CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — In November 2023, Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Cambridge began collecting clothing in response to the grave humanitarian crisis in Armenia. After the nine-month blockade that cut off basic necessities, people of Artsakh had to flee their homes by Azeri force for fear of their health and safety. Given the dire circumstances, families swiftly packed what they could and took to the congested, winding road out of the mountainous region, escaping towards the safety of their Armenian homeland.
Those who fled their homes funneled into regions of southern Armenia and were facing the impending dropping temperatures of winter. Upon returning from a parish pilgrimage to Armenia in October, Holy Trinity Church’s pastor Fr. Vasken Kouzouian shared with his parishioners, “In the southern part of Armenia we saw the people who had been removed from their homes. Most of them left with only the shirt on their back and the sneakers on their feet. We have to do better; we can’t let that happen. We have to take care of our people.” Taking quick action in response to the dire situation, the church community came together to organize a clothing drive, collecting warm clothing for the displaced men, women, and children of Artsakh.
Through an outpouring of support from the greater Boston community, within days the collection bins overflowed with more than 2,500 bags of donations. Thanks to the help of more than 75 volunteers of all ages, the mountains of donated clothing were sorted, inventoried, boxed, and prepared for shipment to Armenia.
In late December, the 117 packed boxes containing nearly 3,500 pounds of aid arrived in Armenia. In January 2024, 94 days after announcing the desire for the Holy Trinity community to help the displaced families of Artsakh, with the full support of the parish, Holy Trinity Church’s pastor, accompanied by his wife, Yeretzgin Arpi, made the trip to Armenia to distribute the clothing.
Throughout their journey, Fr. Vasken and Yn. Arpi worked together with the Paros Foundation team, led by Peter Abajian and Shaké Derderian from the US, and local members Marina Khachatryan, Armen Simonyan, Kegham Minasyan and Yura Sargsyan, along with Houry Abajian and Boghos Derderian. The team made their way to villages around Armenia where many of the displaced families from Artsakh have settled.
During their visits in the homes of the displaced families, they heard emotional stories sharing of the devastation encountered during their displacement. In the first home they visited, with quivering jaws, the families shared, “none of the few pieces of furniture you see here are ours. All we have are the clothes on our backs…we have no appropriate winter clothing…we had to leave it all behind.” In another, “one of my sons died in the gas explosion as we were leaving Artsakh…he is buried here, and I will never leave him….” In yet another, “This is my 94-year-old mother, she has been bed-bound for 15 years for spinal issues…and she had to be carried across the border when we were forced to leave…” all stories of suffering yet held an underlying of resilience to survive as Armenians. With each word from the displaced people, it was very clear why the Holy Trinity community came together to collect warm clothing, and why so many volunteers gave their time to contribute to this worthy cause.
