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The Fresno City Council declares August 31 as William Saroyan Day

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The Fresno City Council is honoring the life of Fresno born playwright and author William Saroyan. The City Council issued a proclamation declaring Friday August 31, 2018 as William Saroyan Day in the City of Fresno. The honor comes as the Fresno home where Saroyan spent the final 17 years of his life is about to open as a museum.

The foundation based in Armenia that bought the home in 2016 says at one point city officials wanted to move the house to downtown Fresno. But they say it was important to keep it in the neighborhood where Saroyan lived and breathed.

“William Saroyan has walked there, he has ridden his bicycle there, he has lived there, he has communicated with his neighbors there, he has written some of his works there. So, I feel this energy when I’m there,” says Hakob Hakobyan of the Intellectual Renaissance Foundation.

The grand opening and ribbon cutting at the William Saroyan House Museum is Friday, August 31. which will be followed with a public celebration at the Satellite Student Union at Fresno State.

hoodline: Craving Armenian fare? Here are Fresno’s top 5 spots to visit now

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Looking to satisfy your appetite for Armenian cuisine?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top Armenian spots around Fresno, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to go for kebabs, wraps, grilled salmon and more.

Topping the list is Diana’s. Located at 3050 W. Shaw Ave., Suite 106, this is the highest-rated restaurant serving Armenian fare in Fresno, boasting 4.5 stars out of 301 reviews on Yelp.

The menu features both Persian and Armenian specialties including marinated and barbecued beef kebab served with onion and bell peppers; grilled salmon fillet marinated in special house blend seasoning and served with lemon; and barbecue ground chicken koobideh served with tomato.

Next up is AJ’s Armenian Cuisine, situated at 5048 N. Maroa Ave. With 4.5 stars out of 135 reviews on Yelp, the family-owned restaurant has proven to be a local favorite.

Open since 2007, the eatery offers appetizers like hummus, baba ghanoush (eggplant dip), lepnie (kefir cheese), olives and more. For your main course, check out the Lulu (certified Angus ground beef and lamb), pork back ribs and king salmon plate.

Noah’s Ark Restaurant and Bakery, located at 783 E. Barstow Ave., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Mediterranean, Armenian and Greek spot 4.5 stars out of 113 reviews.

Check out the many wrap choices, including chicken, beef, falafel, veggie, chicken fajita and more. Sides include Mediterranean red mashed potatoes and thick-cut seasoned fries. Craving a salad? Look for the avocado and buckwheat salad, tossed with cucumber, tomatoes, lemon and other seasonings. A variety of sweet treats are also on offer.

George’s Bar & Grill, another Mediterranean and Armenian spot, boasts 4.5 stars out of 102 Yelp reviews. Earlier this year, it was named the top Mediterranean restaurant in the Best of the Valley awards, the Fresno Bee reports.

Appetizers include tabbouleh, a cracked wheat dish marinated with lemon, olive oil and fresh vegetables served on a bed of lettuce. Standout menu items include the crab salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber and Kalamata onions, the lamb shish kebab sandwich, the lamb shank and the filet mignon kebab. Head over to 6680 N. Blackstone Ave. to try it for yourself.

Medical supplies and equipment from Fresno headed to Armenia

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Boxes and bags and pallets of heavy equipment are being loaded with love.  They’re medical supplies- not needed by local hospitals- but still very usable, Your Center Valley reports.

Medical Ministries International-  a 20 year Fresno non-profit collects these supplies and ships them free of charge to hospitals and clinics throughout the world.  This load is going to Armenia providing life-saving care.  Care that we take for granted.

Like a birthing table going to a hospital that delivers 40 babies every day.   “We were blessed to have a birthing table here.  It will be the first really nice one they will ever have.  We’re sending incubators, we’re sending warmers,” says MMI board member Angelica Gonzalez.

Dr. Jeffrey Thomas will make his 4th trip to Armenia in the fall.  He’s seen the need first hand the difference each mission makes.  “The healthcare environment is rather primitive and sometimes the smallest thing they don’t have can be instrumental in how they deliver care,” Thomas says.

