noted that she does not want to think about the eventual fate of the volumes she prepared. The thought that they might be lost or ignored would grieve her immensely, she wrote. She ended the forward saying that she found this art nourishing her soul more than her nourishment for sustenance.

I want to believe that the publication of this volume would have put her concerns to rest.

Vahe H. Apelian

Loveland, OH

April, 2016

  

Armenian Evangelical Schools in Lebanon

By Dr. Zaven Messerlian
Translated and abridged by Dr. Vahe H. Apelian, OH, 12 June 2013
(Chanasser, Jan.-Feb., 2013)

Dr. Zaven Messerlian, a graduate of the American University of Beirut (BA ’59, MA ’63), is a historian, author, and principal of the Armenian Evangelical College in Beirut since 1967. He received an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Sciences of Armenia in Yerevan in 2003 for his contributions to modern Armenian history and education. In 2007 Archbishop Hovnan Derderian conferred upon him, by the order of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, the St. Sahag-St. Mesrob Medal.

Yeprem-Martha Philibosian College in Beirut

There are six functioning Armenian Evangelical schools in Lebanon. They were founded at different times since the Genocide of the Armenians.

The schools are:

• Armenian Evangelical Yeprem-Martha Philibosian College in Beirut. It was founded in 1923. It's the first post-Genocide secondary (high) school in the Diaspora.  The principal is Dr. Zaven Messerlian.
• Armenian Evangelical Central High School in Ashrafieh, a suburb of Beirut. Founded as an elementary school in 1922, it later became a secondary (high) school. The principal is Mrs. Maral Deyirmenjian.
• Armenian Evangelical Shamlian-Tatigian Secondary School in Bourj-Hamoud, Beirut. Initially (1930) an elementary school, it was elevated to secondary (high) school. The principal is Ms. Vartoug Balekjian.
• Armenian Evangelical Secondary School of Anjar. It was founded in 1930, after the exodus of the Armenians from Sanjak (of Alexandretta), as an elementary school and later became a secondary (high) school. The principal is Rev. Raffi Messerlian.
• Armenian Evangelical Peter and Elizabeth Torosian Junior High School in Amanos, Beirut. It was founded in 1951 as a kindergarten and later became middle school. The principal is Mrs Seta Karagoezian.
• Armenian Evangelical Gertmenian School in Nor-Hadjin, Beirut. It was founded in 1931 as an elementary school. Its principal is Mr. Sahag Dedeyan.

Central High School

All the schools are affiliated with their churches and are under the jurisdiction of the Union of The Armenian Evangelical Churches In Near East (UAECNE, The Union). The Union also oversees the Haigazian University that was founded in 1955 as a College and was elevated to University by a governmental decree in 1996. An Education Council operates under the jurisdiction of The Union.

Shamlian-Tatigian Secondary School

At each stage of their schooling--elementary, middle, high--students receive a diploma upon successful completion of the academic programs.

Secondary School of Anjar

The Armenian Evangelical schools in Lebanon were more numerous in the past. Due to the dwindling Armenian-Lebanese population as a result of demographic changes and civil wars (1958, 1975), their number shrank.

Peter and Elizabeth Torosian Junior High School

The following Armenian Evangelical School have ceased to exist:

• Armenian Evangelical School in Zahle, founded in 1922.
• Armenian Evangelical Co-Ed High School in Tripoli, founded in 1936.
• Armenian Evangelical School in the Nor-Adana neighborhood of Beirut, founded in 1936.
• Armenian Evangelical School in Shtaura, founded in 1938.
• Armenian Evangelical School in the Hayashen neighborhood of Beirut, founded in 1938.
• Armenian Evangelical Philibosian School in Sin el Fil (Beirut) founded in 1953.
• Armenian Evangelical School in Trad, Bourj-Hamoud founded in 1936 and closed in 2008,

Along with these schools, Genats High School, which also was affiliated with the Armenian Evangelical Community, was also closed. It was founded in 1937 in Dbayeh.

The mission statement of the Armenian Evangelical schools adopted during the 2001 Second Assembly of the UAECNE states: “Based on the mission and history of the Armenian Evangelical Church, the goal of the Armenian Evangelical School is to equip students with a quality Christian Armenian education, adhering to the governmental curriculum, in addition maintaining the orientation set by the Armenian Evangelical Education Council".

The mission has three components.

