This tribute to Bob Tutunjian, as well as other articles penned by special guests, was published in the September 5 Special Edition of the Armenian Weekly honoring the AYF Olympics.

As you can see, this Olympics issue is unique. Through the effort of many and the day-to-day support of the Armenian Weekly staff, we salute the Olympics with a look at its history, bridging to next year in the city where “it all began”: Worcester.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone…”, stated Gary Arvanigian, a longtime active AYF alumnus who co-chaired this year’s Olympic committee which has everything in place for Worcester 2021. “This doubles our energy to host a super Olympics next year,” he added.

Central to this Olympics issue is the vast amount of historical data about the Games. Simply, we pay tribute to those who brought us to today and helped build the energy the Olympics give us.

Bob Tutunjian, patriarch of a truly AYF family, is the source for Olympic information going back to the start. He is the unquestioned AYF Olympic historian and statistician. When asked to put together an All Olympic team, he expanded on the suggestion and decided to do it by decade. He worked all summer on this and did a phenomenal job.

Bob has done an incredible job chronicling the AYF Olympics over the years. His contributions at each Olympics have always been superb. He has always been there, working behind the scenes as an official at the swimming events, helping with the official scoring software and whatever else needs doing. “I have followed the Olympics each year and marvel at the long and rich history of the Games and its meaning to the AYF family,” said Tutunjian, who says he was motivated by former Weekly editor Jimmy Tashjian to get involved in the annual events.

Eventually, Bob started writing articles and became part of a team with Mark Gavoor and Harry Derderian—encouraged by Tom Vartabedian in a hand-off—to pen the many weekend activities in a special issue.

The Tutunjian family has been an integral part of the Olympics for many years. Bob was a leader in the Boston AYF and ultimately coached the Siamantos as well as the Green Machine Varantians. His wife Shooshan (Kassabian) was an incredible athlete, holding the 800-meter record for more than 30 years, as well as holding marks in javelin, 200, shot put and two-mile run. She participated in 12 different events and is in the top 10 in women’s scoring. Their daughter Lynne is second all-time girl’s scorer with 153 points, was high scorer seven times and still holds records in the 25 freestyle and 50 breaststroke. Lynne placed first in a 200-meter and all other points have come from swimming.

Their son Stephen, a Lehigh University track standout as MVP and captain, is sixth in all-time men’s scoring with 130 points and broke a 52 year-old long jump record held by Leo Derderian. He participated in the Olympics nine times and was high scorer seven times. By the way, he also participated in NCAA championships.

Daughter Christine, captain of the Worcester Academy cross country and track teams, was high scorer twice with medals in both swimming and distance events. And, as Tom Vartabedian once stated:  “…Chris set the tone for Lynne and Stephen…a hardworking athlete…”

Bob Tutunjian feels a great deal of pride in his Olympic dedication. Well he should, but let’s look at one more point. As a family, the Tutunjians have a total of 452.5 points—the most of any family in AYF Olympic history. The Tutunjians, starting with Bob and Shoo: a lifelong AYF love affair.

We asked several coaches, teammates and friends of Bob to comment on his contributions to the AYF and the AYF Olympics. Following are their responses:

Steve Elmasian: Coach Bob Tutunjian, a leader by example, possessed endless energy when it came to putting the best team possible on the fields of play. He leaves no stone unturned. He coined the phrase, “Every Point Matters” in Providence. He is a master of his art, one of a kind. 

Ara Krafian: I consider Bobby my friend. When we are in the heat of competition, he is a little tough to take, because he is as competitive as anyone you will ever meet. With a supercomputer for a brain, he is calculating possibilities and outcomes on the fly, while most of us are caught up in the excitement of the moment. Over the years, I’ve come to know the person behind the conniving reputation, and he is a generous soul. Bobby is a fan of Armenian athletes. He is the perfect person to be our historian. Outside of our Armenian circles, I have run into Bobby at dual meets, league meets, state meets and college championships. He roots for every Armenian competitor. He runs the swim meet and helps at the track, always prepared, on time, professional and kind-hearted. We know the competitive Bobby at Senior Olympics, where it’s appropriate. Believe me, he has turned a blind eye to more violations and fouls for our kids than you can imagine. He does it because he knows it won’t change the outcome, but it will change the experience for that young person and hopefully brings them back to compete another day. He does all these things without any expectation of recognition as we know from his years of writing articles for the AYF Olympics issues. I believe he does these things because he has found a way to combine two of his greatest loves – athletic competition and fellow Armenians.

Rich Sarajian: As competitive as Bob is, he always has time to help athletes no matter what chapter they are from.

Bob even weighed in by providing a history of his involvement with the AYF Olympics and establishing himself as its historian and statistician.

I first became interested in the history of the Olympics during my first year on the AYF Central Executive in 1970. That year I served as head of the Central Athletic Council; our meetings were at the old Hairenik Building on Stuart Street in downtown Boston. After our first meeting, Jimmy Tashjian told me that part of my responsibility was to update the career scoring list for the Olympics. So, one Saturday morning, I met with him to go over the records and how the lists were maintained. Keep in mind that this was before personal computers and spreadsheets. While reviewing the women’s list, Jimmy mentioned that the leading scorer at that time, Sue Merian, had retired undefeated during her six-year career. After some quick mental math, I pointed out to him that Sue had 95 points on the list and, if she scored the maximum of 15 points per year, that would add up to 90 points. Jimmy paused and then said he wasn’t sure how that could be but it was my job now to figure that out. Then he introduced me to the archives where all the old copies of the Armenian Weekly were stored. He suggested I look through them for the years that Sue competed and check her point total. I spent the next few Saturdays dusting off those old bound copies, reading Olympics articles from the 1950s. I figured out that in 1957, when swimming events were added for the first time, Sue won the one women’s swimming event as well as her usual long jump, 50 and 100-yard dash events. But the writeup for her High Scorer award indicated that she scored 15 points (not 20) so evidently the swimming events were not counted that year for points. But apparently the extra five points were added to her career point total. After I reported this to Jimmy, he said it would be all right to correct her total to 90 points.

That initial project sparked my interest in the rich history of the Olympics. I spent many Saturdays just reading old Weekly issues and learning the deeds of AYFers who participated in those earlier years. As a trivia buff, specializing in AYF Olympics facts definitely piqued my interest.

My interest in Olympics history developed further in the late 1970s. Rich Chebookjian and I were trying to build membership within the Boston Siamanto chapter in a manner that many would call “recruiting for Olympics.” Incidentally, Rich was the first member that I “recruited for Olympics” in 1970 and I take pride in saying that I was involved in that process. In any case, in 1977, Tom Vartabedian published the first true special edition of the Weekly. As the special edition expanded in the following years, Tom would ask me and others for quotes and other information. I called Tom a close friend, and I miss him greatly, especially this time of year. But he did have a tendency to take liberties with facts and quotes. When I questioned him, he would just say that “it sounded better” the way he reported it. But eventually I wore him down, and we reached an understanding that he would ask me to clarify facts before going to print. If I didn’t know the answer to his question, I could find out fairly quickly by looking through my personal archive of ad books and old editions of the Weekly.

Eventually I transitioned to writing articles for the special edition to my current role as a member of this team since 2013. But I still act as the historian for our group, looking up facts when Mark or Harry have questions. In 2016, I took responsibility for maintaining the written history and the historical statistics for the Olympics after the unfortunate passing of Mark Alashaian. That information is now kept in spreadsheets and Word docs, a far cry from my project 46 years earlier.

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Mark Gavoor

Mark Gavoor is Associate Professor of Operations Management in the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University in Chicago. He is an avid blogger and oud player.

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This tribute to Tom Vartabedian, as well as other articles penned by special guests, was published in the September 5 Special Edition of the Armenian Weekly honoring the AYF Olympics.

Tom Vartabedian was a great person and a great Armenian. He loved his people and dedicated much of his life to supporting the ARF, the AYF, the church and The Armenian Weekly. This dedication and passion shined when it came to the AYF Olympics. He personified the spirit of the games and the camaraderie of the weekend and exemplified the lifelong connection of the AYF family. 

Tom started covering the Olympics when Jim Tashjian asked him to report on a few events. His involvement grew to a significant and consuming dimension. For 40 some years, Tom covered the Olympics by himself with a love and dedication so few have had for the organization over these many years. His pictures and articles made up the most anticipated Weekly issue of any year: The Olympics Issue.

The Olympics Issue began simply as articles in the Weekly. Tom’s first insert was in 1977 and was 12 pages. Over the years the Olympics Issue grew to a full 16-page insert, an endless delight for many families who looked forward to reading it in their homes and reliving the memories from just a few weeks before. The issue would rest on many family room tables until the next Olympics. There are many AYFers who would never part with those issues and would file them away for future reference. Clearly, Tom was the most vocal public relations manager the AYF has ever had.

With cameras over his shoulders, notepads filling the pockets of his shorts and a pencil on his ear, he would literally run from event to event to gather results, quotes and take pictures. He highlighted high scorers as well as those who tried hard for their chapters and earned second and third place finishes.

Olympic participants, families and friends attend the events to have fun; Tom’s version of fun was working, being a journalist. He was non-stop throughout the entire long weekend, supported by his most understanding wife Nancy and children, Ara, Raffi and Sona.

Through his work and dedication, he preserved and magnified Olympic memories for generations.

We who took over for him always comment that it now takes five people to do the work he did all by himself for so many years.

Bob Tutunjian, who makes a significant contribution to the Olympics Issue each year, started working with Tom in the late 70s. He helped Tom by providing information about the games, anecdotes, etc. “I learned a lot from Tom,” said Bob. “He was a close friend and we all miss him, especially this time of year. Olympics and Tom were one.”

Mark Gavoor, who spearheads the Olympic coverage with 24/7 energy for what seems to be a week, added, “Tom loved the Olympics and the weekend fraternalism with everyone. It showed in his articles and pictures. He is with us especially at every Olympics. He mentored all five of us and set us up to continue the legacy of excellent Olympic coverage started by Jimmy Tashjian and taken to another level by Tommy.”

That’s right. Five of us do what he did by himself. Bob Tutunjian, Harry Derderian and Mark Gavoor write the articles. Tamar Kanarian, Sona Gevorgian and Mark take the photos. 

In addition to the Olympics, let’s not forget Tom started writing his “Poor Tom’s Almanac” column in 1970 and wrote a column a week for 46 years; that is 2,392 columns.

In 2001, he was chosen Olympic king at the Boston games. This was an honor he truly deserved and most humbly treasured.

He did not have a topspin forehand on the tennis court—he was a scrapper and chased every ball down—but he had an endless dimension of love of organization, his fellow AYF family members and gave endless hours of volunteering. It was time for the organization and the generations of AYF family to say “thank you.”

No one will follow—he left a peerless legacy.

Tom was continuously active—12 months a year—in his beloved Haverhill and Merrimack Valley with ARF and various community endeavors including teaching Sunday school, creating awareness of the Genocide, as AYF advisor and encouraging youth to be engaged in their communities.

In his “other life” as a longtime journalist with the Haverhill Gazette, he won several awards from the Associated Press for writing and photography. He was a notable, recognized and consummate journalist; the Weekly and its readership benefitted from his talent.

Tom could have joined the renowned Boston Globe—the money was more—but he loved his small town family of Haverhill in quaint Merrimack Valley. He knew what he loved, and he loved what he did.

Not known to many and with a great deal of pride, he was a repeat Merrimack Valley racquetball champ in his 60-plus senior age groups. He repeatedly qualified for national competition.

Mountain climbing? Tom climbed many a mountain in New England. He loved to tour the National Parks of this great nation.

There are so many dimensions to Tommy Vartabedian! But, most dear to his heart was the Olympics and his dedication to preserving and lifting the AYF spirit, its family of participants and spreading the goodwill the AYF creates and passes on through the generations.

Every year at the games, we still see Tom and his signature smile walking with cameras on his shoulders, pencil on his ear and notepads bulging out from his pockets.

When the tri-color finally is waving in the wind next year in Worcester, Tom will be there. He is in our hearts and memories forever. We carry forth his legacy with great pride.

