By Hovig Ohanian – July 4, 2022
Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I drove to LAX on the morning of June 30, 2022. A whole summer of service, fellowship, and Hayootyoon lay before me as I drove through the twists and turns of the Grapevine. As I met up with my fellow Youth Corp participants and went through the process of checking in for my flight, the task ahead began to register, and the trip became more real than ever. After a short and enjoyable sixteen-hour flight, a delay in Qatar, a baggage claim and customs nightmare, and a two-hour drive, I finally settled into my first home for the trip in Gyumri.
By then it was 7 am the morning of July 2nd, and our group of eleven hit the town to acquaint ourselves with Gyumri and reacquaint ourselves with the homeland. The first day consisted of exchanging money, getting sim cards, eating delicious food, and finally going to the Shirvanian Center in Gyumri to establish our campsite for the next two weeks and to meet the
ungerner that would be helping us run said camp. We were welcomed by a beautiful Yerakouyn and a familiar red flag with a gold logo. The Tashnagtsootyan flag waved triumphantly in front of the agoomp as we entered, and introduced ourselves to the local ungerner.
After a long, yet calm and relaxing first day in Gyumri, a full night’s rest allowed us to wake up
Sunday morning and get ready to prepare the agoomp and ourselves for the first day of Jampar. Prior to any work being done, however, I had to attend church to pray for a successful, productive, and life-changing experience in Armenia, and also to light a candle for my family in the U.S. I went with two other Ungers to one of the seven churches within earshot of our house, lit candles, kissed the cross of the priest as we proceeded around the church, and listened to Soorp Asdvadz. As we sang and prayed, the church around us became more and
more beautiful, and a bright light shone through the dome, bringing the eyes of the churchgoers skyward towards the heavens. A short time later we met back with the rest of the group and went back to the agoomp to clean up and prepare for Monday.
During those first two days, our group walked around much of the center of Gyumri, exploring, learning, taking in the sights, and becoming comfortable once again in our home. As we walked the streets, a recurring sight was a spray-painted image of AYF’s founder, Karekin Njdeh. Each of the images has a different quote by Njdeh underneath, and each one caused a reflection of a different aspect of my life and Armenian-ness. The quote that spoke to me the most, especially as a Tashnagtsagan on a mission in Armenia to strengthen our cause, is in Armenian on image and is as follows: “ Only God can overcome a revolutionary people”.
With this quote and our mission in mind, our group woke up early Monday morning to prepare for Day 1 of Jampar. With supplies in hand, we took a few taxis to the agoomp. The next few hours involved meetings, preparation, and registration of campers. With my assignment as Khempabed of the blue group, and my youth assigned to me, we began our day with icebreakers and introductions.
After everyone was comfortable with one another and knew each other’s names, we turned our focus to learning Mshag Panvor to be able to sing proudly during the opening and closing ceremonies for the rest of the Jampar. Throughout the day we sang and practiced the song to be able to showcase our newfound knowledge at the closing ceremony. We also made ganches, played basketball, and made sure to keep our lines as straight as possible. To end the day, we all gathered together in the meeting hall to hear from a living Armenian hero, Hampig Sassounian. As he spoke, he spoke of being productive, hard-working, and loving Armenians in all aspects of life. We sat there as a group and were inspired by a man who sacrificed so much for his country and his people and kicked off the two-week Jampar with a fire in our hearts and hope in our minds for the future of the Armenian youth and Armenian nation.