1.Academic Curriculum. The Armenian Evangelical Schools follow a liberal education program that aims to educate the student in entirety by fostering in the student critical thinking to successfully implement the government mandated academic requirements to achieve the best possible results. The Armenian Evangelical Schools implement current teaching methodologies to best educate their students for college or trade schools.

2.Armenian Identity. The Armenian Evangelical Schools impart to its students at each stage of their schooling cultural values rooted in the Armenian experience and teach them Armenian language, history, literature. The Armenian Evangelical Schools strive to foster in their students a balanced and inclusive Armenian awareness and a spirit of service to the nation.

3.Armenian Evangelical Heritage. The supreme goal of the Armenian Evangelical Schools is to help students know God through Jesus Christ. This is achieved by fostering in the schools an Armenian Evangelical spirit by offering the students morning services, teaching the Bible, attending Sunday church services and encouraging the students to participate in Armenian Evangelical youth fellowship. The teachers are expected to exemplify Christian conduct for their students to emulate them.

The Union trusts the implementation of the mission of the Armenian Evangelical Schools to the local school boards of trustees, principle and teachers to prepare the students to become responsible Christians, exemplary citizens and productive members of their communities.

The Armenian Evangelical schools have always served the Armenians in Lebanon without regard to their denominational and sectarian affiliations. They have always put due emphasis on the teaching of the Armenian language, history, literature along with the teaching of the Bible in Armenian. The schools have also implemented the government-mandated language, science and math requirements. From its first graduating class in 1927, the graduates of the Armenian Evangelical high schools have successfully continued their education at the American University of Beirut in various disciplines.

When Lebanon was under French mandate from 1923 to 1943, French was taught at the Armenian Evangelical schools along with Arabic. After the conclusion of the French mandate, the teaching of the Arabic language was emphasized along with English. The Armenian Evangelical schools successfully fulfill the Lebanese government academic requirements. There was a time when Armenian Evangelical high school students were accepted to the American University of Beirut through the recommendation of the principal. Nowadays, success in the Baccalaureate II exam is a must for admission.

Armenian and Christian education is not only imparted in the classrooms, but also through extra-curricular activities within the schools. The schools have Armenian, Bible, history, science and other clubs as well. The schools have their own publications such as:

“Sipan” by the Armenian Evangelical Yeprem-Martha Philibosian College.
“Shiraz” by the Armenian Evangelical Secondary School of Anjar.
“Arpi” by the Armenian Evangelical Central High School.
“Shogher” by the Armenian Evangelical Peter and Elizabeth Torosian School.

Almost all the Armenian Evangelical schools have student theater, choir, dance groups and athletic teams. The students speak Armenian during recess. Most of the services offered to the students in the sanctuaries are in Armenian. In short, a healthy Armenian atmosphere prevails at the Armenian Evangelical schools of Lebanon.

Source: Keghart.com.

A Glimpse of Armenian Schools in U.S.A

Vahe H. Apelian

Posted in Keghart.com on October 5, 2011

This past Saturday, on October 1, on the very first day of the month we traditionally celebrate Armenian culture, I finished reading an interesting and inspiring book titled “A Glimpse of the History of the Armenian American Schools”, “Ակնարկ Ամերիկահայ Վաըժարաններու Պատմոթեան” by Dr. Hrant Adjemian.

The soft-cover book is published in Los Angeles (2011). It is 331 pages long and is in Western Armenian. The publication of the book has been realized by the generosity of the Caloust Gulbenkian Foundation for which the author expresses his gratitude.

The book presents the evolution and the chronology of the founding of the Armenian schools in the United States of America. The author first presents a brief history of Armenian presence in the country and the structuring of the nascent community in Worcester, MA and subsequently across the Mainland onto the West Coast in California.

The author notes that it took decades from the establishment of the first Armenian Church in Worcester, MA - Church of Our Savior in 1891 -  to the founding of the first Armenian school in California in 1964. The author attributes the lag of time to the belief of the community that the church is the best guardian of our heritage hence the communities vested their energies into building churches. Along the way, the Armenian Americans enabled Armenian communities in the Middle East to found their own schools by rendering them substantial financial support while not daring to venture into establishing their own schools

Adjemian subsequently presents in detail the founding of the first Armenian school by Gabriel Injejikian, whom he calls “a saint of a daredevil”, “Սրբազան Խենթ”. Gabriel Injejikian was born in Kessab, Syria and educated in the United States. He founded the first Armenian school in Encino, California in September 1964 with 12 students. The School is named after Mr. Matheos Ferrahain who had willed a substantial sum of money towards the first Armenian school in America. Gabriel Injejikian acted as its founding principal for the next 25 years.

The Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian School gave impetus to the establishing other schools. The author subsequently presents a brief history of the founding of each of the following Armenian Schools in U.S.A., 16 of which are in California – 13 in greater Los Angeles, 1 in Orange County, 1 in Fresno and 1 in San Francisco. There is an Armenian School in Southfield (MI), in New Milford (NJ), in Philadelphia (PA), in Bayside, (NY), and in Boston (MA). See the listing of the schools, their founding dates and the closure dates of some of them:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Armenian_schools_in_the_United_States 

After briefing the history of the founding of the Armenian Schools, Adjemian presents thought-provoking assays on whether these schools are justifying their mission; on the challenges to pass the Armenian heritage to the next generation in America; on the state of the Armenian language in the Armenian Schools in U.S., and whether the Armenian Schools are preparing community leaders. The author also proposes ways and means to further the mission of the Armenian American Schools and make it more effective. 

Adjemian states that after 1986 no other Armenian School was established in US [Note: The AGBU founded the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena in 2006.]. Gabriel Injejikian took upon himself to venture again into uncharted territories and after planning for over a decade, Gabriel founded the Ararat Charter School in Los Angeles last year, 2010. The Ararat Charter School is the first of its kind established for public good by dedicated Armenian educators under the leadership of the youthful octogenarian, Gabriel Injejikian. It should be noted that the Alex & Marie Manougian Armenian School in Southfield, MI is also a charter school; however, it had started as private Armenian School but was chartered in 1995.

The book is well researched and fills an important historical void. The author lists the many sources he has consulted. He does not enumerate them but cites in the text. The book is also a tribute to the told and untold many who had faith in the mission of Armenian Schools in the United States of America as well and the vision to make them a reality. Going back to the future, I wonder if it did not look even “bleaker” in 1964 when Gabriel Injejikian founded the Ferrahian Armenian School that continues with vigor to this day.

The author, Hrant Adjemian, possesses impressive academic credentials and experience in Armenian Diaspora education. He is born in Beirut in 1941 and is a graduate of the Seminary of the Catholicoste of Cilicia. Subsequently, he taught and supervised Armenian Schools in Iran and established and conducted two choirs there. He received his B.A. from the Department of the Armenian Studies at the University of Isfahan.

In 1972 Hrant moved to France and enrolled in Sorbonne University while he taught in Armenian Schools and found and directed a choir in France as well. In 1977 he received his doctorate degree in Eastern Studies.

Dr. Hrant Adjemian moved to U.S. in 1988 and presently is a lecturer of Armenian language and literature at the University of La Verne. He is the author of 9 other books he lists inside the back cover of the book and contributes to various Armenian periodicals. He may be reached at 1107 Furman Place, Glenda, CA 91306.

The Answer is Charter Schools

Gabriel Injejikian

translated by Vahe H. Apelian

First posted in keghart.com on January 8, 2012. The original Armenian article was published in Asbarez' New Year special issue on Dec. 31, 2011. Gabriel Injejikian read and approved this translation. For Ararat Charter School check: WWW. AraratCharterSchool.com. 

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. 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. 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.

Armenian Schools: The Wobbling Pillars of Diaspora

Vahe H. Apelian

Armenian schools, one of the pillars of the trinity that sustains the Armenian Diaspora - the other two being the church and community centers - , is wobbling. Seismic events not only wobbled pillars but have also toppled them.

The Armenian Diaspora has experienced seismic tremors in the last few decades, mostly due to the unfolding of violent political events in the Middle East--the cradle of Armenian Diaspora--and due to the global economic recession and inflation that levy an added economic burden on the families to meet the tuition costs. We have no control over these matters. The best we can do is to adjust.

Pillars also wobble, if not topple because the ground on which they were entrenched ceases to be the solid support it was once. The analogy refers to our evolving perception of Armenian schools.

Two fundamental issues have always surfaced regarding an Armenian parents’ rightful concern about Armenian schools in North America or in the Middle East. The two concerns are the education their children would receive and the ease with which their children would be able to communicate in the larger society they live in. The latter being not only the mastery of the larger society’s language but also its conveyance or deliverance, that is to say, accent. A few years ago the late George Apelian, educator, author, pointed out to me that more affluent Armenian parents were sending their children to non-Armenian schools in Lebanon for this very reason.

