GROUND BROKEN FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT IN FRESNO

[Yervant1]

GROUND BROKEN FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT IN FRESNO

11:18, 03 Nov 2014

Hundreds of people packed a small outdoor ceremony at Fresno State
to mark the start of construction of the Armenian Genocide Monument,
which will be completed in time to mark next year's 100th anniversary
of the genocide, the Fresno Bee reports.

Leaders of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church and Armenian
Genocide Centennial Committee, Fresno joined local politicians, Fresno
State leaders and throngs of community members at the event. The
university set out 40 chairs, but a couple hundred spectators crammed
around the site where the monument will be built.

Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro spoke for the university.

"Our primary mission (at Fresno State) is education, which is also
at the core of this project," Castro said. "We've had a rich history
of involvement by Armenian students, faculty, alumni and friends --
we wouldn't be a great university without them."

The primary message of the event was the importance of spreading
awareness of the Armenian Genocide, which Fresno State Armenian Studies
Coordinator Barlow Der Mugrdechian said killed as many as 1.5 million
Armenians from 1915 to 1923. Der Mugrdechian said that on April 24,
1915, the Ottoman Turkish government began arresting and executing
hundreds of Armenian religious, academic and political leaders.

The stone-and-concrete monument will be dedicated on April 24, the
100th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide. It was designed
by local architect Paul Halajian and will consist of nine pillars
representing the six provinces of historic Armenia, Cilicia, the
Diaspora and the Republic of Armenia. An incomplete halo will rest on
top of the pillars, which is meant to symbolize both the damage left
by the genocide and the unity of the Armenian people. It will be the
first such monument marking the genocide on a U.S. college campus.

It will be located on the Maple Mall walkway just south of the
Satellite Student Union on Fresno State's campus. Fresno State Vice
President for Administration Cynthia Teniente-Matson said this prime
location will allow every single Fresno State student to see and
learn from the monument.

After the leaders addressed the public, bishops from the Armenian
Church and local religious leaders performed a spirited ceremony, in
English and Armenian, to bless soil taken from the Republic of Armenia.

Two Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School students, 11-year-old
Zareh Apkarian and 10-year-old Sevana Vassilian, carried the blessed
soil to the groundbreaking point, where they poured it in with the
native earth. The soil is meant to represent Armenia on the Fresno
State campus.

Levon Minasyan, a representative from the Armenian Consulate in Los
Angeles, offered his gratitude to Fresno State and the local Armenian
community.

"The establishment of this monument in Fresno on the threshold of the
centennial of the Armenian genocide is evidence of the Fresno Armenian
community's important role in Armenian-American life," Minasyan said.

Minasyan went on to say that the international recognition and
condemnation of the first genocide of the 20th century has been a top
priority of Armenian foreign policy for almost two decades. Minasyan
told the crowd that, although many states and nations have officially
recognized the genocide, this work will continue.

The recognition of the genocide was a central theme of the event,
with many of the speakers making reference to those massacred and the
lack of recognition of the genocide from countries such as Turkey and
the United States. Among the speakers were Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno,
and Assembly Member Jim Patterson, R-Fresno.

Members of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee, Fresno were
recognized during the ceremony for what Der Mugrdechian called their
tireless efforts over the past year to find a way to honor the 100th
anniversary of the genocide.

The committee is an umbrella association made up of members from the
Valley's religious, educational, social and political organizations.

Castro said the monument will be one of only about 30 Armenian Genocide
monuments in the United States.

Der Mugrdechian hopes the monument will help heal the wounds of the
genocide while also spreading a message.

"We are witnessing a new period in our history," Der Mugrdechian said.

"This will be a visual monument to show our spirit."

http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/11/03/ground-broken-for-armenian-genocide-monument-in-fresno/

[MosJan]

need to find time to drive up to Fresno soon.. need to see this my self..

the one in Pasadena has not started yet..

[Yervant1]

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Thursday, November 20th, 2014

 

Central Valley Breaks Ground on Armenian Genocide Monument

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With hundreds of community members looking on, Archbishops Derderian and Mardirossian bless soil held by Zareh Apkarian and Sevana Wassilian of the Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School. Also participating in the blessing are (left to right) Fr. Zaven Markosayan of the St. Mary Church in Yettem, Fr. Yessai Bedros of the St. Paul Church in Fresno, and Fr. Yeghia Hairabedian of the St. Gregory Church in Fowler and Fr. Boghos (far right) from the Theological Seminary in Antelias.

FRESNO, Calif.—Central Valley Armenians broke ground on a widely anticipated Armenian Genocide Centennial Monument dedicated to the 1.5 million Armenian martyrs who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government during the period 1915—1923. Hundreds of community members gathered on Sunday, Nov. 2, at Fresno State’s Maple Mall, where the memorial will be completed in time for its dedication on April 24, 2015.