The AYF Olympics is Tom; Tom is the AYF Olympics.

Thank you, Tom.

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Mark Gavoor

Mark Gavoor is Associate Professor of Operations Management in the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University in Chicago. He is an avid blogger and oud player.

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This article by Anahid Karentz Varadian was first written in 2009 when she was crowned queen of the Providence Olympics. It was republished in the September 5 Special Edition issue of the Armenian Weekly honoring the AYF Olympics.

Growing up in a family of dedicated ARF and ARS parents, it was inevitable that my brother and I would become involved in Armenian organizations from a very young age through adulthood. My brother would become president of the Providence Chapter and a founding director of the AYF Foundation. My journey through the ranks of the various groups and organizations in Providence started with the pre-teen Ardzevigs, then the young adult ARF Nigol Douman Committee, followed by the Tzeragrons and the AYF Providence “Varantian” Chapter. Serving on the chapter’s executive for a number of years prepared me for my commitment to the Armenian Relief Society, where I have served for 60 years, privileged to hold positions on the executive of the local “Ani” Chapter as well as the organization’s Regional and Central Executive Boards.

However, it is the AYF that inspired and prepared me for those future endeavors. The AYF remains the dominant organization for our youth, influencing generations to value their Armenian heritage with educational, cultural, athletic, social and political activities. The AYF Olympics has become the major athletic and social event of the year, and memories of the past remain vivid despite the passing years, especially during the mid 1940s when our country was engaged in WWII and many of our eligible AYF members were drafted or volunteered to serve in the military. The Providence Chapter’s team at the 1942 Olympics in Lawrence, MA was the last full complement of male athletes competing in track, baseball, tennis and golf, winning the 9th AYF Olympics. In 1943, with most of the older boys in the service, we “girls” from Providence were determined to carry on the winning tradition along with the few remaining boys. The games were held at Dean Academy, Franklin, MA. As a small team, we managed to win three years in a row. With all the high-tech equipment being used today, it is quite humorous to mention that back then the high jump bar was a bamboo pole that bowed in the middle and the pit was very hard for landing. No “Fosbury Flop”: a forward roll over technique developed in 1968. Back then it was called the “scissor back over.” With no uniforms, many of us wore our high school gym shorts (my Cranston High School green luckily was also the Providence AYF color). It wasn’t until two years later when a number of our “men” (who left as “boys”) returned to help our chapter capture the title in 1945, 1946 and 1947 thereby retiring the first coveted Olympics trophy. As recapped in the 1948 Olympics Program Book, it would not have been possible without the active participation of the “fairer sex.” 

The 1947 Olympics was very special. We were previously competing in very small urban settings, and here we were in the big city of New York at the tremendously huge Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island, the site of the 1936 World Olympic Trials. With a record number of spectators, our AYF games were played with the following chapters competing: Boston, Bogota, Brockton, Cambridge, Camden, Hartford, Lawrence, New York, Newton, Niagara Falls, Philadelphia, Providence, Springfield, Syracuse, Utica, Union City and Washington. That New York experience was the year that the AYF Olympics began to adapt to athletic regulations with a first-class facility, proper athletic field equipment and experienced AAU officials.

With additional new members, Providence again dominated the games with the new system of 4-place points to boys and girls events. The host New York “Hyortiks” placed second, followed by Watertown “Gaidzags.”  

As generation after generation from east to west recount their experience as an AYF member with pride and honor, their individual stories share one commonality: the fraternal spirit never fades or diminishes.

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Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.

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This article by Varoujan Karentz was published in the September 5 Special Edition issue of the Armenian Weekly honoring the AYF Olympics.

The period was in the middle of World War II in 1944. Why the Olympic games were even scheduled is beyond reason, perhaps to promote the endurance and continuity of binding chapters together. Every AYF chapter had men in the service and most were overseas fighting for their lives and country. Regardless, Dean Academy’s athletic field in Franklin, Massachusetts was chosen as the location of the 1944 games. It had also hosted the Olympics the previous year (1943) when Providence won. However, in 1944 those athletes who were in the 1943 games were now in military service and not available; those who did participate in the 1944 games would enter the military during the next few months. I believe it may have been the first year that women were allowed to compete in AYF track events since only a few men were available.

The Providence Varantian team was made up primarily of women and young under military age young men (boys). Two Providence athletes were home on leave and did participate. Officials back then were AYF seniors, not certified field judges, track judges, timekeepers or starters, nor experienced athletes.  For that matter neither were many of us. High school athletics was our introduction into track and field events. 

I recollect both “Uncle Bozo” (Merton Bozoian) and “Hal Avedesian” who organized and managed the event. Also, the Dean Academy athletic field did not have a quarter mile track. It had a straight run track of 220 yards in addition to a high jump pit and long jump run. I don’t think that during the 1943 games any long distance events were run, but that year (1944) someone had the “brilliant” idea to pace off a quarter mile out on the football field using the odometer of a car which drove around in an approximate oval. An “official” followed the slow moving vehicle on foot and created an erratic white line sprinkling baking flour out of a sack outlining the inside quarter mile circumference of the track. Here and there were blotches of white where the flour was distributed and walked upon by the person spreading the flour. There was no outside line nor was the quarter mile measured other than by the vehicle’s odometer. 

The last event of the day was the men’s quarter mile baton relay race. Providence and Watertown were

neck and neck in points and whoever won the relay would be the team winner and take home the famed Olympic trophy. Providence had won the two previous Olympics in 1942 and 1943. 

I was a member of that 1944 relay team running the second leg. The Providence four-man relay team came in first as an exuberant winner by at least 10 yards. A so-called “observer” yelled across the field claiming my foot had stepped on a white line smudge and after a debate by officials, the Providence team was disqualified.

For the past 76 years that white smudge comes to mind each Labor Day. 

The author is a former president of the Providence AYF Chapter and founding member of the Armenian Youth Foundation.

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Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.

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I just got off a video call with Ken and Alexan Topalian. They were sitting outside their home in ProvIdence by their firepit, and I was in my home in Chicagoland. We were all hoisting cocktails and toasting the AYF and the AYF Olympics, which we are missing this year. We caught up, reminisced and waxed eloquent for an hour and 20 minutes. It was awesome, but not quite like being together as we might have been in Worcester.

I am an advocate and devotee of the AYF Olympics. But, I am a rank amateur compared to Ken. His passion is exemplary. He reminded me again on Friday that ours is the longest running ethnic athletic competition in the US even though this is an asterisked year. He also noted that we may be the only organization that actually has permission to call our games the Olympics. It seems that the other Olympics, you know, the international and globally televised one that occurs every four years is a bit touchy about other organizations calling their events the Olympics. Ken noted that is common to see four generations of a family in attendance, and that is something very special and possibly unique to the AYF Olympics.  

Friday at the Olympics is about golf, tennis, swimming, and last year in Chicago basketball. I would have probably met Ken, Alexan and Shahan in the lobby, and we would have headed off for golf. I love to get to the golf course when it is just starting, talk to the AYF and alumni golfers and take some photos as they are warming up. I get to ride around in a golf cart with Rich Keshkegian of the Governing Body and take some action photos. Then, I am off to tennis to catch up with the matches there. After several years of doing this, I know the players and their families, and this just adds to the reunion aspect of the AYF Olympics.  

After golf and tennis, we either, depending on the timing, go back to the hotel to grab a bite or head directly to swimming. Ah, the chlorine, the humidity, the spectators and the competition. I meet up with our senior photographer Tamar Kanarian. Along with Sona Gevorgian, Tamar takes the action photos while I photograph the presentation of the medals. Tamar has a wealth of photos from her years of covering the Olympics. She posted the best of her AYF swimming photos on Facebook for all to see…all 128 of them. Thank you, Tamar!

At this point, I could easily call it the end of a long day, retire to the room and write the article of the day. I do go to my room but not to write and retire, but rather to shower and dress up for the alumni and AYF dances. At the alumni dance, the Varadian Spirit Award recipients and the Olympics Kings and Queens are named. This is always a special moment to honor our AYF heritage. The host community provides an amazing buffet of our favorite foods. The music is the old-fashioned kind, the unique American Armenian twist on our folk music that is the soundtrack for many of us. 

The AYF dance usually starts later. The music is usually a modern headliner, much louder and more energetic. It is great to head there after the Alumni Dance and see the young people having such a wonderful time.

At this point in the wee hours of the morning, it is time to return my room, sift and sort through the photographs of the day and craft an article for the Armenian Weekly. Then after a few hours of sleep, it is Softball Saturday.

I really appreciated the video call with Ken and Alexan. Getseh to the AYF and the AYF Olympics!

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Mark Gavoor

Mark Gavoor is Associate Professor of Operations Management in the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University in Chicago. He is an avid blogger and oud player.

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We are old family friends.  That friendship began with our parents through the AYF. Our Dads, both Olympic Kings, actually met at an AYF Olympics. On a phone call earlier today, we started joking about our amazement that non-Armenians (we hesitated to use the word ‘odar’) actually have things to occupy their time and provide them with entertainment over Labor Day weekend. If it weren’t for the postponement of the AYF Olympics, we may have never discovered this whole new world. It is kind of a parallel universe where people actually think they are having as much fun as we are at the Olympics.

Mark Gavoor: Who knew our neighborhood had a community picnic on Sunday of Labor Day weekend… every year since 2000? Kids running around having fun, but no Armenian music.

Ara Topouzian: As a kid, I always thought Olympics was held on Labor Day weekend because it was the last hurrah before school started. Who knew Michigan had other activities that weekend! 

M.G.: Apparently, my university has always had classes on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Of course, I heard such rumors, but I thought they were kidding. Who knew?

A.T.: Albeit this year most activities are virtual. The Michigan State Fair, where you can see cows, sheep and scary clowns, is held in Novi, MI this weekend. I think there are far better characters to see at the Olympics. Most of them don’t bite either!

M.G.: On Labor Day weekend, I just found out many of my neighbors grill-up and feast on bratwurst or Polish sausage with almost the same gusto and fervor (or so they think) that we have for kebab. Who knew?

A.T.: Arts, Beats & Eats. It seems to be a big thing here in Detroit. Well, I must admit, I kind of heard this was going on Labor Day weekends. Just realized that it’s been going on this day for decades! It’s a big deal. Who knew?

M.G.: Apparently, there is an Art Festival in Lake Forest every Labor Day weekend for years. Who knew?

A.T.: International Detroit Jazz Festival. One of the largest jazz music festivals to take place in the country is always on this weekend. Legends like Dave Brubeck and Herbie Hancock, some of the major musicians played in Detroit that weekend. Who knew?

M.G.: I guess they had to get those “legends” as the real legends like John, Hachig, Onnik, Mal, Carnig, Harout, Ara, Richard, Armenchik and others are playing the Olympics.

A.T.: Cider mills? I thought they always opened up after we got home from Olympics! Nope. Franklin Cider Mill by my house opens the same day as the alumni dance!  

M.G.: We used to go to that Cider Mill as well, but the only Franklin that means anything to any us on Labor Day weekends is in Massachusetts…not Michigan.

Live and learn… who knew?

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Mark Gavoor

Mark Gavoor is Associate Professor of Operations Management in the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University in Chicago. He is an avid blogger and oud player.

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Certainly, the AYF Olympics is about the athletics. But, for many, they are equally interested in the dances and performers. My interest in the music and the dances has equaled and at times surpassed my interest in the athletics. 

For the past few weeks, I have been reaching out to various musicians, the vast majority of which were AYF members themselves and asked a few basic questions: What was the Olympics job you most enjoyed? Why was that? Who were the other musicians on the gig? What was the most memorable music you heard at the Olympics when you weren’t playing? What year and city? Who were the musicians?

I thought it would be fun to share the answers; others might enjoy the trip down this musical memory lane.

Everyone I contacted responded and provided the following. I have added my own comments and summary as well. Writing articles about the Olympics for the Armenian Weekly has always been a labor of love. This one, because of my connection to the music, is even more special to me.

