The Armenian Weekly...

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Recent Articles from the Armenian Weekly... Reducing the Risk of 1988 Gyumri, the Armenia I Left ARF Engages with Youth During Educational Weekend Reasonable Reform Request Search Armenian Weekly Reducing the Risk of 1988 Twenty five years ago, on December 7, 1988, a catastrophic earthquake ripped through Armenia, decimating the town of Spitak and surrounding areas. The quake left more than 25,000 people dead, 15,000 injured, 517,000 homeless, and $14.2 billion in economic damage. This year, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the earthquake, a coalition of organizations came together under the auspices of Oxfam in Armenia to remember the victims of that tragedy and overcome the potential risks posed by such natural disasters. But the horror of that day was just as much a result of human negligence as it was natural causes. International experts concluded that poor building construction, a lack of emergency planning, and inadequate medical care were the main factors behind the earthquake’s devastation. This year, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the earthquake, a coalition of organizations came together under the auspices of Oxfam in Armenia to remember the victims of that tragedy and... Read More »      • Email to a friend • Article Search • Gyumri, the Armenia I Left I was born three years after the earthquake, in the city in ruin, in the so-called “Zone of the Catastrophe.” My earliest memories are those of a grey city in the winter, and of water-less, electricity-less temporary housing units filled with the warmth of stoves that consumed everything from wood flooring to paper volumes of the Big Soviet Encyclopedia. I was born three years after the earthquake, in the city in ruin, in the so-called “Zone of the Catastrophe.” Running water, electricity, and housing did eventually return to most of the city, but we still lived in what seemed like a ghost town, and our parents still oriented themselves around landmarks that no longer existed. We grew up in the shadows of Gyumri’s once colossal factories whose equipment was sold as scrap metal and whose facades stood as reminders of the city’s former glory. Every year on that gloomy December day, a high-ranking delegation would visit to lay a wreath at the memorial, as if to reassure us... Read More »      • Email to a friend • Article Search • ARF Engages with Youth During Educational Weekend By Carnie Armenian STRATFORD, Conn.—Members of the Armenian Youth Federation-Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Eastern Region had the chance to discuss and pose their questions about the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and all aspects of the organization in Stratford during the weekend of November 8-10. Members of the AYF-YOARF engaged in a lively and active conversation about the ARF’s agenda, its standards of operation, and the pillars of the organization. The active youth members of the AYF-YOARF, which represented many different chapters across the Eastern Region, had the opportunity to learn about the upcoming plans for the Armenian Genocide Centennial and to present their ideas to create a single unified front among all organizations globally, for a more effective impact in all communities. Khatchig Mouradian, editor of The Armenian Weekly, led the discussion, which included several topics, including insight on documentaries and... Read More »      • Email to a friend • Article Search • Reasonable Reform Request I recently attended a program where the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund was discussed. The organizers pointed out flaws in the work of the organization, mostly in its form, and saw corruption manifested through those flaws. There is no question that corruption is rampant in the Republic of Armenia and throughout the former USSR. It should come as no surprise that Armenia Fund could be susceptible to some of that. Of course, it is obvious that the Armenia Fund does important work in our homeland. So there’s a dilemma: How to continue reaping the benefits of this effort while minimizing its problems, in this case corruption? This applies even to the appearance of corruption, which can harm an organization’s credibility and ability to perform its duties. Someone came up with an excellent suggestion at the close of the program. It turns out that quite a few members of our two republics’ governments sit on the board of the Armenia Fund. The number cited during the program was 13 (though... Read More »      • Email to a friend • Article Search •