The only Armenian in Turkish village visits church on Easter Sunday

April 2, 2018 By administrator

only Armenian in Turkish village

The only Armenian resident of Derik district in Turkey’s Mardin province visited St. Gevorg church on the Easter.

Before the Armenian Genocide, the village used to have considerable Armenian population, Agos newspaper reported.

Zekeria Sabuncu, a man who returned to the native community from Istanbul five years ago, visited the Armenian church and lit a candle on Easter Sunday.

Village in Armenia May Be Tesla’s Next Powerpack Location

December 31, 2017 By administrator

By Armen Hareyan

You may have heard about Tesla’s Powerpack stations if you have read what Tesla was doing in Puerto Rico. These are utility and business energy storage units that help to store energy. Let’s say you have a solar station and produce excess amount of energy. You need something like Powerpack to store your extra energy. That’s what Tesla and Armenia are negotiating about and here is where the first pilot project will be built in Armenia.

The village of Ddmashen, near Lake Sevan in Armenia, may be the site of Tesla’s new operations, constructing utility and business energy storage units to store Armenia’s excess solar energy.

Two days ago, Armenian Premier Minister Mr. Karen Karapetyan gave an exclusive interview to B4 Business for Business, in which he revealed that the country is negotiating with Tesla to invest in Armenia’s solar sector. The construction of the first solar power plant in Armenia was of great importance for the investor club projects. Being unique in its kind, it became a stimulus, and six months later new solar stations appeared in Armenia.

Armenia, Tesla and Energy Accumulation
“One important fact is that, in parallel with the increase in energy produced by solar stations in Armenia, there is a need to accumulate that electricity. Otherwise we have to produce energy and lose it because we do not have the opportunity to consume all that energy at a given moment. And this is the next project of the investor club, which is currently being discussed with TESLA, along with other products. We are also trying to build accumulative stations. The first pilot project will be built in Ddmashen, building up to 15 megawatt galvanic accumulator stations. Its initial cost is 15-17 million US dollars. These four projects are already underway, they are at the stage of designing, drafting documents.

Projects Underway?
It is really not clear if the discussions with Tesla are just discussions or those projects are underway. It it also not clear if the projects, which are underway, are different projects, or those, which are being discussed with Tesla. What I gather from this interview, is that Armenia and Tesla are testing a pilot project int he village of Ddmashen, in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia.

Mr. Karapetyan also added that if they succeed in implementing this latest project, it will essentially change Armenia’s energy security. “Though, in terms of energy security, our country is far more secure than the majority of European states, the development of solar energy would have a limit if we did not solve the problem of accumulating and storing that energy as there is a problem of the use of reactive power,” said Karapetyan

Therefore, if all goes well, soon we may hear more about Tesla’s operations in Armenia. Two months ago, in October of 2017 Tesla unveiled ‘first of many solar+storage projects’ at hospital in Puerto Rico, reports Electrek. Looks like now Tesla may test them in Armenia through the pilot project in the village of Ddmashen, the image of which you see in this story.

Film on sole Armenian village in Turkey being translated into Turkish

August 28, 2017 By administrator

The 2012 film by American writer Caroline Trent-Gurbuz and Turkish photojournalist Sait Serkan Gurbuz, and which is about the sole remaining Armenian village in Turkey, is being translated into Turkish.

A total of 22 biographies, six photo stories, and two short videos are presented in this documentary, entitled “A Shrinking Community: Vakıflı, Turkey’s Last Armenian Village,” which was shot under the auspices of the US embassy in Ankara, according to Agos Armenian weekly of Istanbul.

The English version of this film is accessible at Vakifli.com.

Wally Sarkeesian Touring Historical Armenian Village ANJAR Lebanon Video

June 27, 2017 By administrator

Watch how Armenian Turn Lebanon swamp and desert into Greenland, Anjar the Armenian from Mount Mossadegh.
If you saw the movie The Promise, then you will understand the history of this village.