Steve Vosbikian, Jr: The most memorable time playing at an Olympics was with the Vosbikian band at the 2018 Olympics in Philadelphia. Being on stage with my fFather and uncles was an honor and a joy. I have always enjoyed listening to my musical mentors Hachig Kazarian, Mal Barsamian and Ara Dinkjian

Mark Gavoor: The Voskbikian Band was founded in 1939. They are the longest running Armenian band in the US by a long shot. Their dedication to our music is something to be admired. Stevie is an example of how each generation keeps it going and keeps getting better and better. Read their history in Harry Kezelian’s excellent blog Kef Time U.S.A.

John Berberian:  The Olympics event that I most enjoyed playing was the Sunday night ball and breakfast concert that was held in Philadelphia in 1982. The musicians were Onnik Dinkjian, Hachig Kazarian on clarinet, Ara Dinkjian on guitar, Bobby Sohigian on dumbeg and myself on oud. The two additional musicians who joined us for the dance portion on Sunday night were Greg Janian on large drum and Carnig Mikitarian on sax. This was a “double header,” so to speak, that went from 9:00pm Sunday night to 4:30am Monday morning. The concert was impromptu but came off beautifully. Those in attendance were actually having a quiet breakfast in low light while we played. This was so successful and novel that a few years later Detroit asked that we do the same.

The dance that I enjoyed when not playing was the 2018 Philadelphia Olympics Ball. The Vosbikians played that night, and they were terrific. I stood by the stage and simply enjoyed seeing and hearing one of the greatest “Big Band” sounds of our time. I enjoyed their fathers when I was younger, and I am thrilled to see their kids keeping the tradition alive. And, if I may add, we are looking forward to having them on stage at next year’s AYF Alumni night in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

I started playing Olympics in the early 60s. Prior to that, I can remember being intrigued by the sounds of the Gomidas Band in particular with the oud virtuosity of George Mgrdichian. The early years of Olympics reserved Saturday night for American music. New York AYF featured Lionel Hampton and his band in 1958. 

Then there was the Richmond Ararat band with Bedros, Mickie, Murad, Butch and a few others. One thing they were known for was to interject a little bit of “Dixie” in their repertoire every now and then. I’m sure that I left out a few other bands, but one thing for sure was that they all had their own unique effect on our Olympics music and on our Armenian musical culture in general over the years.

M.G.: John Berberian took our music a quantum leap higher with his fiery style and passion in two iconic albums: Oud Artistry and Expressions East. He is the reason I play the oud. After years of practice and playing, he is still the benchmark many of us try to achieve. Hearing him over the years at the Olympics has been a great joy.

Mal Barsamian: First time I played an Olympics was in Boston 1981. I played with Leo Derderian, Vahe Magarian and Mickey Kerneklian at the Sheraton. It was for the Alumni Dance. I brought along my ‘odar’ friends from high school, as we had just graduated. The room was empty at first, but my friends were astounded at how quickly the room filled up, and everyone was dancing.

I truly enjoyed playing at the main dance of the 1984 Watertown Olympics at Sheraton in Boston with Rich Berberian, Bruce Gigarjian, Paul Mooradian and Ron Tutunjian. Also in 1997, the same group played with the addition of Ara Topouzian on kanun and Stepan Mgrdichian on bass. A real treat for me was in 1996, when I had the chance to play with the great George Mgrdichian in Marlborough, Mass.

As for my favorite Olympic bands where I was just a listener, there are so many. Let me list a few. I loved the 1983 Olympics at Rocky Point Palladium in Providence. It was the last Olympics that Bobby Sohigian played. Another amazing Olympics memory was the 1971 Olympics Picnic at Camp Haiastan Buses up and down Summit. Hachig, Richard, George, Eli, Leo Arzoomanian and Bobby Sohigian played the picnic.  There were three buses from Montreal. There are many great musicians, but truly Bobby Sohigian was something special. In 1974 at the  Worcester Olympics picnic at Camp Haiastan, Hachig, John, Bobby and George were playing when I arrived. I could hear Bobby’s drum before I heard the other musicians. It sounded like a rocket. In 1976 in Providence at the Civic Center, Bobby put on a show. All eyes were on Bobby at Boston University’s Case Center in 1977; he was amazing.

M.G.: Mal is an amazing musician. We have heard him at the Olympics play excellent guitar, clarinet and saxophone. Not many know that he is also an exceptional oud player. He recently released an album, The Exciting Sounds of the Mal Barsamian Band, in which he plays all the instruments on all the tracks. Read Ara Topouzian’s review of this album in the Armenian Weekly.

Mal is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to this music. We talked for over two hours for this article. I had to edit his comments down the most of anyone. We have to get Mal’s memories down on video.  

Ara Topouzian: The most memorable Olympics band job was the year I played a Saturday night with Mal Barsamian and Richie Berberian in Washington, DC in 1997. It stands out because it was a main night dance, and I was playing with some great friends – Mal, Richie, Ron, Bruce, Stepan and Paul. What made it especially memorable was toward the end of the event when the bridge on my kanun decided to collapse in the middle of a haleh! The microphone was situated on the bridge, so when it collapsed, the sound it made was like a bomb went off! All I could do was laugh and felt, well, I’m done for the night! 

I felt the best Olympics ensemble of my generation was in Watertown, MA in 1984. (Probably the most bootlegged recording out there…) Bruce Gigarjian joined the All Stars that year on dumbeg with Onnik, Hachig, John, Carnig, Ara Dinkjian and Paul Mooradian. This was a solid sound that provided nonstop dance music all night. I have glimpses of Bobby Sohigian playing dumbeg (in previous years), and I am sure if I was a little older, any ensemble he was part of would be just as memorable. 

M.G.: Ara Topouzian helped popularize the kanun to its rightful place in our music once more. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and his music has been heard and sold around the world. In 2012, Kresge Arts of Detroit recognized Ara with a Kresge Arts Fellowship for his achievements and contributions to his craft.

Onnik Dinkjian: All of the Olympics I was involved with were fantastic, memorable and unforgettable. I do not really have a favorite. They are all special. I love watching the people and seeing them dance and enjoy themselves. Obviously, every time I play with Ara is a plus. It is a dream any father would cherish. I love to see the young people, like Michael Gostanian, Raffi Massoyan and Stevie Vosbikian play. It makes me proud to know that our music will continue.

M.G.: Onnik, of course, is a national treasure. Everyone who has ever attended an AYF Olympics and seen him perform knows this. Earlier this year, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow. It is an awesome honor for Onnik and his family. It should make all of us proud as well. Read about Onnik and view samples of Onnik’s performances on the NEA webpage. Also, watch the AYF Olympics Commemorative Video Series: Entertainment in which Onnik, Ara and Hachig are interviewed and reminisce about our music.

Rich Berberian: Of the many AYF Olympic events I’ve performed at over the years, I most enjoyed the 1989 Boston Olympics dance. My musical collaboration with Mal Barsamian was newly evolving, and we were really rocking as a group with Ron Tutunjian, Bruce Gigarjian and Paul Mooradian. That night we released our first recording as a group that became known as the “Brown Album” – even though it as initially released on cassette and sold over 4000 copies.

On a purely musical level, there are two Olympics that stand out in my memory. The first was the 1972 Los Angeles Olympics. The band as I recall was John Berberian, Onnik Dinkjian, Carnig Mikitarian, George Righellis, Bobby Sohigian and another drummer from LA who’s name I can’t remember who. The big “hype” out of LA was they had this dumbeg player who was better than Bobby who had to be part of the band. He was good, but Bobby destroyed him. Our east coast guys were extra strong musically that weekend to show the LA crowd what “real” Armenian music should sound like. Best Olympics ever. 

To me, the 1975 Detroit Olympics was the all-time best Olympics on a purely musical level. I believe it was the second time an Olympics weekend was headlined by Richard Hagopian. Accompanying him were Hachig Kazarian, George Righellis and Bobby Sohigian. The dance was at the Cobo sports arena, and the band was simply on fire. They played non-stop until 3 am. What stands out in my mind is how Bobby Sohigian could fill this huge hall with sound playing dumbeg and not use a microphone. The “Kef Time” group was in its prime at this time; we followed this event with Kef Time Hartford eight weeks later. A final memory from that weekend was that somehow, the Detroit AYF Olympic Committee had the main street by the hotel and Cobo renamed to Armenian Youth Federation Blvd. Somehow, I coerced an athletic person to climb the street post in the middle of the night and take down one of those street signs for me. I still have it hanging in my “man cave” today.  

M.G.: I remember going to the Worcester Olympics in 1974. I walked into the hotel, oud and suitcase in hand, without a room reservation.  The first people I saw were Rich Berberian, John Harotian and Ron Tutunjian. They said, “Stay with us.” “OK.” That kicked off a weekend of nonstop partying and music. We along with a few others played the hook-ups Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. These were the days when the hook-ups were impromptu. We all had a rocking good time as did our AYF peers who danced until dawn to our music. 

Ara Dinkjian: I think it was Washington, D.C., either 1992 or 1997. The musicians were my father Onnik, John Berberian, Hachig Kazarian, Carnig Mikitarian, Roger Krikorian, and myself. At the peak of the Sunday night ball, in the middle of a rocking dance number, I slipped on a toupée. As each of the musicians looked at me, they fell apart laughing and stopped playing. Eventually the music completely stopped (except for me and my keyboard). The thousand dancers looked at the stage to find out why the music stopped, and all they saw was the musicians cracking up, all because I had hair!

I was always the youngest person in the band by a generation for many years. I was given an entre to be on stage and learn. As I got older, I felt the music was going to die on my generation’s watch. Our music started to become less frequent. I personally felt I needed to pass the baton of the culture to the next generation. Raffi Massoyan sought me out when he was six. He became my first student. Then 20 years later, he played with us at the Chicago Olympics last year. It was simply gratifying. When I see the Kzirians, Hagopians, Vosbikians, Michael Kamalian, and Datev Gevorgian, they have an energy and enthusiasm that is contagious. I tell these young people, “When you see a young kid staring at you when you play, go up to them during a break and introduce yourself and ask them about themselves. They may be too shy to approach you. We have to encourage them and pass the baton.”

M.G.: In the AYF world, we know of Ara Dinkjian as Onnik’s son who used to play guitar and now plays keyboard whenever Onnik sings. What many of us don’t know is that Ara is a world renowned oud player and composer. Among his incredible accomplishments and performances, he had his song, Dinata (Homecoming), performed at the closing of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

John Harotian: I loved playing the Alumni Dance just last year in Chicago with Mark Gavoor, Ara Topouzian, Ara Dinkjian, John Paklaian, Scott Paklaian and Greg Tootooian. We had a great sound. The dance floor was full. My favorite Olympic Bands were in 1971 in Boston with Hachig Kazarian, Richard Hagopian, George Righelis and Bobby Sohigian. I also liked hearing John Vosbikian play the G clarinet in Toronto in 1973. Anytime Bobby Sohigian played the dumbeg at an Olympics was memorable to me. He was the best.

M.G.: I play in a band with John Harotian. We both moved to Chicago and always wanted to play together and now we do. It has been a lot of fun. I agree with John that last year’s Alumni Dance was a most memorable AYF gig. Everyone had a wonderful time that evening. I also have to agree that that hearing Richard Hagopian for the first time in 1971 was one of my favorite Olympics band as well. Richard, Hachig, George and Bobby made me love the music more than I already did.

Antranig Kzirian: The first Olympics I ever attended was in New Jersey. I just remember the awe being there and hearing the All Star Band. My love for the music took on new heights because of that. I also remember the 1995 Olympics in Marlborough, MA. The dances took place in a cavernous convention hall. I was so excited to see John Berberian. At the 1991 Boston Olympics, I loved watching Richard Hagopian and Arto Tunc. A few years ago, as some of you may know, I was in a rock band that toured the world: Viza. I had finished a tour in Europe with Viza and flew from Bologna to Philly for the AYF Olympics. It was such a contrast. I had just finished an exhausting tour doing the “rock and roll oud thing,” and the very next night I am playing with my friends and family in my hometown at the AYF Olympics.  

