Caption for picture above: Aram Atamian, Shant Atamian, Sahag Bilemjian, Sam Galoustian, Hakop Hajibekyan, and Harout Terzian, who saved Altadena-based relator Sylva Khayalian’s home during the Eaton Fire
“They Came Out of Nowhere…,” Prominent Altadena Realtor Says
BY ARA MGRDICHIAN
The recent wildfires in Los Angeles have created scenes of devastation not often seen or experienced in real time, in real America.
Many Angelenos, however, have sadly witnessed and/or experienced similar tragedies during war or other disasters in home countries and regions far flung from the City of Angels.
Still, others carry the epigenetic memory of generational trauma as their parents and forebears settled to find a modicum of peace in the lands once inhabited by the Tongva and Chumash.
Although exponentially different in scope from war and its consequences, these fires caused the same instantaneous loss of all things cherished, including human life, for all victims.
Emanating from the devastation caused by the fires, stories have emerged of horrors, trauma, generational loss, and great personal suffering, but there are also awe inspiring, true stories of heroism, kindness, and selflessness of all types. People have come out to help one another collecting food and clothing, preparing meals for each other, and in general letting their actions express their intentions and hope.
Among the great and diverse tapestry of cultures and ethnicities that make up the civic and social landscape of Pasadena and Altadena are the Armenians, who first appear in the Rose City during the late 1800’s, bringing with them their industriousness, faith, and cultural traits, helping to build the foundation of one of the oldest towns in the Los Angeles area.
One such story, among the myriad coming to light, and striking a bit closer to home, involves the proud sons of these Armenian immigrants, and may begin to tell even greater narrative histories about Los Angeles, its diverse population, and its unsung heroes.
Aram Atamian, Shant Atamian, Sahag Bilemjian, Sam Galoustian, Hakop Hajibekyan, and Harout Terzian, six Armenian-American young men, all members of the Armenian Youth Federation, rose to the occasion among the fire and flames, without prompting or request, to come to the aid of their dear friend, mentor, and adviser, Sylva Khayalian —a strong maternal figure for them all—to fight the encroaching flames about to engulf her Altadena home.
“They came out of nowhere. I mean, they just appeared. I hadn’t called them or made contact…They saved our home,” said Khayilian an Altadena resident, realtor, and long-time adviser to the AYF.
Khayalian explained that the “boys” showed up as flames were flaring up around her home from all sides and the water had been turned off in her area, so she was unable to even use a garden hose against the onslaught.
“The six of them showed up and said there was no way they were going to let anything happen to me, my family, or my home. They started scooping water out of our pool with buckets and were fighting fires around my house, on Wednesday, to protect mine,” Khayalian explained.
“Since there was no water, they used my pool water to put out brush fires surrounding my house. They even put out a fence that was burning at the back neighbor’s house,” Khayalian added, describing their heroism and determination.
“I didn’t even call them. They miraculously showed up to my house to see how they could help,” she noted as her eyes welled-up with tears.
Khayalian and fellow AYF members have mentored and cared for hundreds of Armenian youth over the years through community service activities, summer camps, educational programs, and outreach throughout the Pasadena area, as well as the whole of the Western United States region.
“They are like my own children and I would do anything for them,” Khayalian added, with the commitment of a fierce and loving guardian.
In fact, these same young men and their female colleagues from the AYF were at the core of an emergency aid center, set up at the organization’s local Jivalagian Armenian Center, to aid evacuees, victims, and their families with hot meals, clothing and necessities.
Armenian presence in the Southland not only goes back to survivors somehow making their way to American shores after the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks, but includes wave after wave of Armenian immigrants coming to the U.S. as their host countries were ravaged by civil war, strife, and economic instability.
Armenians became part of the Southland’s and, particularly, Pasadena’s very fabric early on, and even more so as the 20th century progressed. Armenians manifested themselves as astute businessman, religious leaders, political activists, and artists, as well as doctors and attorneys, in every part of the Pasadena and Altadena community.
Now, many of these survivors of foreign strife are, again, victims of tragedy and the tribulations of a natural disaster that seems so unnatural, as are their fellow Pasadeneans and Altadeneans of all backgrounds and cultures.
Ara Mgrdichian is a writer, photographer, and counselor who has worked with young people in and out of the Armenian community, here and abroad, for years. You may see some of his work at akmipress.com.
