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ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION STANDS STRONG FOR KESSAB'S RECOVERY
Monday, September 29th, 2014
The Armenian Bar Association
On the evening of August 27, 2014, a large audience of concerned
community members gathered in Glendale, California to attend a town
hall meeting which focused on the plight of the Armenian community
in Kessab, Syria. Co-sponsored by the Armenian Bar Association, the
event featured as keynote speakers Garo Ghazarian, Chairman Ex-Officio
of the Association and Stepan Apelian, a resident, business owner,
and community leader of Kessab.
Kessab is a town located in the northwest corner of Syria, nestled
in the mountains which rise above the Mediterranean Sea. The town's
inhabitants are almost entirely made up of Armenians. Kessab is one of
the few Armenian villages that survived the Genocide and was able to
continue as a vibrant community. In March, 2014, the historic town was
invaded by heavily-armed militia who entered Syria from the Republic
of Turkey. Engrained with the collective memory of the Genocide, most
of the residents of Kessab fled to the neighboring city of Latakia,
Syria. The insurgents inflicted violence upon the community and,
in the process, looted and destroyed Armenian churches, schools,
homes and businesses.
Ghazarian, who co-chairs the Armenian Genocide Centennial
Committee-Western United States, was the first speaker. He explained
to the audience that hearing of the violence that was being wrought
upon his ancestral home of Kessab, he decided to travel as close
as possible to Kessab so as to get a first-hand assessment of the
situation and determine the immediate needs of the refugees. In an
interview conducted by the Los Angeles Times Beirut Bureau Chief,
Patrick McDonnell, on April 9, 2014, Ghazarian explained his reasoning
as follows: "The preservation of this village and its people is of
utmost importance to the Armenian people." Through the efforts of
Ghazarian, refugees from Kessab who had reached Beirut were interviewed
by McDonnell. He wrote of their harrowing stories and the Los Angeles
Times brought their tragic situation to world attention by publishing
the Kessab community's plight in the first section of the newspaper.
Ghazarian further explained to the town hall participants that he
could not stay home in Los Angeles, while the residents of his
family's hometown were in peril. In an interview following the
lecture, Ghazarian, drawing from his eye-witness observations,
added: "I witnessed the emotional and individualized recountings
of the Kessabtsis' exodus from their sacred ground. We must insist
that the international community as well as Turkey's own ally, the
United States, stop paying lip service to Armenians, and to start
an investigation of Turkey at all levels. We must demand more than
mere utterances of 'concern.' We must demand action to not only halt
Turkey's continued disregard of the rights and liberties of Armenians,
but also the undertaking of sustainable efforts to remedy what will
no doubt become an irreversible reality on the ground for our fellow
Armenians of Kessab."
With the shock and awe of dozens of pictures, Apelian was able to
convey to the audience a sense of the terror and destruction which the
Armenian community faced by the invading forces. He explained that
several churches, schools and businesses were gutted of everything
that was contained within them. Sparing nothing in their ruinous wake,
the aggressors went as far as to desecrate the crosses of our Armenian
churches. Apelian emphasized that Kessab poses an opportunity and
challenge to the world-wide Armenian nation to galvanize itself in
aid of its fellow Armenians and to help rebuild our collective past
and future.
http://asbarez.com/127409/armenian-bar-association-stands-strong-for-kessab%E2%80%99s-recovery/
Monday, September 29th, 2014
The Armenian Bar Association
On the evening of August 27, 2014, a large audience of concerned
community members gathered in Glendale, California to attend a town
hall meeting which focused on the plight of the Armenian community
in Kessab, Syria. Co-sponsored by the Armenian Bar Association, the
event featured as keynote speakers Garo Ghazarian, Chairman Ex-Officio
of the Association and Stepan Apelian, a resident, business owner,
and community leader of Kessab.
Kessab is a town located in the northwest corner of Syria, nestled
in the mountains which rise above the Mediterranean Sea. The town's
inhabitants are almost entirely made up of Armenians. Kessab is one of
the few Armenian villages that survived the Genocide and was able to
continue as a vibrant community. In March, 2014, the historic town was
invaded by heavily-armed militia who entered Syria from the Republic
of Turkey. Engrained with the collective memory of the Genocide, most
of the residents of Kessab fled to the neighboring city of Latakia,
Syria. The insurgents inflicted violence upon the community and,
in the process, looted and destroyed Armenian churches, schools,
homes and businesses.
Ghazarian, who co-chairs the Armenian Genocide Centennial
Committee-Western United States, was the first speaker. He explained
to the audience that hearing of the violence that was being wrought
upon his ancestral home of Kessab, he decided to travel as close
as possible to Kessab so as to get a first-hand assessment of the
situation and determine the immediate needs of the refugees. In an
interview conducted by the Los Angeles Times Beirut Bureau Chief,
Patrick McDonnell, on April 9, 2014, Ghazarian explained his reasoning
as follows: "The preservation of this village and its people is of
utmost importance to the Armenian people." Through the efforts of
Ghazarian, refugees from Kessab who had reached Beirut were interviewed
by McDonnell. He wrote of their harrowing stories and the Los Angeles
Times brought their tragic situation to world attention by publishing
the Kessab community's plight in the first section of the newspaper.
Ghazarian further explained to the town hall participants that he
could not stay home in Los Angeles, while the residents of his
family's hometown were in peril. In an interview following the
lecture, Ghazarian, drawing from his eye-witness observations,
added: "I witnessed the emotional and individualized recountings
of the Kessabtsis' exodus from their sacred ground. We must insist
that the international community as well as Turkey's own ally, the
United States, stop paying lip service to Armenians, and to start
an investigation of Turkey at all levels. We must demand more than
mere utterances of 'concern.' We must demand action to not only halt
Turkey's continued disregard of the rights and liberties of Armenians,
but also the undertaking of sustainable efforts to remedy what will
no doubt become an irreversible reality on the ground for our fellow
Armenians of Kessab."
With the shock and awe of dozens of pictures, Apelian was able to
convey to the audience a sense of the terror and destruction which the
Armenian community faced by the invading forces. He explained that
several churches, schools and businesses were gutted of everything
that was contained within them. Sparing nothing in their ruinous wake,
the aggressors went as far as to desecrate the crosses of our Armenian
churches. Apelian emphasized that Kessab poses an opportunity and
challenge to the world-wide Armenian nation to galvanize itself in
aid of its fellow Armenians and to help rebuild our collective past
and future.
http://asbarez.com/127409/armenian-bar-association-stands-strong-for-kessab%E2%80%99s-recovery/