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JAVAKHK 'DESERTERS' CALL ON THE YOUTH TO RETURN AND ENRICH THE REGION
Kristine Aghalaryan
09:01, March 16, 2015
Students enrolled in Armenian private schools in Los Angeles have
been dropping 20cents every day into little collection boxes.
The coins, collected on a weekly basis, are then sent to a Javakhk
assistance committee launched by the Armenian Relief Society. The
student donations are finally forwarded to Javakhk.
Ashot Melkonyan, Director of the Institute of History of the Armenian
Academy of Sciences, recently visited Los Angeles and spoke to students
and faculty at twelve Los Angeles Armenian schools. He saw what was
taking place regarding Javakhk.
Melkonyan was overjoyed to hear that 6th-12th grade students were
learning about Javakhk and especially about those villages that,
over the ages, have produced prominent Armenian thinkers and activists.
Melkonyan brought news of this development back to the youth committee
initiated by the Javakhk Assistance Foundation (JAF), encouraging
them to get involved in the work being done in Javakhk.
"I regard myself as a deserter since I do not live in Javakhk. I
was born there but live a good life in Yerevan. All of us should be
in Javakhk. We must understand that being patriotic is a practical
matter and starts with living on the land and working there. Those
of you who go to the villages of Javakhk with a diploma in your hand
are the real patriots. The patriot isn't the one who can only make
speeches from this podium," Melkonyan told the Javakhk youth committee.
Ashot MelkonyanKarineh KhodikyanGagik Ginosyan
Melkonyan added that while the JAF doesn't operate in opposition
to the Georgian government, many officials, especially in Javakhk,
view its activities with suspicion.
The dramatist Karineh Khodikyan, another founder of the JAF, called on
the youth to remain steadfast and courageous alongside the experience
and wisdom of their elders. "Any activity has real prospects when the
youth take their rightful place alongside their elders," Khodikyan
said.
Gagik Ginosyan, founder of the Garin Folk Dance Ensemble, called
on the youth not to lose the traditional Javakhk stubbornness and
determination. "We will return and the prerequisite for this is in
the hands of the Javakhk youth," he said.
Young Javakhk residents spoke about the various sector challenges
facing the region.
Javakhk native Karen Hakobyan, a maxillofacial surgeon who heads
the staff at the Yerevan State Medical University, believes that in
order to solve the health problems in Javakhk one must start with
the professionals. Hakobyan suggests that a plan be drafted whereby
medical students get tuition reimbursement in exchange for working
in Javakhk for a stated period after graduating.
Dentist Artur Manukyan states that Javakhk hospitals lack up to date
equipment and that there are no dental clinics in the region. He
describes the ones that exist as quite primitive in terms of
technology. Manukyan proposes training sessions and conferences
in Javakhk so that health professionals are brought up to current
standards.
Attorney Davit Mkoyan said that Javakhk residents faced legal problems
when it comes to protecting their property and singled out the right
of private property. Mkoyan points to the lack of information by
Javakhk residents, the speed of legal changes and, of course, the
political context as reasons for this problem. He suggests that
legal awareness seminars be conducted in Javakhk and, if needed,
legislative initiatives be made at the Georgian parliament.
Karen HakobyanDavit MkoyanMavr Lazarian
"Many of my peers in the current situation live as romantic pioneers.
The remaining minority lives according to the dictates of the day,"
says singer Mavr Lazarian, adding that there is no cultural life in
Javakhk. The reason, he says, is because there are no cultural centers
in the region. He adds that there aren't any renovated concert halls
in Javakhk.
"In December 2012 we gave concerts in Akhalkalak, Ninotzminda and
Soukhlis. You can't imagine the conditions. A thousand people showed
up in halls accommodating 600. There was no room left to stand. We
were seated near the electric heaters and drinking cognac just to
warm our hands. It makes no sense to hold any type of cultural event
in Javakhk from November to April."
The singer would like to see cultural centers built in the rural
areas; one for several villages. He says that cultural life, to the
extent that it exists, is centered in the towns. He also wants to
see professionals receive training in Yerevan
His greatest wish is to organize a cultural festival in Javakhk that
will assemble local talent and create conditions to provide the best
with an education.
JAF Council President Sos Sahakyan said that this year has been
declared the year of Javakhk cultural centers and that renovations
will begin at such sites.
The first center scheduled for renovation is the center in the village
of Tamala in Akhaltskha.
To spur the development of sports in Javakhk, Street Workout and
Street Lifting NGO President Artur Harutyunyan and his partners have
proposed to create mini playgrounds in backyards as was the case in
the Soviet period.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/59055/javakhk-deserters-call-on-the-youth-to-return-and-enrich-the-region.html
Kristine Aghalaryan
09:01, March 16, 2015
Students enrolled in Armenian private schools in Los Angeles have
been dropping 20cents every day into little collection boxes.