Shamlian Tatigian Armenian Evangelical School, Nor Marash, Lebanon

Solid education and conveyance or deliverance of the larger society's language - accent - are valid concerns. Let's put them in perspective.

A few years ago I attended an annual conference which had to do with my specialization--pharmaceutics. It was attended by people from all over the world. To warm up his audience for a dry subject he was about to deliver, one of the lecturers asked: "What is the language of science?" He then answered it: "In the United States it's English spoken with an accent”. How true. In this interdependent world, it’s also Hindi, Mandarin or Arabic spoken with an accent as well. Those who have heard Vartan Gregorian have surely noted that he speaks with an accent. But that has not prevented him from reaching the uppermost echelon of society. No one really cares much about your accent as long as you offer what your interlocutor needs to forge a win-win relationship with you--be it personal or impersonal.

Capable teachers have transmitted solid education since antiquity in structurally much more modest environments and without the gadgetry modern schools enjoy. Computers are the outcome of such basic education and will never be able to replace it. Armenian schools historically have done well in imparting sold basic education to generations of students. I have yet to hear a friend or an acquaintance tell me, in hindsight, that he or she wished their parents had sent them to a non-Armenian school to better prepare them for life. On the contrary, the overwhelming majority, if not all the former students in Armenian schools I have met, fondly remember their times there. There is a reason for it and it has to do with EQ-- Emotional Quotient of the former students.

Shamlian Tatigian Armenian Evangelical School, Nor Marash, Lebanon

EQ is a measurement of a person's ability to monitor his or her emotions, to cope with pressures and demands, and to control his or her thoughts and actions. Most educators agree that EQ is as important as IQ (Intelligence Quotient).  There was a time when what students learned in a classroom stayed with them unchanged for a long time. Not anymore. Education is also learning to constantly learn new things. A student has to be emotionally well adjusted, socially well grounded and prepared to surmount this ceaseless onslaught of newer things.  Along with imparting solid and basic education, Armenian schools have been very successful in preparing their students to score higher in their EQ having given them a solid social foundation. Most of the students I knew in my formative years, while attending Armenian schools in Lebanon, have done well. In fact, very well whether they attended college or not.

I do not want to paint a picture of an all-too-perfect Armenian school that does not exist. I simply want to elaborate on the issues of accent and of basic education so that parents would have a broader perspective should they be considering to enroll their children in an Armenian school. Historically, Armenian schools have not failed us. On the contrary, they have successfully equipped their former students with basic knowledge and social anchor to venture out to make a living in this highly competitive world. After all it has always been and will always be, in a popular Armenian saying – "our hats, hon gats" (wherever there is bread, that's where you stop).

Pictures are from Zvart Apelian's Facebook Album

Virgina Apelian: American Armenian Alliance Against Domestic Abuse (AAAaDA)

AAAaDa

Vahe H. Apelian

AAAaDa is the acronym for American Armenian Alliance Against Domestic Abuse. The alliance was founded and is spearheaded by Mrs. Virginia Apelian after her fact-finding mission trip to Armenia regarding domestic violence in Armenia.

Virginia took the trip to Armenia from April 28 to May 9, 2017. Her trip was partially funded by the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) and a few members of the Armenian Presbyterian Church in Paramus, NJ. Virginia covered the bulk of the expenditure of her trip. Months before her departure she prepared teaching materials about mutual assertiveness, empowerment and sent them to Rev. Megerdich Melkonian who had them translated into Eastern Armenian for distribution. Upon landing in the Yerevan Zvartnots Airport, Maro Matossian, who is the Executive Director of the Women Support Center (WSC) greeted her and brought her to the hotel not far from their site. WSC is a non-governmental organization (NGO) and is established by the Tufenkian Foundation offering help and shelter to abused women.

Upon her return, Virginia issued a report about her trip and submitted it to AMAA and to the session of the Armenian Presbyterian Church (APC). In her report, she noted that during her stay she started working through WSC and met young Armenian men and women and gave them presentations for building mutual trust self-respect, esteem, and empowerment to raise the next generation with such values. She also cited the following statistics about domestic violence in Armenia stating that 20% occur in homes, 2% outside the home, 2% at unknown locations, 68% of the reported abuse women died in rural areas, while 37% of the reported abused women died in urban areas.

Regarding the age of the victims, Virginia reported the following age group statistics: 10% were 60-69 years old; 20%,  50-59 years old; 5%, between 40 to 49 years old; 35%, between 30-39 years old and 30%, between 20-29 years old. It is apparent that the majority of the victims of domestic violence are young women.