Nearly 250 men took part in the defense, fighting off Turkish armies in June 1915.^[1] The Armenians had refused deportation and fled to the highest mountain in the town, and from July to September 1915 they defended themselves until French ships rescued them.^[1] Starting in 1918, when Sanjak of Alexandretta came under French control, six Armenian villages returned to their homes.

In 1932 a monument was erected at the top of the mountain to commemorate the event.^[10] On 29 June 1939, following an agreement between France and Turkey, the province was given to Turkey. Afterwards Armenians from six of the villages emigrated from Hatay, while some of the residents of Vakıflı village chose to stay.^[11] Vakıflı is the only remaining ethnic Armenian village in Turkey,^[12]^[13] with a population only 140 Turkish-Armenians. Most who left Hatay in 1939 immigrated to Lebanon where they resettled in the town of Anjar. Today, the town of Anjar is divided into six districts, each commemorating one of the villages of Musa Dagh.

As the French squads came to the rescue of the remaining survivors, the chief priest was quoted to say: “The evil only happened … to enable God to show us His goodness

Kyrgyzstan’s Village Of Mosques

May 24, 2017 By administrator

The village of Sary-Mogol boasts has gone through a boom in mosque building, but basic amenities like water and electricity remain in short supply. (Zhibek Begalieva, Current Time TV)

Breaking News: Armenian village of Baghanis under intensive Azeri shelling

April 29, 2017 By administrator

On the evening of April 28, the border village of Baghanis, Tavush province was subjected to intensive Azerbaijani shelling, Baganis Municipality told PanARMENIAN.Net

The 2-hour shelling led to no casualties, with the village suffering material damage only.

Recent days saw increased cases of Azerbaijan shelling Armenia’s settlements, with Baghanis interstate road targeted on April 25.

UC Berkeley February 10 @ 7:15 pm screening Documentary Armenian “Havresc”

February 9, 2017 By administrator

HAVRESC: STAND ON COURAGE

There will be a one time screening, opening presentation and Q&A session with the director David Ritter at the

University Of California Berkeley, 105 North Gate Hall. February 10 @ 7:15 pm

Refreshments will be provided and admission is free.

Sponsored by – Institute of Slavic, East European and Eurasia studies and the Armenian Studies program.

Filmmaker David Ritter has shot a documentary about a remarkable Armenian village somewhere in Iraq with about 200 to 500 people. It is surviving through courage, faith, fortitude and about 22 dedicated men against the massive force of the Islamic State group. Its name, Havresc, translates to big revenge, and its history dates back to 1915, when survivors of the Genocide constructed it, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.

On December 8, the Zohrab Information Center hosted Ritter, who has spent months in the village, who presented his documentary titled, “Havresc, Stand on Courage”, to a large audience, detailing the daily struggles of Armenian and Assyrian Christian Iraqis and the village they have built on the edge of IS-controlled territory.

About the Film

HAVRESC: STAND ON COURAGE is a documentary on the struggles of Armenian and Assyrian Christian Iraqis and the village they have formed on the edge of ISIS controlled territory. Standing in the face of adversity, bigotry, hatred and oppression they have protected themselves from the Islamic state and created a community that is a home to all Christians facing persecution.

HAVRESC: STAND ON COURAGE

Directed by David Ritter
Narration by Jeff Gardner
Music by Michael Dunbar, Peter Bell and Christopher Freedom Laroche

Armenian “Havresc” A DAVID & GOLIATH STORY IN IRAQ: An Interview with Filmmaker David Ritter

December 20, 2016 By administrator

By Lucine Kasbarian.

The Iraqi village of Havresc (originally called “Hay Vrej,” the Armenian words for “revenge through survival”) was once populated with Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants.

Circa 1970, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s military destroyed villages, such as Havresc, that were minority strongholds, and pushed their inhabitants into cities in order to assimilate them.

