One Organization, One Cause

After touring all week, I was excited to be in the comfort of Armenia’s AYF, Hye Yerdasartats Miyoutioun (HEM). When we first arrived, we went to a room with all the HEM members; it was somewhat intimidating and awkward. I didn’t know what to really talk to them about or how to interact with them. However, in literally less than five minutes, conversations were flowing and lifetime friendships were being made; it was as if we had been reunited with old friends. It was amazing how well we got along and it was beautiful to see these new friendships growing. It was especially interesting to see that the HEM members shared the same organizational issues that we have locally such as recruitment, member retention, meeting productivity, etc.

The AYF building is rather impressive; one floor is devoted to Badanegan, another for Yerdasartats, and a third floor serves as a conference room, computer room and a game room. It was a proud moment for me to see how much our counterparts in Armenia do. We do as much as we can from the Diaspora but to see the Armenians here, also devoted, gives me a sense of hope. To know we have people here also trying to accomplish the same goals is reinvigorating. We think we’re so different than the locals here, but in reality were much of the same. We’re all tashnagtzagan yerdasartagans. We all go to school, we all work and fight for our nation. The only thing really separating us is the seven thousand miles between us.

Carnie Bedoyan