Washington DC ARS and ARF Host Town Hall Meeting on Syrian Armenians with Guest Speaker Zepure Reisian

WASHINGTON, DC—On March 25, 2014, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) “Satenig” chapter and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) “Sebouh” Gomideh hosted a town hall meeting with ARS Central Executive Board member Zepure Reisian from Aleppo, Syria, to update the community on the dire circumstances faced by the Armenians throughout Syria and to appeal to the Washington DC community for their continued support of the relief efforts. The chairman of the Sebouh Gomideh, Alex Der Alexanian, welcomed the community and introduced Sevan Kolejian, vice president of the Eastern Region ARS to introduce the speaker, ARS Central Executive member, Zepure Reisian.

Ungerouhi Zepure E. Reisian and members of the ARS "Satenig" Chapter — Ungerouhi Zepure E. Reisian and members of the ARS “Satenig” Chapter

Reisian spoke extensively about the Armenian community of Aleppo, and the conditions on the ground through the last three years. The community has endured extremely difficult circumstances including, scarce resources like water, food, medicine, gas, and electricity; skyrocketing prices of any goods available; and an overall sense of instability. Schools have consolidated and are operating in tight quarters, hospitals closed and most doctors have left the country, and worst of all, the constant barrage of mortar attacks.

Reisian talked about ARS’s long standing efforts to provide aid for the community. The ARS in the United States and Canada have stepped up and helped their brethren in Syria and continue to do so. Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, all Armenian organizations in Aleppo have come together to form the Syrian Armenian Emergency Relief and Recovery Committee to collect and distribute aid to those in need within the community. “Despite all the terrible things the people went through, the community survived. The help from the Diaspora was crucial for their survival,” she said. Aleppo is an important diasporan community. It received the Armenians directly after the Genocide and has been a center of Armenian culture and community.”

After Reisian concluded her remarks, the Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA) Kate Nahapetian spoke about the political efforts being undertaken by the ANCA and urged everyone to sign up on the ANCA email list and take immediate action to petition President Barak Obama to stop Turkey’s aggression on the Armenian people of Kessab. She also encouraged the community to give generously to the relief efforts, and invited community members to contact her in order to facilitate meetings with local members of Congress to voice their concerns.

After a brief question and answer session, the event came to a close with many Washington DC area community members having pledged their continued support to the efforts to help our Syrian Armenian brothers and sisters. Audience members opened their hearts and made generous contributions toward Syrian relief efforts. The ARF and ARS of Washington DC would like to convey their gratitude to all community members who made generous pledges of support as well as to Aline Barsoumian for translating Reisian’s speech to English. If you would like to make a contribution, please visit the ARS website www.arseastusa.org and donate to the Fund for Syrian Relief.