The Reconstruction Commission of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey accelerated its efforts to solve the settlement problems of the members of the Armenian Community in the earthquake area.
On Monday, May 22, 2023, Patriarch of Armenians of Turkey Sahak II. presided over the Reconstruction Commission meeting held in the meeting hall of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey.
The meeting, attended by Father Şirvan Mürzyan, supervisor of Anatolian Churches Father Avedis Tabasyan, Iskenderun Church Foundation President Yusuf Tabas, Vakıfköy Church Foundation President Cem Capar, PSYK head Herman Kavafyan, PSYK general secretary Marta Joslin Dinçkayıkçı, Haycar president Nazar Şigaher, Haycar members, Malatya Hayder president Garabed Orunöz, began with the Lord’s Prayer said together.
With the promise of Patriarch Sahak II, the minutes of the previous meeting were first taken by Marta Dinçkayıkçı.
Then, Master Architect Kevork Özkaragöz explained the progress in the works for the Armenian community in Malatya to return to normal life and repair the damaged artifacts there. He stated that the projects have been completed, that they are in consultation with Malatya Metropolitan Municipality and that a protocol will be signed soon.
Yusuf Tabas, the head of the Iskenderun Karasun Manuk Church Foundation, also gave information about Iskenderun. He said that the action plans are ready and they will act accordingly. He also stated that he met with Can Teymur, the head of the Iskenderun Orthodox Church Foundation, and that they, as a foundation, reserved 15 prefabricated houses in Arsuz for the earthquake victims of the Armenian community, and expressed his satisfaction with the joint work on this issue. However, he added that resources for helping families are limited, they need help, and accordingly, they will be able to help families in the coming months.
Speaking about the situation of the churches, the Patriarch said, “We have 2 churches open for worship in the region, there is no major damage to them either, so let’s take the surveys of them, get the necessary permissions and start repairing them quickly. It is not possible to expect everything from the state, these are problems that we can solve, let’s repair our churches and open them for worship,” he said. He also added that for these repairs, the aid budget for the earthquake victims will not be touched, and that the Patriarchate will carry out these repairs with the budgets that will be found through philanthropists.
Then, HAYCAR President Nazar Şigaher gave information that projects were prepared quickly with the working groups formed within their own structure and efforts were made to implement them.
Afterwards, Cem Capar, the head of Vakıfköy Surp Asdvadzadzin Church Foundation, took the floor. He said that the population in the village is trying to return to normal life at the moment, and that, in addition to the 10 containers sent by PSYK, 7 containers came from AFAD, and 10 more to come. He stated that these should be made suitable for living conditions, and that the repairs of the slightly damaged houses should be done urgently. Patriarch Sahak II also stated to the HAYCAR managers that with the budget at hand, the first thing to do is to repair the less damaged houses and to improve the life in the containers. They also promised to lead the work immediately.
At the end of the meeting, Patriarch Sahak thanked all the participants and wished that the work would progress quickly.