M.G.: Antranig has also taken our music to new levels. He has toured the world with Viza. He teaches oud in person and via Zoom. He and Aram Hovagimian created an amazing resource for Middle Eastern music. Missing the music at the Olympics just about now? Enjoy their streaming service.

Bruce Gigarjian: The first Olympics I went to and enjoyed the most was 1974 in Worcester. I was a young teenager. John Berberian,  Hachig Kazarian, Onnik Dinkjian, George Righellis and Bobby Sohigian were playing. For some reason, I gravitated to the rhythm section. It was that Olympics that inspired me to take up the drum. The Olympics was a few months after my parents’ anniversary party where Bobby also played. I started playing with my brother, and over time I earned a reputation amongst the New England musicians. The first Olympics I played was also the most memorable. It was 1984 in Watertown, 10 years after the first Olympics I ever attended. Bobby Sohigian was supposed to play but was in poor health. Bobby suggested to John that I take his place. It was a most special endorsement coming from Bobby who was my drumming idol and sadly passed away a few months after that… way too young. The band was John Berberian, Hachig Kazarian, Onnik and Ara Dinkjian and Paul Mooradian. 

After that Olympics, due to the influence of being around the great George Righellis, I picked up the guitar and have played both dumbeg and guitar at several Olympic dances.

M.G.: Bruce related that he was in charge of the music in 1984. When he was offered to play dumbeg for the Sunday night dance, he was concerned that it might look like a conflict of interest. He is such a good and decent fellow, no one thought it was. He is also a guy that quietly and expertly does his job…be it on guitar or dumbeg.

Ron Tutunjian: When playing an Olympics, it doesn’t matter when it was…it was always about the people. When I played with Mal Barsamian, Rich Berberian, Bruce Gigarjian and Paul Mooradian and looked at all the people dancing in unison, I got the chills. It is an indescribable feeling.

M.G.: Ron is the younger brother of Bob Tutunjian who contributes so much to the reporting of the AYF Olympics. Bob focused on AYF athletics and Ron on the music. Ron loves to play. He loves the music. He loves the people and the atmosphere. I love that about him and relish every opportunity I get to play with him. His testimony here is the shortest, but I am certain it is the most heartfelt.

Hachig Kazarian: Actually, I had a few memorable years for different reasons!

The 1971 Olympics in Boston was enjoyable because of the combination of musicians. Richard Hagopian was on oud and vocals, Eli Nazarian played kanon, George Righellis was on guitar, Leo Arzoomian was on the conga drum and vocals, and Bobby Sohigian played the dumbek. 

My third Olympics was in Providence in 1959. It was the first one that I was actually hired. I played with the HyeTones of Detroit that included Cory Tosoian, Kelly Kuchukian and Adam Manoogian. It was at the Rhode of Pawtuxet. The musicians were my best friends and my heroes. We had a lot of fun playing.

Last year in Chicago, I thought we played very well together. I feel I was “on” from beginning to the end of the night which is not easy at my age.

Also, it was a great pleasure meeting and playing with the Richmond Ararat Band. It was in Detroit, perhaps 1961. The band members that I recall were Bedros Bandazian on oud and Mickey Kerneklian on clarinet. I played saxophone.

Hearing the Aramites for the first time at the 1957 Olympics Niagara Falls and then the Vosbikians and Gomidas bands together in Philadelphia 1963 really stick out in my mind.

M.G.: I grew up in Detroit to Hachig’s music. His Govand on “the green album,” The Exciting Sounds of Hachig Kazarian, inspired a generation of clarinet players. His contribution to the Olympics music is incredible. Along with John Berberian and Onnik, he is a true AYF Olympic All Star. 

Besides the AYF video mentioned above, any fan of Hachig should listen his interview on Taqs.im Podcast.

Putting this together has been a great experience. I appreciate all the musicians for their time and consideration in collecting and sharing their thoughts. I was delighted that John Berberian, Mal Barsamian and Hachig all mentioned Mickey Kerneklian. Mickey is an awesome clarinet player and a consummate ensemble player. He has a sweet sound. I was proud to play several gigs with him in the 1990s and 2000s while living on the east coast. I never knew that he played Olympics, but that is only because he played when I was just a kid. It is no surprise that he did, and I am happy that John, Mal and Hachig acknowledged him.

There is a recurring theme in this. There is a musician everyone mentions and reveres. There is a musician I wish I could have interviewed:  Bobby Sohigian. He is a true legend, and he died way too young. Whenever we discuss his talent, musicians in my generation are amazed that he was so loud and powerful with or without a microphone. Whenever he wanted, he could take the all the attention of the spectators gathered around the stage from the rest of the band with a flurry of unbelievable pops, rolls and syncopations. Then he would let up and again become an integral part of the group. 

There was no Olympics this year. But, there is a lot about the music we love in this article.

Looking forward to 2021 in Worcester.

Author information

Mark Gavoor

Mark Gavoor is Associate Professor of Operations Management in the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University in Chicago. He is an avid blogger and oud player.

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My mind, like everyone else’s this weekend, is somewhere else. It’s at a field with a clarinet booming in the distance. It’s at a pool reeking of chlorine. It’s at a hotel lobby eagerly awaiting friends. But you know what? It’s okay.

It’s okay that I didn’t have to pack and unpack, then pack and repack 30 different outfits for a three-day event.

It’s okay that I didn’t wait at baggage claim counting how many bags I spotted with red, blue and orange tassels hanging from their handles.

It’s okay that I’m not trying to make my way up to my room, forced to stop every few steps to place a kiss on the cheek of nearly everyone I pass.

It’s okay that my room is quiet and empty instead of flooded with friends and too many pairs of shoes.

It’s okay that I’m not squished into the back of a school bus with a backpack hiding my bathing suit and a bagel for later.

It’s okay that my jersey is still tucked away at the bottom of my drawer. It comes out once a year, but I suppose not this one.

It’s okay that I haven’t squealed with delight when friends I had seen just a week or so before arrive. Feels like it’s been forever…

It’s okay that I haven’t picked up my HyePass and checked to make sure it fits into each of my evening bags.

It’s okay that I’m not buying a pack of Oreos and a Gatorade from a seven year-old manning the concession stand.

It’s okay that I’m not sitting on a curb outside an unfamiliar school waiting for a bus to pick me up again. They say they run every 15 minutes.

It’s okay that I’m not chanting and cheering, laughing and listening.

It’s okay that I’m not frantically looking for a baseball mitt to borrow for just one inning.

It’s okay that I don’t smell kebab. Running around all day sure can make you hungry.

It’s okay that I’m not huddled together with my team, our hands stacked on top of one another counting to three.

It’s okay that I’m not standing in a dugout, my fingers laced through the metal fence chanting the name of the batter up next.

It’s okay that I haven’t developed a tan line so deep it might show through my dress tonight.

It’s okay my alarm isn’t set for an obscenely early hour after staying up past an obscenely late one.

It’s okay that I’m not pulling little black beads from the turf as welcoming speeches echo around me.

It’s okay that I haven’t slowed down just long enough to watch a group of eager kids run from one end of the track to their even more eager parents at the other.

It’s okay that I’m not out of breath from laughing too hard or running for the first time in a year.

It’s okay that I can’t hear the voices of a thousand Armenians singing and praying under an unforgiving summer sun.

It’s okay that I’m not piecing together a group to run a relay—not a single one of us wants to do it, but we will anyway. Why wouldn’t we?

It’s okay that I’m not seeking my mom out in the crowd—maybe she will stand in line for me at the concession stand so I don’t miss my next event.

It’s okay that I didn’t watch a torch pass from hand to another with care and pride.

It’s okay that I don’t need to share a hotel bathroom mirror frantically trying to get ready for tonight.

It’s okay that I’m not standing in the middle of a dance floor, awaiting the most exciting news of the weekend.

It’s okay that I’m not shocked or excited, saddened or confused at the results.

It’s okay that I haven’t raised a glass to those who have brought us so far, but who now face the curse of age.

It’s okay that my pinkies aren’t sore from dancing next to a mother with too many rings on.

It’s okay that I don’t feel the pounding of music in my head or in my heart.

It’s okay that I’m not hoping for the night to last forever. I’m not ready to return to my other life.

It’s okay that I’m not stuffing my luggage full of trinkets from the weekend—a funny slip of paper with a number printed on it, a pennant donning my favorite team plus a few medals if I’m lucky.

It’s okay that I’m not on an airplane drifting in and out of sleep wishing the next event would just hurry up.

It’s okay—next year will be all the more special because of it. 

Author information

Arev Dinkjian

Arev Dinkjian grew up in an Armenian household in Fort Lee, NJ. She was always surrounded by art, sourced by her musical father and grandfather, Ara and Onnik, or her creative mother Margo. Arev attended Providence College starting in 2011 and graduated with a degree in elementary and special education. She enjoys teaching language arts to her students and takes great pride in instilling an appreciation for literature in her classroom. Today, she remains very active in the Armenian community, serving as the president of the NJ AYF “Arsen" Chapter, a member of both the Bergen County ARS and the Sts. Vartanantz Ladies’ Guild, and on numerous AYF central committees. She also dedicated many summers to AYF Camp Haiastan, which she says remains her favorite topic to write about.

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By: William Kevorkian, Sarine Meguerditchian and Ani Ourfalian

As the world enters another month of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, friends and families are finding new opportunities to have fun while following social-distancing guidelines. The AYF Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter is no different; instead of campers going to Camp Haiastan or students traveling to Armenia for summer internships, everyone is home as social activities remain restricted. To help ease the stress of social distancing and quarantining, senior and junior members of the AYF chapter found a new way to socialize safely – an Escape Room Zoom! On Wednesday August 5, 2020, Junior Advisor Emin Abrahamian helped organize an Escape Room Zoom for a group of junior and senior members of the AYF Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter. 

Abrahamian arranged three separate groups, each with a combination of junior and senior members, to solve pictures, puzzles and riddles. The goal of the activity was to answer questions as quickly as possible and advance before other teams. Questions were related to Armenian history, food and pop culture.

Two of the executive members from the Junior Chapter were in attendance; president Sarine Megurditchian and recording secretary Ani Ourfalian. Here are their experiences.

Megurditchian: I was part of the group that finished first, along with junior member Maral Abrahamian and senior members Lucine Bahtiarian and William Kevorkian. The puzzles were challenging, but having both junior and senior perspectives were refreshing and extremely helpful. Plus, we were able to laugh about some of our wild answers. Additionally, the escape rooms required consolidation amongst teammates, which provided a way for the juniors and seniors to interact! When everything closed down so suddenly, the contact between our junior and senior members began to diminish, especially since we did not have much of a start to the year. It was nice to see the union of our chapter once again! Though we do not know what the future has in store for us, with virtual activities like these, I am confident that our chapter will be able to continue our junior-senior relationship and provide a way to stay engaged and excited!

Ourfalian: I was a part of the group to finish last, however it was a very fun experience. There were two seniors in my group: Anoush Krafian and Elizabeth Krmzian and junior Arpi Mirzabegian. We were in the lead for the majority of the game, but we fell behind at the last question. All of us worked together to solve each clue, sharing our screens and coming up with ideas. Even though we didn’t finish first, we got to laugh together and learn about many people who are a part of the Armenian community, whether or not they were an answer to the clue! I am very glad I got to be a part of such a unique experience. If the situation of the pandemic continues to worsen, then this is the exact pathway that we should follow to continue to strengthen the bond between both juniors and seniors.

This activity gave AYF Greater Boston “Nejdeh” members the opportunity to socialize and talk about how this pandemic has affected them personally and how they envision future social events. Since March, AYF chapters across the country have cancelled numerous social events and fundraisers; all chapter meetings are held virtually. As this pandemic grows, only time will tell when everyone can safely socialize and interact together again. 

Author information

AYF-YOARF

Founded in 1933, The Armenian Youth Federation is an international, non-profit, youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). The AYF-YOARF Eastern United States stands on five pillars that guide its central activities and initiatives: Educational, Hai Tahd, Social, Athletic and Cultural. The AYF also promotes a fraternal attitude of respect for ideas and individuals amongst its membership. Unity and cooperation are essential traits that allow members of the organization to work together to realize the AYF’s objectives.

