Dear Faithful,
The dawn of last Monday brought with it, along with the good light, a new wave of pain and suffering. An earthquake of 7.5-8 intensity with epicenter in Aintab, in Cilicia (what is now Gaziantep, Turkey) hit the region and the neighboring Middle Eastern countries, and as of Wednesday morning left more than 11,000 dead and 50,000 injured people underneath collapsed buildings, with thousands of families now homeless.
Unfortunately, Syria, one of the flashpoints of the ‘Arab Spring’ and the wars that ensued, and especially the city of Aleppo, home to Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants, were not exempted from this tragedy and its human and material toll. According to official data, of the casualties mentioned above, more than 2,800 of the dead and 5,000 of the wounded were in Syria. These numbers include six Armenians, two of whom were citizens of Turkey while the remaining were citizens of Syria.
The Armenian community of Aleppo is now on the verge of bleeding white. Thanks to the tireless work and unfailing cooperation of the Prelacy, the Syrian Armenian Relief Society, Homenetmen, the Youth Residence (Badusbaran), as well as the AGBU, had endured the 12-year civil war with countless victims and material losses.
In response to the appeal of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, of the Great House of Cilicia, we have begun an urgent fundraising effort to aid the victims.
Once again, we appeal to you, the noble daughters and sons of our nation, in the certainty that you will give generously to mitigate the pain, loss and desperation of our sisters and brothers, projecting the light of hope and support unto them.
With warm fatherly greetings,
Prayerfully,
ARCHBISHOP ANOUSHAVAN
Prelate, Eastern Prelacy
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