LOS ANGELES, Calif. (A.W.)—Kim Kardashian posted a message on her blog about the plight of the Syrian-Armenian community, and the role the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund is playing to improve their situation.
Below is Kardashian’s message:
I just wanted to share something that’s very important to me, and it’s something than many of you may not be aware of. Syria is now home to over 100,000 Armenians, most of whom fled during the Armenian Genocide. But in recent years, fighting between the Syrian army and rebels started and thousands of Armenians in Syria have been affected. Armenian churches have been destroyed, homes have been burned down or looted, and thousands of Armenians are unemployed and in need. Thousands of Armenians have evacuated their homes, dozens of innocent civilians have been killed, and tens of thousands are struggling just to eat or find shelter.
The Syrian Armenian Relief Fund was set up to raise money to distribute food and water and provide medicine, medical care, housing, and even classes for children whose schools have been closed.
My Armenian heritage is incredibly important to me and I think it’s important to raise awareness of this.
To donate to the fund, go to http://www.syrianarmenianrelieffund.org/.
i am so proud to be syrian armenian .and i am thankfull for kim kardashianand and all organizations for there hard work and support , god bless them
Kim…
Not only beautiful
But has A Kind Armenian Spirit
Born in her genes
She never forgot what
Her race went true…
She knows every detail and
Insisting to help…
Everyone loves her Eyes
Her Beautiful Face
She is more famous than any one else…!
Sylva-MD
Kim,
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,
Bonjour,
Comment vont les familles KARDIASHIAN et JENNER?
BRAVA KIM! YOU ARE NO. 1 IN MY EYES…MANY OF US FOLLOW AND LOVE YOU, AND YOUR FAMILIY – YOU ARE REAL -YOUR SHOWS ARE SO ENTERTAINING….WISH YOU CONTINUED FAME, POPULARITY AND SUCCESS AND HEALTH…YOU HAVE EARNED THEM ALL…GO KIM GO!
The right message but the wrong messenger.
By the way, one must truly be brain dead to watch your show. You truly represent an untalented, unscrupulous and a typical morally bankrupt and dysfunctional American (NOT Armenian) family.
Ararat,
At least she does something for Armenians (whatever hidden motivations she may or may not have) unlike many Armenians with high moral values but with zero interest in Armenian culture and people. I give credit to her for that. As to her shows people who watch them probably deserve it-they are free not to watch it but they chose to do so. To each their own.
Stella,
If the sole and primary goal here is to raise funds then I am sure she can use her fake celebrity status to draw the attention of millions of her fans to the tragic situation in Armenian communities in Syria and help raise funds. All power to her, I don’t have any issues with that at all. We live in a digital age and all she has to do is to punch in a few lines of text and push a button. It was the last paragraph in her statement that really got to me.
The thing is we must lead by example. Do we really want someone of her character to be a mouthpiece, a spokesperson, for Armenian sufferings around the world? I doubt that very much. I find it very offensive and insulting when she claims her Armenian heritage is incredibly important to her when not only there is no Armenian in her character whatsoever but she is overly disgraceful. She is so disconnected from her so-called Armenian heritage it is not even funny.
I don’t mean to get off the main topic here but when someone claims her heritage is very important to her, doesn’t that imply she lives her life and conducts herself according to her heritage? Honestly Stella, can anyone of you out there who makes the same claim even remotely relate to her and her dysfunctional family? I doubt that very much as well.
P.S. As you mentioned, people who do watch her show indeed deserve it. I could not agree with you more on that. It’s a no brainer, as we say.
I thank Kim for this appeal to her fans. The fact that I don’t watch her show or like her lifestyle doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate this positive use of her fame. Under all the make-up, designer clothes and famous boyfriends is a descendant of Armenian genocide victims who, like the rest of us, doesn’t want the world to forget the injustice done to our nation.
Ararat,
I agree with you. I did not feel comfortable when people brought up Kim the moment I articulated I am Armenian. Usually, I explained them that even though she was half Armenian ethnically she was not related to Armenian people in anyway culturally. But, that all changed one day when an American PhD student asked me about my family roots. The moment she heard the Armenian word the appraisals of Kim started. And when I told her that she was a disgrace to Armenian people she was shocked. She told me how great the whole family was and that we Armenians should be proud that we have her. Moreover, she wished to be Armenian just because Kim was Armenian. Now, you say those people are brain-dead, probably most of them are, but this particular PhD student is not. Note that similar stories happened before.
Now, when someone talks about her I simply say that she is half Armenian, nothing more nothing less.
So, why did I change my stance?
Firstly, we Armenians did nothing to give her a fame, American general public did. If they want to promote people like Kim in their society I have no problem with it. If it was not Kim they would have found someone like Kim to entertain them. So, then let it be Kim.
Secondly, there are millions of people, at least in the US, who know nothing about Armenia and Armenian people-they just know Kim and that is how they know such an ethnic group exist. For those people they think it is cool to be Armenian because such a beauty like Kim is Armenian.
Thirdly, we need support in raising money for Syrian Armenians, for Armenia and Artsakh and educating the general public about our nation’s sufferings. It is not an easy task and if Kim can help with it why not to take it and give credit to her for her work?
Last, but not least how many educated and highly intelligent Armenian spokesmen and scholars do we need to have? I think we have enough, but sadly those people will never be able to effectively reach to the general public because general public is not interested in learning and reading history books and watching high quality documentary films. Kim can and let her do it, and I we will be happy to give her credit for that too.
Now, having said all these I believe that we had and have more than enough highly educated professionals in any field to be concerned that she can defame us. She will not. Scholars, professionals, or simply highly educated people do not watch her shows. Those who do, admire her.
