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The community is trying to survive
Yerkir.am
May 05, 2006
During our visit to Lebanon with the delegation of the Armenian
Writer's Union we were looking for someone who could tell us about the
history and present situation of the Armenian community in this
country.
Seda Khtshian turned out to be the right person for this. For many
years she has worked with the Armenian Relief Society, she was a
member of the judicial council. At present, Khtshian chairs the board
of trustees of Trchnots Buyn (Bird's Nest) orphanage. In addition to
this she works at the Ecumenical Council of Middle East Churches as
the director of `Women and Service' department.
Seda Khtshian: The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the most
important among the Christian churches in the Middle East. I am
representing this church and this is a job and a mission for me.
Q: What does the Council do?
A: I would like to speak about our national institutions and the
social service work that we have under the patronage of the Cilicia
Catholicos. When Armenians immigrated to Lebanon in 1920-1930's, this
was a period of physical survival. Foreign institutions hosted us. The
Organization for Middle East Assistance was established as an
organization dealing with orphans. Since 1976, this organization
called the Bird's Nest enjoys the support of the Cilicia
Catholicos. Fortunately, the number of children in this orphanage has
recently decreased. Another organization that enjoys the support of
the Catholicos is the elderly people's shelter and the blind people's
shelter. 100-150 elderly people are hosted at the shelter. They either
don't have children or their children have left Lebanon.
Q: On our way here we were shown another institution called `Azunie'.
A: Azunie is a health resort in the North of Lebanon. It was
established in 1923 by Americans who were assisting people with
pneumonia. Today the resort is supported by the Catholicos. It hosts
Armenians and people of other nationalities.
Q: Does the Catholicos's office sponsor only institutions or does it
also support some national projects?
A: Of course the Cilicia Catholicos's office supports a great number
of projects. For instance some 200 Armenians were populated in Burj
Hamud in the framework of one of such projects. A lot of newly formed
families get assistance from Antilias to buy houses.
Q: I was asking about cultural and educational projects.
A: There is a union of people with university education supported by
the Catholicos's office. The members of this union come to Antilias,
learn about the spiritual heritage of the church and represent
Armenians and the Armenian Church at various international
conferences. The Catholicos's office supports an educational
institution called `Khacher Galustian' where teachers for Armenian
schools are educated. We have 15,000 students. However, this number
constantly decreases which means that we will have to close some of
the lyceums.
Q: It's not a secret that the population of the Armenian community
decreases. This means that a lot of Armenians are leaving
Lebanon. Meanwhile, only a small portion of them come to Armenia.
A: All these institutions that I talked about manage to survive with
many difficulties. The first problem is lack of funding. The second
problem is lack of human resources. For instance, before the civil war
90 out of 100 employees at the Armenian-American hospital were
Armenian while now only 2-3% of the hospital's staff is Armenian. We
have to turn to foreigners asking for assistance.
They help us but their assistance is conditional. The community is
trying to survive. There is a general mood of despair in the country,
not only among the Armenians. This does not allow us to plan for any
long term projects. For instance, we had planned a series of events to
commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Genocide. But we only managed
to implement half of the events we had planned.
After the September 11 terrorist acts in USA the number of people
emigrating from Lebanon slightly decreased because both USA and the EU
countries made their immigration regulations for people from Arab
countries much stricter. But can this be a consolation for us? Let us
not forget that the Armenians going to Europe or USA from the Middle
East face the threat of being assimilated and losing their national
identity.
By Hovhannes Yeranian
Yerkir.am
May 05, 2006
During our visit to Lebanon with the delegation of the Armenian
Writer's Union we were looking for someone who could tell us about the
history and present situation of the Armenian community in this
country.
Seda Khtshian turned out to be the right person for this. For many
years she has worked with the Armenian Relief Society, she was a
member of the judicial council. At present, Khtshian chairs the board
of trustees of Trchnots Buyn (Bird's Nest) orphanage. In addition to
this she works at the Ecumenical Council of Middle East Churches as
the director of `Women and Service' department.
Seda Khtshian: The Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the most
important among the Christian churches in the Middle East. I am
representing this church and this is a job and a mission for me.
Q: What does the Council do?
A: I would like to speak about our national institutions and the
social service work that we have under the patronage of the Cilicia
Catholicos. When Armenians immigrated to Lebanon in 1920-1930's, this
was a period of physical survival. Foreign institutions hosted us. The
Organization for Middle East Assistance was established as an
organization dealing with orphans. Since 1976, this organization
called the Bird's Nest enjoys the support of the Cilicia
Catholicos. Fortunately, the number of children in this orphanage has
recently decreased. Another organization that enjoys the support of
the Catholicos is the elderly people's shelter and the blind people's
shelter. 100-150 elderly people are hosted at the shelter. They either
don't have children or their children have left Lebanon.
Q: On our way here we were shown another institution called `Azunie'.
A: Azunie is a health resort in the North of Lebanon. It was
established in 1923 by Americans who were assisting people with
pneumonia. Today the resort is supported by the Catholicos. It hosts
Armenians and people of other nationalities.
Q: Does the Catholicos's office sponsor only institutions or does it
also support some national projects?
A: Of course the Cilicia Catholicos's office supports a great number
of projects. For instance some 200 Armenians were populated in Burj
Hamud in the framework of one of such projects. A lot of newly formed
families get assistance from Antilias to buy houses.
Q: I was asking about cultural and educational projects.
A: There is a union of people with university education supported by
the Catholicos's office. The members of this union come to Antilias,
learn about the spiritual heritage of the church and represent
Armenians and the Armenian Church at various international
conferences. The Catholicos's office supports an educational
institution called `Khacher Galustian' where teachers for Armenian
schools are educated. We have 15,000 students. However, this number
constantly decreases which means that we will have to close some of
the lyceums.
Q: It's not a secret that the population of the Armenian community
decreases. This means that a lot of Armenians are leaving
Lebanon. Meanwhile, only a small portion of them come to Armenia.
A: All these institutions that I talked about manage to survive with
many difficulties. The first problem is lack of funding. The second
problem is lack of human resources. For instance, before the civil war
90 out of 100 employees at the Armenian-American hospital were
Armenian while now only 2-3% of the hospital's staff is Armenian. We
have to turn to foreigners asking for assistance.
They help us but their assistance is conditional. The community is
trying to survive. There is a general mood of despair in the country,
not only among the Armenians. This does not allow us to plan for any
long term projects. For instance, we had planned a series of events to
commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Genocide. But we only managed
to implement half of the events we had planned.
After the September 11 terrorist acts in USA the number of people
emigrating from Lebanon slightly decreased because both USA and the EU
countries made their immigration regulations for people from Arab
countries much stricter. But can this be a consolation for us? Let us
not forget that the Armenians going to Europe or USA from the Middle
East face the threat of being assimilated and losing their national
identity.
By Hovhannes Yeranian