As a young Armenian living and studying in the United States, I am ashamed to say that my knowledge of Armenian history and politics is minimal. Unfortunately, in America the opportunities to learn about and understand our homeland are limited.

It is for this reason that I, with the rest of the Hayrenaser organization’s team of volunteers, have spent the past three months investing time and resources into planning an informative event for the Armenian community of Los Angeles. The event is in honor of our national hero Monte Melkonian’s 55th birthday and is aimed at spreading awareness about his struggle and the significance of his contribution to the liberation of Artsakh.

The event will convey the information to the audience in a unique manner – through the premiere of a documentary film produced by the Hayrenaser organization. The movie stands apart from other films on Monte by its focus on the message Monte’s life imparts on future generations. The film attempts to understand what motivated Monte to take up his struggle, what were his goals and the strategy for achieving those goals.

Instead of using mostly archived footage, the film crew has traveled to battle sites in Artsakh, where Monte fought; filmed unique historical and cultural monuments Monte liberated; captured rarely shown sites, such as the location where our commander heroically fell; made unique finds of Monte’s personal items, all in an effort to uncover how Artsakh fit into Monte’s overall struggle. This stands in contrast to the mostly chronological recounting of Monte’s life seen in other cinematic depictions of our beloved hero.

The audience will also have the privilege of witnessing an original comparative analysis presented by the author himself, famed political scientist and historian Dr. Armen Ayvazyan, who will draw parallels between the Artsakh war and the Armenian rebellion of 1720’s. Patriotic musical performances will enrich the evening, while an exhibit will showcase photographs dedicated to Armenia’s liberated regions of Kashatagh and Karvachar.

The audience will leave the Glendale Public Library auditorium that evening, but their experience will be far from over. To continue spreading awareness after the end of the event, Hayrenaser has prepared packages for the members of the audience to take home with them.

Among the items in the package, there will be beautiful postcards with images of millennia-old historic monuments located in the liberated Artsakh. As the dawn of a new year approaches, Hayrenaser has prepared an Artsakh Liberation War Heroes calendar, which is also among the things the audience will be taking home with them.

We are so fortunate to have the territory liberated during the Artsakh heroic war as a part of our independent Armenia today. So many fathers, sons, husbands, wives, daughters and mothers sacrificed their lives to give us this privilege. It is our duty to honor these men, and continue their work. We need to fight to defend this piece of our Homeland, and we can start by educating ourselves about the current conflicts surrounding it.

Working with such an amazing group of people to organize this event opened my eyes to so many critical issues surrounding Armenia that I was blind to before. I am pleased to say that on December 7, the same opportunity will be available to any Armenian who is open to learning.

The organizers promise an evening of patriotic inspiration set by the example of Monte’s life. The event is free and will commence at 7:30 PM. The Glendale Public Library is located at 222 East Harvard Street, Glendale, CA 91205. Readers are asked to direct any questions regarding the event to [email protected].

Ishkhanuhi Hanna Matevosyan