Survivors

Albert Mkrtchyan

The story of the decorated Armenian filmmaker Albert Mkrtchyan and his brother, renowned Soviet actor Frunzik Mkrtchyan, is well documented. However, it seems that some pages of that story have been lost forever.
Filmmaker and brother of actor Frunzik Mkrtchyan: “Our parents kept silent about their past”
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Richard Hovannisian

Richard Hovannisian is widely considered a pioneer of Armenian Studies in American Academia. Hovannisian was born and raised in Tulare, near Fresno, California, in a family of Armenian Genocide survivors. His father, Kaspar Gavroian, was born in 1901 in the village of Bazmashen, now called Saricabük, near Kharpert in Western Armenia (modern-day Elazig in eastern Turkey). Gavroian would eventually change his last name to honor the memory of his father, Hovhannes, who, like thousands of other Armenian recruits, was murdered while serving in the Ottoman army. Hovannisian received his B.A. in history in 1954 from UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. in 1966 from UCLA. He joined the UCLA faculty as a young scholar in 1962, and in 1986 was appointed the first holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA.
UCLA professor enriches world with scholarship and civic engagement
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Alain Mikli

Across the globe, Alain Mikli’s name is inevitably associated with designer eyeglasses. His prestigious brand is a quality standard in the eyewear industry. Already a leading innovator in the luxury market, Mikli doesn’t plan to rest on the laurels. With entrepreneurship in his blood, he has moved on to developing a number of other businesses.
The father of eyewear design: “My Turkish clients pay ten percent more”
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Peter Balakian

Peter Balakian, poet, memoirist and scholar, is the author of seven volumes of poetry, four books of prose and several collaborative translations. His 1997 New York Times best-selling book “Black Dog of Fate,” winner of the PEN/Albrand Prize for memoir, is widely credited with setting a young generation of Armenian-Americans on a path toward re-discovering their roots.
Award winning poet and New York Times bestselling author: “My grandmother’s gift is irredeemable”
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Pierre Akkelian

Born in Aleppo, Syria, and raised in Montreal, Canadian-Armenian entrepreneur and jewelry business executive Pierre Akkelian is on a mission of global proportions. He is committed to raising awareness of the heritage of Armenian jewelry and to transmitting this knowledge to future generations of jewelers. Pierre believes that “Armenians are to jewelry what the Swiss are to watches.”
Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist: “Armenians are to jewelry what the Swiss are to watches.”
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Vrej Kassouny

For the past seven years, as autumn brings more golden color to the streets of Yerevan, the city’s cinemas and arts centers have come to host a festival of animated films called “ReAnimania.” This year, the festival’s theme is Renaissance. “ReAnimania” fulfilled the lifelong dream of cartoonist and animated film director Vrej Kassouny. His story begins in Cilicia, winds through the cities of historic Armenia, takes a short break in Syria and eventually finds its own renaissance in Armenia.
Artist and founder of “ReAnimania” secures a future for Armenia’s animators
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Mégo Terzian

Dr. Mégo Terzian, president of Medicines san Frontières (Doctors without Borders) in France, has worked with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning international medical organization for over 15 years. Growing up during civil war in Lebanon cemented his profound dedication to delivering healthcare to some of the world’s most war-torn regions.
President of Medicines sans Frontières
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Alexei Maschan

In his role as deputy director of the Federal Clinical Research Center of Children’s Hematology, Oncology and Immunology in Moscow, Russia, Professor Alexei Maschan has always dreamed of finding the “cure for death.” Alexei has devoted his whole life to helping others, partly in tribute to the memory of a deed that saved his own family. Alexei’s family survived the Genocide thanks to the kindness of a Turk – a selfless act that is still fondly remembered today.
Child oncologist and descendent of Genocide survivors looks to cure death
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Denise Gentilini

It all started in 1915. My grandfather, Kourken Handjian, was only eight years old when his father, chief of police in Erzinga (modern-day Erzincan in Eastern Turkey) was murdered at the beginning of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks. When mass deportations began, Kourken's family was told to leave their palatial home and join the others on a death march to Deir ez-Zor. The suffering and the unthinkable crimes he had to witness were permanently burned into Kourken's mind.
Three-time Emmy Award winning composer works to tell her grandparents’ story
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Mourad Papazian

“I’ve never had any complexes about being Armenian. I’ve never had a strategy for finding a balance between my commitment as an activist, my professional and private lives. Dedication is in my blood, and as long that there’s something to fight for, I’ll be an activist.”
French Armenian in active pursuit of the Armenian cause
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