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Armenians Around The World Mobilize To Help Haiti

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  • Armenians Around The World Mobilize To Help Haiti

    ARMENIANS AROUND THE WORLD MOBILIZE TO HELP HAITI
    By Nanore Barsoumian

    Armenian Weekly
    February 1, 2010

    WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)-It has been three weeks since the devastating
    earthquake hit Haiti, but aid is still barely making its way into
    the country. The 7.0 magnitude quake which, according to Haitian
    officials, killed as many as 200,000 people, has left unimaginably
    rough conditions for survivors and refugees. More than 100,000
    people are already crowding the tent cities of Port-au-Prince,
    and aid handout spots are scenes of fighting. Haitians need food,
    water, and about 200,000 additional tents, but aid distribution is
    alarmingly slow. If this wasn't enough, the Daily Telegraph informs
    us that up to one million children are now left vulnerable to abuse
    and child trafficking.

    The Armenian government, on Jan. 21 allocated $100,000 in financial
    assistance to Haiti.

    Almost immediately after news of the earthquake and ensuing disaster
    reached Armenia, a senior official at the Armenian Rescue Service,
    Nikolay Grigorian, told RFE/RL that its 52-strong team, along with
    search dogs and special equipments, would be heading to Haiti.

    Grigorian was quoted as saying, "Our rescuers will fly to Moscow
    today and proceed, on a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry plane,
    to Haiti where they will take part in search and rescue operations."

    However, merely a few days after the announcement, Armenian Prime
    Minister Tigran Sargsyan said, "Unfortunately we could not carry out
    [the mission] because Haiti was not prepared to receive [the team]
    and there were numerous problems with logistics and aid coordination...

    International structures told us that there are problems with
    physically shipping things and that financial assistance would be
    more expedient," And so, the Armenian government, on Jan. 21 allocated
    $100,000 in financial assistance to Haiti.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. government has been getting some heat due to its
    15,000 troop deployment to the country, which as some critics point
    out, fills the airstrip with U.S. planes full of troops and military
    equipment, while aid is left behind. The BBC quoted Medecins Sans
    Frontieres (MSF) as saying, "Everything has been mixed together and
    the urgent and vital attention to the people have been delayed while
    military logistics-which is useful but not on day three, not on day
    four, but may be on day eight-has really jammed the airport and led
    to this mismanagement."

    Still, in times of such disasters, when the need for compassion and
    humanitarian aid is at its highest, people respond. At the sight of
    human suffering, even for a brief moment one might become inspired
    and determined to train and be part of a search and rescue team, sing
    songs of human unity (to raise money, of course), sell overpriced
    beverages or cookies to send the profits to those in need, or-maybe
    even for the first time in one's life-plead for help and mercy from a
    higher mysterious power. Well, all that is being done. Musicians like
    Beyonce, Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue, and our very dear Charles Aznavour
    are lending their voices to raise funds for quake-stricken Haiti.

    School children, like 11-year-old Armand Istanboulian and his friends
    in Ontario, are selling hot cocoa and handing over their hard-earned
    cash to their local Red Cross. And priests, like Western Prelate
    Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian and others-borrowing a line from The
    Doors song-are petitioning the Lord with prayers during Divine Liturgy,
    and calling upon the faithful to do their part in the humanitarian
    efforts through the many organizations involved in these efforts.

    Finally, it is important to note the efforts of the Armenian Relief
    Society (ARS) which has established a Haiti Relief Fund. Sossie
    Poladian, the chairperson of the ARS Regional Executive, issued the
    following statement: "The ARS feels the suffering of the Haitian
    people, especially since we experienced similar devastation after
    the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. Many of us still remember the pain
    and anguish that we felt and how comforting it was to know that the
    world came to help the people of Armenia. It is our duty to help
    the Haitians who fell victim to a similar disaster." ARS chapters,
    from Javakhk to Lebanon, to Canada and the U.S., have been involved
    in the fundraising efforts. Ten more days, and the ARS will wrap up
    its fundraising, so if you don't have time after your double-shift
    to sell hot cocoa on the side of the road, and if, unlike Aznavour,
    you are stuck with a crow-like voice, you still have about 10 more
    days to make a donation to the ARS (by visiting www.ARS1910.org).

    On Jan. 25, Massachusetts State Representative Peter Koutoujian called
    on Armenian Americans to contribute to these efforts. "As a fellow
    Armenian American," wrote Koutoujian, echoing Poladian's words, "I am
    asking for your help for Haitians in their time of need, much like the
    kindness and generosity that was shown towards Armenians 21 years ago.

    We as a community have an opportunity to express our gratitude and
    lend a helping hand." You can find his open letter on his website,
    www.peterkoutoujian.com.

    You can also submit an online donation through the American Red Cross
    (www.RedCross.org), Partners in Health (www.PIH.org), and the Catholic
    Relief Services (www.CRS.org). You even have a texting option; by
    texting Haiti to the number 90999 on your cell phone, you can donate
    $10 instantly. And, one other thing, make some noise! Call or write
    your representatives and demand that the aid that we all have been
    putting together reaches the destination it was intended to reach-now!

    Nanore Barsoumian is a staff writer for the Armenian Weekly.
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