aiwa diana apcar tribute 04-18-2004

7/28/2019 AIWA Diana Apcar Tribute 04-18-2004

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AIWA: Diana Apcar Tribute April 18 , 2004

NEWS RELEASE

Armenian International Women's Association65 Main St., #3A

Watertown, MA 02472Tel: 781/926-0171URL: www.aiwa-net.org

March 26, 2004

Contact: Barbara Merguerian, 781/237-6858 or [email protected]

Ara Ghazarians, 781/646-3090 or [email protected]

Tribute to an Exceptional Armenian Woman, Diana Apcar, on April 18

Boston, MA - As history stands witness, the Armenian women have playedan influential role in the affairs of their nation. They have made

significant contributions to the cultural and civil life of Armeniaand their communities in the diaspora. On Sunday, April 18, Armenianorganizations will join together in celebrating the life and legacy of

an Armenian woman of exceptional qualities and international stature:

Diana Agabeg Apcar, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia(1918-1920) to Japan.

Apcar is perhaps best remembered today for her powerfully

written political prose (books, pamphlets, and articles) thatattracted international attention to the plight of the Armenian people

and pressured the progressive nations of the world to respond. She is

also a heroine to the many Armenian refugees from the ArmenianGenocide and upheavals of World War I who escaped across Siberia to

Vladivostock, Russia, and then on the Yokohama, Japan, where they

became beneficiaries of her generous support. Not only did Apcar

provide food and lodging for countless refugees, but she also made thenecessary arrangements for their immigration to safe havens,

particularly the United States.

The program on April 18, beginning at 3 p.m. at the Armenian

Cultural Foundation in Arlington, will feature the opening of an

exhibit dedicated to Diana A. Apcar and designed to highlight the

events of her remarkable life and her outstanding achievements, withinthe context of the historic times in which she lived. Sponsored by the

Armenian International Women's Association, in celebration of Women's

History Month, and by the Armenian Cultural Foundation, in cooperationwith Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives and the Armenian

Library and Museum of America, the exhibit will be on display through

July 18.


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Fate destined Diana Agabeg Apcar, as it has many generations of

Armenians, to be born outside their ancestral homeland. