Lessons from AYF Camp Haiastan

The following interview was conducted at Camp Haiastan with 2022 campers Sarhad Melkonian and Ardashes Hamparian.

Camp Haiastan: What has Hye Jham covered this session, and why do you think the content is important?

Sarhad Melkonian: This year, one of Hye Jham’s topics was about the 2020 Artsakh War. This war devastated the entire Armenian nation and resulted in the loss of over five thousand Armenian soldiers and major Artsakh territory. During Hye Jham, we went more into detail about those territories. We also learned about what we AYF juniors can do to help rebuild our country. After the war, I think we as Armenians were distraught and confused on what just happened. However, as much as we want to go back and stop the war from ever taking place, we can’t. Now our goals are clear. We move forward, work twice as hard and do whatever we can to help our country and its people.

Ardashes Hamparian: In Hye Jham, we learned about the current state of Armenia, the AYF and about our Armenian culture. For example, we talked about the Artsakh War and what we could do from here in the US. We also talked about our past as Zoroastrians and how we converted to Christianity. Finally, we talked about why we were all here today at AYF Camp Haiastan. The information we learned at Hye Jham showed us who we are and where we came from as Armenians in today’s world, which I find as one of the most important aspects of Camp Haiastan.

C.H.: Why is it important for Camp Haiastan to encourage its campers to participate in the AYF?

S.M.: Camp Haiastan is fun for all. Almost everyone who has attended Camp Haiastan would say that it was one of the best summers of their lives. Now imagine how great it would be to see many of your camp friends year round. The AYF is a great place to come together with your local Armenian community members, discuss current topics and plan future events. The AYF hosts different events year-round that bring different AYF chapters from different states together to have fun. If you have fun at AYF Camp Haiastan, you will have fun at AYF while also helping the Armenian community.

A.H.: AYF Camp Haiastan is my second home. Going into camp and making friends may be easy, but keeping those friends while leaving camp can be hard. The AYF is a great place to make new friends as well as see old friends. When you join the AYF, you make new lifelong Armenian friends not only in your chapter but around the world who you will see at AYF events year round. It is important to encourage campers to join the AYF because it is important that we keep our Armenian heritage and diaspora strong. Camp Haiastan is a way to hook young people into the AYF by showing them they can have fun while helping the Armenian cause.

C.H.: What are some ways for your fellow campers to get involved in the Armenian community after camp?

S.M.: Join different organizations such as the AYF, Homenetmen and Hamazkayin. These are sister organizations to the AYF, and within each of the organizations you learn Armenian dance, you can be a scout, learn Armenian songs, participate in sports and so on.

A.H.: Connect with friends who are in their AYF chapter so they know some people before coming. At Hye Jham, a flier was distributed encouraging campers to join their local AYF chapter which I found very helpful in order to get more Armenians involved. Another way to make campers feel involved is to show them that they belong in the Armenian community and show them they can be helpful to the Armenian cause.

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Camp Haiastan

Located in Franklin, Massachusetts, AYF Camp Haiastan, was founded in 1951 and is the oldest Armenian camp in the United States. The Camp prides itself on providing a healthy and safe experience to Armenian-American youth to help them foster their Armenian identity and establish lifelong friendships.