NEW YORK—In a joint announcement made on Aug. 23, the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, the Armenian Catholic Exarchate, the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), and the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) announced the formation of the “Fund for Syrian-Armenian Relief,” which will offer urgently needed assistance to the historic Armenian communities of Syria.
During the past week the heavily Armenian populated areas of Aleppo, Kessab, Damascus, and Kamishli have been under siege by both state and opposing forces, leaving the physical safety of the people, as well as their economic livelihood, in great jeopardy.
The joining of the Armenian Orthodox, Evangelical, and Catholic churches with the political and charitable organizations in the United States follows the pattern set in Aleppo, where the three churches, three political parties, and all social and charitable organizations have joined together to face the growing crisis.
Fundraising efforts will be undertaken by this newly formed joint U.S. committee, together with their affiliates, to raise funds to address the immediate needs of the Armenian community in Syria, as well as to contribute towards long-range goals to maintain and restore the community. Efforts are underway to reach out to other organizations to take part in the joint committee.
At present, assistance will come mainly through fundraising for schools and other community institutions, which face severe shortfalls as the crisis in Syria restricts the community’s financial capabilities. A portion of the funds raised will also assist needy individuals directly affected by the unrest.
The formation of a coordinating committee, with each of the participating organizations represented, will be announced shortly.
I don’t understand why our Religious, Political and Charitable Organizations and especially the Armenian millionaires and billionaires are not making arrangements to relocate our brothers and sisters from endangered Middle East countries to Armenia, their forefathers land?
The internatinal community will be sending help to the syrian people,like the
international red cross and other organization to help the Syrian people.
I think that armenians of Syria as citizens of the country should also ask to benefit
from the help of those humanitarian organization.
I think M.S.K. and Richard comments sounds like they never volunteer in their Armenian Community.
We will always need help,opinions and volunteers .You cannot clap with one hand , you need two hands.For a thirsty person, each drop of water is a blessing. For us , each opinion or volunteer helps build our future generations for years to come.
Please help as soon as possible before it’s too late.
It’s our obligation and duty to help our brothers and sisters and the time is now.
In case you do the request of M.S.K. The LORD Almighty will bless all of you for ever and ever.
AD. My suggestion is fair and full of justices. Believe it or not, I wish I was a millionaire or billionaire and not a retired person, I would have taken the full responsibility of relocating my people to their fatherland before obligating them to convert to another faith as it has happened in our history repeatedly. I hope this short note will convince you.
I wish Armenians stopped preaching to our “millionaires and billionaires” because they cannot do anything for anybody. They have less freedom then you do. Yes, from time to time they come up with a project to build an art gallery or a hospital (all greatly appreciated) but there is no systemic approach to all their efforts.
Armenians can only count on people like themselves. Do not expect others (they are probably in more debt then you are despite their millions) to help Armenians – start helping on your own. Donate 1.915% of your income to Armenian causes and volunteer 1.915% of your time. It’s that simple.
All other plans never worked. Syrian Armenians are not the first ones and not the last ones. There were Iraqi Armenians before them and there will be Iranian Armenians after them. And nothing will be done if we just blame our billionaires for not doing enough.