325 thousand dollars raised for humanitarian emergency funds to the Armenians of Syria.
May 21, AGBU was attended by hundreds of supporters and friends for a dinner gala at the Landmark Hotel in London. The evening was dedicated to the AGBU achievements of humanitarian emergency relief funds to the Armenians of Syria and sought to instill ongoing support to mitigate the terrible conditions in the region.
AGBU held expressed gratitude to the generosity of its members and its central office and the Amber Capital CEO Joseph Oughourlian and his wife Jenny, who allowed all proceeds from fundraising this evening are directed to the emergency relief Fund humanitarian AGBU Syrian Armenians.
The speech by the Right Honourable Professor Lord Darzi of Denham was the evening’s highlight. Referring few episodes highlight of his life with wit and charm, Lord Darzi captivated the audience. Born in Baghdad to Armenian parents, Lord Darzi is one of the leading surgeons in the world, pioneer of endoscopic surgery that saved the lives of countless patients worldwide. He was also Minister of Health and the British government became the first Armenian to be a member of the House of Lords.
Speeches were also made by Camilo Azzouz office of AGBU Europe and AGBU London; Mr. Oughourlian; Mr. César Alierta, chairman of Telefónica Spanish telecommunications provider; and the President of the AGBU Berge Setrakian. All speakers stressed the importance had to respond quickly to global crises and to alleviate the suffering in Syria. In particular, Mr. Alierta – a friend and supporter of the Armenian community, which encouraged members of AGBU to remain aware of the crisis in Syria and described the Armenians as a best people in the world: “I ‘ saw the resilience and strength of the Armenian community. They are part of your DNA. Your community is the largest in the world because it is the only one to know how to have lived in the Middle East, Europe, Canada, the United States and Latin America, while also serving Christian values. “
There were among the distinguished guests of the members of the AGBU London, AGBU Europe, Central Board of AGBU and clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and members of the Young Professionals Network (YP) of AGBU.
A special tribute was paid to a member of the Central Board of AGBU, Vasken Yacoubian, who played a key role in the organization of emergency in Syria and for Syrian Armenians came to live in Armenia. “From the bottom of our hearts, you are truly a hero for us and a great inspiration. If my generation spends so much time at what she does, it’s because of people like you who put everything they had in our community. We thank you deeply for that, “said Camilo Azzouz in honor M.Yacoubian.
The gala concluded with the remarks of Mr. Setrakian, who outlined the tremendous history of the Middle East Armenians in the last century and highlighted the perseverance of the Armenian people. “These are difficult times, but we will prevail, I remain optimistic. Our vision, since 1906, has faced many challenges, but we thank the Armenians worldwide who have trusted this organization and we will continue the legacy of our founders and continue to reach out to all Armenians the need. “
To donate to the AGBU Fund of humanitarian emergency relief for Syrian Armenians, you can visit: https://donate.agbu.org/agbu-urgent-appeal.
Founded in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the largest non-profit Armenian organization in the world. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian life touching each year of some 500,000 Armenians around the world.