On 19 April, the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia hosted the presentation of Dawn Anahid MacKeen’s book “The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey”. Among the participants were RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, President of the American University of Armenia Armen Der-Kyureghian, intellectuals, students and guests.

In her welcoming speech, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan attached importance to the publication of the English-language book of memoirs of an Armenian Genocide survivor by the survivor’s granddaughter and particularly stated the following: “Like many Armenians, the grandfather of our beloved Anahid also had a cruel fate since the Turks had decided to annihilate the Armenians and leave only one Armenian and in a museum at that. By fate, the main character of the book manages to escape and find shelter in Syria. We Armenians have to be grateful to the Arabs who helped our compatriots get back on their feet, travel to different countries and settle. The main goal of the Armenian nation and the dream of our ancestors to educate children was accomplished and turned into a reality. Evidence of this are the powerful communities in the Armenian Diaspora and the generation of literate and educated Armenians. One of the representatives of that generation is our guest today, and the blood of an Armenian flows through her veins. Hearing the stories of her grandfather and reading his diaries in Arabic, the author became interested in the past events, found the answers to the questions of concern, compared them with the events taking place in Syria and Iraq today, mastered the information and composed in the style of a journalist. The book is valuable since it was written by an author who doesn’t have an Armenian last name and who has returned to her roots. It is also valuable because it was written in English and is a historical memory. I would like to congratulate all of us on the release of this book.”

President of the American University of Armenia Armen Der-Kyureghian expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Diaspora and to the Minister for providing the wonderful opportunity to present the book. He stated that he had read the book recently, admired it and decided that he definitely had to invite the author to Armenia. “The American University of Armenia is currently hosting the guest, who is giving lectures for the students. As a journalist and writer, she has been granted awards by circles of Americans in Chicago. In fact, the author’s name-Dawn-means the dawning of the sun, and it is very symbolic,” he added.

“It is a great honor for me to present the book and share my impressions of my grandfather’s memories in Armenia for the first time. The latest events in Syria and Iraq seemed to be a link between the past and present. I relived those memories again.”

The Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia awarded American journalist and writer Dawn Anahid MacKeen with the Medal of Gratitude of the Ministry of Diaspora.