INTENT TO DESTROY Wednesday, February 21, 2018 7:30 pm Fresno IMAX Cinema Riverpa

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By Vanoush Khatchaturyan,

The Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School, in conjunction with the Knights and Daughters of Vartan (Fresno) is proud to bring this movie to Fresno. “Intent to Destroy,” by veteran documentarian Joe Berlinger, is an interesting hybrid. It’s partly an account of the Armenian Genocide and the ongoing efforts of the Turkish government to deny it, and partly a look at attempts to make films about the killings, including the 2016 drama “The Promise.” Tell your friends, tell your family, get your tickets (I got mine) and help support this movie, which is part of the overall campaign of Armenian Genocide justice.

Marshall is your host, this is a 1 night only screening of INTENT TO DESTROY Wednesday, February 21, 2018 @ 7:30 pm, we have to sell 36 more tickets in order for the Imax Cinema at Riverpark to hold the theather.  PLEASE ORDER TODAY and insure your seats its limited seating of 120  
 

 

Fresno surgeon john garry among More than 30 US doctors to arrive in Armenia on Medical Mission

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Fresno surgeon John Garry

Fresno surgeon John Garry

At least 37 doctors and medical professionals form the US will arrive in Armenia with a mission to  provide routine and emergency level care to rural areas of the country within the annual trips of doctors organized by the Armenian Medical Mission.

The expedition is headed by the Fresno surgeon John Garry, who for the first time visited Armenia during a destructive earthquake of 1988, abc30.com reported.

“In 1988, during the Armenian earthquake, I was lucky enough to be among the first group of rescue people allowed into Armenia by the Soviet Union,” the doctor said.

Garry volunteered not only because he wanted to help, but because he felt an obligation to his ancestors. His grandparents came from Armenia.

According to him, there are many people suffering from diabetes and hypertension in Armenia, in addition, there are many smokers here.

Garry noted that the people in rural Armenia do not have access to regular medical care, and therefore they will do everything possible to help the people. He also expected to see Syrian refugees among the patients.

Breaking News: Three dead in central Fresno shooting spree; suspect caught, linked to Motel 6 slaying

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By Jim Guy

 

Three people were shot and killed after a man went on a shooting spree Tuesday in central Fresno, randomly shooting at four white men, killing three, before he was taken into custody, police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

The 39-year-old suspect, identified as Kori Ali Muhammad, is also suspected in the fatal shooting of a security guard outside a Motel 6 in central Fresno Thursday. He is facing four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, Dyer said. He said Muhammad had expressed dislike of whites in Facebook posts; all of the victims were white. Dyer called it a “random act of violence.”

Two of the people shot outside Catholic Charities may have been clients of the social service agency, not employees, Dyer said. The third victim was a passenger in a Pacific Gas & Electric truck. A fourth man was shot at but not injured.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article145234709.html#storylink=cpy

Fresno: “The Curious Case of Armenian Genocide Perpetrator Ahmed Faik Bey” Lecture by Dr. Ümit Kurt,

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Dr. Ümit Kurt

Tuesday, March 7 • 7:30PM
“The Curious Case of Armenian Genocide Perpetrator Ahmed Faik Bey”

University Business Center, Room 191, A. Peters Auditorium, Fresno State.
 Free admission and free parking in Lots P6 or P5.
Parking code is required for free parking. With the support of the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

Dr. Ümit Kurt, a Research Fellow at Harvard University will present talk on “The Curious Case of Armenian Genocide Perpetrator Ahmed Faik Bey” on Tuesday, March 7 at 7:30pm in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus.

The lecture is part of the Armenian Studies Program Spring 2017 Lecture Series, with the support of the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

Within the publications on the history of Armenian genocide, studies on the perpetrators received and continue to receive special attention. Seen from a wider perspective, it is rather important to make scholarly investigations and public debate regarding the executors of the Armenian Genocide. Even when the agents of Genocide were not explicitly mentioned, the consequences of their deeds remained all too visible to ignore them. Yet historians, that is to say those who defined it as their job to find out ‘what really happened,’ over an extended period of time left it to others to deal with the issue of perpetration.

This talk focuses on one major perpetrator, Ahmed Faik Erne (1879-1967), his background, deeds, activities and leading involvement in the 1915 Armenian deportation and genocide as well as his life story in the post-genocide period in modern Turkey.

