Armenian rojak, S'pore style

August 17, 2005
Electric New Paper

[...] former Mrs Singapore Brigitte Ow [...]
[...]
[...] is Armenian and like many Armenian Singaporeans, she married outside the community.

Identities are changing for this minority group, one of the smallest in Singapore.

While Mrs Ow's grandfather is pure Armenian, her mother, Madam Loretta Tan, is half Armenian.

[...] Although never numbering more than 100, Armenians played a key role in Singapore's early history. They are responsible for four of Singapore's most recognisable icons.

• The Sarkis brothers who founded the Raffles Hotel were Armenian.
  
• Another Armenian, Mr Catchick Moses, founded The Straits Times.
  
• Vanda Miss Joaquim, the national flower, was so named after its founder Agnes Joaquim, an Armenian horticulturalist.

The Armenians' place of worship, the Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, is a national monument.

Located at Hill Street, it is the oldest Christian place of worship in Singapore.

'Armenians came to Singapore for very different reasons,' said Mr Gregory Basmadjian, one of the trustees of the Armenian Church.

'They did not come just to trade. They were also fleeing persecution at home.'
[...]
The Armenian Singaporean community numbers about 20 and the group is finding it hard to keep traditions alive.
[...]
The church here is the centre of the Armenian community, but since the end of World War II, it does not have a priest.

There are only services four or five times a year when foreign priests visit. Christmas also falls on 6 Jan, not 25 Dec.

In 1948, they were removed from the national census and placed in the 'Others' category.
[...]
Although only 12 families settled here, the small community began to play a crucial role here {in Singaore}.

Half of the Armenian community left after World War II when businesses were destroyed by the war.

The Raffles Hotel was sold. The Sarkis brothers did not have money to repair the hotel. In any case, tourism was dead.

The Armenians also began to feel alienated in a Singapore slowly acquiring a new cultural and political identity.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.