Kashatagh needs help

Published: Saturday February 28, 2009

Dr. John Antranig Kasparian, Nagorno-Karabakh program director of the Tufenkian Foundation, giving a lecture aboard the Twelfth Armenian Heritage Cruise. Bedros DerBedrossian

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Sir:

I was on board the Costa Fortuna for the Twelfth Armenian Heritage Cruise, where I learned about the outstanding work the Tufenkian Foundation is doing in Kashatagh - the reclaimed lands in Karabakh.

Presented by Dr. John Antranig Kasparian, Nagorno-Karabakh program director of the Tufenkian Foundation, Inc., the lecture with slides, a geography lesson, an informative DVD, and printed literature inspired the audience to want to help with the house renovation program.

No Armenian should live in a bombed-out stone house with no roof, no windows (except cellophane), and earthen floor, no running water, a damaged or nonexistent front or back door, and no electricity. There are approximately 8,000 inhabitants in the Artsakh plain, and this area is rich in agriculture (wheat, grapes, and pomegranates), with many waterfalls and hot springs. Azerbaijan desires these strategic lands back in order to cut off Armenia from Karabakh - and presently Mountainous Karabakh is hard to retake. 

Thirteen hundred homes need renovation in 2009. In this vulnerable region, where few charities have ventured, private money is needed. One cannot populate a homeless, jobless no man's land. Armenian blood retrieved these ancient Armenian lands, but the postwar patriots, pogrom victims of Baku, and earthquake survivors cannot secure or fortify the Lachin Corridor and its borders alone; it needs more people.

Resettlement is top priority. Work, livelihood, infrastructure (such as electricity and running water, medical care, and schools) are all needed.

The Armenians of France have helped Mountainous Karabakh. The Irish have sent a cob expert, Paul Dillon, to teach the locals how to build earthen houses on their land with clay, straw, and mud. The U.S. and the entire diaspora must help. Economic times worldwide are severe and the U.S dollar has depreciated in Armenia. The population presently in Nagorno-Karabakh is approximately 160 thousand; 500 thousand could live there, but not without housing.

"Karabakh exists as long as Kashatagh exists." This is a direct quote from NKR president Bako Sahakian. Kashatagh needs livable housing. Please help to insure that Armenians remain on these lands.

For more information, visit the website at www.TF.org. Make tax deductible contributions by check made payable to: Tufenkian Foundation, Inc., 20 Capitol Drive, Moonachie, New Jersey 07074. Questions 201-221-1055, extension 327.

Very truly yours,
Mary Jo Agbabian
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.