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BOSTON, Mass.—Unwavering vocal support from Diasporan Armenians was echoing throughout the city of Boston on Friday evening in a demonstration calling for justice and condemnation against Azerbaijan’s unprovoked and wide-scale attacks on the Republics of Artsakh and Armenia.

The skies brightened up for an estimated 500 participants from throughout the New England area, who all converged outside the Massachusetts State House for the protest led by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Eastern Region. Artsakh’s Defense Forces had just concluded their sixth day of fighting during which the capital Stepanakert endured its most intense shelling to date.

“The world knows that Azerbaijan fired the first shot. The world knows that Turkey is behind this,” began Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern Region Central Committee Chairman George Aghjayan’s fiery address, highlighting the apparent paralysis of the United States government. “Their hands are dirty with the blood of Azeri oil. We need action,” he exclaimed.

Armenians believe this offensive orchestrated by Azerbaijan and Turkey is an existential threat, and they are doing whatever they can to lend their support to the ultimate cause. “Our very existence is threatened by our enemies, who approach us from all sides. This is why every Armenian must be driven by love of country, our history and our roots,” said AYF Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter member Aram Brunson before leading the crowd in what has now become a popular and spirited message among Armenians around the world—Հաղթելու Ենք (“We will win”).

“My heart goes out to all my brothers fighting in Armenia,” said AYF North Andover “Sassoun” member Anna Shahtanian while holding a large black and white infographic highlighting Azerbaijan’s intolerance for foreign journalists. “I’m honored to be here [doing] a small part in helping defend our homeland,” she continued. 

Throughout the program, Diasporan Armenians captured the attention of pedestrians walking by the State House by chanting “With our soldiers,” “Armenia wants peace,” “Stop Azeri aggression,” and “Artsakh is Armenia.” Their demands were clear, namely US legislation condemning Azerbaijan and Turkey and an end to military funding to the oil-rich dictatorial regimes. Several AYF members also educated news outlets in attendance about the ongoing developments and that it was a deliberate and pre-planned attack by Azerbaijan.

After a rousing program led by senior members of the Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter, organizers made a spontaneous decision and instructed the hundreds in attendance to march through Boston Common to the Parkman Bandstand. Within moments, a sea of Armenian tricolors flooded the historic park. “The rally in our hearts doesn’t stop,” said Homenetmen Boston Executive member George Barmakian to a thunderous applause.

The undaunted spirit of the Armenian people was palpable across the city as attendees young and old, educators, religious leaders, strangers and friends alike marched through the Common raising awareness about Turkey’s genocidal history and Azerbaijan’s recent human rights violations. “We want to share what’s going on with others to make sure that this doesn’t go unexposed so later on in history we’re not still trying to justify something like the Genocide to be recognized,” said siblings Melani and Krikor Norsigian who drove two hours from Connecticut to participate in the demonstration.

“If I’m not here, I’m doing an injustice to me and my people,” said David Belorian of Belmont as he proudly marched with an Armenian flag draped around his shoulders.

Resounding calls for justice continued from the Parkman Bandstand, where longtime AYF members Ani Khatchatourian and Meghri Dervartanian rallied the crowd with a final set of powerful chants. “God bless and keep Armenia’s Armed Forces,” has been their faithful prayer. “Long live the Republic of Artsakh, long live the Republic of Armenia, and long live the people of Armenia.” 

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Leeza Arakelian

Assistant Editor

Leeza Arakelian is the assistant editor for the Armenian Weekly. She is a formally trained broadcast news writer and a graduate of UCLA and Emerson College. Leeza has written and produced for local and network television news including Boston 25 and Al Jazeera America.

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I’ve always appreciated the ancient adage that has tied Armenians so closely to pomegranates. The fruit is in our art, our clothes, our dance, our culture. More and more I consider this idea—that somehow we are like pomegranates. 

We grow upside down, displaced from our own ancestral land but always stretching out towards the light. 

We are smooth and composed on the outside, but to crack one open, to see what’s there…that’s the real story. 

The tireless effort to reap the fruit—just a taste will do…

Even the most beautiful flowers hide the ugly truths of our past. They are not secrets, but somehow no one yearns to overturn them.  

Drunk from the wine of brotherhood, of togetherness, of our future. What’s next for us? 

Our hands left sticky blood red but to scrub clean the past would be to let it carry away in vain. 

The bittersweet sting of a land just out of reach. They say at least we have the view. 

Where there is one, there are many, for we carry within us a thousand lives of those who came before. 

Our skin thick and scarred from a history unrecognized. 

Indelible images of what once was and what could be leaving dark, shapeless stains on our hearts and our minds. 

A symbol of fertility. May our children walk these paths as we have and others much greater than this. 

A culture that started in the Heavenly Kingdom and continued here on earthly land…it will not end. 

For even in death, seeds find their way to the ground to sprout anew.

Author information

Arev Dinkjian

Arev Dinkjian grew up in an Armenian household in Fort Lee, NJ. She was always surrounded by art, sourced by her musical father and grandfather, Ara and Onnik, or her creative mother Margo. Arev attended Providence College starting in 2011 and graduated with a degree in elementary and special education. She enjoys teaching language arts to her students and takes great pride in instilling an appreciation for literature in her classroom. Today, she remains very active in the Armenian community, serving as the president of the NJ AYF “Arsen" Chapter, a member of both the Bergen County ARS and the Sts. Vartanantz Ladies’ Guild, and on numerous AYF central committees. She also dedicated many summers to AYF Camp Haiastan, which she says remains her favorite topic to write about.

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Dear non-Armenian,

It’s been three weeks.
Three weeks of tears.
Three weeks of screaming.
Three weeks of sleepless nights.
Three weeks of death, destruction, exhaustion.
Three weeks of being physically present, but never fully there.
Three weeks of protests and signing petitions.
Three weeks of donating every cent possible.
Three weeks of incessantly flooding our feeds with posts.
Three weeks of BEGGING people to care.
Three weeks of noticing people don’t care.

It’s been 105 years since the Ottoman Empire tried to exterminate the Armenian people. Every Armenian born since then was born with survivors’ blood running through our veins, born into a world where the perpetrators of the first genocide of the 20th century continue to deny the fact that this ever even occurred, that they never massacred 1.5 million of our friends and family members with the agenda to completely exterminate us, and still continue to get away with it. We have never doubted, though, that with today’s outreach and ease to spread awareness on social media, the Armenian Genocide would never have been able to occur in this current century.

It is October 19, 2020, and I am saddened to say that the very same agenda is being carried out, and the world is not even batting an eye. 

With the backing of Turkey’s dictatorship, Azerbaijan has been attacking Artsakh for three weeks straight, claiming it as their own. Yet it is this very land at which their missiles take aim. How is anyone supposed to believe they actually care for Artsakh the way we have? They start a war in the midst of a global pandemic and bomb the biggest PPE factory in the region. We send medical supplies and healthcare professionals. They neglect the ceasefire they agreed to mere hours prior. We actively protest for peace. They bomb a hospital and a church nowhere near where combat is taking place. We take in their wounded soldiers and heal them. They censor the internet and manipulate the truth from their citizens. We wage a full scale information war on a global grassroots level just to make sure the world knows that the people who are dying did not start the fight in which they are dying.

It is in their blood to destroy. It is in our blood to preserve. They are the grandchildren of genocide perpetrators. We are the grandchildren of genocide survivors.

It was difficult to understand when we were growing up, when all we wanted to do was watch the July 4th fireworks or go to the Friday night high school football game. We grew up spending our days at Sunday School, Armenian School, dance class, scouts, choir practice, and when we weren’t at any of these activities, we were with other Armenians, eating Armenian food, speaking as much Armenian as our parents and grandparents would oblige us to.  We had this lifestyle instilled in us from the very beginning of our lives. It took time to grow up, mature, and unfortunately have our entire existence as a people (yet again) threatened in order to fully appreciate and understand why we were dragged to do these things. The previous generations and our loved ones who have left us on this Earth have felt comfortable enough to leave us, because they gave us these tools, and they believed in us. They believed in our capability and potential as a diaspora to be able to handle anything that comes our way in this fight for our cause, and to never forget who we are on the way.

We have been screaming, marching, and closing down streets all around the world, one second smiling, the next crying, just to be able to get a glimpse of awareness and truth in the media. We can take time to be emotional and process what is going on, but we don’t have the luxury to not put on a brave face in times like these. We will not stop fighting for our people. We will not stop until the truth is heard. We have no other choice. We don’t know any other way. We can’t deal with this any other way. Most of us can’t physically fight this war, but we have found ways to help from afar. We have become the unsung internet diasporan soldiers fighting this war in ways we never imagined we would have to. It is our responsibility as diasporans to take action, educate, and donate. It is in our blood to fight for our cause and stand up for our people, to stand up for justice, peace, and for what is right.

What other nation do you know of that is so geographically distant, yet so emotionally unified?

The diaspora is funding this war; medical supplies, basic needs and all other necessities have been collected and donated over the last three weeks to help our kindred Artsakhtsis. However, with the constant ceasefire violations and brutality, it is evident that there is no end in sight. So I will unapologetically ask you once again: please donate; please reach out to find a petition to sign; please educate; please reach out to find something to post or share on your own page; please reach out just to tell us you are there for us and our people, for human rights. We cannot do this alone. The entire world needs to know the truth and understand that this is our reality. You are how we can fix this, how we can end this. We need your platform. We need your voice. We need YOU.

Sincerely,

A heartbroken Armenian

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Patille Kiledjian

Patille has been an active member of the Armenian community her whole life. She is on the AYF NJ Arsen chapter executive. She's also a member of the ARF NJ Dro chapter.

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On October 18, as Azerbaijan was launching attacks violating the most recent ceasefire, Chicago Armenians were gathering to support their family, friends and fellow Armenians in Artsakh. The demonstration was over 300 people strong and brought in Armenians from Wisconsin, Indiana and other outlying areas. The demonstration also brought some media coverage and support from non-Armenian allies, including members from local Assyrian, Palestinian, Greek and Jewish communities. 

“We will keep fighting,” said Emily Terian, president of the Chicago “Ararat” AYF Chapter. “We will keep protesting, and we will keep calling on the international community to be on the right side of history. We will not stop until there is an end to the crimes that are being committed, until Artsakh is recognized as an independent democratic, sovereign republic that it is and has every right to be.”

This was the second protest in Chicago, as Armenia and its diaspora move into what has become a long-term struggle. As the attacks continue with no end in sight, I have seen many Armenians in the diaspora start to lose hope and feel more and more helpless. Sometimes it seems that we can never do enough from so far away, that no one will listen to us, or that we are each too small and insignificant to do anything. 

But if we are going to win this fight, we must use the power of our collective passion and action. While Azerbaijan has oil money and large PR firms, we rely on the strength of our people and our communities. While for some, the initial shock of the war has worn off, our soldiers and civilians are still under fire every day and are now dealing with a massive second wave of COVID-19. As our brothers and sisters in Armenia keep their fighting spirit despite the constant threat of extermination, we cannot afford to lose hope. Armenians are raising their voices all over the world, and in smaller communities like Chicago, we are learning, by necessity, how to make a difference with small actions.

In addition to the larger protests, Chicago area Armenians have organized a suburban protest in Naperville, a demonstration outside the local ABC News, an overpass demonstration headed by the Armenian National Committee of Illinois, and several other informational and activist campaigns. These may not feel as impressive as demonstrations that have shut down highways in New York or Los Angeles, but their part in the struggle is just as vital. In a grassroots movement, change comes through a million small actions that may seem insignificant when they are done, but add up to a larger whole. As Armenians know well, there is not just strength in numbers, but there is even more strength in people. Armenians as far away as Alaska are mobilizing to save the homeland, exemplifying that small contributions add up to victory. 

The fight is not just in protests and demonstrations. In this time of need, we need to think about creative ways we can help. In Chicago alone, individuals and groups are gathering medical supplies to donate, selling art, food and merchandise to raise money, calling elected officials, writing to local media outlets, organizing small and large demonstrations, posting flyers, creating informational materials, hosting events and spreading awareness in their groups and communities. There is truly something that every single person can do, and we owe it to the Armenians sacrificing their lives in Artsakh to do it. 

