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Diocese: Status of The Armenian Community in Louisiana

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  • Diocese: Status of The Armenian Community in Louisiana

    PRESS OFFICE
    Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
    630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
    Contact: Chris Zakian, Coordinator of Public Relations
    Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 44; Fax: (212) 779-3558
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Website: www.armenianchurch.org

    September 7, 2005

    HURRICANE KATRINA UPDATE:
    STATUS OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN LOUISIANA

    An Interview with Mr. Vasken Kaltakjian,
    Chairman of the Baton Rouge, LA, mission parish

    * * *

    The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) has spoken at
    length with Vasken Kaltakjian, chairman of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
    mission parish, who offered the following information about how the
    local Armenian community has been affected by Hurricane Katrina.

    NO LOSS OF LIFE, SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD

    First and most importantly, there has been no loss of life among the
    local Armenian families. There has been a substantial loss of property
    due to wind, rain, and flooding. And the Armenians who run businesses
    in New Orleans expect that those businesses are lost or in ruins--which
    obviously may leave the greatest long term consequence for community
    members.

    Armenian residents of New Orleans itself, and its suburbs Kenner and
    Metarree, have been evacuated; their properties remain flooded. In
    general, people who left New Orleans did so with very little in the form
    of personal property, cash, or clothing, since they expected the crisis
    would endure for only a matter of days. Armenians in La Place were not
    affected by the flood, but their houses did suffer significant wind and
    rain damage. Electrical power is now operating in La Place, and
    displaced families have begun congregating there.

    HOUSING DISPLACED FAMILIES

    Baton Rouge and La Place are the two main locales where displaced
    Armenian families have been domiciled. Mr. Kaltakjian attests that
    conditions in Baton Rouge are relatively "normal," given the
    circumstances elsewhere in the state; but the resources of the area are
    strained by the influx of refugees from the disaster zone. In the
    immediate aftermath of the hurricane, the Armenian residents of Baton
    Rouge hosted four Armenian families--two of which have already moved on
    to stay with relatives in La Place. Other families have been notified
    and welcomed to come to Baton Rouge.

    Mr. Kaltakjian has driven to La Place, LA, where four Armenian families
    permanently reside. These four households are currently housing five
    additional Armenian families, which have escaped from hurricane-ravaged
    areas. With phone service out, it had been difficult to get information
    on the five displaced families. Mr. Kaltakjian visited with the
    families, confirmed that they were accounted for, and tried to assess
    their situation with regard to relief needs.

    Several Armenian families remain incommunicado; Mr. Kaltakjian is aware
    that they have left the disaster area, but he has not been able to
    confirm their current whereabouts. He expects to receive this
    information as soon as normal phone service resumes.

    BRIEF RETURNS HOME TO INSPECT DAMAGE

    Earlier in the week, authorities designated a 12-hour window to allow
    every home-owner in New Orleans to return temporarily to their homes,
    inspect damage, and take pictures to submit insurance claims. Only a
    few of the affected Armenian families were able to enter the city,
    however.

    For those who have been able to return to their homes, many report that
    everything is flooded, and stench is already oppressive. Moreover,
    people are worried that all the rancid standing water will propagate and
    spread disease. Today Mr. Kaltakjian plans to bring a generator and
    gasoline to one family, whose house now stands in two and a-half feet of
    water, so they can start the long process of cleaning up.

    As far as a permanent return, no one knows exactly when this will be
    able to occur; the authorities have stipulated the anywhere from two to
    six weeks may elapse before people are allowed to return home. In any
    event, currently there is no electric or water service in the disaster
    area.

    LOCAL CHURCH REACHING OUT TO MEMBERS

    The Baton Rouge mission parish owns a church facility of 4,000 square
    feet; adjacent to it is a 1,500 square-foot reception hall, which seats
    about 100 people. The parish has notified displaced Armenian families
    that they are welcome to stay in the facility, but none has as yet taken
    up that offer; for now, they have preferred to stay in the private homes
    of Armenians unaffected by the disaster. However, several families
    presently staying in Texas may take up temporary residence in the church
    building when they return to Louisiana.

    At the behest of the Diocesan Center, Mr. Kaltakjian has made a list of
    all the Armenian families in the areas: about 70 people in total--of
    whom 27 are children--comprising 23 families. According to Mr.
    Kaltakjian, the immediate need for area Armenians is to acquire some
    basic items to help them get by day-to-day. Many have no income for the
    foreseeable future, and are cash-poor after 11 days of displacement from
    their homes.

    A PLEA TO FELLOW ARMENIAN AMERICANS

    Asked what message he'd like to convey to fellow Armenian Americans, Mr.
    Kaltakjian remarked that it's a hard time in his state, and everyone
    affected deserves help. But please, he asked, remember your Armenian
    brothers and sisters in Louisiana. He fears that the community is
    insufficiently organized to aggressively pursue and secure immediate aid
    from relief agencies, and he appeals to America's other Armenian
    communities for assistance.

    He explained that contributions of clothing and canned goods would not
    be helpful in the present circumstances. Instead, the community would
    be best benefited by monetary donations, or by contributions of gift
    cards to retailers like Wal-Mart or K-Mart, which will allow the
    displaced Armenians to purchase clothing and other goods for themselves,
    give them something to do, and generally boost morale in depressing
    situation.

    At the directive of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, the Eastern
    Diocese of the Armenian Church of America has arranged for special
    collections to be held at all Diocesan parishes on successive Sundays:
    September 11 and 18. Half of the collected donations will go toward the
    general relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims (to be distributed
    through Church World Service, the humanitarian aid arm of the National
    Council of Churches).

    The other half will go directly to the Baton Rouge parish, whose leaders
    will distribute the relief aid to affected Armenians according to their
    need.

    The most efficient way to contribute is through the Diocesan website,
    www.armenianchurch.net, where you can click on the "Donate" link and
    make a credit-card donation on our secure server. Individuals and
    parishes can also send checks via mail to the Diocesan headquarters in
    New York (please write "Hurricane Katrina Relief" in the memo).

    ARMENIANS IN LOUISIANA

    The Armenian community of Baton Rouge, LA, is about 30 years old. When
    Mr. Kaltakjian first came to Baton Rouge in 1977, he estimates that
    about a third of the present community was already resident there. Most
    of the residents (then and now) hail originally from Lebanon; some come
    from Syria; and there are families from Egypt and Armenia itself.
    Living in a hurricane zone, the community has seen extreme atmospheric
    conditions, as well as flooding, in the past; but certainly nothing like
    the present crisis.

    --9/7/05

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