There’s no doubt that driving a taxi is one of the most daunting and unappreciated occupations in Los Angeles. Many of those who sit in cabs for hours taking people from one destination to the next are immigrants seeking to earn money as a stepping stone for a better future. It estimated that about one-third of the taxi drivers in the greater LA area are Armenian immigrants.

As one of the prime markets for taxi service in Southern California, Santa Monica has long been the home for local Armenian businesses and drivers trying to make a living. But that might soon change.

In June, as part of an ordinance to overhaul the taxi system in Santa Monica, the City Hall staff recommended  only 5 taxicab companies be allowed to operate in the city. Out of these five companies, none are Armenian owned or operated and only two are locally-based in the city. This, despite the fact that 6 locally-run and experienced Armenian companies put up valid bids for a franchise.

When the local taxi drivers got word of the recommendation, they were shocked and outraged. They staged a protest in front of the City Council the same day that the recommendation was to be voted on (see footage below). Due to the outcry, the City Council members decided to postpone their decision until September.

As it stands, the 7 members on the Council will be the final judge of the fate for the over 250 Armenian taxi drivers and their families who work in Santa Monica. The Armenian companies and drivers have continued to voice their opposition to the recommendation and demand a fairer, more inclusive awarding of the franchises.

It is up to our community to stand behind them in their fight.

In April, the AYF teamed with local band VIZA to put on an April 24 social justice concert to raise awareness of the Armenia Genocide. The event was a great success thanks to our members and community supporters and raised unprecedented amounts of money for two Armenian orphanages. You can read about the April 24 concert here…

The band, a mix of musicians and activists, has been very active in the Armenian-American community, working with grassroots organizations like the AYF and ANC to help educate, motivate and active the youth on human rights, genocide prevention and social justice.

VIZA is now gearing up for a big show on Saturday, June 19 and they need community support. The concert will take place at the Key Club, located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and the show begins at 8:00pm.

This time the rock band will team up the Armenian National Committee-Professional Network (ANC-PN) to educate and activate concert-goers about current efforts to end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide. You can read more about the Key Club concert here…

Long time activist and former Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee-Western Region, Andrew Kzirian plays the oud (traditional Armenian instrument) for VIZA and has been instrumental in bringing civic engagement into the band’s mission. For him, there is “no better way to work with the community than to blend music and awareness through music.” You can buy ticket’s here…

A historic hot spot, the Key Club has seen the likes of Bon Jovi, The Doors, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, Tom Petty, Motley Crue, Guns ‘N Roses, ‘N Sync, Incubus, Kanye West, Prince, The Roots, Def Leppard, and other legends come through its doors.

By reaching out to concert-goers at the VIZA show this Saturday night, the ANC-PN hopes to bring political awareness and community involvement to the Sunset Strip. “The strong response we expect to see at the show will exemplify that Armenian Genocide recognition is something that all Americans care about and is not just an Armenian issue.” says ANC-PN Board Member Vicken Chitilian, who will be working the ANC booth inside the Key Club entrance.

The show is the band’s first since coming back from their East Coast tour in New York City and Philadelphia and will be sure to be a packed house.

On their East Coast tour, VIZA joined with the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region, Armenian Youth Federation, and Cyprus Action Network to educate and activate concert-goers about current efforts to end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide and end Turkey’s illegal occupation of Cyprus. Read about the East Coast tour here…

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW

By Avo Kambourian

Expressing yourself is probably one of the most important things you can do in your life. Photography is magic. Since it started about 200 years ago it still hasn’t left us. Mediums like film and music owe a lot of their method to photography. For me personally, I love capturing moments, things that move, things that need to stand still to be more appreciated. To me photography is all about the details.

The creation of details that aren’t appreciated to their maximum potential at their very moment of existence. Things that need to live on passed their moment of occurrence. Things in need of being shared, remembered, or cherished. Photo is also about feeling; love, hate, passion, beauty, ignorance.

A picture is captured, but so much is remembered, and photography is the only art form that can gather so much detail from a single moment of what’s really there, the truth, and re-present it in such a reflective and clearly understood and digested form.