Following Saddam’s death in 2006, persecuted Iraqi Armenians with family roots in Havresc decided to return to the village. With the rise of nearby ISIS forces several years later, Havresc became a safe haven. The Armenians were later joined by Assyrians and Yezidis.

Against all odds, this village of 150 families blossomed thanks to the leadership of Mayor Aslan Murad Vartanian, a Havresc native. He and Armenian elders persuaded compatriots to come back and rebuild the village. Sporting a handlebar moustache reminiscent of fedayee predecessors, Murad is now father and protector to all in Havresc. Once a career special unit sniper in the Iraqi army, he today heads a citizen militia with support from neighboring Kurdish groups. Murad’s home functions as an arsenal where, astonishingly, he and others restore and convert guns from WWI and WWII – some purchased, some found while farming – into modern weapons.

Heavily outnumbered, the Havresc militia has nevertheless beaten back ISIS on many occasions. We know of their acts of bravery thanks to independent filmmaker David Ritter’s documentary, HAVRESC: Stand on Courage.

Following is an interview with Ritter conducted by Lucine Kasbarian.

Lucine Kasbarian: Tell us about your professional and religious background.

David Ritter: I’m a filmmaker/documentarian who studied photography and video production. I come from a Roman Catholic background and eventually found myself as a “Roaming Catholic,” which means I visit and respect various Christian denominations and communities. Throughout my experiences and while befriending Middle Eastern Christians, the Orthodox sects became a fascination for me. Little of Christian Orthodox history and culture is known to the greater Christian community. I gravitate towards the Orthodox and see value in their rich history throughout the world.

Kasbarian: How did you find and come to be interested in the people of Havresc?

Ritter: My time in Havresc was a result of my anger and frustration at what was happening to many religious and ethnic minorities over the past five years in Syria and Iraq. I resented that the “social justice crowd,” whose doctrines dominate our schools and media, had little to say about the horrors so many people there were and are facing. I was disgusted that world leaders and governments initially dismissed the attacks by ISIS and acted as if there was no threat from such groups. I wanted to support the Christian militias of Iraq and volunteer my services to them and their communities.

Through my channels, I was introduced to Jeff Gardner, a photojournalist who has spent much time in the Middle East.

Jeff knew about my background as a filmmaker documenting the demographics of racial and ethnic minorities. My last feature-length film was entitled German Town: The Lost Story of Seaford Town, Jamaica.

So Jeff felt that I should visit Havresc. He had visited Havresc in 2013 and was gob-smacked by how amazing these people were, especially their leader, Aslan Murad. We agreed that this village and its story deserved documentation.

Kasbarian: Though the U.S. Congress unanimously approved and, as a result, the Obama Administration adopted in 2016 the term “genocide” to describe the horrors suffered by Christians and Yazidis at the hands of ISIS, would you speculate why mainstream media has made so little of the modern-day genocide of Christians in the Middle East?

Ritter: To be fair, the Obama administration has spent the majority of its time stating that ISIS was not a threat, and the U.S. mainstream media followed its lead.

Most mainstream media have an agenda. If I had to speculate, it is because they usually care about an issue only when the governments, corporations and special interests they cater to can benefit.

I think the obsession with political correctness is also part of this conversation. For instance, much of the media on the Progressive Left want people to think that owning a gun or arming yourself is intrinsically wrong. But guns are a safeguard in situations such as Havresc’s. Armenians – as victims of state-sponsored genocide on their native lands – know very well how dangerous it can be for a civilian population to be prohibited from possessing arms.

My documentary spotlights Havresc men explaining that guns saved their families and community.

Obviously, the concept of gun control is highly problematic in such situations.

Indeed, most mainstream media want people to see militiamen as dangerous to society. True, some militia members are threats, but others are not. It depends on the circumstances and the militia’s purpose. A gun in the hand of a responsible person can be used to defend and save endangered lives rather than harm innocent people.

Kasbarian: Why do you think Middle Eastern Christians – the oldest Christians on record – have been largely abandoned by their Christian brethren around the world?