Driven by these statistics Virginia spearheaded the AAAaDa. The alliance is chaired by her and co-chaired by Dr. Garbis Der Yeghiayan. Dr. Vahe H. Apelian and Berjouhy Barsoumian are the vice-chairs of the alliance, which has forty members and is growing.

Having gained the trust and the support of the members of the Alliance, Virginia Apelian wrote letters to the following Armenian Diaspora organizations that do charitable and relief works in Armenia: AMAA, AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union), AAA (Armenian Assembly of America), ANCA (Armenian National Committee of America), ARS (Armenian Relief Society), ABA (Armenian Bar Association), ATG (Armenian Technology Group), Prelacy and Diocese urging them to petition the Armenian Government to pass laws that would hold the abusers accountable for their horrible acts. It appears that the Armenian Government does not yet have sufficient laws or lacks enforcement of existing laws against domestic violence or abuse to persecute perpetrators of such horrible acts.

In her October 6, 2017, report Anush Mkrtchian reported that (Azatutyun.am): “Violence against women had for decades been a taboo subject in the socially conservative and male-dominated Armenian society. It has been receiving growing publicity in recent years thanks to the activities of women’s rights groups backed by international human rights watchdogs.” She further noted that: “According to the Yerevan-based Women’s Resource Center, more than 50 Armenian women have been beaten to death and killed otherwise by their husbands or other relatives in the last five years. This trend shows no signs of decline,” said a representative of the group, Anahit Simonian. “I think this is a very serious number and this process [of a enacting a law] must not drag on further.”

Neglecting to address the domestic violence issue in Armenia has given rise to a new unsettling practice that will have a profound effect on the future of the Armenian demography, and that is selective abortion.

Anna Pujol-Mazzini quoted the following in her report (Thomson Reuters Foundation, News, Monday 9, October 2017): "My husband and my mother-in-law forced me to figure out if it was a boy or a girl. When they found out it was a girl, they made me have an abortion," said Aghalaryan, whose name was changed to avoid being stigmatized in her community.” The author further elaborated on the practice of selective abortion in Armenia stating that “For Armenian families, giving birth to at least one boy is a must, to continue the family line and carry forward the surname is a society where daughters often marry and move away.” She further noted that in 2012-2013, 114 boys were born in Armenia for every 100 girls, according to the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA)  - this is the third largest sex-selective abortion rate in the world after China and neighboring Azerbaijan”.

These deplorable situations are well known by the Diaspora Armenian charitable and relief organizations that assist the citizens of Armenia. They have mostly distanced themselves from the issue and have resisted taking a stand against the situation on the pretext that they do not want to come across interfering in the internal affairs of Armenia or in the domestic lives. In her drive to enlist the help of Armenians supporting her endeavor, Virginia encountered the same mindset. Many explicitly shied away from joining her Alliance on record noting the same.

Pressing the government to pass legislation against domestic abuse is taking hold in Armenia at the grassroots level.  In the same report, Anush Mkrtchian reported that: “Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian expressed serious concern over these figures on Thursday. “Violence is not the foundation of a real and strong Armenian family,” he told a news conference. Harutiunian said that the Armenian government intends to tackle the problem with a law drafted by the Justice Ministry last year. Both he and another senior ministry official, Gohar Hakobian, expressed hope that the bill will be debated and passed by the parliament soon.” The issue remains a hotly contested subject on the limits of such laws not to intrude in the sanctity of the family.

The Alliance that Virginia Apelian founded and has been spearheading is the first formal attempt by an Armenia Diaspora community to take a stand against these issues in Armenia and invite the other Armenian organizations to equally take a  stand against this deplorable situation and join force with like-minded in Armenia to have the Armenian government institute and enforce laws against these practices and engage in a country-wide education against such horrid practices. 

As to Virginia Matosian Apelian, she is a psychologist, experienced assertiveness trainer, lecturer and author of three books: “Musa Dagh Girl”, “Truly Beautiful Inside and Out” and “Aliens Celebrating Christmas”. With her bold approach to raising awareness of domestic violence in Armenia and selective abortion, and confronting these horrid practices head-on, Virginia has given credence to her extraction, as a bold and a daring descendent of the famed Musa Daghtsis.

Remembering Murad Meneshian

By Vahe H. Apelian

I recently read Knarik Meneshian’s very personal and superb tribute to her husband in the Armenian Weekly, “Murad’s Story.” Her story reminded me that I too have a story about Murad Meneshian to share with readers.

