CALL TO SUPPORT THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SYRIA

 

 

 

 

A group of Armenian volunteers clean up the streets of Aleppo

GLENDALE—All religious denominations, political parties and relief organizations in the Western United States have come together to form a joint committee to assist the Armenian community of Syria. On Thursday, the group issued a call to support the efforts, the text of which is presented below:

During the past weeks, the 17-month conflict in Syria has escalated to dangerous proportions. Caught in thecrossfire of this growing conflict are the innocent citizens of Syria, among them the large Armenian community.

The presence of Armenians in Syria dates back many centuries, and throughout that time, the community has had an important role in the Armenian Diaspora reality.  Especially after the Armenian Genocide, the growing Armenian community, through its hard work and determination has created beneficial situation for nurturing families and establishing national institutions such as churches and schools, and preserving our heritage and traditions. Today, due to the current conflict, the Armenian community is facing a crisis. The Armenian community organizations in Syria, by adhering to the survivalist spirit of the Armenian people, have already mobilized to effectively and in an organized manner cater to the needs of the community.

In light of this mounting humanitarian crisis, Armenians will not remain indifferent, and will get to work to extend a helping hand and assist the Syrian-Armenian community.

The Armenian American community of Western United States is equally concerned with these developments, which impact the entire Armenian nation. Any harm inflicted upon any member of our dispersed Armenian family equally impacts the rest of the family be they in Armenia or the Diaspora. With increased resolve and conviction we must be ready to support the Syrian-Armenian population, just as we have come to aid of our brethren in Armenia, Artsakh, Lebanon and Iraq, in their time of need.

We call upon the Armenian American community of the Western United States to facilitate the needs of the Syrian Armenian community and to contribute for the preservation of the Armenian community. The Syrian Armenian community has fulfilled its centuries-old mission proudly, and today as it holds on to its home, the community is aware of its exceptional and unique role it has had in the Diaspora, which unequivocally needs to be preserved.

We hereby announce the formation of a Joint Committee in Support of the Syrian Armenian Community.

Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Bishop Mikayel Mouradian
Rev. Joe Matossian
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Democratic Liberal Party
Armenian General Benevolent Union
Armenian Relief Society
AMAA

August 15, 2012

source: http://asbarez.com/104773/call-to-support-the-armenian-community-in-syria/

The Armenian Language

Today 6.7 million people worldwide speak Armenian, which is considered an astonishing fact in itself given the time the language has taken to be recognised as a language in its own right at all. 97% of the 3 million strong population are Armenians. But there are more than 5 million Armenians living outside of Armenia.

Linguists theorize that 5,000-7,000 years ago the Proto-Indo-European language splintered into dialects, one of which was Armenian, a separate branch of the Indo-European language family. As Indo-European speakers spread throughout Eurasia from Iceland to India, many languages such as French and Spanish developed from a common intermediate source, like Latin, whereas the Armenian language evolved directly from its Proto-Indo-European roots.

The view that similarities among certain languages of Europe and Asia resulted from a common origin had attracted scholars for several centuries before the British scholar Sir William Jones suggested in 1786 that Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek shared features derived from ‘some common source which, perhaps, no longer exists’. He guessed that the Germanic and even the Celtic had the same source. Within a century, the implications of Jones’s suggestion had been studied in great detail and his postulated ‘common source’ is now called Proto-Indo-European (PIE) or simply Indo-European (IE).

Before creating an Armenian alphabet, Armenians used Aramaic and Greek characters. Foreign language schools existed from the 2nd century BC on. Early Armenian churchmen sought knowledge and wisdom mainly in Assyrian and Greek. When Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion, the need of an indigenous language arose in order to translate the Bible. A devoted scholar and monk, Mesrop Mashtots, created a distinctly Armenian alphabet after traveling all over Armenia to gather the sounds of Armenian speech. In 405 AD he introduced the thirty six unique characters that make up the basis of the Armenian alphabet. During the Middle Ages, two additional characters were added to write words borrowed from foreign languages. St. Mesrop Mashtots went on to build schools across Armenia to teach the alphabet. He later developed the alphabets of neighboring nations. His contribution to Armenian culture was immense since the invention of the Armenian alphabet paved the way for the first Golden Age of Armenia. Armenian writers, philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists have achieved world acclaim, building on the seminal work of St. Mesrop Mashtots.

Over the centuries, the Armenian language underwent grammatical and phonological changes.

At least three different forms of the Armenian language are in use today – Classical Armenian, or Grabar, the scholarly form of the language used to this day by the Armenian Church; Western Armenian, commonly found in American, European and Middle Eastern Diaspora communities; and Eastern Armenian, the official language of the Republic of Armenia and the spoken language of Armenians in Iran and Russia.

Tumo Center of Creative Technologies Marks 1 Year Anniversary with Acheivements

Reblogged from The Armenian Observer Blog:

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An innovative, open media studio in the heart of Yerevan opened its doors to Armenian teenagers on August 14, 2011. Today, a year later, the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies has much to boast about, including a creative contribution to the official video for a world-class musician - Serj Tankian.

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Tsarukian Signals Commitment to Putin's Eurasian Union Plan

Reblogged from The Armenian Observer Blog:

One of Armenia's wealthiest businessman and leader of "Bargavach Hayastan" (Prosperous Armenia) party Gagik Tsarukian has backed the initiative of his party's youth wing to hold the First Eurasian Youth Conference in the Armenian resort town of Tsakhadzor on August 22-27.

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Benefits of Meditation