Ritter: There are a few reasons. One is “political correctness” – that is, Westerners defending co-religionists elsewhere is viewed as a bit chauvinist.

Many Western churches function like businesses. Defending Christians overseas does not increase their bottom line.

And some of these churches and their leaders are afraid. They have seen what happens when people confront Islamic extremists: media outlets are bombed and journalists killed. Fear holds people back.

But there are clergy, churches and Christians who are doing all they can to aid the Christian communities of Iraq. I met them while I was there, few as they are. In my travels, Christians have stepped forward to help the Syrian and Iraqi people. More would follow suit if they had the leadership and information to do so.

Kasbarian: We hear about Middle Eastern Christians avoiding refugee camps for fear of abduction and abuse and, moreover, not approaching the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) nor applying for immigration status because they feel they will largely be passed over. In this context, one can better understand why some Christians would prefer to endure or resist in endangered zones. Please speak about this phenomenon.

Ritter: The truth is these Christians would, indeed, most likely be passed over. It took nearly five years for anyone to acknowledge that Christians and Yazidis were even an endangered people in the Middle East. They were – and still are – the primary targets for ISIS and Jihadist violence.

For me to explain the attitudes of Western leaders who create policies that are unmindful of Christians, I would have to adopt the mindset of a globalist. I refuse to do that.

These policies may also have some basis in simple ignorance. I have met many non-governmental organization (NGO) workers and United Nations members over the years, most of whom meant well. But the isolation within which many of them exist on the ground, and their lack of understanding of the inner politics and cultures of the countries in which they work, is stunning. Poor management may also play a role.

There could also be more pernicious reasons. For example, many EU leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the Obama administration, seem fixated on supporting more Islamic migration into Europe and the U.S. – but not Christian or Yazidi refugees.

Kasbarian: An aid worker predicts that Havresc will grow. Do you agree? Could publicizing Havresc attract greater threats? One viewer at a screening said that beating back ISIS is a short-term solution and that in the long run, the villagers should move to Armenia. Expediency may encourage one to flee. But attachments may dictate otherwise. Is it crucial to relocate to foreign lands – or to Armenia, for that matter – when the people already there are unemployed and conditions are uncertain?

Ritter: I’m not certain about Havresc’s future, but so far much has been done in a short period of time. Havresc actually faced more attacks when the village was getting no media coverage at all, so neither Murad nor I think media exposure will hurt. Being in the open can be a better tactic than having nobody know about you.

ISIS is just one of many threats and risks to villages such as Havresc. But even running away may not work. Would you necessarily be safer in North America? Germany? France? England? Have we not seen massive attacks in those places on an almost weekly basis?

During the San Bernardino, California shootings in 2015 where Pakistani-American extremists killed 14 people and injured 22 at a county employee event in what the FBI called an act “inspired by foreign terrorist groups,” I was in Havresc with Murad in his living room watching the news. Murad pointed to the TV, looked at Jeff and me, and said, “You see? Now it’s coming to you in America. It won’t stop. This is their plan.”

Kasbarian: You have been present at your U.S. film screenings from coast to coast. What’s next? And why do you think the general topic of your film is of interest primarily to Assyrian and Armenian circles but ignored by the mainstream media?

Ritter: I’m hoping for many more screenings in the U.S., Canada and Europe. But in the end, my goal is to go back to Iraq and/or Syria to help while there’s still a need. When I address the issues of radical groups like ISIS, too many people I know who follow mainstream media will express apathy, become defensive or change the subject. Sometimes they claim that “Christians are just as violent as ISIS.”

This is what their media has led them to believe, I suppose. Then again, I have met people across the political spectrum – from the Left to the Right – who agree that ISIS and Islamic extremism is a serious threat to the world. I also think most Americans agree that radical Islamic Jihadists are a real danger.

However, American and European mass media is more interested in demonizing Syrian President Assad than ISIS. Mainstream media function as gatekeepers of information. If they cannot control the narrative and the people relaying the information, then they ignore or discredit the people relaying the information.