We do not just have to believe in our small efforts, but we can actually see them in action. Politicians in several states and the US House of Representatives are calling for the recognition of Artsakh, and little by little, the media is starting to take notice. We are also seeing the effects of our small actions on the ground. As a writer for Kooyrigs, I have watched the organization grow from a small feminist Instagram page to one of the main providers of essential aid to Artsakh. As I work with Armenians on the ground and in the diaspora, I am constantly in awe of the way that our individual efforts are literally saving lives. The messaging, graphics, videos and other content made by our team help to engage and build a tight knit community. Individuals in this community have donated, as well as fundraised by selling art, presenting performances, cooking, offering classes and using their skills. These efforts have generated enough funds to not only provide essential medicine, but feed soldiers, provide medical aid for journalists, and help displaced people taking refuge in Armenia. Every time that medicine saves a soldier’s life, it is thanks to our collective effort. That is what inspires me to wake up and work every day, because it shows that none of us is too small to make a difference. This is an attack on every Armenian, and we all must find our own ways to join the fight for survival. 

In the words of Hagop Soulakian, who spoke at the protest on behalf of the Chicago ARF “Christapor” Gomideh, “Our story is continuing to be written. We have to make sure that the Armenians are the ones writing it. So then we continue to ask you to give your money, your time.”

We want accurate media coverage.
We want sanctions on Azerbaijan and Turkey.
We want an end to military aid for Turkey and Azerbaijan.
We want peace.
We want the recognition of an independent Artsakh. 

Author information

Araxie Cass

Araxie Cass is a member of the AYF Chicago Ararat Chapter, as well as a student of Creative Writing and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. Her work includes creative non-fiction and short stories, focusing on Armenian topics, as well as social justice, culture and community.

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We Armenians are born humanitarians.

We know how much each human life counts.

We Armenians are born fighters.

We know that when our homeland is calling for our help, we will fight, even at the cost of our lives.

We Armenians are survivors.

From generation to generation, each one faces the same struggle, to survive, fight and prosper. From our great-grandparents who survived the Armenian Genocide to our grandparents who fled conflict in Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean. From our parents’ generation who lived in a world where Armenia and Artsakh didn’t exist to the generation of today who are combatting this new reality of war in Artsakh. Like the generations before us, our survival is the ultimate weapon and an important part of our identity.

We Armenians are born determined.

We know that if not us, then the future generation will see a free, independent and united Armenia.

Here we are, again, facing the reality of war. Here we are, again, called to respond to a challenge to our very existence. 

A united Armenian youth is ready to give that answer. A united Armenian youth is ready to demonstrate our resolve in this fight. A united Armenian youth is ready to use its most powerful weapon—our voice. 

The past several weeks, the Armenian Youth Federation Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Eastern Region has led in countless protests; social media campaigns, sit-ins, marches, and so on. We, the youth, have a duty. The torch has been passed to us. It is our duty to embody the instinctual spirit of survival and revolution and remain steadfast in our commitment. We must not forget that we are the heirs of revolutions before us that have shaped our people and have defined Armenia and Artsakh’s unyielding characteristic. 

Our enemies’ wishes for our extermination will not hinder us from our will to survive and our ultimate goal of a free, independent, and united Armenia. Free, not of occupation but of foreign interest policies and domestic corruption; Independent, not of bordering republics but from foreign and outside aid and influences; and United, not by the modern concept of Armenia but under our tri-colored flag with Western Armenia, Artsakh, Nakhichevan, Javakhk and diasporans. 

Ungerner, we must not forget that we have and always will be the revolution. We must not forget that we have won, and we will continue to win.

Author information

AYF-YOARF

Founded in 1933, The Armenian Youth Federation is an international, non-profit, youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). The AYF-YOARF Eastern United States stands on five pillars that guide its central activities and initiatives: Educational, Hai Tahd, Social, Athletic and Cultural. The AYF also promotes a fraternal attitude of respect for ideas and individuals amongst its membership. Unity and cooperation are essential traits that allow members of the organization to work together to realize the AYF’s objectives.

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Editor’s Note: The following was a speech delivered by the author at a rally outside the WPTV news station on October 10, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

This is a message for my non-Armenians:

Author information

Vartiter Vardanyan

Vartiter Vardanyan was born in Flushing, New York but has spent a majority of her life in South Florida. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and is working towards becoming a physician. Vartiter is involved in multiple organizations that focus on medicine and tutors college students in Organic Chemistry. She is currently on the educational committee for the South Florida AYF "Arev" Chapter. Vartiter has dedicated her time to volunteering and raising money for the Women’s Shelter of Armenia.

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I first saw the musical Hamilton at the Providence Performing Arts Center in 2019 and was instantly pulled into the hysteria surrounding the show. The fast raps, the memorable songs and the seemingly untold story of Alexander Hamilton that never made it into our history classes needed to be further unraveled and unfolded. Having never listened to Hamilton prior to seeing the show, it was impossible to catch every word, rhyme or couplet in one take. So I began listening to the Original Broadway Cast album and pulled up the song lyrics, carefully following along line-by-line to understand the delicate structure and motifs at play.

As I delved deeper into the lyrics, I picked up on a theme. I began to realize that the story of the American Revolution was closer to me than I had originally thought. The way in which Hamilton portrays the plight and ensuing victory of the American revolutionaries was quite similar to the story of our Armenian soldiers defending our land in Artsakh. There are many lines from the show that can be connected to the Artsakh War, but here are a few that resonated with me during my successive listening sessions.

Aaron Burr, Sir

God, I wish there was a war!
Then we could prove that we’re worth more
Than anyone bargained for…

Shortly after Armenia’s first independence and then fall to the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin and company allocated the land encompassing Nagorno-Karabakh to the Azerbaijan SSR on July 4, 1921. Up until Stalin’s death, there had been few movements to push for Artsakh’s right to self-determination and the idea that the land should be unified with Armenia. For decades, small clashes and protests did not amount to any real solution. The push to fight for Artsakh culminated in the late 1980s when Armenians in Artsakh readied themselves for war by collecting arms and organizing military training operations. For years our Armenians in Artsakh did not have the means to fight for their land, but if a war were to break out, they would undoubtedly show that they were “worth more than anyone bargained for.” This would become self-evident after the ceasefire was signed in 1994 and soldiers were able to control a majority of the land encompassing Artsakh. All they needed was a chance, an opportunity, a war.

My Shot

Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot!

This line comparing the scrappiness and hunger of Alexander Hamilton to the American colonies reminded me of the same scrappiness and hunger of our soldiers in Artsakh. Oxford Languages defines “scrappy” as “consisting of disorganized, untidy, or incomplete parts,” which arguably can describe the military situation in Artsakh in the early stages of the Artsakh War. Most of the military units organizing resistances to Azeri aggression in the 1990s consisted of anywhere between 10 to 40 men, armed with handheld weapons and hunting shotguns, inadequate for the battlefield and long distances. Similarly, these units did not have heavy military equipment, such as tanks, helicopters or aircraft neutralization defense systems. However, the “young, scrappy and hungry” soldiers were fighting with a purpose: to defend their ancestral land. They began to acquire arms and heavy military equipment through defeating Azeri forces and forcing them to desert the battlefield, leaving the Artsakh forces with resources they never had before. 

I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
When’s it gonna get me?

During the most recent attacks on Artsakh in 2016 and 2020, I understood for the first time the difficult reality of being a young man in Armenia. Since military service is mandatory in Armenia for men, soldiers must prepare to leave their families for the military upon turning 18. Many leave and are able to return home afterwards; many are not. I imagine that many soldiers leaving for the military in Armenia truly do “imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.” Many have likely lost fathers, brothers, cousins and friends so often that it seems like a recurring dream; except it is their reality. Rest in peace to all of our brave and selfless soldiers who have given their lives to our just cause. Asdvadz hokeenin lousavoreh.

 This is not a moment, it’s the movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with
Something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land

The push for Artsakh’s independence has never been just a “moment.” It wasn’t in the 1990s, and it definitely is not now. It is a movement that has been culminating for the last few thousand years. The juxtaposition of American patriots with Moses is also fitting for the people of Artsakh; we have claimed our “promised land” and are here to defend it. The most important line of this refrain is “we take an honest stand.” The self-determination of Artsakh has been as honest a struggle as there is. Our people had enough of the endless persecution in Baku, Sumgait and Kirovabad and decided to rise up against injustice. Our soldiers are without a doubt the “hungriest brothers,” and the endless videos of motivating speeches, revolutionary songs and uplifting statements are proof that our people will do whatever it takes to defend this land. 

Right Hand Man

We are outgunned (What?)
Outmanned (What?)
Outnumbered
Outplanned (Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)
We gotta make an all out stand

Similar to the patriots in the beginning years of the American Revolution, Armenia and Artsakh have limited resources when it comes to sustaining this inhumane war. We did not have those resources in the 1990s, and we arguably have less in 2020, when compared to Azerbaijan’s resources. We do not have Azeri oil money, Turkish military support or Israeli military equipment to fight on our side. Armenia and Artsakh are most definitely “outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered.” The only solution to the Artsakh conflict is exactly as the lyrics say: to “make an all out stand.” If it is something worth fighting for, then we will fight until the end.

Wait For It

Death doesn’t discriminate
Between the sinners
And the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes
And we keep living anyway.

In my favorite song of the entire musical, Aaron Burr explains his conservative and calculated approach to life, never risking much in return for long-term security. This refrain fits in the context of the situation in Artsakh. Every day, soldiers die for unnecessary reasons on both sides. However, at the end of the day, the war will not discriminate between the “sinners and the saints.” It will continue to take these lives with no regard for the impact it has on the lives of innocent family members. The last line, “and we keep living anyway,” touches upon the fact that many of us have become extremely desensitized to the loss of human life. At first, the line comes across as a positive outlook on death’s ruthless killing of both innocent and guilty lives. In reality, however, it is the mindset many of us are left with after 30-plus years of losing soldiers every month due to one broken ceasefire after another. Mothers, fathers and children have become too accustomed to seeing the names of their loved ones listed as casualties. We cannot settle to just “keep living.” We want to live in peace.

Yorktown

Tens of thousands of people flood the streets
There are screams and church bells ringing
And as our fallen foes retreat
I hear the drinking song they’re singing…
The world turned upside down

“Yorktown” portrays the picture of Artsakh once we put a final end to the question of “Whose land is it?” The Battle of Yorktown marked the final chapter and the end of British reign over Americans, ushering in a new era of independence and democracy. I often wonder which battle in Artsakh will be our Yorktown. Once we liberate and control all of our historic lands, the Azeri militia will retreat, singing their drinking songs of defeat. They will continually think to themselves how they lost the war. The answer is that our Armenian people and soldiers have pride like no other people on earth. While listening to this song, I picture tens of thousands of Artsakh’s citizens flooding the city center to celebrate, while the sweet bells of our rebuilt churches ring once again in peace and harmony.

What Comes Next

What comes next?
You’ve been freed
Do you know how hard it is to lead?
You’re on your own
Awesome. Wow
Do you have a clue what happens now?

In Hamilton, King George III is portrayed as a sarcastic, pompous and satirical figure, constantly boasting how the Americans will undoubtedly lose the war, until King George realizes he cannot meet the Redcoats’ needs to sustain the war. Upon accepting defeat, he performs “What Comes Next?”, a query to the American people as to what they expect the outcome to be. In our version of Hamilton, King George III is without a doubt Azerbaijan’s dictator Ilham Aliyev. He consistently boasts of falsified casualty numbers, land gains and attacks on his civilian cities. Once our soldiers put an end to the war once and for all, it will be Aliyev asking the disgruntled question “What comes next?” He knows well that the Republic of Artsakh has and will continue to establish a more free and peaceful democratic state than the dictatorship that is Azerbaijan.