Faten Myaznih-Kassabian and students from the Charlie Keyan Armenian School opened the ceremony with the American and Armenian national anthems, respectively, while the Homenentmen Fresno Sassoon chapter scouts presented the American and Armenian flags. Rev. Gregory Haroutunian of the First Armenian Presbyterian Church gave the invocation.

Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Coordinator of the Fresno State Armenian Studies Program, welcomed the audience by recognizing the historic importance of the day’s ceremony as well as the meaning and purpose behind the monument.

“We are witnessing a new period in the history of our community,” said Der Mugrdechian. “We are working together to build a visible monument to symbolize our collective spirit, to commemorate, to educate the world, and to inspire future generations.”

The groundbreaking ceremony is one in a series of centennial events by the Armenian Genocide Centennial—Fresno Committee, the organization that is raising funds and coordinating construction of the monument. Many of the reasons why Fresno State was chosen as the monument’s site were articulated by Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro, who acknowledged the Armenian Studies Program as one of the foremost programs in the nation and asserted the university’s commitment to diversity and education.

“This monument will inform and educate people about the Armenian Genocide and bring awareness to the problem of genocide throughout history and throughout the world as a global issue.” Dr. Castro concluded his message with the declaration “Menk pnav chenk mornar” (We will never forget.)

According to Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Fresno State Vice-President for Administration, the monument will be positioned along the most popular and heavily-used walkway on the campus, thus making it a focal point of the campus.

Recognition from the world community and justice from the Republic of Turkey are ongoing pursuits of the Armenian people and very much part of the agenda of the Republic of Armenia, said Levon Minasyan, Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles.

“We believe that the only way to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity is international recognition and condemnation of these crimes…with all legal consequences,” stated Minasyan. “The distortion of historical fact and reality by Turkey cannot continue forever. We believe and hope that healthy conscience will prevail in Turkey, and the Turkish government will reconcile the reality of the Armenian Genocide, a crime against Armenians and humanity.”

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A rendering of the monument to be built on the Fresno State University campus

A central part of the November 2 event was a religious service to consecrate the site of the monument. Four plates of soil—brought from the Republic of Armenia, the border between the republic and historic Western Armenia, and various regions of Western Armenia—were presented by community members Sarkis Sahatdjian, Debbie Adishian-Astone, Marine Vardanyan, and Areen Yemenjian and combined together in a single platter. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese and Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church led local clergy in blessing the sacred ground, held by Zareh Apkarian and Sevana Wassilian, students of the Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School. The religious leaders each took the podium to mark the historic occasion.

“We remember. We demand. This is the motto of the centennial commemoration,” said Archbishop Mardirossian. “We are empowered, because this groundbreaking ceremony today sends a resounding message to Turkey and to the world that, yes, 100 years have passed, but the Armenian people will never forget…In the end, the truth always prevails… The groundbreaking of this monument drives and inspires us to keep educating, to keep demanding, and to keep hoping.”

Emphasizing the historical and current accomplishments and mission of Armenian-Americans, Derderian remarked:

“This monument and all monuments will remind us that we as Armenians, each and every one of us, are living monuments to the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide…This monument will be the symbol of the resurrected life of our nation. We will commit ourselves to uphold firm our Christian identity and send a clear message to the people of this great country that we are equally builders of this great land and in doing so, we are dedicated citizens in bringing justice to the memory of the martyrs of the first genocide of the 20th century.”

Other speakers included Congressman Jim Costa; Assembly Member Jim Patterson; Varoujan Der Simonian, Vice President of the AGC—Fresno Committee; and Berj Apkarian, the recently appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Fresno and head of the AGC—Fresno Committee Monument subcommittee.

The ceremony concluded with the students placing the blessed soil at what will become the center of monument.

Designed by Fresno architect Paul Halajian, the monument will embody symbols of cultural meaning to the Armenian people. Its principal components will be arranged in a circular pattern and angled inwards, reminiscent of the Tzitzernagapert monument in Armenia. Built from béton brut and Tufa stones, the nine pillars that make-up the body of the structure represent the six provinces of historic WesternArmenia (Van, Bitlis, Dickranagerd, Kharpert, Sepastia, and Erzerum), Cilicia, the Diaspora, and the Republic of Armenia. The pillars will gradually descend in height around the circle, with the first measuring 19 feet high and the last 15 feet to underscore the significance of the year 1915. An incomplete halo will be set above on top of the pillars, symbolizing both the fracture left by the Genocide and the unity of the Armenian people.

The AGC—Fresno Committee includes representatives from the religious, educational, social, and political organizations of the Central Valley. The group’s goals are to commemorate the 1.5 million martyrs who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Government; to educate others about the Armenian Genocide and historical injustice; and to inspire people to overcome adversity through the story of the survivors’ of the Armenian Genocide. The AGC—Fresno Committee is organizing and promoting numerous events in the coming year. For more information, visit the AGC—Fresno Committee’s at their website or on Facebook.