I started working with photography from the age of 17. I got into because of my passion for filmmaking, but the magic of it just stuck with me. I left it aside for a while, then in 2009, while I was a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, I picked it up again. Black and white photography is true magic in my opinion, because it never ceases to amaze me. Digital is fun, and you can do a lot with it, it really let’s you be as creative as possible, whereas with film you end trying to make the image come out before you think of experimentation.

The black and white photos you see below are from my time at Art Center. Two of them are from a series called Armerica: a documentary of Armenian-American immigrant businesses.

Sarco

Sarkis Iknadossian immigrated to the United States from Aleppo, Syria with his wife in the late 1970’s. After opening a small convenient store in Montebello, California Sarkis was quickly shut down because of the opening of a 7/11 market across the street.

After re-establishing his family closer to the Armenian Community, in Glendale, Sarkis decided to open a household supply store in what is known today as Little Armenia, in Hollywood.

In addition to selling common household appliances, Sarkis also repairs kitchen and household electronics, such as vacuums, electric stoves, and toasters. Sarkis says that in recent years their business has once again fallen victim to competition coming from bigger stores and companies. Already past the age of retirement, Sarkis and his Wife continue to work despite their lack of energy to compete.

‘Round The Clock Cleaners

‘Round The Clock Cleaners has been owned and operated by the Kasparian family for over 20 years. The Kasparian’s immigrated the United States in the early 1980‘s, during the Lebanese Civil War. Their business became the very resource for their establishment in the United States. The location you see is currently managed by the Kasparian son, Johnny Kasparian. The family has also opened a few other locations that cater to various parts of the Pasadena and greater Los Angeles area.

The Accordion Man was taken at the 3rd street promenade on a sunday evening. Summer of 2009.

In December of 2009 I ventured on to Armenia with the Birthright Armenia program. I spent most of my time there volunteering at Bars Media Documentary Film Studio and Manana Youth Center. Bars Media has been responsible for documentary films ranging in topics ranging from the Karapagh war, Tightrope Dancers in Armenia, and Donkeys in Lamu, Kenya. Their latest project The Last Tightrope Dancer in Armenia is what I worked on for the most part, translating dialogue for subtitles in English and promoting the film in the festival circuit.

Manana Youth Center is an after school center for kids in Yerevan that offers classes in Photography, Filmmaking, and Animation. I had a lot of fun working with them as a teachers assistant and helping out with whatever random tasks they needed.

Armenia was a great experience. I learned a lot from being around a completely different atmosphere for those 4 months. I took a lot of photos on my trip, but these two stuck out the most for me. One is probably very recognizable, the Mabib Babig statue in The Free Republic of Artsakh (Nogorno Kharapagh).

The other is an old soviet car I would pass by on my way to the bus stop on a daily basis. I call that one A Daily Sight.

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Editor’s Note: High resolution print copies of the photos in this blog can be purchased from this author for $45. Mammig and Babig and a Daily Sight are available for $55 . For more information, visit Avo’s website at avojohn.com or email/call him at: avojohn@me.com/818-251-6008. For more information about Birthright Armenia check out birthrightarmenia.org

In recent months, Turkey’s Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, has been harshly critical of Israel and passing himself off as a champion of Palestinian rights, most recently in response to the Israeli raid on the flotilla carrying aid to Gaza.

“It should be known that we will not stay silent and unresponsive in the face of this inhuman state terror,” said Erdogan. “International law has been trampled underfoot.” Other Turkish officials have followed suit, condemning Israel for its “savagery” and attacks on innocent civilians.

It is interesting to hear such criticisms coming from a country that remains an unrepentant perpetrator of the first genocide of the twentieth century, maintains an illegal blockade of Armenia, illegally occupies 1/3 of the island of Cyprus, systematically oppresses its Kurdish population and throws innocent Kurdish children into prison (see the below BBC report video).

Now if that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, we don’t know what is.

You can take action on this issue; Click here to alert your Senators and Representatives to Turkey’s shameless attempts to take the moral high ground despite its record of non-stop abuse at home and violence abroad.