It’s Quiet Uptown

There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is suffering too terrible to name
You hold your child as tight as you can
And push away the unimaginable

Writing this article in itself has been quite a struggle. There truly are many moments in life, the past few weeks being some of them, that “the words don’t reach.” I find myself searching for an explanation as to why more than 800 men and women have had their lives cut short. I am looking for the words to explain to my children one day why Azerbaijan has indoctrinated hate towards Armenians to the point where killing Armenians is heralded as an honorable act in that country. The struggle for Artsakh has been plagued by stories of pain, loss and worst of all, fear. My heart aches when I see images of children in bomb shelters while their teacher tries to carry on their lives, avoiding the reality of the situation. I cannot imagine the fear of our innocent civilians who live everyday wondering if their homes will be spared from indiscriminate shelling. Fear, when truly felt, is one of the most powerful emotions that show the true fragility of humans. Mothers “push away the unimaginable” thought of their sons and daughters possibly being martyred on the front lines. Armenian mothers are truly some of the most admirable and strongest groups of people on the face of this earth, and I will stand by that statement for life. 

The World Was Wide Enough

Legacy. What is a legacy?
It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see
I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me
America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me

For our last commentary, some context is needed. Alexander Hamilton is now dueling Aaron Burr in an event that would ultimately end Hamilton’s life. After counting to 10 and pulling the trigger, the scene freezes, and we hear nothing but Hamilton’s voice and a heartbeat, as he begins to reflect on his life and the situation he has found himself in. This is important, because these words are Hamilton’s final thoughts before dying, putting us in the shoes of someone facing unavoidable death.

Lin-Manuel Miranda beautifully depicts the definition of a “legacy” here. Our venerable soldiers and martyrs are the ones who will allow the people of Artsakh to one day live in peace. They are the ones “planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” They are enabling their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to have the opportunity to live on the land we know as home. Even if they never get to see the fruits of their labor, they can rest easy knowing that our garden will be a beautiful one. This is their legacy.

They are the ones who “wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone else will sing for me.” The stories of our soldiers and their dedication to defend our ancestral land must undoubtedly be honored with a song, so we can give them their due respect every time we sing it. Even if they never get to hear the notes of the song they started, it will be one we will sing for centuries. This is their legacy.

Artsakh is our “great unfinished symphony.” A symphony is a musical composition written for a full orchestra; we have only written the first section. Our soldiers are the composers of this symphony, and for every soldier who gives their life, there will be another soldier ready to step up and continue the notes where they left off. Our people will do everything it takes to complete this symphony, whether it takes one, ten or a hundred years. I hope in my lifetime that we will be able to see the final composition of the full symphony that is the Republic of Artsakh. It goes without saying that this symphony will include feelings of uncertainty and lingering fear. However, I am also certain that the ending of this symphony will be triumphant and victorious.

When that day arrives, I have no doubt that the beautiful harmonies of freedom and independence will ring for generations to come. 

Author information

Nareg Mkrtschjan

Nareg Mkrtschjan is the current president of the Providence "Varantian" Chapter. He has been very active throughout his AYF-YOARF career, participating as an AYF intern in 2017 and director in 2018.

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It has been one month. One month of sleepless nights. One month of reading death tolls. One month of fundraising. One month of wondering why Armenians are facing another genocide, as if 1.5 million taken from us wasn’t enough. 

In this one month, I made my way up and down the east coast six times to participate in protests led by compatriots in the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). While my brothers and sisters are on the frontlines risking their lives for our existence, my diaspora is fighting our own fight here in the United States and around the world. We are protesting for peace. We are demanding justice. We are asking for recognition of Artsakh. Most of all, we are asking for honest reporting by mainstream media outlets.

In the same month that 1,200 Armenian soldiers died, Carlotta Gall, a journalist at the New York Times (NYT), published two articles – “Roots of War: When Armenia Talked Tough, Azerbaijan Took Action” and “In Azerbaijan, A String of Explosion, Screams, then Blood”— in which she applauded war crimes committed by Azerbaijani forces aided by Turkey, with no mention of historical context. Rather, she continued to justify the killing of innocent lives through terrorist actions of Erdogan and Aliyev.

With over five million annual subscribers, the NYT ranks third among the top 100 newspapers in the United States. That’s five million people who, thanks to Gall, only know one side of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict. Armenians have been fighting since 1994 for the world to hear the truth about Artsakh…about how the indigenous Armenians of an autonomous region have built a school system, a political system, infrastructure and a place to live in peace. However, within just a few days, Gall gets away with painting a completely different picture.

For this reason, the Armenians of the New York City Metro area took to the streets to protest. On Sunday, November 1, under the pouring rain and roaring winds, New York’s Armenian Diaspora marched in strength and unity. Starting at the Armenian Prelacy on the east side of Manhattan, with voices louder than honking taxi cabs, we chanted “NY Times tell the truth,” “Carlotta Gall you dropped the ball.” While at the New York Times building on 41st Street and 8th Avenue, Talene Sagherian, secretary of the AYF Manhattan “Moush” chapter, gave a powerful speech which set the tone for the afternoon. A representative of AGBU also spoke.

In preparation for this protest, a letter was written to executive editor Dean Baquet, who allowed not one, but two stories to be published without proper evidence or research. The decision to run these stories is a failed attempt at objective journalism and endorses war crimes, propaganda and a genocide on the innocent Armenians living in Artsakh. The letter below was hand delivered to the security guard at the building of the New York Times. In the event that the letter never made it to Mr. Baquet, the Armenian Diaspora already flooded his inbox and voicemail box from the moment these stories broke. 

Protest after protest, our voices are getting louder, and we continue to grow in number. It’s unclear when this nightmare will be over, but Armenians will forever remain resilient. From France to Australia, Spain to Los Angeles, we will fight tirelessly for our country and our people, because Armenia united, will never be divided.

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November 1, 2020 

Dean Baquet
Executive Editor
The New York Times Company
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018 

Re: New York Times’ Reporting Aids/Abets Regimes Wanting to Finish the Armenian Genocide

Dear Mr. Baquet: 

We demand an immediate investigation and retraction of articles by the New York Times’ Turkey  Bureau Chief, Carlotta Gall, regarding the conflict in Artsakh (a/k/a Nagorno Karabakh) (“Roots of War: When  Armenia Talked Tough, Azerbaijan Took Action,” Oct. 27, 2020; “In Azerbaijan, a String of Explosions,  Screams, and then Blood,” Oct. 28, 2020). 

These articles are not only inappropriate; they are dangerous. They serve no purpose other than to  provide a mouthpiece for Azerbaijan’s autocratic totalitarian regime—which ranks 168/180 on the Freedom of  Press Index and 146/167 on the Democracy Index. Meanwhile, Genocide Watch recently issued  a Genocide Emergency Alert due to “Azerbaijan’s aggression against the Armenian Republic of Artsakh,” which  has continued unabated since September 27, 2020 despite three brokered ceasefires.  

As outlined below, we believe that Ms. Gall’s articles assist Azerbaijan in disseminating and validating  its propaganda on three key claims, namely that (i) Armenia is the so-called aggressor in the Artsakh conflict,  (ii) Azerbaijan’s citizens demand that Azerbaijan continues fighting and refuses ceasefire attempts; and  (iii) Armenian forces target Azerbaijani civilians—thus providing Azerbaijan’s cultural and military ally, Turkey,  with an apparent justification to invade Armenia and fulfill Turkish President Erdogan’s promises of a pan Turkish state stretching from the Mediterranean to Central Asia.  

We demand that the New York Times investigate the sources for Ms. Gall’s claims, whether  there was enough supporting authority to promulgate them, whether the conditions of the reporting  allowed unbiased and accurate coverage of the Artsakh conflict, and (if not) why the New York Times  failed to disclose such conditions to its readership.  

First, Ms. Gall’s October 27th article relies on several “analysts” (all unnamed except for Hikmet  Hajiyev, a foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan’s president) for the claim that Armenia’s prime minister (and  leader of its peaceful 2018 democratic revolution) provoked Azerbaijan to attack Artsakh, in an undated and  unspecified but “populist” speech. This is akin to reporting in 1939 that Poland provoked Hitler’s invasion. 

Ms. Gall’s articles often conflate the leaders of Armenia and Artsakh and even the democratic  countries themselves—the latter an autonomous republic of 150,000 mostly ethnic Armenian inhabitants.  Despite her reporting that Armenia’s prime minister somehow provoked Azerbaijan to invade Artsakh and  rebuff the will of its people, whose right to self-determination is recognized and protected under customary  international law, most indicators would explain Azerbaijan’s recent aggression as: 

(i) fueled by Azerbaijan’s need for a scapegoat and to distract its citizens from its economic crisis due to decreased demand for oil and gas (45% of Azerbaijan’s economy) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic;  and, relatedly,  

(ii) Azerbaijani President Aliyev’s need for a “win” to further cement his family’s 30-year rulership of  Azerbaijan, which is finally beginning to chip.  

Turkey—which has been supplying Azerbaijan in the Artsakh conflict with drone technology, Syrian  mercenaries, and logistical support—has been looking for a justification to invade Armenia. Turkish President  Erdogan—whose economy, like Azerbaijan’s, is also plummeting with the Turkish lira having lost 26% of its  value this year—declared in a public address last July that he will complete the “mission” that his grandfathers  started (alluding, we believe, to the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the Ottoman army’s advance on Artsakh at the end of WWI) and would come to Azerbaijan’s aid to defend Turkic communities in the Caucasus.1  

Ms. Gall’s October 27th article concludes by making several claims that Armenian forces target  Azerbaijani civilian settlements. As of the date of that article, no independent (non-Turkish) sources had  confirmed that Armenia targets Azerbaijanis or uses banned munitions in civilian areas. Instead, several  entities, such as Amnesty International, had confirmed that only Azerbaijan has used drones, cluster munitions,  and other banned weapons against civilians and civilian infrastructure. 

Second, Ms. Gall’s October 28th article depicts her team as “a scant 20 yards” away from a purported  Armenian rocket attack on the Azerbaijani settlement of Barda. She notes that Barda lies farther from the  Artsakh frontline and that Armenia’s purported attack thus appears “to be an escalation.” Ms. Gall then interviews a civilian who demands she tell President Aliyev that Azerbaijan take retaliatory action against  Armenia. (This fits the Azerbaijani regime’s narrative that Azerbaijani citizens want this war and do not want a  ceasefire.) 

We note that Azerbaijan denies free access to most foreign reporters (apart from Turkish media) to  cover the recent conflict in Artsakh. For the New York Times’ team to be “driving along the main street” of  Barda, a “provincial” town of no military importance2 (and paradoxically in the opposite direction of the conflict  they were sent to report on) right when Armenian missiles struck is far too convenient. Unlike the New York  Times, France24 News found it necessary to explain to its viewership “the conditions we are working under” while reporting in Azerbaijan. Namely, that, “[W]e have a minder appointed by the Azeri government with us  pretty much at all times […] We are as journalists quite often taken, at the last minute we’re told, you know ‘a  bomb has gone off here,’ ‘we’re going take you there’. We also have to follow the official movements […]  our movements and our freedom to report are somewhat controlled.” Similarly, the War Gonzo Project (led by  Semyon Pegov) has pointed out that Azerbaijan appears to photograph the same civilians when reporting on  so-called Armenian war crimes in various areas, noting Azerbaijan’s propaganda is telling a “different story” but  with the “same actors” and showing stills of a scene photographed by Ivor Prickett for the New York Times.  

Finally, we take no issue with documenting the suffering of the Azerbaijani people, who, like ethnic  Armenians, are oppressed by Azerbaijan’s brutal regime. Rather, we take issue with reporting false information  from a regime that has violated three humanitarian ceasefires and boasts that it will not stop until every  Armenian “dog” is chased out of Artsakh (the ancestral home of ethnic Armenians since 189 BC).  

The day after Ms. Gall’s second article, Amnesty International issued a statement that it had “verified the  use of banned cluster bombs by Armenia for the first time in the current Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, following  an attack on the city of Barda in Azerbaijan.” In other words, Turkey has been supplied with its apparent  justification to invade Armenia to “defend” its ally Azerbaijan and to annihilate the Armenian people.  

