Benevolence is dictated by the soul and conscience of a person. It is perhaps one of the most praiseworthy virtues of a human being, and those guided by benevolence have no formula. They, the real benefactors, don’t like to talk about their deeds and carry out charity acts as they pray and as they earn a living. One of those benefactors was Siran Misagian-Basmajian, who repatriated from Marseille to Armenia, has been living in the Jrashen village of Armavir Province for the past 16 years and has joined the “What are YOU doing for Karabakh?” pan-Armenian movement. Before this movement was launched, Mrs. Basmajian had used her pension money to prepare dozens of packages of socks, undergarments and prayer books and sent them to the military units for the soldiers defending the borders of Karabakh. By joining the movement, with the support of the Ministry of Diaspora, she sent more packages to the soldiers and was awarded with a certificate by the RA Minister of Diaspora for her pro-national activities. These days, Mrs. Siran, whom all the villagers of Jrashen refer to as their “aunt” and who is in great sorrow (her daughter-in-law died in Marseille), sent another package, requested the construction of the image of the Holy Virgin on a granite stone and brought it to the Ministry of Diaspora in Yerevan. Every time this honorable Armenian woman accomplishes her “mission”, she says the following: “those soldiers are also my children, my grandchildren…” She thinks about the soldiers defending the borders with the care and heartfelt attitude of a mother and feels sad when she finds out that most of those soldiers leave for military service without being baptized and that there are even soldiers who don’t follow the religion. She believes there should be religion courses for them at military units. Basmajian, who is over 80, isn’t thinking about herself at all and disregards her health problems. She is concerned about peace in Armenia, the soldiers’ health conditions and their military service. Siran Misagian-Basmajian already has plans for the near future. She has ordered several more sculptures to place in the chapels near the military hospitals located in bordering regions. “I must continue to do this as long as I can and as long as I am physically able to do it,” Mrs. Siran says and thanks God for showing her the right path in this world. And there you have a short story of patriotism that is the beautiful mirror of the soul of a sweet Armenian woman who is protecting the country instead of making pompous statements.

Karine Avagyan

Source: Hayern Aysor