On a side note, do you think Turks and Axeri-Turks have been using sophisticated methods or highly intelligent people to spread their lies all over the world? No, they have been using very chip and low methods, but it did wonders for them. Did you know that bakhlava is Turkish, dolma is Turkish and so many other things? Well, that is what millions of people think and that’s what counts at the end of the day.
I meant cheap and low methods not chip and low methods.
Thank you Kim, and GOD bless you speaking out-
I am a proud Syrian Armenian.
Syria, which was part of King Tigran the Great’s kingdom at one point, has been a good home for our parernts after the genocide.
Now Syrian Armeians are being displaced again!
Dear Ms. Kardashian(KIM)
It just occured to me that your such good diswpostition-like it has always been- towards Things Armenian, can also be developed further…
Please– note i have never in my life asked anyone to donate or loan anything to self, or to any Armenian Fund raising concerns/people.But this is going to be the First time and I trust you will appreciate it.
Do Please declare that if you people in CA(only) come upt to XXX amount I shall double it. Now this also has its problems..
Best would be to say whatever you collect I shall double it ..
Hope it is O.K. with you ,otherwise just drop it.
Best Rgds,
G.P.
If Kim Kardashian, in memory of her father’s heritage, raises a single dollar that feeds a single child, or inspires us to save a single family, or lifts the spirits of Syrian Armenians for a single moment, we should be thankful to her. Period.
We are taught hospitality. If soemone is invited to our homes, we do not criticize them. She is doing something positive, and using her celebrity for a v good purpose.
There are manywealthy and famous Armenians throughout the world who have done nothing, others who have done less. Forgetting celebrities altogether, how many of us have said I will give 1-2 percent of my income this month to help our Brother and Sisters?
Leave her alone, and be thankful we have her.
Sella
“”Did you know that bakhlava is Turkish, dolma is Turkish and so many other things?””
Do you have any doubt that these foods are the Turkish foods? If yes please explain us your reason
reason is quite simple: your nomadic ancestors were roaming the Mongolian Steppes about 1000 years ago. Riding their magnificent ponies between their magnificent Yurts.
When they invaded the high civilizations of Armenian Highlands and Asia Minor around 1000AD, they were nomads. Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks had developed highly advanced sedentary civilizations by that time. Developed agriculture. Cultivated grains. Grapes. Developed winemaking. Vegetables. Wheat. Beer.
Where in the Mongolian steppes did Turkic tribes cultivate eggplant, or wheat, or grapes ?
Dolma (zucchini, eggplant) or Sarma (grape leaves) stuffed with bulgur or rice and ground meat were certainly developed while your horse riding Turkic ancestors were riding their horses between their Yurts, right ?
Baklava: I am not sure if this is Armenian, or Greek, or Assyrian, or Syrian, or Lebanese. But it certainly is not Turkic. Again, how would it be possible for nomads to develop that kind of a cuisine in the middle of Mongolian steppes ?
No matter how hard you Turks try, you will always run into this wall: Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians had very advanced civilizations for 1000s of years when your nomadic ancestors ‘appeared’ in the Eastern edges of Asia Minor. Who do you think stole from whom ?
On the other hand, I will readily concede that ‘shish kabob’ is most certainly a nomadic tribal dish: what is easier than building a fire and skewering some chunks of meat on a couple of arrows in the middle of nowhere ?
Aren’t you glad you asked, John the Turk ?
Good answer, Avery! But please don’t be so quick to give shish kebab to Turks. Cooking meat over an open fire is certainly common among any people who practice shepherding of flocks.
Avery,
Good answer.Another favorite food that Turks like to claim is yogurt. Laughable.
Boyajian is right though. Since ancient times, people have cooked meat over in various liocations. Some experts believe that shish kebabs have been native to Near East since ancient times. There are pictures of Byzantine Greeks preparing food very similar to shish kebabs. A similar type of food is also mentiond in Homer’s Odyssey.
Ibn Battuta mentions that kebab was served in the royal houses of India since before the Sultanate period.
John the Turk,
Do I have any doubt that these foods are the Turkish foods? I am 100% sure that those foods are not Turkish. How can it be Turkish when people were making them long before Turks appeared in the region? BTW, it is not uncommon to mix beef with pork half and half for stuffing of vegetables and grape leaves in Armenia.
Avery, thank you for your educational post. I highly doubt it will reach to John the Turks, but maybe some other people will be enlightened.
I disagree with everyone here, and agree only with Ararat. While I support Syrian Armenians 100%, I wish this Kardashian family would never be associated with Armenia or Armenians, and would just go away. Armenians don’t need Kardashian to be convinced in supporting Armenian causes.
For those who have doubts or concerns about Kim being the messenger, I am thankful that’s she chooses to use her celebrity for the good of Armenians. We need to get over this judging of others when it comes to the benefit of the Armenian people. What are we concerned about? That the Kardashians don’t fit our “model” of an Armenian? Are we so naive to think that all the the revered characters in our history fit our idealistic and romantic notion of “Armenian” I don’t have to be a fan of their show or of the Hollywood process to respect the fact that she has taken the time to lend her celebrity to her people.
When her sister discussed the prospect of her husband Lamar playing basketball in Turkey, she expressed her concern as an Armenian and gave a respectable summary of the genocide to her viewers. Given the audience of their show, I would suggest that these individuals were previously uniformed or had limited knowledge. The hits on google for “Armenian Genocide” suggest. These are primarily young Americans who became aware of the genocide, through a process that was incremental.
If we are as committed to our cause as we purport to be , then we must began to embrace any credible method of advancing our ideals.
Well said Stepan:
“let he who is without sin, cast the first stone”