Stepan Partamian’s “Yes We Have” is not a single story but a compilation of various stories about the incredible Armenians who changed American history through their inventions, discoveries and talents. Partamian compiled over one hundred stories of influential Armenian-Americans starting from the first Armenian colonists who settled in Jamestown.

The multi-faceted Partamian is also the founder of the Armenian Arts Fund, which encourages people to enhance their artistic ability in various ways. He is perhaps best known as a flamboyant and controversial daytime talk show host.

When opening to the first page of the book I was stunned to see a picture of President Obama instead of a picture of the author or a famous Armenian. Under the picture of 44th President of the United States, Barrack Obama, was a section of his April 24th Armenian Genocide commemoration speech. In his speech he states, “The United States of America is a far richer country because of the many Americans of Armenian descent who have contributed to our society…” This first page set a very nationalistic and enthusiastic tone to the rest of the book.

“Yes We Have” includes stories of inventors, musicians, actors and actresses, businessmen and women, war heroes, politicians, scientists, and authors. I found myself learning about countless amazing contributions to American society made by Armenian-Americans.

This is an attention grabbing, page-turner that is very successful in keeping the reader’s attention because it not only includes well known Armenian-Americans’ stories, but also the lesser-known influential Armenians such as Luther G. Simjian who invented the ATM machine.

I would have to say this book was a complete joy to read and I guarantee everyone and anyone who reads it will be surprised and gratified by the incredible things Armenians have contributed to America, I know I was.

Mark Geragos, with hundreds of AYF members during a press conference, announcing impending lawsuit, in front of Deutsche Bank

We all know about the atrocities that occurred during 1915-1923. What we do not know is what happened to all the money and property the victims of the Armenian Genocide lost.

Throughout the years following 1915, the victims and their families were not necessarily worried about acquiring their lost wealth but more of escaping the memories of the slaughter of their loved ones along with the trauma of being exiled from their homeland. However, one woman, Yegsa Marootian, was brave enough to stand up and claim her lost assets.

Upon arriving to New York in 1920, Yegsa went to the New York Life insurance company and filed a claim as the beneficiary of her murdered brother’s insurance policy. Unfortunately, she was turned down because she could not provide a death certificate and because the statute of limitations on her claim had run out. She was denied and offered zero compensation.

Seventy-nine years later, Martin Marootian, Yegsa’s son, sued New York Life along with dozens of other plaintiffs for not giving the insurance claims of the Genocide victims who fell in 1915. They demanded the list of Armenian life insurance policy holders and compensation by New York Life to the heirs.

Once this lawsuit began to garner attention, Adam Schiff along with 13 other cosponsors introduced H.R. 3323: The Armenian Victims Insurance Fairness Act. This Act was to “permit States to require insurance companies to disclose insurance information.” Though the bill never became law it did make a point to the insurance companies to compensate these victims and their families for their claims.

After years of negotiations the lawsuit was finally settled. New York Life was to give $20,000,000 in insurance reparations to the beneficiaries; $4,000,000 would go to the lawyers and $3,000,000 would go to various Armenian social service agencies.

Even though New York Life has given the money they owed to the Genocide victims and their beneficiaries, there are still many other banks and insurance companies who owe these victims their lost wealth and fortunes. Following the New York Life case, the firms in the forefront of the insurance lawsuit—Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP, Geragos & Geragos, and Vartkes Yeghiayan & Associates—filed and won a similar $17 million settlement from AXA for unpaid life insurance benefits. They currently have several other lawsuits pending against companies who usurped assets from the Genocide.

These victories demonstrate the value of pursuing justice through the court system and being vigilant, not just against Turkey, but all those who reaped benefits from the victims of the Armenian Genocide. They have proven in concrete terms that there are other avenues for justice parallel to and beyond the important task of gaining Genocide recognition.

Editor’s note: Although the New York Life lawsuit resulted in a positive settlement, much more research is needed in the realm of quantifying genocide-era losses—be they life, property, or territory in order to reach proper settlement.

Only 21, Yura Movsisyan has already played on two MLS professional soccer teams, competed with the best players in Europe, and is being sponsored by Adidas. But he did not reach his goal of becoming a professional soccer player by just wishing for it.

Movsisyan was born on July 6, 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijani SSR, Soviet Union. As a boy he learned to play soccer on the streets of his hometown and grew to love the game. Unfortunately being in Baku as an Armenian was not safe, especially during the pogroms of the late 1980s and 1990s.

Armenians generally were not respected or tolerated in Baku and, in 2000, Movsisyan and his family fled Azerbaijan to come to the United States. They were blessed enough to move to Pasadena, Calif., where they started a new life, with new hopes and dreams. This is where his dreams truly started to come true.

