A Private Beach Resort Unearths and Displaces the Remains of Genocide Survivors
On Feb 21st 2015, The Armenian Catholicosate of the Greater House of Cilicia, keeper of the historic Bird’s Nest Orphanage, declared that it will be renting out the southern section of the plot to developers, who will transform the area to a beach resort.
The statement specifies that the old Saint Kayaneh Chapel will be included in the handover. It also included an even more disturbing detail. Thirty-three bodies which have been resting for over eighty years in the patrimonial cemetery of genocide survivors will be dug up, moved to the northern section of the plot, and put into a collective tomb.
In 2015, Armenians throughout the world are commemorating the hundred year anniversary of the Genocide that saw them tortured, massacred, thrown into mass graves, and dispersed to the four corners of the world, including of course to Lebanon.
On the 100th year commemoration of the Genocide, we take a stance against the erasure of more Armenian history and heritage. We refuse the desecration of more cemeteries and the displacement of more bodies. We are all the more resistant to this given the fact that these actions are being undertaken by the hands of our very own representatives.
With this petition, we as Armenians, as Lebanese and as Citizens, ask that all concerned authorities exercise their duties and responsibilities towards us and towards history, our patrimony and human dignity. With this petition:
1- We demand from the Catholicosate to perform its duty as the defender of the diaspora Armenians, their rights, their memory and their patrimony, to stop the destruction of the cemetery for ethical and historical reasons, and to preserve the Saint Kayaneh Chapel which is an important part of Byblos’s heritage.
2- We demand from The Directorate General of Antiquities to exercise its duties by preserving the cemetery area, which is classified as an archeological excavation field (G1), and is protected from construction given its proximity to the historic ruins. (G1 is defined by the Higher Council of Urban Planning as: Public Domain, excavation field, subject to Directorate General of Antiquities control and administration.)
3- We demand from The Municipality of Byblos and the Ministry of Culture to exercise their respective duties and powers in declaring the Bird’s Nest Cemetery a site of patrimonial importance, as well as a memorial site for Lebanon’s historic role as a place of refuge for victims of humanitarian crises. It is in the power of the DGA to withhold permission to destroy the cemetery.
Rather than privatise more of our beaches and disturb the slumber of our dead, we demand that the cemetery be given its due prominence; that it be turned into a public memorial site, accessible for people from all walks of life.
To join the campaign email us at: [email protected]
For a complete dossier about the Bird’s Nest and its significance for Byblos’s patrimony and history HERE
More details on our WEBSITE
About the Bird’s Nest and Saint Kayaneh Chapel
In the plot of land adjacent to Byblos’ ancient ruins lies the Bird’s Nest: an orphanage built to house Armenian refugees who had escaped the 1915 Genocide. The Bird’s Nest has served generations of Armenian children who have also attended the school.
The southern part of the plot includes Saint Kayaneh Chapel, built by the orphans themselves in 1921. That chapel has been the only place of worship for the Armenians of Byblos.
On the edge closest to the ruins, underneath a palm tree by the sea, lies a small cemetery which has been the final resting place for thirty-three orphans and other genocide survivors since as early as 1924.
(The petition is free of charge, donation proceedings go to iPetitions and not the campaign)
Updates
Reached 1,000 supporters
July 18, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
July 2, 2015
July 1, 2015
I am truly overwhelmed by the steady growth of this petition and your commitment to honoring those who rest in Byblos. We are hovering right near one hundred signatures and reaching that mark would give our message real weight when we approach the authorities. Please help us get over this hurdle so we can show how many people care about preserving this sacred history.
223 Comments
safeguarding from destruction the Bird's nest cemetery is a moral duty.turning it into a memorial will help keeping the memory alive, honoring the victims so that such crimes against Humanity never happen again
Mon père a passé deux ans dans cet orphelinat, j'ai ses deux cahiers de classe que je garde comme un trésor.Vous ne pouvez pas détruire tout un passé, détruire les preuves du premier génocide du XXem siècle.
Shame on those who have decided this. Why would Turks refrain from destroying our cemeteries if Armenians themselves don't respect them? This encourages them to destroy our heritage freely and widely.
These are the graves of our parents our grandparents and our great grandparents. They went through unspeakable torture and now they are dead and laid to rest. Leave them be. They arr testimony to the truth that Turkey tries so hard to hide especially with money.
Please sign this important petition. On the one hand our people are saying WE REMEMBER, on the other hand we have selling the sacred cemeteries of genocide survivors. Let's not shoot ourselves in the feet, send out a united message that WE REMEMBER AND WILL NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO FORGET
This was my grandmother’s safe Haven so that she could continue on and I am her legacy
Please don't remove this important historical site and their memory
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A Private Beach Resort Unearths and Displaces the Remains of Genocide Survivors
On Feb 21st 2015, The Armenian Catholicosate of the Greater House of Cilicia, keeper of the historic Bird’s Nest Orphanage, declared that it will be renting out the southern section of the plot to developers, who will transform the area to a beach resort.