The coins, collected on a weekly basis, are then sent to a Javakhk
assistance committee launched by the Armenian Relief Society. The
student donations are finally forwarded to Javakhk.
Ashot Melkonyan, Director of the Institute of History of the Armenian
Academy of Sciences, recently visited Los Angeles and spoke to students
and faculty at twelve Los Angeles Armenian schools. He saw what was
taking place regarding Javakhk.
Melkonyan was overjoyed to hear that 6th-12th grade students were
learning about Javakhk and especially about those villages that,
over the ages, have produced prominent Armenian thinkers and activists.
Melkonyan brought news of this development back to the youth committee
initiated by the Javakhk Assistance Foundation (JAF), encouraging
them to get involved in the work being done in Javakhk.
"I regard myself as a deserter since I do not live in Javakhk. I
was born there but live a good life in Yerevan. All of us should be
in Javakhk. We must understand that being patriotic is a practical
matter and starts with living on the land and working there. Those
of you who go to the villages of Javakhk with a diploma in your hand
are the real patriots. The patriot isn't the one who can only make
speeches from this podium," Melkonyan told the Javakhk youth committee.
Ashot MelkonyanKarineh KhodikyanGagik Ginosyan
Melkonyan added that while the JAF doesn't operate in opposition
to the Georgian government, many officials, especially in Javakhk,
view its activities with suspicion.
The dramatist Karineh Khodikyan, another founder of the JAF, called on
the youth to remain steadfast and courageous alongside the experience
and wisdom of their elders. "Any activity has real prospects when the
youth take their rightful place alongside their elders," Khodikyan
said.
Gagik Ginosyan, founder of the Garin Folk Dance Ensemble, called
on the youth not to lose the traditional Javakhk stubbornness and
determination. "We will return and the prerequisite for this is in
the hands of the Javakhk youth," he said.
Young Javakhk residents spoke about the various sector challenges
facing the region.
Javakhk native Karen Hakobyan, a maxillofacial surgeon who heads
the staff at the Yerevan State Medical University, believes that in
order to solve the health problems in Javakhk one must start with
the professionals. Hakobyan suggests that a plan be drafted whereby
medical students get tuition reimbursement in exchange for working
in Javakhk for a stated period after graduating.
Dentist Artur Manukyan states that Javakhk hospitals lack up to date
equipment and that there are no dental clinics in the region. He
describes the ones that exist as quite primitive in terms of
technology. Manukyan proposes training sessions and conferences
in Javakhk so that health professionals are brought up to current
standards.
Attorney Davit Mkoyan said that Javakhk residents faced legal problems
when it comes to protecting their property and singled out the right
of private property. Mkoyan points to the lack of information by
Javakhk residents, the speed of legal changes and, of course, the
political context as reasons for this problem. He suggests that
legal awareness seminars be conducted in Javakhk and, if needed,
legislative initiatives be made at the Georgian parliament.
Karen HakobyanDavit MkoyanMavr Lazarian
"Many of my peers in the current situation live as romantic pioneers.
The remaining minority lives according to the dictates of the day,"
says singer Mavr Lazarian, adding that there is no cultural life in
Javakhk. The reason, he says, is because there are no cultural centers
in the region. He adds that there aren't any renovated concert halls
in Javakhk.
"In December 2012 we gave concerts in Akhalkalak, Ninotzminda and
Soukhlis. You can't imagine the conditions. A thousand people showed
up in halls accommodating 600. There was no room left to stand. We
were seated near the electric heaters and drinking cognac just to
warm our hands. It makes no sense to hold any type of cultural event
in Javakhk from November to April."
The singer would like to see cultural centers built in the rural
areas; one for several villages. He says that cultural life, to the
extent that it exists, is centered in the towns. He also wants to
see professionals receive training in Yerevan
His greatest wish is to organize a cultural festival in Javakhk that
will assemble local talent and create conditions to provide the best
with an education.
JAF Council President Sos Sahakyan said that this year has been
declared the year of Javakhk cultural centers and that renovations
will begin at such sites.
The first center scheduled for renovation is the center in the village
of Tamala in Akhaltskha.
To spur the development of sports in Javakhk, Street Workout and
Street Lifting NGO President Artur Harutyunyan and his partners have
proposed to create mini playgrounds in backyards as was the case in
the Soviet period.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/59055/javakhk-deserters-call-on-the-youth-to-return-and-enrich-the-region.html