Armenia’s Tough Sell to the Diaspora: Come Home
The Atlantic – Most Armenians live outside the “homeland,” but the country is trying to draw back some of the best and brightest to help fix the troubled nation. So far they’ve gotten 12 recruits. Armenia is known for having a high emigration rate, caused mainly by labor migrants heading to Russia and elsewhere in...
Kurds Protest Turkish Bombings
Ianyanmag - Inspired by an ongoing “Arab Spring” in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Kurds in Turkey, which number around 20 million, have taken to the streets in Istanbul and elsewhere in the country to protest against political repression, cultural suppression, discrimination and a decision by Turkey’s election board to ban prominent...
Village Hopes Religious Revival Can Spur Economic Improvement
EurasiaNet - Residents of one of Armenia’s most dilapidated villages are hoping a religious revival can improve their economic fortunes. In early August, the town of Karakert, a churchless Armenian village founded during the 1950s to house factory workers, hosted a mass baptism. Residents, some of whom now refer to the town as “cursed,” hoped...
Leaders Interpret Gang’s Rise
Los Angeles Times - With the headlines gone and the arrests made, Armenians in Burbank and Glendale are now struggling with the perceptions of their cultural identity after a massive crackdown on the organized crime ring Armenian Power. The cultural perceptions — egged on by media bias, according to some, cultural fractions within their own...
Unclaimed Kin in Los Angeles Piling Up
Spot.us – In the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, Evergreen Cemetery stands with tombstones held high. Some show inspirational passages, some boast lifetime accomplishments, others carry distinctive photos of the deceased. On weekends – as mariachi music swirls in the air – families come, one by one, paying respects with flowers and finding solace...
Los Angeles Supports 2011 Egyptian Revolution
LA Weekly – As protests calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak violently escalated on the streets of Egypt in what is now the fifth day of anti-government unrest, at least a thousand demonstrators in Los Angeles organized in front the Federal Building chanting for an end to the 30-year regime and carrying homemade...