Please advise immediately as to your plan to ameliorate the above and ensure accurate reporting in the  future. Otherwise, we understand this: 

The New York Times will have blood on its hands. 

Sincerely, 

The Armenian Diaspora residing in the United States of America 

1 There are countless parallels between Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh (with Turkish assistance) and Hitler’s invasion of  Poland, including that Hitler also referred to his invasion of Poland as “defensive,” to purportedly protect Germans in Poland who  were persecuted. And, in fact, days before invading Poland, Hitler proclaimed on August 22, 1939, “Who, after all, speaks today of  the annihilation of the Armenians [by the Ottoman Turks]?”—calculating that he could get away with ethnic cleansing as the world  looked the other way. At the very least, the New York Times should be more mindful as to the broader consequences of its  reporting on the Caucasus, which is regarded as a powder keg capable of igniting World War III, due to military obligations and  interests held by NATO-member Turkey, Russia, and Iran. 

2 Barda, however, is important for Azerbaijani propaganda and nationalistic fervor. Azerbaijan likely chose the town of  Barda as it considers Barda the ancient capital of “Caucasian Albania”—an ethnic group that Azerbaijani scholars in the 1950’s  began claiming are the true founders of Artsakh and the ancestors of the Azerbaijani people, despite that there was no historical  evidence for such claims and indeed they are undermined by 10th century historian Movses Dasxuranci’s History of the Albanians.

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Chantelle Nasri

Chantelle Nasri is a resident of Brooklyn, NY and a 2018 graduate of SUNY College at Brockport. She recently joined the AYF-YOARF Eastern Region in December 2018, and serves as the current chair of the AYF Manhattan “Moush” chapter.

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I have sat down to write 11 times now. After every time and after every heartfelt attempt to turn my sadness and anger into words, new graves were dug. More hearts were broken. More lives were lost fighting for every inch of our homeland.

These traumatic moments, though shocking and unusual, are by no means foreign to us. They still hurt…almost to the point of paralysis. Almost…

There is a somber tradition in the Armenian church. It’s called the “karasoonk”—a requiem service 40 days after death. I’d like to honor my hero during this time. His name was Arthur Aghasyan. 

I met Arthur in 2014 in the town of Martuni in Artsakh during AYF Youth Corps. Arthur showed up at our door and never really left. He would spend every waking hour with us. He would tell us about his life; we would tell him about ours. It didn’t matter how different the two were; it never does for our people. He would meet us for breakfast before camp, and we would explore Martuni together afterwards. It never even crossed my mind that we were so close to the border… not with him around. We were always safe by his side. He quickly became a part of our family. 

When our group left Martuni, we knew it would be the last time we’d see Arthur before his 18th birthday. We knew that in less than a year, he would enlist in the Artsakh Defense Army. We knew in our hearts that he, our friend who had turned into a little brother in our two weeks together, would take the pride he had for his home and bravely reflect it onto the battlefield. And… we worried. Like hell. Like our friend Arpa reminded us, not because we thought less of him, but exactly the opposite. We knew that he would do anything and everything to protect Artsakh. And that he did. 

In 2016, shortly after the Four Day War, we woke up to news that Arthur had been awarded the highest medal of honor: Battle Cross Order of 2nd degree («Մարտական խաչ» 2-րդ աստիճանի շքանշանով). We weren’t shocked, no. He had defended just as we knew he would. He was the most humble of heroes. He sent a message less than 48 hours later that read, “erp ek galis Artsakh?” “when are you all coming to Artsakh?” Though I have visited Artsakh many times since, Arthur was always on the frontlines protecting us. He was there well past his two years of mandatory service… and each time that we were unable to meet, I became increasingly proud to know him and to be able to call him a friend. 

Years later, on October 7th, 2020, we read his name on the list. 

The list that we have since read thousands of names on—the names of not just our brothers, uncles and fathers, but our sisters, aunts and mothers, too. Each name we read on the list of fallen soldiers or innocent civilians, we read the name of a family member. We read the name of a brother or sister. Because that’s what Artsakh is for us. It’s where our family lives. It’s where we feel most content. It’s home.

The list that reminds us all of why we have to keep fighting, keep protecting, continue doing anything and everything to protect Artsakh. The list we never wanted to read his name on, because we were supposed to see Arthur again. We were supposed to reunite in Martuni, at his family’s house in the village of Nngi for a night of khorovats, singing and dancing. We agreed we would. All of us together, again. 

And we will. We will meet again. Because he will be cherished and honored forever. Because we will say his name. Arthur’s name and all of his comrades’—all 1,299 of them. We will say their names. We will tell their stories. We will keep them alive. It’s our duty after we rebuild our sacred land. 

These past 40 days have been days that I naively thought my people would never live through again. Not in my lifetime, at least. You see, Artsakh is a force to be reckoned with. Artsakh signifies our will and determination—our right to exist as a nation. The thing about Artsakh is that… it’s our everything. Our people are willing to ensure the security of generations of Armenians to come, by proudly serving and protecting our borders. Our people are willing to fight for the highest honor: by giving their lives for Artsakh. 

We will not rest. Now is not the time to stop using our voices. Now is not the time to skip the protest, to stop spreading the awareness. Now is the time to work together and establish our next steps. It is time to reach out to those who may be less informed. Now is the time to continue writing our painful yet beautiful story. Let us keep our heads high for our heroes, both immortal and invincible. For Tatul, for Bedo, for Garod. For Arthur.

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Ani Khachatourian

Ani Khachatourian is a member of the Armenian Youth Federation – Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Greater Boston “Nejdeh” chapter. She is an Emerson College graduate student, and she works in Special Education.

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The Armenian Youth Federation – Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Eastern Region strongly condemns the current alleged “peace agreement” signed behind closed doors by Nikol Pashinyan without consulting the Armenian people. 

November 9th, 2020, the darkest day in modern Armenian history, Pashinyan chose to willingly give away the heart of the Armenian people. He unilaterally, without the consent of the people, or parliament, chose to create a massive refugee crisis – many of the 150,000 Armenian from Artsakh are now not only homeless, but stateless. The agreement gave these brave men, women, and children an impossible task to rebuild in a land less than one-third the size of Artsakh, with no path forward to recognition and an enemy intent on their destruction. The agreement relinquishes the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia by allowing the twin dictatorships of Erdogan and Aliyev to achieve their pan-Turkic goals via a route from Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan and the occupation of Armenian lands in Tavush. It opens the door for the continuation of Turkish genocidal initiatives via the annihilation of Armenian culture, heritage, and history. Pashinyan chose to hand away Dadivank, Yerik Mankants Monastery, Ghazanchetots. The destruction of the hundreds of churches, cemeteries, cultural institutions, and historical artifacts that have been built by and preserved by our people in Artsakh is all but assured, one must only look to Nakhichevan and the Nor Julfa Cemetery for evidence.    

For 45 days we have stood by our soldiers. For 45 days, AYF and ARF members have fought and died defending Artsakh. For 45 days we have screamed for the international community to recognize Artsakh, to recognize Azeri war crimes and to report the truth. Because of this agreement, those efforts are moot. Those 1300 soldiers who gave everything will have made the ultimate sacrifice for an uncertain future and a lost homeland.

The AYF-YOARF Eastern USA calls on the Armenians of the Diaspora to join us in standing with the people of Artsakh as we continue to fight for the recognition of Artsakh, as we demand the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan and the current government to make way for a democratic and transparent leadership, and as we stand with our soldiers to continue the fight for the defense of the Republic of Artsakh. The AYF-YOARF continues its mission for a united Armenia and calls on the Armenian people to unite once again for Artsakh. To unite for our homeland.  

We will never accept a defeatist mindset as we continue to serve as the second-army of the Armenian Nation. Let the words of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation be heard once again.

Let us unite with the people who have raised the banner of freedom; he who turns his back to the people is the adversary; he is the enemy of the people.

Brothers, let us join hands, therefore, in the name of the divine mission against our common enemy.

And you, the youth, who are always and everywhere the defenders of lofty ideals, unite with the people. 

And you, the gray-haired elders, enthuse your sons and daughters and assist them with your experience. 

And you, the wealthy, help arm the people so that they can be able to defend themselves. 

And you, blessed Armenian women, infuse your spirit in the fight.

And you, Armenian clergymen, sanctify the freedom-fighters.

There is no time for waiting.

Let us unite, Armenians, and carry on fearlessly the sacred tasks of securing the liberation of our fatherland. 

We stand for Artsakh.

AYF-YOARF Central Executive Eastern Region, USA

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AYF-YOARF

Founded in 1933, The Armenian Youth Federation is an international, non-profit, youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). The AYF-YOARF Eastern United States stands on five pillars that guide its central activities and initiatives: Educational, Hai Tahd, Social, Athletic and Cultural. The AYF also promotes a fraternal attitude of respect for ideas and individuals amongst its membership. Unity and cooperation are essential traits that allow members of the organization to work together to realize the AYF’s objectives.

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During a recent economic cooperation forum, Turkish President Erdogan referred to the Armenian attitude as “spoiled and uncompromising.” Upon hearing this, I was shocked—appalled almost. Not because what he said was hurtful or offensive, but because, for once, he may be right. We are spoiled:

Spoiled with a language gifted to us by God Himself. Some people don’t even have a language, can you imagine? 

Spoiled with food so deep and rich you can’t help but share your table. Neat little triangles of butter and cheese. Warm fall pumpkins filled with the earth’s gifts. Bread sweet and braided with gentle hands and egg wash.  

Spoiled with women so strong they carried our traditions on their backs, tucked away in their bodices, kept safe in their hearts. And only when they were certain of refuge did they unpack, handing each of us a carefully wrapped piece to carry on to the next. 

Spoiled with each other for when two meet anywhere in the world…well, you know the rest.  

Spoiled with friends who although they may not be Armenian, ask questions, listen, understand that perhaps they will never understand. 

Spoiled with churches that somehow feel alive. Their voices call to us, inviting and welcoming. Even their ruins breathe life. 

Spoiled with eyes dark and magnificent. One gazing always at the past, remembering and honoring. The other searching steadily for what’s to come.

Spoiled with music that haunts and heals. 

Spoiled with youth, with hands once held now stand at the front guiding, ushering us into the future. 

Spoiled with schools that teach and nurture and know that a culture this beautiful becomes more so within the minds of its young. 

Spoiled with a global diaspora ready to rally in the thousands and tweet in all caps.

Spoiled with a history so rich that we boldly retell our stories—even the darkest ones, while others cower and attempt to hide their own shame. 

Spoiled with mountains so tall that it’s no wonder our land remains green and lush as if God Himself reached down to sow the soil with His own fingertips. 

Spoiled with dances that tell a story without speaking a word. The grace, the strength, the unison of our people. It’s music. 

Spoiled with a flag dripping with purpose—the spilled blood, the Heavenly Kingdom, the bountiful harvest. May it wave gallantly. 

Spoiled with grandparents who are keepers of the past. May they continue to smile through their eyes and sing through their hearts. 

Spoiled with homes that are warm and loving. I pity those who were raised to hate. 

Spoiled with heroes who have sacrificed—truly sacrificed. May their souls rest in peace and may we promise to honor their legacy.

Spoiled with optimism for after centuries of fighting for our very survival, one could find themselves giving up—but not here and not now. 

If you were spoiled like this, you’d be uncompromising, too. The world has never known life without Armenia—and it never will. 

Author information

Arev Dinkjian

Arev Dinkjian grew up in an Armenian household in Fort Lee, NJ. She was always surrounded by art, sourced by her musical father and grandfather, Ara and Onnik, or her creative mother Margo. Arev attended Providence College starting in 2011 and graduated with a degree in elementary and special education. She enjoys teaching language arts to her students and takes great pride in instilling an appreciation for literature in her classroom. Today, she remains very active in the Armenian community, serving as the president of the NJ AYF “Arsen" Chapter, a member of both the Bergen County ARS and the Sts. Vartanantz Ladies’ Guild, and on numerous AYF central committees. She also dedicated many summers to AYF Camp Haiastan, which she says remains her favorite topic to write about.

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