He quickly joined an organized soccer club called Lazio FC. When asked what drew him to join the team, he replies, “I had a lot of love for soccer ever since I was a child. I wanted to be a professional soccer player and I felt proper training was key.” He joined two more club soccer teams: Flyers FC and Arsenal.

Movsisyan explains that maintaining his Armenian identity was initially a daunting task, but he vowed he would never forget where he or his family came from. “Soccer did help me feel more comfortable to be in the United States,” he explains, “and it was a way for me to get away from the rest of the world, it made me feel really happy.” Even though Yura’s life is and was completely surrounded by soccer he didn’t forget about his roots. He maintained his culture by doing what he knew best: every year he would play Forward for the Homenetmen “Azadamard” soccer team at the Navasartian Games.

The young Movsisyan also attended Pasadena High School (PHS), playing for his school and his future mentor, Cherif Zein. He shattered the PHS goal record by seven goals, making 32 goals in 13 games. “Breaking the record in high school was nice,” recalls Movsisyan. “During the season it wasn’t the amount of goals I wanted to make, for me it was just making goals till the end and it was nice to have it on my resume.”

While living in the United States and even in Baku, Yura did not attend any Armenian Schools. “The other day, I went to Pilibos Armenian School to speak,” says Movsisyan, “and that is the only time I have ever been inside an Armenian School.” Yet, to this day, he knows how to read and write fluently in Armenian.

After high school Movsisyan moved on to college soccer. While, at first, he was not very interested in attending college, his mind was quickly changed after his mentor Cherif told him that if he played for Pasadena City College (PCC) for one season, he would guarantee that professional coaches would see him. Yura played his heart out, becoming the MVP of the Pacific League, scoring 18 goals in 19 games, and accounting for half of his team’s goals for that season. Cherif’s promise proved to be true as Yura was pronounced eligible for the MLS draft within three months of playing for PCC.

Movsisyan’s dream had finally come true. He was a professional soccer player playing for Kansas City. “It was a dream come true playing for Kansas City. It was the best feeling actually attaining my goal,” says Movsisyan. He admits, however, that, “I did feel out of place being in Kansas City, not being with my family or other Armenians.”

Since then Movsisyan has moved on to play for the MLS soccer team, Real Salt Lake. This past season he scored eight goals and assisted one goal. When asked what his goals are for the upcoming season his answer was, “to score more goals and be healthy.”

This past summer, Movsisyan was invited to play at a tournament hosted by Adidas called “Generation Adidas”—where the best in the MLS are asked to compete. For the future, Movsisyan has his sights set on one day playing for a soccer club in Europe. “Eventually I want to end up playing in Europe whether its next year or in the next five years, I really want to go,” says the ambitious Movsisyan. “Any good team in Europe is fine with me; any good team would be good.” Currently, he is also hosting a soccer camp in Arcadia, Calif., where he is teaching and training many young athletes. Movsisyan will also continue to play for Real Salt Lake this upcoming season.

This exciting new band is made up of Mariela Moumdjian, Pablo Kaloustian, Jacqui Boghossian, Gabriel Giogourtzian, and Juan Abadjian, all of whom met as youth in the Armenian community of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Each one of them came from a different area in this community and grew up listening to different styles of music.

The bandmembers all attended separate Armenian schools where they forged their passion for Armenian culture early on. Pablo and Gabriel went to St. Gregory School, Jacqui went to AGBU, Mariela attended the Mekhitarian School of Buenos Aires and Juan, the Tertzakian Institute. In addition, they stayed active in the Armenian community through such organizations as the AYF and Homenetmen, competing regularly in sporting events and various community activities.

Naturally, with such an upbringing and circle of friends, the band members had a great sense of Armenian pride; they felt the need to combine this pride with their creative talents and form an Armenian band.

Los Armenios has achieved a great deal of notoriety since the release of their first album in December 2006 and when they were nominated in 2007 for an Armenian Music Award for best alternative album. When asked if there was one piece of advice they would give to the Armenian Diaspora, Mariela urged the following: “Make an effort to keep the traditions and, what is really important, keep on speaking the Armenian language.”

Indeed, this is one of the main goals of Los Armenios itself, whose original compositions are penned and performed in their native Armenian. As artists, they hope to make Armenian culture better known in Argentina. “What’s more,” adds Gabriel, “we consider that through music we can awake the Armenians of the new generation to do something for Armenia and for the Diaspora, just the same thing that our exiled Great Parents did for us.”

For more information about the band, visit them at their website: www.losarmenios.com