Posted 27 March 2005
On Sunday 20th March 2005 Azad-Hye visited the Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia (Cyprus), which is under the threat of closure at the end of this academic year (see photo gallery).
About 120 students (mainly from
The feeling of lose is predominant among the students. No new students were admitted in at the beginning of the current school year. The current students and thousand of graduates will soon be deprived of their beloved school. It is not certain whether their collective effort will change the course of events.
We met several citizens of
The premises of the Institute, especially the main two buildings are part of
Two of Melkonian's students approached and provided us with a written text about the closure of their school. They signed the text with the nicknames Ardziv and Paze. Here are the main parts of what they wrote (translated from Armenian to English):
“The Fall of 79 years old school: For many years the Melkonian Educational Institute has played an irreplaceable role in the Armenian Diaspora cultural life. As a unique educational center, it has provided numerous pupils with the necessary means for their educational progress and development.
Only indifferent people and those who are totally overwhelmed with financial considerations could take the decision for its closure. Their excuses about the big financial loses of the Institute are baseless, as, from its first day this school was a product of benevolence and kindness, not a mean for business profit.
The suggestion of opening Melkonian Institute in
In the past, foreign invaders had ordered the closure of our schools, but what we see today the Armenian hands are doing it, as if it is not enough the closure of the other Diaspora schools such as Murad-Raphaelian, etc.
In our opinion the closure of the school will have tragic consequences on the Diaspora cultural life. It will endanger the struggle for keeping our identity in the Middle East and