The festivities dedicated to the events in May gathered all Armenians of the world in Armenia. They had come with great excitement to participate in the events and enjoy the Armenian atmosphere that exited at Battle of Sardarapat Memorial Complex and in Yerevan.

Among the Armenian visitors were members of the Armenian community of Argentina. One of those members, Secretary of AGBU Buenos Aires Chapter Susanna Der-Garabedian-Nahabetian and Deputy Secretary Juan Carlos Mouradian gave an interview to Hayern Aysor.

We enjoyed being in our homeland once again

Susanna Der-Garabedian-Nahabetian: A group of Argentine-Armenians and I came to Armenia to participate in the festivities dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the May Heroic Battles and the 100^th anniversary of the declaration of the First Republic of Armenia.

We simply had to be in the homeland on those days. We were also provided with the opportunity to enjoy once again the air and water in Armenia and see the smiles on people’s faces.

There were people who were visiting Armenia for the first time, and I must say that they loved their homeland and will return to Argentina with admiration.

Juan Carlos Mouradian: We had also planned a visit to Artsakh where we had a wonderful time.

Touring Arstakh and feeling the Armenian spirit of the ancient churches and other architectural structures, we became convinced once again that Artsakh has been and remains an Armenian territory and that we Armenians must continue to fight for every piece of land of Artsakh together.

Susanna Der-Garabedian-Nahabetian: In Artsakh, we had a fruitful meeting with Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Artsakh Narine Aghabalyan and presented the charity programs that we have carried out to solve the key issues in Artsakh.

We also had a meeting with newly appointed Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia Mkhitar Hayrapetyan and informed him that we are ready to work on strengthening Armenia-Diaspora relations in the future as well. During our visit to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, we received the blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.

Armenian dishes — a ��?business card’ for visits to Armenia

Juan Carlos Mouradian: This year is a year of various kinds of events for AGBU Buenos Aires.

One of the major events will be held on June 12. On that day, Permanent Representative of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the United States of America Robert Avetisyan will deliver a lecture for the Armenian community of Argentina in Buenos Aires. With this meeting, we want to further empower the Armenians of Argentina to show concern about Artsakh.

On August 16, the French Embassy in Argentina will host an event dedicated to the 2018 Francophonie Summit to be held in Yerevan in October 2018. There will also be a concert.

Juan Carlos Mouradian: For the past 35 years, according to an established tradition, the AGBU Buenos Aires Chapter’s Marie Manoogian School brings the graduating students to Armenia through a special program. For one consecutive year, the graduating students and their parents make various Armenian dishes and sell them at the symbolic restaurant in one of the school’s halls on Fridays and Saturdays.

The menu mainly consists of the dishes of various Armenian regions and includes hummus, tabbouleh, harissa, pasuts dolma, a variety of barbecue and more. They raise funds and spend their summer vacation in Armenia. Overall, over the past years, nearly 800 young Diaspora Armenians have visited the land of their ancestors. The group includes children who visit Armenia for the first time.

Susanna Der-Garabedian-Nahabetian: It is safe to say that the program is is not only a way of teaching the Armenian children of Argentina to prepare Armenian dishes, but also a great smithy for patriotism.

The children are engaged in the program with great excitement and try to achieve good results. The sale/reception gathers not only members of the Armenian community of Buenos Aires, but also foreigners who admire the young people’s hospitality and heartfelt reception.

When the foreigners leave, they jokingly say that we “Armenified” them and that they will add the “yan” to their last names.

Our main aim is to provide the young Armenians of Argentina with the opportunity to get acquainted with Armenia up close through this program. I can definitely say that their fifteen-day visit helps them become strongly attached to Armenia and makes them want to visit Armenia again.

During the visit, they work as volunteers by working on construction in schools and carry out charity acts for socially disadvantaged families and more.

P.S.– In closing, our interlocutors congratulated the Armenian people on the glorious celebrations of May, wishing everyone national unity, peace and emphasized that they are always ready to assist Armenia in nation-building.

Gevorg Chichyan