A Plate of Hope: ARS Offers Hot Meals to the Needy in Aleppo

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—In the midst of the ongoing war and turmoil in Syria, what is more substantial than hope for daily survival and sustenance? In an effort to ease the plight of Syrian Armenians, the Central Executive of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) has undertaken a special relief program called “Bnag me Dak Djash” (A Plate of Hot Meal) which provides the disadvantaged and poor families of Syria with a fresh hot meal. The program, which initially operated once a week, has now expanded to three meals a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Although this may seem like a regular meal to someone living in peace and harmony, it represents a platter of hope, love, and optimism for the Syrian-Armenian families who live in dire conditions. This program owes its success to the generous donations from multiple ARS chapters around the world that are conscientiously donating the necessary funds in an effort to maintain the survival of the Syrian-Armenian community.

Despite the scarcity of water, the constant disruption of electricity, the exorbitant gas prices and countless other difficulties, the preparations of the dishes are taking place in the social and medical services center  of the Syrian Armenian Relief Cross (ARS in Syria), through the efforts of Armenian women and cooks who are providing their fellow Armenians with the best taste and quality possible.

Committee member Zepur Reisian states that the ARS Executive Committee has deemed essential the re-initiation of the “Bnag me Dak Djash” program to support the thousands of Armenians who lost their jobs or were otherwise affected by the conflict. She adds that the program also provides for the elderly who are incapable of securing their livelihood. She notes that approximately 100 people benefit from the program during the three days when meals are served.

Commenting on the “Bnag me Dak Djash” program that was implemented in the 1950’s in Aleppo, the famous Armenian poet and writer Mushegh Ishkhan wrote: “Apart from the result, what was more motivating were the donations and grants. The Armenians were donating with a smile on their faces and blessings on their lips.”

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.arseastusa.org; call (617) 926-3801 or write to ARS Eastern USA Inc., 80 Bigelow Ave., Suite 200, Watertown, MA 02472.

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Varak Ketsemanian

Varak Ketsemanian is a graduate of the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the University of Chicago’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies (2014-2016). His master’s thesis titled “Communities in Conflict: the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party 1890-1894” examines the socio-economic role of violence in shaping inter-communal and ethnic relations by doing a local history of the Armenian Revolutionary Movement in the Ottoman Empire. Ketsemanian’s work tackles problems such as the development and polarization of mainstream historiographies, inter-communal stratifications, nationalism, and the relationship of the Ottoman State with some of its Anatolian provinces. He is currently completing a PhD at Princeton University, where his doctoral dissertation will focus on the social history of the National Constitution of Ottoman Armenians in 1863, and the communal dynamics/mechanisms that it created on imperial, communal, and provincial levels. Ketsemanian’s research relates to the development of different forms of nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries, revolutionary violence, and constitutional movements.

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