Vahe H. Apelian
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| Ladies' Guild at Shamlian-Tatigian Armenian Evangelical School, Nor Marash, Bourj Hammoud |
Link: http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2017/07/blog-post_25.html
The linked article in Armenian was first posted on May 26, 2012, in Keghart.com. The article was written by my mother recalling her a quarter of century teaching in the Shamlian-Tatigian Armenian Evangelical School in the Nor Marash neighborhood of the overwhelmingly Armenian populated Bourj Hammoud. The article in Keghart.com was titled “Personalities (Դէմքեր), Events (Դէպքեր) and Memories (Յուշեր).
«Bourj Hamoud is a town and a municipality in Lebanon. It is located north-east of the capital city Beirut, in the Matn District of Lebanon and is considered a part of the greater Beirut.
The founding father of Bourj Hammoud and its municipality was the Armenian Catholic Father Paul Ariss (Arabic: الأب بول عريس; Armenian: Հայր Պօղոս Արիս) who was instrumental in laying the foundations of a bustling city and center for the Lebanese Armenian community and served a long time as its mayor. The municipality named a main street in Bourj Hammoud in his name in acknowledgement of his sizable contributions to the establishment and development of the city.” (Wikipedia).
The article Keghart.com published, which I reproduced in my blog, was in fact a segment from my mother’s recollections I stumbled upon in an album depicting life in Shamlian-Tatigian school pictured by the school's photographer Vramshabouh Dermirjian.
The following three comments were made in response to the article. I thought of archiving them in my blog.
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Comment No. 1: “A Unique Era”
This article describes a unique era of a generation that was born and raised in Bourj Hammoud, having a special bond with the Armenian community of the time, the schools, the teachers, the churches, the agoomps…Unfortunately, that sense of belonging can't be found or recreated again anywhere in other Armenian communities.
Anonymous (U.S.)
July 6, 2012
Comment No.2: “Sister Nvart Remembered”
I have known Sister Nvart, as she was known in Bourj Hammoud, as a neighbour, a woman of Christian faith and a motherly figure. She used to address my mother and all the women in the neighbourhood as sister-so-and-so, regardless whether they were religious or not. Calling them sister immediately brought about certain camaraderie and that feminine bond between them. Apart from her neighbourly and sisterly approach, I will never forget the contribution she made to my family when we had to change school in our elementary years because my father could not afford the new higher fees of the Armenian Evangelical School. Principal Rev. Jizmedjian would not make any concessions.
My mother, tears in her eyes, had to enroll us at the new, competitively-priced Armenian Sabbathists’ School (Շաբաթապահ) in Sin-el-Feel. Her disappointment was even greater when she noticed that the educational standards of the new school were lower than the one my brother and I had been previously attending. I hardly studied at home, as I found the lessons too easy. Every afternoon my mother would greet us in tears when we came home from school for she knew we did not belong there. Whether the concept of this Շաբաթապահ schooling and culture was all alien to her or whether she could not see us steering away from an upbringing that she herself had been reared into, I could not understand. Although I found it daunting being away from my friends and the teachers whom I had known since my kindergarten years at the Armenian Evangelical School which was opposite our house.
I am told… one day when my mother was waiting for us at the corner of the street, opposite the school which she yearned to see us attend, Sister Nvart was passing through and she stopped by to say hello. It did not take long for my mother to burst into tears and express her dismay with our new school and that the new Principal Rev. Jizmedjian had not made any concessions to allow us to continue our schooling and observe the Christian faith in which we were being brought up.
I am told…Sister Nvart put her arm around my mother and said, “The Lord will show the way.” She then asked my mother to give her our previous years’ school reports and told her to have faith in the Lord.
I am told…the next day Sister Nvart went to see the principal. She took along our school reports, and told the principal, “How can you throw these pearls to the swine?” (Mathew 7:6)
Two days after Sister Nvart’s meeting with the principal, I saw my mother unstitching the insignia of the new school and replacing it with the one that we knew was best.
The purpose of this letter is in no way meant to be derogatory about the different schools and religious faiths (our family adheres to the Armenian Apostolic Church) but it is about a person – Nvart Demirjian – who made a difference in our lives which is something we have not forgotten to this day.
Since returning to the Armenian Evangelical Secondary School, which was later called Shamlian-Tatikian Evangelical Secondary School of Bourj Hammoud, my brother and I completed our education in the same institution which has left its positive influence upon us to the present day.
And then the war came upon us.
Vatche (England)
June 19, 2012
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Comment No. 3: “Thank You”
Thank you Mrs. Apelian for remembering my mom, father and Vatche. Yes, I was blessed to have Digeen Nevart as my mom. She was a woman of faith. I am glad that she made a difference in your life. Thank you again for sharing.
Love
Ruth D.D (Canada)
June 20,2012
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