Survivors

Sometimes in order to highlight the importance of every individual, regardless of his or her race or nationality, I say: “If you have nothing to be proud of, be proud of your nation.” Having said this, for me the importance of being Armenian came from the Genocide survival stories of our family, which were mentioned from time to time when we all got together on weekends at my grandparents' small apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia. We shared food, sang and danced, argued about politics and cracked jokes. Occasionally, a very old relative would show up and tell us kids some strange and dark stories about 1915.

Daniel Khachatryan, great-grandfather to Sergey Khachatryan and his sister Lusine, was born in Kars. His great-grandchildren know little about him, as Daniel had already passed away when they were little. Daniel had told little about his survival and the lost motherland even to his son, Sergey Khachatryan, Sergey and Lusine’s grandfather.

When Hurricane Sandy struck New York City in October 2012, the grid below 42nd Street short-circuited – and so did my professional life. For 13 years I’d been career counseling in a bank near the southern tip of Manhattan. The building flooded, closing the office and casting doubt on my future.

The snow-capped peaks of the Andes stand witness to a family story that began 100 years ago. Antranig Baloian survived the Genocide and established a little Armenia in the faraway lands of Chile. Today, his descendants continue his legacy.

My father's family comes from Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey). My grandfather imported from Austria the red felt that was used to make fezzes — traditional hats worn by all men in the Ottoman Empire. The family had a house in the Armenian quarter, which was not far from the Jewish quarter. On Fridays my father would light the gas lamps for his family's Jewish friends.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Michael Aram is best known to the world and to the Armenian community as a creative artist who took a simple idea – working with traditional Indian metal-crafting techniques, which he fell in love as a youth – and transforming it into a global lifestyles brand with a distinct style that also draws from his Armenian roots.

Based in Los Angeles and New York City, Anita Vogel is a highly regarded correspondent for the FOX News Channel, which she joined in 2001. She has received numerous awards, including one from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters for “Best Documentary,” the Edward R. Murrow award and a regional Emmy Award for “Best Newscast.” Of particular note, Vogel received a Golden Mike award in “Best Breaking News Coverage” for her exclusive interview with former United States President Bill Clinton during the Nevada Caucuses. “I don’t know whether I’ll ever encounter a more exciting interview,” Vogel says.

Our Armenian heritage encourages us to help our country in any way we can and to pass on our legacy, which is the pride of our nation, to younger generations. We are a nation that went through terrible trials and tribulations, and even though we haven’t always been independent, we have survived. Our faith has given us power and hope that we fought for and that we will continue to fight for it in the future.

Slim and graceful, dark-skinned and with a prominent nose, Francis Kurkdjian considers scents to be “ramparts of our humanity.” Born near Paris in 1969, he has no ties to the French capital of perfume Grasse, nor does he come from a family of perfume makers. Yet he has left a golden mark on the French world of aromas, having authored the “Green Tea” fragrance for Elizabeth Arden in 1999 and “My Burberry” for Burberry in 2014.

As one of the first Armenian music producers in North America, my father became a great role model for me. He started the record company PE-KO Records and produced legendary singers like Harout Pamboukjian, Paul Baghdadlian, Adiss Harmandyan, Manuel and many more.