Armenian General Charity Union

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AGBU logo
Armenian postage stamp in memory of Boghos Nubar and Alex Manoogian

The Armenian General Benevolent Union ( English Armenian General Benevolent Union , abbreviated as AGBU , Armenian Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ , Haygagan Parekordzagan Yndhanur Miutyun ) is an Armenian non-profit organization that was founded in 1906 by Boghos Nubar Pascha in Cairo . The seat was later moved to Paris and then to New York City .

The AGBU tries to preserve the Armenian identity and the cultural heritage of Armenia through educational and humanitarian programs, and is particularly active in the Armenian diaspora , where there is an acute threat of assimilation and acculturation pressure .

Today's leader is Setrakjan Mountains . The languages ​​of the AGBU are Armenian (both Eastern and Western Armenian ), Russian , French , Spanish , Arabic and English .

history

The AGBU was founded on April 15, 1906 in Cairo (then in the Khedivat Egypt ) through the initiative of Boghos Nubar Pascha, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pascha and other representatives of the Egyptian-Armenian community like Nazaret Daghavarian .

Until 1912, the AGBU offered the Armenian villagers in the Ottoman Empire seeds and agricultural aids. It established schools and orphanages in western Armenia, Cilicia and other Armenian-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire. In 1914 the AGBU had 142 branches in the Ottoman Empire, the United States , Argentina , Europe and Africa with 8,533 members.

The years of the First World War and the Turkish genocide against the Armenians became a turning point for the AGBU. Boghos Nubar Pasha left Egypt in 1914 and moved to Paris , France . Despite the great losses in the various branches of the Union, it was able to offer help to the survivors of the genocide . In October 1915, the Susvan school with 1222 students, later an orphanage and a camp for female refugees, opened in the desert near Port Said . This is where the survivors from the Musa Dagh were settled. In the years after the genocide, the AGBU's workforce was exhausted due to the large number of orphans . After the war, the AGBU was reformed and new branches opened up in the Armenian-populated regions of the Middle East , Greece and France.

In 1921 the headquarters moved from Cairo to Paris. After the First World War, the main goal of the AGBU was the preservation of the Armenian language . In 1926, AGBU established the Melkonian Educational Institution in Nicosia , Cyprus , the Nubarian Foundation, which offered scholarships to Armenian youth to study European universities , and in 1930 the Marie Nubar Dormitory in Paris.

In 1930, after the death of Boghos Nubar, the oil magnate Galust Gyulbenkian took over the presidency of the AGBU. After he led the union for two years, his son Zareh Bey Nubar replaced him until 1940. During the Second World War, the headquarters under Arshak Karagyozian moved from Paris to New York.

President

AGBU association in Nicosia

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d About AGBU. Armenian General Charity Union, archived from the original on August 27, 2008 ; Retrieved August 12, 2008 .
  2. ↑ http://www.agbu.org/yp .