Hundreds march in honor of murdered 20 year-old Zaruhi Petrosyan

HOLLYWOOD, CA—Over two hundred men and women gathered in Little Armenia on Sunday, January 30, 2010, for a march to end violence against women, organized by the United Human Rights Council of the Armenian Youth Federation.

Activists marched in memory of Zaruhi Petrosyan, a twenty year old mother who was brutally murdered by her husband and mother-in-law in October and to demand the just prosecution of all responsible parties.

The march took place despite incessant morning rain, just hours before a solidarity protest was scheduled to take place in front of the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s office in Yerevan. Angered Armenians in the Diaspora and within Armenia demand that the government pass comprehensive domestic violence legislation and work to prevent and punish familial violence.

“Unfortunately it took this terrible incident to truly wake us up and acknowledge the magnitude effects of domestic violence on our people,” stated UHRC Chairperson Sanan Shirinian. “While the death of Zaruhi Petrosyan is a great tragedy, we must see her life and her suffering as a desperate call to bring about change within our social structures, change within our mindsets and change within Armenia’s legal system.”

Narine Jallatyan, a representative of the UHRC, spoke about the lessons Armenians can learn from women’s movements throughout history. She stressed that any problems plaguing Armenia are also problems of the Diaspora. Jallatyan urged the communities to take action to address domestic violence in the homeland and locally as well.

Representing the Armenian Relief Society – Western Region, Nyree Derderian highlighted the importance of empowering women. She commended the AYF for their efforts in bringing attention to one of the most critical social issues facing Armenian women. Linda Qassabian of the YWCA of Glendale spoke about her emotional experiences counseling victims of domestic violence for the past 3 years. She stated that she continues to be saddened by the number of Armenian women that enter the shelter.

During the march, activists paused to read aloud testimonials from victims of domestic violence in Armenia. These emotionally charged stories conveyed the message that the violent behavior against women can no longer be overlooked and no longer tolerated.

“Many refuse to confront the issue because they don’t want to break up the strong family unit,” explained UHRC member Nora Kayserian. “What they fail to realize, however, is the psychological consequences that violence causes in families. When violence becomes part of the daily lives of families, children begin to view it as normal behavior. Growing up in such a hostile environment is likely to cause a child to resort to violent behavior during their adult years, thus resulting in a cycle of violence.”

“This is a small step that we have made together to ensure justice for one innocent victim, Zaruhi, who will remain in our hearts. This is also a small step to raise awareness and bring change in our communities here and in our homeland,” said marcher Gev Iskajyan.

The United Human Rights Council (UHRC) is a committee of the Armenian Youth Federation. By means of action on a grassroots level, the UHRC works toward exposing and correcting human rights violations of governments worldwide, and aims to foster dialogue and collaboration between peoples who share this common vision.

Visit: www.UnitedHumanRights.org, Follow: Facebook.com/unitedhumanrights, Twitter.com/uhrc

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Armenian youth group raises funds

Annual breakfast brings $500 to orphanage of Glendale sister city Ghapan.

By Gretchen Meier, gretchen.meier@latimes.com

January 10, 2011

http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-youth-20110110,0,6928165.story

Local Armenian Youth Federation members were busy chopping onions and stirring boiling mamounia Sunday morning as a part of a fundraiser for an orphanage in Ghapan, Armenia.

A joint effort between the Glendale and South Bay chapters, Sunday’s breakfast at the Armenian Cultural Foundation’s Glendale Youth Center was the second year the groups joined together to help Glendale’s sister city.

Last year’s breakfast raised around $1,000, according to Chair of the Armenian Youth Federation’s South Bay Chapter Armen Karapetyan.

“They were able to use the money to buy a much-needed car to transport the children to the hospital and for other necessities,” the 23-year-old said.

This year the 20 volunteers fed 50 community members, including other organization members, parents and church patrons from next door.

The $500 raised Sunday will be a general fundraiser for the same orphanage until the group finds a specific item or program to earmark it for, Karapetyan said.

The volunteers in the room ranged in age from 17 to their early 20s, and all had been involved with Armenian Youth Federation in some fashion for the last several years.

Both groups used the social-networking website Facebook to invite their friends to the breakfast.

“It’s such a good cause for the children that we wanted to do a joint fundraiser, and we had 60 to 70 people RSVP online,” Karapetyan said.

The breakfast is the first fundraiser the Glendale chapter of the new year. Other events this year will include another joint fundraiser with other Armenian Youth Federation chapters for an annual concert, and to raise money for its triannual publication Haytoug, said Social Committee Chair Arpa Hatcbanian.

After finishing breakfast, Hatcbanian was looking for local shelters to donate the leftover food.

“The food was great, and everyone loved it,” said the 18-year-old Glendale Community College student. “Now we get to give back to our community here, too.”