1988_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 1988

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Permit No. 262
Volume 10, No. 1
December 1988
The newspaper of the California State University, Fresno Armenian Students     Armenian Studies(Program
Organization and Armenian Studies Program CSUF, Fresno 93740
Earthquake Ravages Armenia
Tens of thousands killed  and  hundreds of thousands homeless
By Barlow Der Mugrdechian
A devastating earthquake ravaged much
of north-western Armenia at mid-day on
Wednesday, December 7 killing an estimated 80-100,000 people. According to
early reports, the town of Spitak,
population 16,000, was completely wiped
out and 50% of the city of Kirovakan was
also destroyed. Reports from Leninakan,
the second largest city in Armenia with a
population of 290,000, indicated that there
were no standing structures of more than
two stories and that more than 75% of the
city had been demolished. The estimated
dead represent 3% of the population of
Spviet Armenia. There are over 7,000,000
Armenians in the world.
The earthquake registered a 6.9 on the
Richter scale marking it as a quake packed
with great destructive power. Armenia is
located in an earthquake zone and
throughout history has been subject to the
periodic destruction of cities and towns.
Such ancient major centers as Ani, Dvin,
and Van to name a few have been shaken
by the tremblers, but none have combined
the destructive power of the recent quake
with the generally poor current
construction practices in Armenia.
Hundreds of thousands have been left
homeless as a result of the earthquake and
relief efforts have been centered on providing much needed medicine to the
injured. Food is also being shipped in and
shelters are being set up in outlying areas.
Compounding the problems associated
with the after-effects of the earthquake is
the fact that tens of thousands of
Armenians had already been pouring into
Armenia over the past several weeks as a
result of Azerbaijani persecution related to
Armenian efforts to reunify the disputed
region of Karabagh to Armenia. These
refugees fleeing from Azerbaijan where
anti-Armenian pogroms have claimed over
several hundred lives this year alone.
Armenians are fleeing from Baku, the
capital of Azerbaijan as well as from
Kirovabad and Sumgait. The strains on an
already limited social services budget
threaten to turn these events into an even
greater tragedy.
International relief efforts are being
coordinated by several Armenian groups
and the United States government has
announced that it is ready to send massive
aid. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has
accepted offers of aid from Europe and the
United States. Planeloads of equipment
and supplies are pouring into Yerevan
from throughout the world. A team of
French doctors has also arrived to aid the
survivors. Winter weather combined with
the mountainous terrain have made
recovery efforts difficult in this remote
north-western portion of Armenia. Telephone and electricity lines are down
making accurate estimates of dead and
injured almost impossible for the
moment
Armenian organizations such as the
Armenian Assembly of America, the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, the
Armenian National Committee, the Armenian Relief Society, and the Armenian
Church of America have organized relief
eforts through appeals to the public.
Meanwhile, aid is pouring in from
Americans of all walks of life.
Armenians in their
sorrow fear Gorbachev
may take advantage
of chaotic situation
to repress Karabagh
Movement
see Karabagh, page 2
Kaifayans Pledge $50,000 Toward Armenian Chair
Anonymous Donors Match All Contributions in a Naming Pledge
Hye Sharzhoom Staff
Mr. and Mrs. Sarkis and Meline
Kalfayan of Fresno pledged $50,000
toward an Endowed Chair in Armenian
Studies at CSUF in an emotionally
charged banquet on November 22, 1988
held in the gallery of the Valley Business
Center on campus. The generosity of the
Kaifayans was matched by their modesty
during the evening's events.
After making the announcement and
introducing the Kaifayans, Dr. Dikran
Kouymjian, Director of the Armenians
Studies Program and last speaker of the
evening, said that a Fresno couple, which
wished to remain anonymous for the time
being, had made a naming pledge for the
Chair by which every dollar raised would
be matched by them up to one half of the
minimum $300,000 needed to endow a
Chair at CSUF.
Inspired by this news, by the major
Kalfayan pledge, and by contributions
from several Armenian organizations~the
Armenian Relief Society, the Armenian
National Committee, the Knights of
Vartan, and the Armenian American
Citizens' League-other community members made spontaneous donations, led by
Stephen and Lucille Pilibos, whose sudden
$10,000 pledge brought further applause.
Fresno State's own President Harold Haak
and his wife Betty, both visably moved by
the dramatic response of the community
toward an academic program, gave $1,000.
This unprecedented donation by a University President to an Armenian Chan-
was warmly cheered by those at the
banquet,      and      inspired      pledges
by Professor Vincent Petrucci of the
Viticulture Program and a number of
Armenians.
Dr. Kouymjian suggested that the
audience end the memorable evening by
enjoying the entertainment of the Arax
Armenian Dancers. He promised to call
everyone at the banquet beginning the next
Monday morning for their pledges so that
with the anonymous matching donation
the fund drive for the Chair could be
quickly completed, perhaps before the end
of the year.
Sarkis Kalfayan has been in California
since 1926, when he moved to Yettem,
Ca. with his mother and father, Barsam
and Aghavni. The Barsam family immediately became involved in the enhancement
of the church in Yettem.
Sarkis married Miss Meline Babessian
in 1949 following his service in the
United States Army in World War II where
he served as an interpreter for General
Patton. Meline Babessian is the daughter
of Hovanness Babessian, teacher and
author of several Armenian books.
Recipient of graduate degrees from
Fresno State, UC Berkeley, and USC
Sarkis was employed for much of his life
as a city planner in Southern California.
Many faculty friends of the ASP were
also at the banquet and gave their thoughts
about the ASP. Dr. Richard Pinkerton,
Director of the Valley Business Center
was the keynote speaker.
Maurice Gendron, Chairman of the
Department of Foreign Languages, the
new home of the ASP, said,"...I am very
glad that Armenian Studies is back in our
department.   I   think   that   this   where
From left to right Mr. Sarkis Kalfayan, CSUF President Dr. Harold
Haak, and Mrs. Metine Kalfayan by the Encyclopedic Map of America
which was drawn by Mrs. Kalfayan's father Hovanness Babessian.
Armenian belongs because Armenian is a
living language and culture, it produces
newspapers, art, music and it has
something which is very living. I think
Armenian fits in very well with us...It is a
great pleasure to have Armenian back with
us, it will enrich us."
Robert Ware, Associate Dean of the
School of Arts and Humanities said,
"Something important tc know about the
humanities is that the humanities are a
study of everything that the human mind
has thought, questioned, and observed
about its world, for as long as there has
been humanity to think, observe,
question, and record responses to the world
in which we exist.. The Armenian culture
has a distinct cultural contribution, that
has made to this world and to this
community, and so it is high time that the
Armenian Studies Program is in the
School of Arts and Humanitities...
The Armenian Studies Program is now
in the School of Arts and Humanitites,
where   it   can   make   a   full   fledged
contribution to what makes a university
see Kalfayan, pg. 5