Category Archives: News
Naples Daily News Publishes Letter to Editor on Armenian Genocide
NAPLES, FL – Earlier this month, Elsie Nigohosian of Marco Island, FL wrote a letter to the editor of the Naples Daily News entitled “Armenians Marked the 102nd Anniversary of Genocide.” Nigohosian’s column, which appeared in the May 10, 2017 edition of the paper, gracefully and concisely articulated the facts and significance of the Armenian Genocide to southwest Florida readers.
“Often referred to as the first genocide of the 20th century, it spanned the years between 1915 and 1923 when 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were mercilessly slaughtered on their ancestral lands by the Ottoman Turkish Empire,” she wrote.
Nigohosian touched on historical aspects, as well as former U.S. Ambassador Samantha Powers’ recent apology to Armenian Americans. Nigohosian also highlighted the feature film ‘The Promise’ and the Turkish government’s attempt at artistic denial.
“We Armenians will continue to fight for the truth to be told. And we implore all of humanity to join us,” Nigohosian wrote.
You can read Elsie Nigohosian’s entire letter to the editor here.
North Florida Armenians Gather to Watch ‘The Promise’ in Jacksonville
By Margaret Atayants
FLArmenians Tallahassee Chair
On April 21, 2017, the Jacksonville Armenian community gathered together to watch the weekend premiere of the movie, ‘The Promise.’
Together with Elmira Grigoryan, Chairwoman of the Armenian Church of Jacksonville, we organized Armenians across northern Florida to assemble together and watch the movie in one theatre, which we secured for the 7:00pm showing. The theatre was packed!
When Mrs. Grigoryan first contacted me about getting everyone together, we were very concerned that we would not be able to pull it off due to the small number of Armenians in North Florida. However, to our surprise, not only did we fill up the theatre with our committed Armenians, but many non-Armenian friends arrived and supported us, too. People were even sitting on the steps!
The event turned out to be a big success for the small but growing Jacksonville Armenian community. Elmira and I would like to give special thanks to everyone who made this gathering possible.
The next day on Sunday, Rev. Fr. Tateos Abdalian blessed us with his presence by leading the Easter Badarak lead by our wonderful choir and our dedicated altar boys, Alex Shafiyev and Nicholas Yedigarov. Badarak was then followed by a big community dinner with homemade food from all the different Armenian backgrounds. We also celebrated the birthdays of members for the month of April. The afternoon concluded with Armenian children’s songs. After a full weekend of events, the love and warmth of everyone made me, and all those apart or new coming of the Jacksonville Armenian community, truly feel right at home.
Nagorno Karabakh Representative Visits Florida International University
MIAMI, FL – On his first official visit to South Florida, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh to the U.S. Robert Avetisyan gave a lecture at Florida International University (FIU) earlier this month. Students and professors of the FIU International Relations and Political Science Departments attended the event. Several FIU Armenian students were also on hand.
“It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Avetisyan in South Florida and welcome him to Florida International University (FIU) to discuss further development of Artsakh’s recognition and raising awareness of investment opportunities in Artsakh Republic,” stated FIU graduate student and FLArmenians Broward County Chair Gevorg Shahbazyan. “I believe that at FIU, and other universities across North America, it is essential to educate the public about Artsakh’s democratic progress and self-determination,” Shahbazyan said.
[READ: Florida Armenians Host Economic Roundtable Discussion on Nagorno Karabakh in Miami]
During the lecture, Mr. Avetisyan briefed guests on the history of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, the current situation in the settlement process, as well as regional developments.
FIU International Relations students with Mr. Avetisyan
At the end of the meeting, the Artsakh Representative answered numerous questions of the lecturers and students related to the peaceful settlement of the conflict, the international recognition of Artsakh, and the state-building process.
FLArmenians Broward County Chair Gevorg Shahbazyan, Artsakh Representative Robert Avetisyan, FIU Professor Alex Barder, FLArmenians Founder Taniel Koushakjian beneath the Artsakh Republic flag.
During his time at FIU, Mr. Avetisyan visited the flags of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and the Republic of Armenia, which are prominently displayed at the FIU Graham Center on campus.
[READ: Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh Flags Raised at Florida International University]
FIU Professor Misak Sargsian, Artsakh Representative Robert Avetisyan, FLArmenians Broward County Chair Gevorg Shahbazyan, and FLArmenians Founder Taniel Koushakjian on the campus of FIU.
Florida Armenians 