News

Thanks and giving

by Michele D.  Maniscalco
Wednesday Nov 29, 2017

Anoush'ella holds sold-out benefit

Anoush'ella was packed shoulder to shoulder on Monday, November 20 for Safe Steps in Karabakh, a fundraiser supporting the Halo Trust's work to remove landmines in the heavily Armenian region of Nagorno Karabakh.

Anoush'ella owners Raffi and Nina Festekjian, Armenians from Lebanon, are co-chairs of the Safe Steps campaign to sweep mines in a hard-hit village in Karabakh and collaborated with the Armenian Business Network to organize the fundraiser, which is held during Thanksgiving week.

The $75.00 per ticket party featured a buffet including chicken za'atar, baba ghanoush, walnut harissa, tabbouleh and other savory dishes as well as dessert and an open bar with Anoush'ella's unique signature cocktails such as the date-flavored jallab martini. Attendees included San Francisco-based Amy Currin, head of development for the Rainbow Trust, Jack Antounian, founder of the Armenian Business Network, Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, state legislator David Muradian, local playwright Joyce Van Dyke, whose "Deported/A Dream Play" deals with the Armenian genocide, and public relations specialist Christopher Haynes of CBH Communications. With a matching donor, the benefit raised over $15,000 according to Currin.

In his remarks, Antounian thanked the Festekjians for their ongoing support and for their hospitality in hosting the event and lauding the authenticity of the Festekjian's cuisine. "We're very proud of them," he said. Safe Steps for Karabakh was ABN's second annual Thanksgiving-week fundraiser.

"It was getting toward Thanksgiving, and we are all doing well, thank God, so how about giving thanks and thinking of others less fortunate than we are. This is going to continue every year," he explained. He also noted the value of the $15,000 take in the target region.

"While $15,000 might get us a moped or a motorcycle here, it goes a long way in Karabakh. Both Antounian and Currin talked about the devastating losses in Karabakh due to the landmines: human loss of life and limbs and loss of livestock, which is crucial to the residents both for food and for income.

"If you are in that region, the livelihood is cows, and they have been losing their cattle in that region." Currin explained that the Halo Trust, which was championed by the late Princess Diana and now by her son, Prince Harry, works in 23 countries around the world to clear landmines, which she described as "the deadly debris of war."

The Halo Trust is currently working on the "Landmine-Free 2025" initiative, which seeks to clear landmines from the most heavily impacted countries by the year 2025. Currin said that many landmine related accidents in Karabakh make it one of the deadliest places to live, "but the good news is we are 90 per cent there" in clearing the mines.

Currin quoted the warden of the forest in the village in Karabakh that is being helped as saying, "There is always fear of death with every step I take, but my mind has become accustomed to it." Currin added, "Your gifts are going to change that."