Dr. Ümit Kurt completed his PhD. in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program in the History Department of Clark University in 2016. His dissertation was entitled “Destruction of Aintab Armenians and Emergence of the New Wealthy Class: Plunder of Armenian Wealth in Aintab (1890s–1920s).” He is currently a research fellow at Harvard University.

 

Armenian ambassador to US visits Fresno State

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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) —

The ambassador of Armenia stopped by Fresno State during his visit to the Valley Saturday.

He visited the university’s Armenian Genocide Monument and paid tribute to the martyrs of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The ambassador said the monument is a tremendous expression of solidarity.

“This monument is a powerful symbol we feel creates solidarity and commitment to fighting injustices in the future,” ambassador Grigor Hovhannissian said. “It’s very good that students see this.”

The ambassador formally invited Fresno State president Joseph Castro to visit Armenia.

Fresno State to host int’l conference on Armenian Genocide

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206990The Armenian Studies Program of California State University, Fresno is holding a major international conference on “Empire, Politics, and War: The Armenian Genocide within the Context of the Ottoman Empire” on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19, 2016, Asbarez reports.

The Conference will bring an international group of scholars to explore new facets of the Armenian Genocide.

The Conference is co-sponsored by the Society for Armenian Studies, the College of Arts & Humanities of California State University, Fresno, with the support of the Thomas A. Kouymjian Family Foundation, the Leon S. Peters Foundation, and the M. Victoria Kazan Fund for Armenian Studies.

Conference organizers Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Armenian Studies Program Coordinator, and Ümit Kurt, Kazan Visiting Scholar at Fresno State, expect the Conference to attract great interest among both scholars and the public.

On Friday, March 18, the Conference will begin with welcoming addresses from Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities and Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Director of the Armenian Studies Program. Dr. Stephan Astourian, Director of the Armenian Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley, will follow with a keynote address “Armenian Genocide Studies: Development as a Field, Historiographical Appraisal, and the Road Ahead.”

The Conference will take place in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus. An hors d’oeuvres reception will take place from in the University Business Center Gallery, just prior to the Conference.

The Conference will reconvene on Saturday, with a session chaired by Dr. Sergio La Porta, Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies at Fresno State. The session will take place in the Whitten Room of the Fresno State Smittcamp Alumni House (Matoian Way on the Fresno State campus-enter at Shaw and Maple) and will be divided into two parts.

All sessions and the reception are free and open to the public.

Related links:

Asbarez. Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Program to Hold Two-Day International Conference

Fresno: Ümit Kurt to speak on “Why Does Turkey Deny the Armenian Genocide?”

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Umit-KurtArmenian Studies Program, California State University, Fresno.

“Why Does Turkey Deny the Armenian Genocide?” will be addressed in a talk by Clark University doctoral candidate Ümit Kurt at 7:30PM on Wednesday, February 10, in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus.

The lecture is the third in the Armenian Studies Program Spring 2016 Lecture Series, with the support of the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

One of the most important—and possibly the most sensitive—landmarks of modern Turkish history and the formation of Turkey’s political and socio-cultural climate is the Armenian Genocide. By the same token, this issue is a taboo in Turkish political history. The question widely asked is “Why does Turkey deny the Armenian Genocide?” This question should be examined at two levels: state and society. It is correct to say that there has been a strong state denialism of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Yet, one should also bear in mind that this strong state denialism has also been supported and reinforced by different sections of society. In this lecture, Kurt will analyze societal dimensions of Turkish denialism of Armenian genocide and also explore the reasons behind Turkey’s inability to come to terms with its past.

Ümit Kurt is a PhD. Candidate at Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program in the History Department of Clark University and completing his dissertation. He has written

extensively on confiscation of Armenian properties, Armenian Genocide, early modern Turkish nationalism, and Aintab Armenians. He is the author of the Great, hopeless Turkish race: fundamentals of Turkish nationalism in the Turkish homeland 1911-1916 (Istanbul: İletişim Publishing House, 2012) and editor of the Revolt and Destruction: Construction of the state from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic and collective violence (Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Publishing House, 2015). He teaches history at Sabancı University in Istanbul and is the author, with Taner Akçam, of The spirit of the laws: the plunder of wealth in the Armenian Genocide (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2015).

The lecture is free and open to the public. Free parking is available, with a parking code, in Fresno State Lots P5 and P6, near the University Business Center.

For more information about the lecture please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669, or visit our website at www.fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies.