ARS Central Executive”s statement on the occasion of the 2017 Armenia-Diaspora conference

Today, the globally spread Armenian people — whether as citizens of sovereign national states thriving on ancestral lands, or as organized communities in major cities of most countries of the civilized world – with growing military, political, social, religious and cultural structures, bolstered by its millennial journey through a turbulent national history, endeavors to build, with its own blood and sweat, a bright future for a revitalized Armenian Nation and its future generations.

As one of the senior national organizations – and initial promoter of Armenia-Diaspora Conferences — the Armenian Relief Society, spread globally in 27 different countries, braced by thousands of HOMuhis and countless supporters, collectively greets the Armenia-Diaspora Conference of 2017 – a date that coincides with the 26th Anniversaries of the Independent Artsakh Republic and the Armenian Relief Society of Armenia.

Having survived through the brutal trials of two consecutive centuries, hardened and strengthened by dire experiences, this unique Society of Armenian women – who just a few days ago officially opened the doors of the totally rebuilt ARS “Soseh” Kindergarten/Youth Center building of Stepanakert – participates in this conference with a rich harvest of eleven decades of social, cultural and humanitarian work realized by the continuous devotion and perseverance of countless committed HOMuhis, bridging equally devoted generations .

This total commitment, over a period stretching from the Metz Yeghern to more recent decades of natural and man-made disasters, resulted in achievements in medical, nutritional, educational and housing assistance to countless orphans, refugees and indigent families. The HOMuhi was always there wherever and whenever needed, to provide humanitarian assistance in all its aspects, while planning ahead, anticipating future calamities with appropriate counter-measures in the form of specific programs.

It is with this approach — with a concern for the stability and development of Artsakh’s villages bordering the boundaries of their newly liberated homeland that the ARS, almost three decades ago, decided to solidify the ties of the young families living in those areas with their native soil with a network of kindergartens. The issue of developing and strengthening these strategically vulnerable areas, in both Artsakh and Armenia remains on our agenda, as crucial today as ever.

With the same concern, our efforts to encourage our Diasporan youth’s instinctive desire to be an integral part of their Homeland should be multiplied by enhancing present programs implemented on Armenian soil – both athletic and cultural gatherings, where present and future generations will shape their character and common destiny as proud Armenians. No physical, emotional – or linguistic — distance should be allowed to become a barrier to that integration.

Allow us also, to state once more, that standing in the way of smooth progress remains a factor – often discussed, yet set aside for various disputable reasons of expediency – the issue of our present linguistic dichotomy resulting in the abandonment of the Mesropian orthography. An issue that hinders the unity of our intellectual and, particularly, educational endeavors based on a defunct regime’s politically enforced cleavage of our mother tongue, dividing the Motherland and the Diasporan masses at a time in our history where cultural, spiritual and physical unity is paramount.

Fully cognizant of the reality of the countless barriers on our road to sustained progress, we believe however, that it is time to truly consolidate our collective potential to realize all that is necessary to strengthen our Homeland’s ability to overcome present and future difficulties for the sake of all Armenians, everywhere, struggling for their rightful place under the sun.

No doubt, that this Conference, as its predecessors, will do its utmost to deliberate the crucial issues listed on the agenda and lead all present and future assemblies towards meaningful resolutions that pave the way to effective, unified action with an unshakeable resolve to achieve our pan-Armenian goals.