CAIA News

On 12th December over 40 children, parents, and grand-parents enjoyed a Christmas Party at the CAIA. Father Christmas visited the Centre to give gifts to all the children. Many thanks to Mrs Anne Boyadjian for all her hard work since September when the playgroup in the form of a Parents & Toddlers Group restarted.

On 9th December 2005 over 80 Armenian senior Citizens enjoyed a great afternoon marking Xmas & the festive season at the Centre for Armenian Information & Advice.

Guests included Cllr. M Elliott, the Worshipful Mayor of LB of Ealing, His Grace Bishop Hovanissian, Mr Edmond Michaels, Chair of Ealing Refugee Forum. The Party consisted of traditional Armenian foods, an informal cultural programme of singing, poetry and live Armenian Music which led to a great deal of singing. Mrs Rita Cherchian also spoke about the background of Xmas Every Armenian senior citizen left the party with a present kindly donated by CAIA members.

On Friday 18th November 2005, an informative public meeting took place on the housing needs of the Armenian community organised by CAIA's Advice Officer Mr Rudolf Marku.

Guest speakers during the meeting were Mr Nouruz Shariff Deputy Manager of Ealing Housing Advice and Ms. Modesta Anucha, Manager of LOCATA, who spoke about their respective work and took questions from those in attendance.

Monday 24 October, 10.00am - 12.00pm
Parents & Toddlers & Under 5's only.
Parents must stay with children.

Tuesday 25th October, 10.00- 12.45pm
Arts Workshop - Making Masks
5-12 year olds only.

Thursday 27 October, 10.00- 12.45pm
Come & visit other worlds - Story-telling Workshop by Hilary Watkins
5-12 year olds only.
We will travel by stories, songs on two legs, four legs or eight.
Please bring your favourite old clothes and your imagination.

Friday 28 October, 10.00am - 12.00pm
Parents & Toddlers & Under 5's only.
Parents must stay with children.

All children are advised to bring packed lunches to eat together. All events and workshops are free. Funded by Ealing Children's Fund.

Saturday 29th October, 7.30pm
Halloween Party
A Family evening of Fun, Laughter, Music & Great Food, a chance to gather with fellow Armenians.
Please buy tickets in advance: Ł10 Adults - Ł8 children.
All proceeds going to "Save Hayashen Fund". Organised by Friends of Hayashen. Click on the poster to view it full size.

Friday 18th November, 12.30pm
Public Meeting with Guest Speakers
Ms. Modesta Anucha - Manager of LOCATA Ealing
Mr. Nouruz Shariff - Deputy Manager of Ealing Housing Advice

Friday 9th December, 1.00pm
Annual Xmas Party for Armenian Senior Citizens
Please register in advance as places are limited.

Monday 12th December, 10.00am-12.00 p.m.
Annual Xmas Party for Armenian Community Pre-School Group
Parents and young children under 5 are welcome.
Father Xmas and presents to all children.

Hayashen Xmas & New Year Closing Dates
Closes on Monday 19th December 2005 and re-opens on Tuesday 3rd January 2006.
Last day for Elderly's Lunch Club will be Friday 16th December. The Parents & Toddlers Group last day will be Monday 12th December 2005. Both will restart on Monday 9th January 2006.

On 30th September the Armenian Senior Citizens club held a cultural event marking the 1600th anniversary of the invention of the Armenian alphabet.

On September 28th a great day out to the seaside resort town of Hastings took place for the benefit of Armenian Senior Citizens.

In September the Armenian Community pre-school group restarted as a Parents & Toddler Drop-in provision, every Monday and Friday 10am - 12pm.

On 18th August 2005 a day-long outing to Legoland Windsor was enjoyed by 98 children, young people and parents.

This was one of several activities and outings organised during the summer by the CAIA. The outing took place thanks to a grant by Capital Radio’s Help a London Child.

More pictures from the Summer Project: a visit to Hounslow Urban Farm; making masks; baking biscuits; making cards.

MONDAY THURSDAY, 9:45AM 12:30 PM
At 105a Mill Hill Road, Acton, London W3 8JF
FRIDAYS (10am-12pm)
Parents & Toddlers (Parents to be present)

THURSDAY 18 August 2005
Day-trip to Legoland (Meet at 8:30am outside Hayashen Return back at 6:00pm)
Adults Ł12
Children Ł10
Children (Under 3) Free

Here are some short video-clips (.wmv files) of the occasion. To download them, right-click with your mouse onto the link and chose "save target as".

Over 70 adults, young people and children enjoyed a family evening of fun and games at a Quiz night on Saturday 4th June organised which raised over Ł700 for the CAIA.

The event was organised largely thanks to the efforts of several volunteers, in particular Mrs Rita Koundarjian who prepared the questions, catered the dinner, and directed the evening's proceedings.