The statement specifies that the old Saint Kayaneh Chapel will be included in the handover. It also included an even more disturbing detail. Thirty-three bodies which have been resting for over eighty years in the patrimonial cemetery of genocide survivors will be dug up, moved to the northern section of the plot, and put into a collective tomb.
In 2015, Armenians throughout the world are commemorating the hundred year anniversary of the Genocide that saw them tortured, massacred, thrown into mass graves, and dispersed to the four corners of the world, including of course to Lebanon.
On the 100th year commemoration of the Genocide, we take a stance against the erasure of more Armenian history and heritage. We refuse the desecration of more cemeteries and the displacement of more bodies. We are all the more resistant to this given the fact that these actions are being undertaken by the hands of our very own representatives.
With this petition, we as Armenians, as Lebanese and as Citizens, ask that all concerned authorities exercise their duties and responsibilities towards us and towards history, our patrimony and human dignity. With this petition:
1- We demand from the Catholicosate to perform its duty as the defender of the diaspora Armenians, their rights, their memory and their patrimony, to stop the destruction of the cemetery for ethical and historical reasons, and to preserve the Saint Kayaneh Chapel which is an important part of Byblos’s heritage.
2- We demand from The Directorate General of Antiquities to exercise its duties by preserving the cemetery area, which is classified as an archeological excavation field (G1), and is protected from construction given its proximity to the historic ruins. (G1 is defined by the Higher Council of Urban Planning as: Public Domain, excavation field, subject to Directorate General of Antiquities control and administration.)
3- We demand from The Municipality of Byblos and the Ministry of Culture to exercise their respective duties and powers in declaring the Bird’s Nest Cemetery a site of patrimonial importance, as well as a memorial site for Lebanon’s historic role as a place of refuge for victims of humanitarian crises. It is in the power of the DGA to withhold permission to destroy the cemetery.
Rather than privatise more of our beaches and disturb the slumber of our dead, we demand that the cemetery be given its due prominence; that it be turned into a public memorial site, accessible for people from all walks of life.
To join the campaign email us at: [email protected]
For a complete dossier about the Bird’s Nest and its significance for Byblos’s patrimony and history HERE
More details on our WEBSITE
About the Bird’s Nest and Saint Kayaneh Chapel
In the plot of land adjacent to Byblos’ ancient ruins lies the Bird’s Nest: an orphanage built to house Armenian refugees who had escaped the 1915 Genocide. The Bird’s Nest has served generations of Armenian children who have also attended the school.
The southern part of the plot includes Saint Kayaneh Chapel, built by the orphans themselves in 1921. That chapel has been the only place of worship for the Armenians of Byblos.
On the edge closest to the ruins, underneath a palm tree by the sea, lies a small cemetery which has been the final resting place for thirty-three orphans and other genocide survivors since as early as 1924.
(The petition is free of charge, donation proceedings go to iPetitions and not the campaign)
Updates
Reached 1,000 supporters
July 18, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
July 2, 2015
July 1, 2015
I am truly overwhelmed by the steady growth of this petition and your commitment to honoring those who rest in Byblos. We are hovering right near one hundred signatures and reaching that mark would give our message real weight when we approach the authorities. Please help us get over this hurdle so we can show how many people care about preserving this sacred history.
223 Comments
By removing this site, you are changing history and contribute to the ongoing denial of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire. If everything is about money, please inform us and we will collect and buy it and keep it for the world to know the truth.
safeguarding from destruction the Bird's nest cemetery is a moral duty.turning it into a memorial will help keeping the memory alive, honoring the victims so that such crimes against Humanity never happen again
Mon père a passé deux ans dans cet orphelinat, j'ai ses deux cahiers de classe que je garde comme un trésor.Vous ne pouvez pas détruire tout un passé, détruire les preuves du premier génocide du XXem siècle.
Shame on those who have decided this. Why would Turks refrain from destroying our cemeteries if Armenians themselves don't respect them? This encourages them to destroy our heritage freely and widely.
These are the graves of our parents our grandparents and our great grandparents. They went through unspeakable torture and now they are dead and laid to rest. Leave them be. They arr testimony to the truth that Turkey tries so hard to hide especially with money.
Please sign this important petition. On the one hand our people are saying WE REMEMBER, on the other hand we have selling the sacred cemeteries of genocide survivors. Let's not shoot ourselves in the feet, send out a united message that WE REMEMBER AND WILL NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO FORGET
This was my grandmother’s safe Haven so that she could continue on and I am her legacy
Please don't remove this important historical site and their memory
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By removing this site, you are changing history and contribute to the ongoing denial of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire. If everything is about money, please inform us and we will collect and buy it and keep it for the world to know the truth.