There is a trend in globalist mass media to diminish the relevance of racial, ethnic, cultural and religious differences among peoples. On the other hand, other media and some progressives call Western people racist or xenophobic when they show a love for their heritage or religion.

Could there be people in high places who enjoy seeing certain cultures and religions wiped out? I have met such people.

The Havresc documentary, however, shows men and women holding strong to their Christian faith and ethnic identities. They are proud of their Armenian and Assyrian ancestries and all that comes with it.

Kasbarian: Speaking of mainstream media in the U.S. and Europe depicting national or ethnic pride as xenophobia, how can Westerners deal with this?

Ritter: It is important not to conflate patriotic ideals and non-extremist forms of nationalism with supremacist ideas. You can love Armenian, Greek or German culture and desire to protect your culture and nation without possessing a desire to harm others. Our media and educational institutions throw around words such as “racist” and “xenophobic” too loosely.

People must ask themselves whether such strong terms are always appropriate, or whether they instead induce a Pavlovian response that stigmatizes the targets of these terms.

Words are being used as if they are “Newspeak” – the controlled language created by the totalitarian state in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984. Governments, advocacy groups, media and people alike should define their grievances and positions rather than stigmatize the views of others with loaded terms.

Kasbarian: As an independent filmmaker, what’s your take on mainstream media attempting to silence truth tellers and freedom of expression by disparaging independent and alternative news media by calling their reportage fake?

Ritter: The term “fake news” is being used by many to attack independent reporting whose facts and opinions conflict with mainstream narratives and with people and institutions in high political positions.

Note that politicians who voted for wars and conflicts like the invasion of Iraq – and used false information to sway the public into agreement – peddled fake news. For example, the public was told about Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction.” These weapons were never found. The public was told ISIS was not a threat by these same politicians and their media outlets. That itself was fake news.

There is such a thing as fake news. It circulates throughout the Internet, sometimes created by paranoid people on grass roots levels. But far more fake news comes from mainstream media outlets that are government and corporate-sponsored.

Let us not conflate fake news with dissent and genuine questioning. Hillary Clinton claimed she was once under “sniper fire” in Bosnia. That turned out to be fake news.

Why are citizen journalists the ones being attacked for fake news when politicians, government outlets and mass media have been caught throughout the years fabricating news or simply not reporting the facts?

Kasbarian: Aslan Mourad says, “We Armenians live like the lion and if necessary, we will die like the lion.” His words speak to the moral courage and dignity of the Armenians. Can the story of Havresc empower others?

Ritter: I hope this documentary inspires all minorities and majority nations and groups to take a stance to protect themselves, their culture and religion from people who wish to harm them and destroy the things they love. I think people should have militias and guns even if they are not endangered – just as we have fire extinguishers in our homes. We do not buy a fire extinguisher after our home has turned to ash. We buy it before that happens so we can stop a fire before it destroys everything.

Kasbarian: Imagery of Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, is prevalent in Aslan Murad’s home in northern Iraq, which is in the Kurdish

region. Is having such imagery a matter of basic survival for Murad and Havresc?

Ritter: I cannot comment on Murad’s political connections, but he is working with many Kurdish people – a reality of living and working in Iraqi Kurdistan – where all operate under Kurdish authority and work together for a bright future. In order to have a functioning security force, Havresc has to go through proper political channels. That’s the law and reality now. No Christian community in Kurdistan can operate as an island unto itself.

Kasbarian: How can we support Havresc?

Ritter: Anything sent to www.Echo612.org goes straight to Havresc. I am funding this film screening tour from my own pocket and from the money we collect at events from DVD and admission sales and the donations from institutions that host the events. I give 30 percent of what we make at each event to Echo612 to help Havresc. The donations will purchase food, medicine and basic aid for residents until things are secure and stable. It is not a long-term program. The people of Havresc do not want to be on a welfare system. They want to be independent and self-sustaining.

