Изменения

The Armenian Youth Federation - ARF Youth Organization of the Western United States, was founded in order to assist in acheiving the following goals:

a) The establishment of a Free, Independent, and United Armenia

b) Armenia must be a democratic and socialist independent republic.

c) The boundaries of United Armenia must incorporate the territories awarded to Armenia by the Treaty of Sevres as well as the regions of Nakhichevan, Akhalkalak, and Karapagh.

d) The Armenian people, including its dispersed masses,must assemble on the territory of Independent Armenia.

e) The still unpunished crime of the Genocide against the Armenian people must be condemned and redressed by the return of the occupied territories and by the just reparation for losses to the Armenian people.

f) The basic laws of the Republic of Armenia shall be decided by the constitutional assembly of Armenia elected on the basis of universal, equal, direct, secret, and proportional representation.

These primary goals shall be served by accomplishing the other goals of the Armenian Youth Federation, as below:

To prevent assimilation of Armenian youth by stimulating interest in and promoting political, cultural, educational, athletic, and social activities within the Armenian community.

After the First World War and the injustices the Armenian nation suffered in 1915, the surviving Armenians migrated to other nations in search for peace and opportunity. Many of these Armenians who flocked to the United States joined those who had moved here in the early 1890's. The Armenians in the United States were sure that with the help of the great powers of the world they would soon move back to their homeland, which would be a free, independent, and united Armenia. They encountered many difficulties in the new country. Much like the others who had just entered the United States. To deal with such difficulties and emotional stresses suffered due to the Genocide, the Armenians made their culture the core of Armenian life.

The ARF Gomidehs in the United States started to create youth groups across the nation. These groups included the Abrillian Sanner, Hyortiks of New York, Gaidzags, Raffis, and the Arams of Worcester. These groups were set up on the localized basis but all of them had a unifying goal, which was the belief that someday Armenia would become a free, independent, and united nation.

On January 14, 1933, which is marked as the founding date of the Armenian Youth Federation, the ARF Central Committee of America decided to create a national youth organization by combining the existing ones and setting up new chapters where such groups did not exist. After the decision was made an invitation was sent to representatives of interested youth groups in the East Coast to join a conference on Sunday, July 16, 1933, in the old Hairenik Hall in Boston. The conference was to discuss the unification of the interested youth groups.

Hal Avedisian of Boston helped to promote the athletic program by creating cartoons that helped boost morale and develop organizational pride by featuring, often humorously, AYF achievements, characters, and other points of view.

In 1941 the organization changed its name from the ARF Tzeghagrons to the Armenian Youth Federation. This change was necessary because the name Tzeghagrons was difficult to manage among non-Armenian speakers and it was being maliciously misinterpreted in some quarters. From that point on, the leading Armenian youth organization in the United States would be known as the AYF. The life during the Great Depression and Second World War presented many new challenges for the Armenian community in America. Although faced with these additional challenges the AYF was able to continue growing, both in size and nature. The greatest effect of war on the AYF was the entrance of many AYF members into the US Armed Forces.

With the end of the World War, AYF activity increased. Members returning from the war provided additional manpower to the organization, but this increase was short lived. The post-war years were followed by an era of declining membership due to geographic and demographic changes in the community. Despite these changes the AYF laid the foundation for another generation of youth. New programs were added to AYF's already wide array of activities, while established programs grew both in size and scope.

During the 1950's the "Blue Book" educational series focused primarily on Armenian History, but also covered geography, culture and customs, the arts, and other subjects. Complete with maps and photographs, these "Blue Books" formed a sound foundation for the educational program.

The 1960's were a time of great change and growth for the AYF. By this time, some of the smaller and more geographically isolated communities began to see the beginning of the end of Armenians relocated to other, larger metropolitan areas. The role of AYF forever changed from being a gathering point for local Armenian youth to serving a substitute for an Armenian lifestyle that was no longer day-to-day.

One of the single biggest changes to occur in the Sixties was the emergence of political activity in the Armenian community. During this time, there were important changes occurring on the Armenian political scene as the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide ushered a new era of demonstrative political action, reiterating the demands for just reparations and the return of Turkish-occupied Armenian lands.

By the early 1970's, the AYF had become even more dynamic and continued to grow. Some of the larger Junior and Senior chapters held over 100 members.

In 1982 Hampig Sassounian, a 19-year old AYF member from the Pasadena "Nigol Touman" Chapter, was falsely arrested for the murder of the Los Angeles Turkish Consulate. Sassounian was convicted even though the prosecution could not provide evidence, which proved he was guilty. The case of Hampig Sassounian caused the community to unite for one goal that represented the Armenians and their centuries old struggle for the establishment of a free, independent, and united Armenia. Other similar cases that involved the AYF members followed, such as the LA Five, which continued to cause more interest in the Armenian Youth.

In the late 1980's and the early 1990's the AYF found a new challenge: Karabagh. In 1988 the struggle for independence in the Karabagh region started. AYF became involved in ffund raisingactivities to supply much-needed funds to the people in Karabagh. Many AYF members throughout the world even fought for the Armenian land. Even after the independence of Nagorno-Karabagh in 1991 and the cease-fire in 1993, the AYF continued to help Karabagh. In 1994 the AYF Western Region decided to create a program, called the AYF Youth Corps, that sent about ten youths that year and continues to send up to 15 each summer. The mission of the Youth Corps is to help rebuild schools, camps, churches, etc. in the various regions of Nagorno-Karabagh.

Nowadays the AYF continues its faithful mission of promoting cultural awareness, stimulating political activity, and providing education to its respective regions. The future of the AYF and its surrounding Armenian communities will be bright and glorious, but only with the support and involvement of the entire Armenian community.