In loving memory of my parents

Father - Engineer, Photographer, and Mother - Educator, Teacher

Khatchig Kulhandjian

Khatchig

My heart is breaking into pieces when I remember the tragedy that took place on the 6th of August 2006.

On an early Sunday morning at around 09:00 AM, my mother and my father and I were on the sea side in Dahab. My mother and I were lying having a suntan while my father at that moment was swimming in the lagoon in shallow water. He does not know how to swim and he never goes into deep water. For a moment before I laid to take a suntan on the bench I looked for my father I saw him swimming in a shallow water where the water reached to his waist. After several minutes I stood up to look if my father was still in the water swimming… I could not believe my eyes… I saw my father floating on the water in the same spot that he was swimming. I ran as fast as I could, shouting loud for help. Many people immediately came for rescue. We quickly pulled him out of the water and gently laid him on a mattress. A well trained rescue crew from Nirvana Dive Center immediately started to do CPR. They were working wholeheartedly doing everything possible to save my loving father. Meanwhile, they had called for the ambulance, but the ambulance arrived after about 10 minutes. I was shocked to see that the ambulance men were careless… not professional at all. The three foreigners rescue crew from Nirvana Dive Center were doing a better job than the people from hospital. The rescue crew asked the ambulance man to get the defibrillator (electric chock) from the ambulance car quickly, because my father’s hart had stopped functioning. The doctors from the ambulance said that they don’t have one. They have to take him to the Dahab Hospital. It took about six minutes until we reached to the hospital, meanwhile, on the way the foreign rescue crew were desperately working to bring my fathers breathing back… On our way I asked the driver to call the hospital to get the electric chock ready, the driver did so and said that they will prepare before we arrive. You cannot imagine when we reached to the hospital there was not a single defibrillator. I was mad, I could not believe…

The doctors in the hospital were working leisurely, not at all like the foreign rescue team… I would like to thank with all my heart the rescue crew one by one:

Claudia Coolen from Belgium, Emma Johnson from England and Mads Brask from Denmark.

I am so thankful to my loving father who has given me life, … It is hard for me now to find words to express my feeling towards my father. All his life he has worked hard to give my brother, Michel and me the highest education. He would do everything to make sure that we continue our education. As a father he was there for us in all difficult situations he never gave up, he worked till his last breath. I admire his passionate heart, his ambition towards life and most importantly towards his family. I always wonder after all this years of hard work he was still energetic and active. He would never think about himself but his family that was his happiness. Nothing could make him so much happy than seeing two sons with a Ph.D. degree. His dream is coming true and I am so proud to tell you that he accomplished more than enough than a father can give. It is my duty now to keep his honor and pride so high and would always remember him that he is still with us, his family.

On Monday the 7th of August at 2:00 PM the funeral service of loving father’s took place in the Armenian Church St. Gregory the Illuminator, “Surb Grigor Lusavoritch” in Ramsis street, after which we went to the Armenian Cemeteries “Marmina” in the Old Cairo.

My tears are falling and I cannot write any longer now...

Hovannes Khatchig Kulhandjian

8/16/2006

Click below to read the original publication in Al-Ahram Hebdo.

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Victoria Hovsepian

Victoria

Beloved mother, grandmother, as well as school teacher, Victoria Khachadour Hovsepian passed away on February 10th, 2016.

She was born on January 5, 1940, in Tabriz, Iran, after which with her family she immigrated to Armenia in 1946. She has one brother and two sisters, among whom she is the eldest. She graduated from the Armenian State Pedagogical University and has taught at several Elementary Schools in Armenia for many years.

In 1975 she married to Khatchig Kulhandjian and moved to Leninakan, Armenia. She was blessed with two sons, Michel and Hovannes Kulhandjians, who were born in Leninakan now known as Gumri. Thanks to the Glorious God who helped her family to move to Georgia before the devastating earthquake that took place in 1988.

Not foreseeing any bright future for her children in Georgia, they decided to travel to her husband’s birthplace, Egypt. As a teacher she always strived the highest education for her children. After her both sons’ graduation with highest honor she accompanies them this time to the United States of America where they could continue their Masters and Ph.D. degrees.

Her greatest joy was to see one of her son’s being offered a tenure-track position at the California State University, Fresno and the birth of her grandson Davit. She peacefully moved to sunny Fresno to rest forever. She was always proud of her sons and her sweet memory will remain forever in their hearts.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at the Armenian Church-CEF-Fresno, followed by a burial service at Ararat Armenian Cemetery, 1925 W. Belmont Ave., in Fresno. A celebration of Victoria's life and memorial meal will immediately follow in the Armenian Church-CEF-Fresno.

Michel Khatchig Kulhandjian

2/13/2016

Click below to read Victoria's obituary.

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" 20 But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. ”

Philippians 3:20-21

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