A few years ago, I was enjoying the Gulf of Mexico breeze on the third floor of my cousin’s three stories spacious town house on the Padre Island, when he handed me a book to read. My maternal cousin Jack Chelebian M.D. is a practicing psychiatrist in Corpus Christi but resides on Padre Island. He is an avid reader and would make a superb writer as well—should he engage in writing. Handing the book he let me know that it was a must read. The book was authored by Murad and was entitled Raffi, The Prophet from Payajuk.

After I returned home, I began reading the book. I remained fascinated and captivated by the author’s knowledge and his superb narration of the eminent novelist and of his times that in many ways were no less a product of Raffi’s pen, as the literary and the political soul of the 19th century Armenian renaissance.

Throughout my reading, I thought of Murad and said to myself, “this is a man I should befriend.” After reading the book, I wrote to him, noting the serendipitous turn of events that led me come across his book and my impressions. I also asked him to donate—on my behalf—a signed copy of his book to the Armenian Museum of America. I wanted a personalized copy of his book to grace the shelves of the library there.

Henceforth, we communicated on and off. At times, he would comment having read an article I wrote. It is through such correspondence that I came to find that he was born in Iraq. His parents were from Govdoon village of Sepastia.

This past October, I accompanied my wife attending a yearly weeklong nursing conference in Chicago. I contacted Murad beforehand and set a tentative date for a quiet evening with our families to confirm upon my arrival. I sent him an email the evening we checked in, alerting him of our presence and readiness to have dinner together during the week. I did not hear from him that evening.

The next day I received an email from his wife Knarik letting me know that yesterday Murad was taken to the hospital because of  sudden medical complications. Two days later, she let me know that Murad had passed away and that his viewing would take place at the Armenian Apostolic Church. Instead of a dinner, my wife and I drove to offer our condolences to Murad’s family.

There I saw Murad for the first time. His body lay in an open casket with a copy of his book placed next time. Having offered our condolences to Knarik, I felt the futility of staying any longer. Unexpectedly, life had run its course on Murad and the evening with him I had envisioned all along was not to take place. As we exited the sanctuary, we came across a young man in the hallway greeting those present. We figured he is related to Murad. We approached him and introduced ourselves. His immediate response was whether we are related to Daniel Apelian. My wife let him know that Taniel is our elder son. We could tell that we had caught the young man in utter surprise for it turned out that our son and Sevan have been good friends since their days at Camp Haiastan. There was no doubt that was the case for Sevan knew not only about Taniel and his wife Nicole, but also knew our names and about us as well in ways that only trusting good friends would share each other, that Taniel's mother Marie had served the U.S. Army as a reservist for a quarter of century and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. The moment became a bitter and a sweet reminder for me. Surely Murad would have been pleasantly surprised as well learning that well before our exchanges, our teenage sons, one from suburban Chicago and the other from suburban Cincinnati had met each other in Franklin, Mass. long, long before we did and had forged a lasting friendship. What was not meant to be ours will become our sons’ lifelong friendship.

It is not farfetched to imagine that Murad’s Sepastatsi parents named their son after the legendary freedom fighter Sepastatsi Murad. Little did his parents know that one day their son would also become a legend in his own right, for Murad’s book about the eminent novelist Raffi is a definitive work for all times.

Putting aside the countless hours Murad had spent reading and rereading Raffi’s novels over the past many decades, he spent seven years for the preparation of the book, a year of which he spent in Armenia. Murad was a chemist in pharmaceutical industry, Not only its scientists are expected to dot every “i” and cross every “t,” but are expected to verify whatever they commit on paper even if they were from a trustful source. Murad’s book about Raffi is the sum total of the sentimental and the scientific Murad meshed into one.

Seeing Murad’s body in the coffin reminded me of the epilogue of his book where he wrote about Raffi in his coffin, who “seemed to be asleep. He appeared as if his thoughts glowed on his finely furrowed wide forehead.”

There are few Armenian first names where we make a mental connection with the most prominent person bearing that name. Among the latter prominently stands out the name Raffi, a name coined by Raffi himself. Another name is Murad, immortalized by the legendary freedom fighter and a compatriot of the Meneshian family from Govdoon, Sepastatsi Murad.

May Raffi and Murad rest in peace.

 Note: The article is reproduced from Armenian Weekly, May 1, 2017.