SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2020, at 4:00pm Eastern / 1:00pm Pacific
On Zoom and the NAASR YouTube channel Armenian Studies

Misak Kelechian presents a visual tour of two sites of great importance to Armenians who settled in Lebanon as refugees in the 1920s and 1930s: the Birds’ Nest orphanage and Sanjak Camp.

The “Birds’ Nest” (Trchnots Pooyn) orphanage in Lebanon became home for 400 orphans whose lives were being rebuilt after having been expelled from Turkey following World War I. The Danish Mission-ary Maria Jacobsen rented a palace for her 400 toddlers and it was initially in Sidon where the original “Birds’ Nest Orphanage” was established.

On June 29, 1939, at the dawn of World War II, France relinquished the former Sanjak of Alexandret-ta in Syria to Turkey, which renamed it Hatay province. Some 30,000 Armenians from this region relocated to areas of Syria and Lebanon, with many settling near Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, a place that became known as “Sanjak Camp.” Some Armenians continued living there as late as 2016.

Maurice Misak Kelechian is an Electrical Engineer and a pioneer entrepreneur in the field of IT technology. He is an independent investigative researcher passionate about finding untold stories of courageous expressions and service to humanity by the U.S. government, its people, and Near East Relief organization that became the catalyst for the survival of hundreds of thousands of Armenian victims between 1915-1930.

CO-SPONSORS
Ararat-Eskijian Museum (AEM)
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)