The next screening of Havresc: Stand on Courage will be in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on January 19, 2017:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1451644361531020/

To invite the filmmaker to screen this documentary in your area, contact David Ritter at: ritter.david.david@gmail.com

For details, visit: http://havresc.com/

To donate to the village of Havresc, visit: http://www.echo612.org/

About the interviewer:

Lucine Kasbarian is a syndicated journalist and political cartoonist. Visit: http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Lucine_Kasbarian

Havresc: An Armenian Christian Village in Northern Iraq resisting Islamic State to survive

December 17, 2016 By administrator

Havresc: An Armenian Christian Village in Northern Iraq Standing Down ISIS

Filmmaker David Ritter has shot a documentary about a remarkable Armenian village somewhere in Iraq with about 200 to 500 people. It is surviving through courage, faith, fortitude and about 22 dedicated men against the massive force of the Islamic State group. Its name, Havresc, translates to big revenge, and its history dates back to 1915, when survivors of the Genocide constructed it, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.

Ritter was introduced by the Zohrab Center’s executive director, the Very Rev. Daniel Findikyan, who related that this issue “transcends ethnic interests. One doesn’t have to be Armenian to care about others.”

Before showing the film, Ritter who is not Armenian, commented that he was “filled with rage at the plight of the Christians, not about ethnicity,” he said, and praised the leader of the 22 soldiers, Murad Vartanian, whom he called “one of the most amazing men I have ever met, a man of conviction, courage, tenacity, and also a poet and an artist, a natural born leader.”

The documentary detailed the history of the Genocide with disturbing graphic images of death and destruction. It was a group of survivors from that tragedy that went to Iraq and built villages, including the mostly agricultural village of Havresc. In time, other persecuted Christians – Assyrians and Yezidis – also settled there. In 1975, many Christian villages were destroyed, including Havresc, with the villagers fleeing. One of the only buildings that remained were the ruins of the original school.

In 2006, many of the people of Havresc returned, and decided to rebuild their homes, churches and schools. Armenians also came from abroad and helped in the construction. Vartanian, who was originally born in the village, led the effort, and with other villagers created a communal system where goods are shared. They also erected a monument to the victims of the Genocide.

Today, it is 22 young and old men led by Vartanian, who protect the village 24 hours a day against ISIS. Kurdish militias are also helping these 22 soldiers. The film showed Murad’s home which is the headquarters of the militia, and houses an armory of weapons. Also seen are the villagers tending to their flocks of sheep and peacefully farming the land. In the future, a small airport will be built.

Shortly after the film was completed, Vartanian was shot by IS. He is now recovering, and has said, “Even trees need water to live. We are like these old trees. We never give up. Let us live like lions, and if need be, die like lions.”

Ritter was born to a Roman Catholic family in Haiti. He is a documentarian who has gone to areas of the world where Christian communities are in danger, and filmed their struggles. He is currently traveling to Armenian communities and showing this documentary of Havresc . He announced that 30 percent of the proceeds of the DVD will go back to Havresc. Already, he said, $2,000 has been raised.

Source: https://zohrabcenter.org/2016/11/22/havresc-an-armenian-christian-village-in-northern-iraq-standing-down-isis/

President Sahakyan attended the inauguration of a memorial to Armenians of Artsakh fighters in the village of Kedavan (Nagorno-Karabakh)

September 8, 2016 By administrator

Bako Sahakyan President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh participated Wednesday, September 7 at the inauguration of a memorial to the Armenian fighters in the village of Kedavan (Nagorno-Karabakh). Bako Sahakyan in his speech, stressed the importance of keeping the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for the Armenian nation.

He also stressed the important role of transmitting the memory of heroes who died for their country, to younger generations. The same day the President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was the monastery of Kantsassar for a Mass celebrated by Catholicos Karekin II. Parliament Speaker Stepanakert, Ashot Ghoulyan and many officials were also present at the inauguration of Kedavan Memorial and the religious ceremony in Kantsassar.

Krikor Amirzayan