The Near East Foundation invests in memory

by Florence Avakian

Published: Tuesday September 29, 2009

Bishop Anouchavan with Ambassador Evans and his wife.

Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. - Azadouhi ("Freedom") was an emaciated infant near death when she was rescued by the Near East Relief during the Armenian Genocide. Five years later, Azadouhi had blossomed into a robust, intelligent, playful child thanks to her innate characteristics and the dedicated care of this remarkable benevolent organization.

Azadouhi was one of thousands of Armenian children rescued and cared for by the Near East Relief, which today is the worldwide philanthropic organization, the Near East Foundation (NEF). It operates in eight countries, including Armenia, Egypt, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, and Syria.

On Saturday, September 12, the Near East Foundation hosted a gala reception at the Rockefeller Archive Center in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., to raise funds for its large collection of archival material spanning 94 years of philanthropic history. The collection includes documents, reports, photos, negatives, and even clothing, flags, and lace doilies made by the orphans. John D. Rockefeller was the first of many famous American donors to the Near East Relief even before it was founded, having supported Armenians during the 1896 Hamidian massacres.

The Rockefeller Archive Center, located in the Sleepy Hollow Rockefeller estate surrounded by a bucolic and picturesque landscape, includes some 60 million documents, half a million photos, and 2,000 films in eleven temperature-controlled vaults covering several 20th-century philanthropies, including those from the Near East Foundation.

The gathering included representatives from Armenia Fund USA, Ararat Import Export LLC, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Armenian Diocese (Eastern), Armenian Prelacy (Eastern), Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Assembly, Armenian National Committee of America, the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church of White Plains, Tufenkian Foundation, Rockefeller Archive Center, several board members of the Near East Foundation, and its President Alexander Papachristou.

World's leading archives

Welcoming the more than 70 guests who had enjoyed a cocktail reception with music by the Musica Bella Orchestra was James Allen Smith, vice president and director of research and education at the Rockefeller Archive Center. He called the Rockefeller collection, "leading archives in the world covering civil society and philanthropy in the last 140 years." Annually, some 200 to 300 scholars do research in institutional memory and critical evaluation.

The chairperson of the Near East Foundation Shant Mardirossian, calling the day a "family reunion," related that it marked the 94th anniversary of the founding of the NEF. He paid special tribute to the many outstanding American families associated with the Near East Relief including the Rockefellers, Dodges, Clevelands, Bartons, Morgenthaus, among many others. He also pointed out that the AGBU inherited many of the Near East Relief orphanages and schools throughout the Middle East, and revealed that the current headquarters of the Catholicos of Cilicia sits on the site of property donated to the church by the Near East Relief.

In one of the most touching segments, David Mann, son of Nellie Miller Mann, a Near East Relief worker in Beirut, and Martha Gurahian, daughter of Siranoush Davitian, a Near East Relief orphan in the legendary Bird's Nest orphanage, both read excerpts from their mothers' letters and diaries, detailing occurrences from the daily lives of the orphans who ranged in age from infancy to 17 years of age.

An oasis in the desert

These children who had witnessed the horrors during the death marches, suffered from starvation, illness, trachoma, bleeding feet. poor hygiene and many other critical conditions, before arriving at the Near East Relief orphanages. In a dramatic gesture, Martha Gurahian held up a grammar book her mother had saved from her days in the Bird's Nest. "I will always keep this treasured book", she said.

Henry "Ben" Morgenthau IV, great grandson of U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau, who now works as a pediatrician for the needy in a San Francisco hospital, noted that he had grown up surrounded by Armenian families. He related that Ambassador Morgenthau, "in public life acted as an ambassador, but behind the scenes, confronted the Turks continually, appealing to the State Department, and the American people to stop the atrocities."

Thanks to the ambassador's tireless efforts, the American Committee for Syrian and Armenian Relief was formed, the precursor to the Near East Relief. Ben Morgenthau noted that $117 million was raised, saving the lives of 132,000 orphans. He also reported that the Morgenthau family commemorates April 24 every year, and that when he visited Armenia with his father and brother in 1999, he participated in several events, including the dedication of the Morgenthau School in Yerevan, and placing in the Wall of Heroes, soil from the grave of Ambassador Morgenthau.

Former U.S. ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans emphasized in his remarks the crucial necessity of preserving these historical records. He said that the oldest archival and first fireproof building in the Western Hemisphere is in Williamsburg, Va. He pointed out that there has always been "an impulse to alter public records. In the old days, they burned them. Now they shred them. Public records are treasures of our democracy and human history. We should not leave this task to governments."

Archives must be preserved

In spite of many archival records, the U.S. government still does not recognize the Genocide, he stated. "Archives are absolutely necessary and important to understand our past, but they are not sufficient. Join me in applauding the Rockefellers, the Dodges, the Bartons, et al. These valuable records in the Rockefeller Center must be preserved and safeguarded!" he declared.