PROVIDENCE, RI – The Providence community has set a goal of sending $40,000 to Lebanon this year to help Armenians who are unimaginably impacted by the crisis. Programs have been established in the community to match donated funds up to a total of $20,000. The Providence Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and its sister organizations are matching up to $10,000. Sts. Vartanantz Church is matching up to $10,000. Whether the donation is $20 or $200, it will be matched and doubled when it reaches Lebanon.
In order to raise the community’s awareness of how dire the crisis in Lebanon really is and what actions are being taken to help the Armenian community, the ARF Providence “Kristapor” Gomideh, along with the sister organizations and Sts Vartanantz Church, hosted two guest speakers from Lebanon in a virtual town hall format. A town hall on December 7 welcomed National Parliament of Lebanon member and chairman of the ARF Central Committee of Lebanon Hagop Pakradouni. The guest speaker on Friday, December 10, was Sevan Garabedian-Atamian of the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon (ARCL), the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) in Lebanon. Both town halls were recorded and can be viewed on the ARF Providence Kristapor Facebook page.
Both guest speakers from Lebanon shared the uncomfortable truth of the crisis and how the US dollar is one of the best ways to provide assistance to Armenians in Lebanon. A teacher’s monthly wage, for example, which is 1.5 million lira, was worth $1,000 USD three years ago. That teacher is still being paid 1.5 million lira today, but due to an extreme 1,600-percent inflation to the Lebanese currency, the paycheck is worth just $65 USD today. Not only has the currency lost 99-percent of its value, but the cost of electricity for just one hour has become twice what a person earns in a month. Also, the price of blood pressure medication, for example, has increased tenfold. Purchasing 10 gallons of gasoline would cost more than a month’s worth of wages. Even if someone wanted to pay these extremely inflated costs, the banks will not allow them to withdraw more than $200 because they are running out of US dollars, which has become the unofficial primary foundation of the Lebanese economy.
As extreme and dire a situation the crisis has created for Armenians in Lebanon, both Pakradouni and Garabedian-Atamian shared in great detail the amazing work that has been carried out by the ARS and Prelacy to help the Armenian communities. For example, immediately following the disastrous Beirut Port explosion, the ARF and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I were the first responders to help the densely Armenian populated area of Bourj Hammoud, which had been severely damaged. Armenian community centers and the ARS medical center were full of wounded Armenians who received care because of the diaspora’s donations. Since the explosion, over 1,000 homes have been repaired along with our churches and several, but not all, of our community centers. As Pakradouni explained, the communities in Lebanon are divided into religious sects to which foreign sovereign states provide financial support, while the Armenians do not have that privilege because Armenia itself is in need of help.
With our donations, the ARF and the Prelacy have ensured that no Armenian remains homeless by repairing their homes and helping subsidize rent. More than two-thousand Armenian students in Lebanon have been provided school uniforms and supplies. Garabedian-Atamian shared that the ARS and ARCL have ensured that every Armenian child remains in school regardless of the family’s financial status, even if it means using donations to help pay for the student’s tuition. They are using donated funds to provide 800 hot meals, twice a week, to Armenians from the ARCL’s “Vartouhy Degirmenjian” Kitchen. The organization has been providing families with detergent, blankets, baby formula and hygiene products and will be providing jackets for the winter. The ARCL’s Araxie Boulghourjian Socio-Medical center, founded in 1987, has been providing subsidized primary care services and free COVID-19 PCR testing. While many in the US live in areas with free testing, in Lebanon a PCR test costs 25-percent of the monthly wage.
Pakradouni also noted that donations are providing funding for the multitude of services being provided to the Armenian communities. In addition, medical services are being subsidized for Armenians who otherwise would not be able to have even the most minor operation because hospitals are requiring a $1,000 deposit, which is greater than 12 months of wages. This year the ARF has provided funding to 642 medical cases, which cost 815 million lira. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I distributed one million lira to 9,000 families just last month.
Pakradouni also mentioned that the Homenetmen scouts and athletes, the Hamazkayin, and the Armenian Youth Federation juniors and seniors are doing well and staying very active. People are getting married and holding baptisms in church even though they cannot afford to celebrate afterwards. The energy from the youth and teachers is restoring hope to the communities by demonstrating that progress is being made and that Armenians will get back on their feet in Lebanon. This progress can only be made possible through the financial assistance of the diaspora and the support of the ARS and Prelacy, for it is their services that are the backbone of the Armenian communities in Lebanon.
The Providence community asks for your support for the matching funds campaign. Checks should be made payable to either the ARS Ani Chapter, ARS Arax Chapter or Sts. Vartanantz Church and be mailed to 7 Armenia St., Providence, RI 02909. Donations can also be made online.
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