Today we are celebrating the centennial of the Armenian Evangelical College. Is it a happy holiday? No doubt. Do we feel proud? Surely. Deserving, for sure?
But let us think for a minute. What is it that we are celebrating? Why are we gathered here? Why did we plan and work for months? For which reasons? Just for organizing a proper ceremony, or because “others have done it, why shouldn’t we?” Is it a tradition or a show, or is there something deeper, more meaningful than this?
Surely there are things more meaningful, more profound, and even more mysterious.
To understand all this, it is necessary to understand what the Armenian Evangelical College is. What is this school? The answer to this seemingly simple question is not so easy to define.
For the historian, it is the first post-genocide Armenian high school of the Armenian Diaspora.
For its 1,624 graduates and nearly three times that number of former students, it was then a place to forge friendships, and now, the revival of sweet memories of a youth left behind the clouds, or rarely a bitter taste in the mouth.
For the Armenian nation, it is the rejection of wanderings, the overcoming of the inferiority complex, and the stepping stone to stand up and move forward.
For Armenia, it is the school that preserves the Armenian identity and values in its children living far from the motherland.
For the Lebanese Armenian, it is the mirror of the community, which reflects years of glory and, alas, moments of anxiety, with the determination to endure and survive.
For the Armenian Diaspora, it is a “factory” that produces human resources in educational, cultural, and social fields.
It is tempting to continue the list which can lead us into the trap of self-praise. And to do justice, I will dare to state that what I said can be related to many Armenian schools in Lebanon.
So why are we celebrating the centennial of particularly this school? The answer is simple and easy – because it is ours.
Every school, along with its commonalities, has its own flavor and character, its own atmosphere, and its own stamp, by which it and its students and graduates are distinguished from others. And very interestingly, those characteristics are passed on from one generation to another. It is not a question of being better or worse. All our schools do a wonderful job and raise a good generation. Respect to all! However, reading the history of this school and observing the attachment and love of its graduates for their school, we can point out several features.
The first feature is that in the history of AEC, we see a strong will to survive and persevere. Beyond mere survival, we notice a determination to be better. This is seen in 1928 when the Great Depression had a global impact, and AEC was also in danger of being closed. There were similar difficulties during the civil war and the days of post-war calamities. With all that, the fact of reaching the centennial is a proof that everything spread about the school that it would be closed was rumors. Don’t we go through some troubles today? Certainly. Doesn’t the small number of students worry us? Yes, it does. However, we do not think about giving up because we believe that AEC still has work to do. And we will single out some of those things.
1) To instill in his non-Armenian and non-Christian students respect for the Armenian and Christian values. This is a mission in the literal and complete sense of the word, which started many years ago, but has been continuing methodically for 20 years. The two components of the school’s name represent the two basic pillars on which it stands firmly.
2) Quality education remains our main target. Many people say that this school’s grades are low, that the lessons are difficult, and that the teachers are very strict. Everything is a matter of perspective. We have numerous testimonies from our university graduates who have asserted that it was very easy for them to follow their lessons at the university because they had been prepared to face all challenges, and that they had learnt how to learn.
3) —– (a verb maybe) ethnic Armenian education remains a central issue for us. In recent years it has even become somehow a problem because global cultural changes around us are happening very quickly, and it is necessary to keep pace and stay firm on our core values. For many years the teaching of the Armenian language, literature, history, and culture has been the focus of our attention on the imperative of reforming the methodology. We are glad that it is taking its organizational course and the Armenian identity of the school will remain intact.
The second feature is that when one gets out of the church after a while and looks at the neighborhood through the eyes of an Armenian, he will see an Armenian university, school, and church. Where can we find a more Armenian atmosphere in the administrative centre of Beirut than here, in one of the most prestigious districts of the capital? I think there is no doubt that this Armenian presence in the capital should remain.
The third feature is that when we look around, we see a beautiful display of loyalty to the school, the roots of which are old and its tradition already rooted.
Why would 33-year-old Bedros Kardzair (the founding principal of the school) fresh from the Genocide dare to open the first high school of the Armenian Diaspora and gather his nation’s young boys from the streets? The answer is very simple because he was faithful to his zeal to save the Nation.
Why would the Armenian Missionary Association of America for one hundred years bring its huge support to the educational work in general and to this school in particular, from turning it into a college, from supporting the construction of the new building to all kinds of efforts, until today? Because it is faithful to the message of the Gospel.
Why would a former student, Mr Rafi Manoukian, promise Mr Messerlian in 1995, at his wedding reception to close the gap in the school’s budget that year, but continues since then to support the school for 28 years, throughout which the amount of his assistance exceeds half a million dollars? Because he is loyal to his school.
Why should the three children of a graduate travel 30 kilometers every day (a long way for Beirut) and come to this school in a terrible traffic jam, when there are 6 Armenian secondary schools on the way from their house? Because their father is faithful to the education he received.
Why do our dedicated teachers continue to serve in this terrible socio-economic situation without complaining, I repeat, without complaining, when we hear about strikes or protests elsewhere? Because they are faithful to their calling.
There are many “Why’s” and “Because’s.” But so what? What about next year, the year after, ten or even twenty years later.
The last decades taught us that waiting for the socio-economic condition of the country to improve is a waste of time. It is necessary to be realistically visionary. Classify the challenges, find solutions, work in that direction, turn to friends with a plan, and most importantly, make the present not a goal, but a means. The tragedies of recent years have made us a little myopic. It is necessary to shake off the dust of despair and look at the future based on true values, always remembering the words of the founding principal Bedros Kardzair, which he uttered on his deathbed in the last weeks of fighting cancer. “Once I get healthy, I will go to America, I will beg for money, and I will make this school a college.” His earthly eyes did not see that, but those who continued his work, the faithful who believed in him, realized Kardzair’s vision 21 years later.
Let’s be visionaries, let’s try to realize our visions and, above all, let’s pass them on to those who will come and are coming after us. I hear their footsteps. Let’s give vision to our children and our students more than money, buildings, and advice because without vision there is no progress. All the money we leave for them, all the beautiful buildings we pass on to them and every piece of advice we give them are worthless, if they are not accompanied with vision. Status quo is not an option any more. If the coming generations are not better than us, then woe to us because it will be our fault that we have educated them with the spirit of the past instead of imbuing them with the vision of the future.
Tomorrow will come. It is inevitable. Decades later, not us, but our descendants will commemorate the coming jubilees of the Armenian Evangelical College here in this revered place. They will be the harvest of our upbringing, the harvest that depends on what and how we sow today.
Blessed are those who believe without seeing…
AEC100yearsBlog 