"We Remember": Armenians Aid in Haiti Relief Efforts

By Lara Injeyan
Koukla129@yahoo.com

The cries of frightened children, the debris of dilapidated homes and buildings, the shrieks of loved ones desperately trying to find one another, and the rush of injured civilians seeking medical help are some of the hardships the world has recently witnessed the nation of Haiti experience after the major 7.0MW earthquake hit the island on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. Although the nations of the world united in sending out various forms of aid and relief, the earthquake particularly struck a chord in the hearts of Armenia and its people living both on the motherland and in the Diaspora; they were reminded of a comparable national disaster in Armenia which took thousands of innocent lives on the morning of December 7, 1988.

Having firsthand experience and being fully aware of the amount of damage an earthquake of such magnitude can cause on a nation and its people, Armenians all around the world have actively joined in the Haiti relief effort. Dr. Alina Dorian, the director of the UCLA Center of Public Health and Disasters, made an important point about Haiti’s earthquake in an interview aired by the Armenian channel Horizon. “While the magnitude of this type of earthquake has been seen before, Haiti has started in the worst place - meaning it was more underdeveloped than you can imagine. And to have this kind of disaster hit Haiti, it throws everything out of proportion and the nation becomes overwhelmed…” Dorian states.

Just as the 1988 Spitak earthquake was detrimental to Armenia and took years to recover from, it will take many years for Haiti to reach its pre-earthquake condition and state of stability. Aware of this reality, Armenian organizations such as the Ararat Chapter of Homenetmen in Glendale organized shoe drives until January 31, 2010, gathering shoes which were later sent through Sports Chalet Stores to Soles4Souls to Haiti to protect civilian feet from stepping in harmful debris.

The Armenian National Committee has also commended the Armenian government for sending out a 52-member rescue team assembled after the Spitak earthquake; this team is enlisted with highly trained specialists, search dogs, and rescue equipment. The ANC has encouraged the Armenian community to send donations to the rescue team so that they will be able to make a significant difference and better the situation in any way possible.

As an Armenian student at UCLA, I am proud of the amount of compassion and empathy our people have shown both in Armenia and in the Diaspora. Just at UCLA alone, the Armenian Alpha Gama Alpha sorority and the Alpha Epsilon Omega fraternity have contributed to the Haiti relief by donating money. Having a nation whose history books are unfortunately colored with national hardships, disasters, and genocide, we have felt the pain of a crying nation on our own skin, and are willing to do what we can to relieve others of their own in a time of need.