Enduring gratitude: Armenian diaspora mobilizes on behalf of land that took in forebears

By Christopher Atamian
Special to The Daily Star
Friday, November 10, 2006

Armenians the world over owe a special debt to Lebanon and the Lebanese people. From 1915 to 1923, starved Armenian refugees - victims of a genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks - came straggling across the desert into what is now Syria and Lebanon. Whether out of compassion - so say idealists - or demographic politics - so say cynics - Armenians were welcomed with open arms.

Statistics are hard to come by, but by most measures some 50,000 Armenians started their lives again in the land of the Cedars - principally in the Karantina camp (they later moved on to Bourj Hammoud) and in the village of Anjar.

With time, as most Lebanese will tell you, Armenians became successful in all areas of life in Lebanon and numbered as many as 250,000 to 350,000. At the height of their presence, the Armenians operated 40 schools and opened the only Armenian university in the diaspora - Haigazian University.

Many Armenians left Lebanon during the Civil War and the diaspora spread elsewhere. But many remained. As many as 150,000 to 200,000 still call Lebanon home.

It is no surprise, then, that Armenians from all over the diaspora have responded to the war in Lebanon this past summer with the same compassion once extended to them. In France, an Armenian Web site - www.yevrobatsi.com - reported from Lebanon throughout the 34-day Israeli offensive.

The exposure meant a lot to people stranded in Beirut or Broummana or, for that matter, Southern cities such as Tyre.

"The support of Yevrobatsi meant that we felt that someone out there understood what was happening to us during the Israeli bombings and that we were not alone," says Nada Haddad, who served as a correspondent for the site from Beirut.

In New York and Washington, curator and Aleppo-born cultural critic Neery Melkonian, who spent her adolescence in Beirut, led protests by a group of repatriated Armenian-Lebanese demonstrating against the war. The collective Melkonian formed - Armenians in Solidarity with Lebanon - issued a mission statement of sorts, outlining its support for Lebanon.

"We deplore the Bush administration's approval of Israel's excessive military response to a political conflict," the statement read. "We believe that all countries in the region have the right to exist in peace and security. All sides to the conflict must recognize this reality."
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Financial support for Lebanon has also begun to arrive from organizations in the Armenian diaspora, ranging from small individual donations to million-dollar cash infusions. The Armenian Network recently donated several thousand dollars through the charity organ of the Armenian Diocese, the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR).

Most recently, Harut Sassounian, president of the United Armenia Fund (UAF), boarded a plane to Beirut on November 2. The purpose of his trip was to lend assistance to 28 Armenian schools currently operating in Lebanon.

The UAF is a collective effort of several Armenian-American associations, including the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the Armenian Missionary Association of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and the Lincy Foundation (the latter being the charity arm of multi-billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's operations).

All in all, the UAF will donate a total of $4.7 million to Lebanon's Armenian schools.

The support coming from the Armenian diaspora is also more than immediate and urgent. Mid- to long-term assistance is in the works as well. On November 22, three youth organizations - the Armenian Students Association, the AGBU Young Professionals and the Armenian Network - are teaming up with the Hye Q's, the Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association of New York, at a downtown nightclub called Earth to party and raise money for both Armenia and Lebanon.

As one Armenian-Lebanese aptly puts it: "Lebanon took in our grandparents. It's our second home. The least we can do now is give back as much as we can to the country."

Given their history, Armenians have tended to look out for themselves and to donate disproportionately to Armenia and Armenian causes.

Now, perhaps wealthier and more confident than in the past, they are returning a long-term favor to those who, in their hour of gravest need, opened their arms to them some 90 years ago.

Christopher Atamian is a New York-based writer and journalist of Armenian-Lebanese origin

who writes on culture and politics for The New York Times, Gourmet, New York Press and more.

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.