The event was also video taped for Renewal SRB Project who are producing a film to promote the positive impact its funding has made to the various organisations it has supported.

To reserve your place please contact CAIA on: 0208 992 4621
Email: infor@caia.org.uk

Some pictures from the official opening of the refurbished and expanded ground floor of CAIA's premises in Acton.

The project which started in 2000 was funded by the Big Lottery, ALG, St. Sarkis Trust and Renewal SRB 6 project.

Over 150 excited CAIA members and various guests attended on Sunday 8th May, 2005. Guests included the Mayor of LB of Ealing Cllr. Potts accompanied by the Mayoress, His Grace Bishop N. Hovanissian, the spiritual leader and representative of the Armenian Church in GB, His Excellency Mr Vahé Gabrielyan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia and others. All spoke and wished the work of the Centre the best. Other speakers included Mr Vahé Paklayan, Chair of CAIA, Mr. Hovaness Koundardjian , former CAIA Chair and Building Project Committee member, Mr Misak Ohanian, CAIA CEO and Building project Committee member, Mr Zorik Gasparian representing the Armenian Church & Community Council.

A large cream cake was cut by His Grace Bishop N. Hovanissian to mark the day, various toasts were drank, and the celebrations continued with an impromptu cultural program late into the afternoon.

In the past six months the CAIA Board has been working extremely hard to stabilise the administration, services and finances of the CAIA with the support of many members, volunteers and various funding bodies.

Vahe Paklayan - Chair for and on behalf of the CAIA Board of Directors 15/4/2005

The Centre for Armenian Information & Advice (CAIA) appoints Misak Ohanian as Chief Executive Officer and Rudolf Marku as Advice & Information Officer

The CAIA Board of Directors wishes to announce that further to an open and transparent public recruitment process, Misak Ohanian has been appointed as CAIA's first CEO and Rudolf Marku as CAIA’s Advice & Information Officer.

Misak Ohanian who was CAIA's founding member and held the post of General Secretary between 1989 and 2003 has intimate knowledge of the organisation, fundraising, the voluntary and statutory sector and has worked for Ealing Refugee Forum and CIP, a charitable organisation linked with Hounslow Council. In addition Misak Ohanian has in the past year worked as an independent grants assessor for the BBC Children In Need and is a former Board member of Renewal SRB 6 Project.

Rudolf Marku, has been working for the Refugee Council since 1997, where he has gained extensive experience in providing immigration advice to people seeking asylum, helping find accommodation and obtaining welfare benefits. Rudolf has a Masters Degree in Organisational Development and knows various languages. He has also helped provide independent help and advice to various charity organisations in the past.

To ensure total objectivity in the process, the directors appointed a 3-member recruitment panel composed of two external independent assessors, who along with the CAIA chair, Mr Vahe Paklayan were delegated full responsibility of interviewing candidates and making the appointment decision. The two independent panel members were professionals from the voluntary and statutory sector, Mr. Zacharias Stavrinos, Grant Officer of Harrow Council and Mr. Alex Da Costa, Chair of the Angolan Civic Communities Alliance (& chair of Harrow Refugee Forum).

According to the unanimous decision of the recruitment panel both candidates fully met the job specifications and requirements of the posts which were widely advertised in line with CAIA's Equal Opportunities Policy, including in the Guardian Newspaper, on CAIA's website, circulated by e-mail to several hundred organisations, individuals and mailed to CAIA members.

"We have found two first class people who can rebuild the delivery of CAIA's much needed services for Armenian refugees, older people, disabled and others. Both individuals bring with them a wealth of experience and all the skills and knowledge necessary to continue to develop CAIA's core services in a culturally sensitive manner," said Vahe Paklayan. "Over the years Misak has shown his capability in leading the CAIA and other organisations professionally through innovation, dedication and great commitment and Rudolf has impressed the panel with his vast experience, enthusiasm and knowledge of supporting refugees. The recruitment panel firmly believes that Misak and Rudolf can make a vital contribution to the work of the CAIA in all the duties that their jobs entail and they will firmly re-establish CAIA’s significant and positive impact to the welfare and wellbeing of those most needy within our community."

Both Misak Ohanian and Rudolf Marku will officially be working for CAIA from May 2005.

Markar Melkonian's visit to London for the launch of his biography of his brother Monte, was a wonderful occasion for all those who were there. Markar himself is a engaging and charismatic speaker. He spoke with passion and honesty about his brother but was clear in pointing out that Monte had his faults too.

The author read from his book, and given its quality, it must have been difficult to select which passages to read.

Markar's account of the Melkonian childhood in America seemed quite typical, save for a vague recognition that there was something different about the old and tattooed men and women that used to live in their neighbourhood. This was their first contact with the genocide of their ancestors.

The Hayashen audience was then told about the defining point in both brothers' young lives, but especially Monte's. This was when they were confronted with the realisation that something awful had happened to the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The Melkonian family had decided to traverse Europe by road, and eventually found themselves moving into modern day Turkey, and deeper still towards the town of their origin, Marsovan. The family found themselves stood outside the house from where their ancestors had fled the cruelties of the massacres, and Markar explained how the Christian symbols on the houses had been crudely hacked off. He also told how his father brusquely dealt with a Turkish beggar-woman, then turned to his young family explaining that the Turks had already taken more than enough from the Armenians. This episode like many in Markar's talk, was personally poignant, since I recalled being approached by a Turkish student in Van, and having to hold my tongue when he uttered the words "Welcome to my country".

The story moved quickly through the years to talk about Monte's life as an Armenian militiaman in Lebanon, where the brothers fought alongside each other. He told how through ingenuity Monte managed to turn back an attack on a district by making it appear that there were a number of Armenian gunmen defending positions instead of this one brave and selfless man.

The less savoury side of the Armenian liberation issue was discussed, and it was the indiscriminate acts of violence that led to the death of many innocents under the self-serving and mendacious leader of the Secret Army, Hagop Hagopian, that persuaded Monte to break away from that group.

Markar then touched upon Monte's experiences in a French prison. As one might expect, Monte led a number of strikes whilst in jail, more often than not over injustices that he felt had been meted out by the authorities.

As I pointed out earlier, Markar is no apologist for his brother. He claimed that some of Monte's actions prior to his time in Artsakh weighed very heavily on his mind. It seems that 'Avo' did not take his role in the Armenian struggle lightly at all, and throughout the talk we began to see a man of great integrity who was quick to acknowledge errors that occurred either through accident or design.

And so to Artsakh and some of the decisive action of which Monte was a major part. Markar detailed Monte's almost naďve trust in people who he called 'good guys'. By all accounts this was one of Monte's most common phrases, and Markar saw it in action in 1991 after Monte and long-time sweetheart Seta were married at Geghard. Markar ended the formal part of the afternoon and was patient and willing to accept questions from the floor. He then took time to sign copies of the book and conduct a radio interview, and was the last to leave the hall. It was quite obvious to us in Hayashen that an awful amount of research has gone into this book, given that the nature of Monte's life engendered a great degree of secrecy.

Through Markar's honest and passionate re-telling, it was easy for those of us who did not know Monte to feel the presence of this Armenian hero and legend.

As for the book itself, it is impossible to put down. It is superbly written and works on a number of levels. The many sub-dramas in this incredible life include the love for a brother and the idealism of an Armenian wanting to do something important for his country at tremendous personal risk.

There is humour within 'My Brother's Road'; and in his life with Seta, a modern love story. However what comes across loud and clear is that Monte Melkonian was a unique and extraordinary individual who possessed amazing integrity alongside a fierce passion for the people and country of Hayastan. If you are a proud Armenian you have to have this book in your collection.

The Centre for Armenian Information & Advice (CAIA)
is proud to announce a book event for
My Brother's Road
The long-awaited biography of Armenian
national hero Monte "Avo" Melkonian

2:00 pm Sunday February 27, at:
Monte Melkonian Hall
Hayashen
105a Mill Hill Road
Acton
London W3 8JF

The author, Markar Melkonian, will read from the book and sign copies. Refreshments will be available.

My Brother's Road is the story of a third-generation California boy who became a promising student of archaeology, a strike leader in revolutionary Iran, a militiaman in Beirut, a guerrilla fighter, a convicted Armenian militant, a leader of prison rebellions, a fugitive from half a dozen police agencies, and finally, a commander of 4000 fighters in one of the most vicious wars raging on the ruins of the former Soviet Union. My Brother's Road is not just the story of a long journey and a short life: It is also a story of discovery, written by Monte's brother Markar.

"A searing and unforgettable testimony of the revolt against justice denied."
-Christopher Walker

"Monte Melkonian's death left us with a riddle. How could a boy from California's heartland become a terrorist in the eyes of the FBI and a saint in the soul of a faraway nation? Who better to take up that riddle than his older brother, Markar? From the fruit fields of the San Joaquin Valley to the killing fields of the Caucasus, he brings home an unforgettable memoir."
-Mark Arax, author of In My Father's Name

Published by I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 1850436355.
Hardcover. 344 pages. List Price: Ł18.95
More information about the book is available at: mybrothersroad.com.

The Hayashen Senior Citizens Club celebrated St. Vartans Day with Reverend Vrej Nersessian as Guest of Honour. There were over 40 people in attendance. Here are some pictures of the event.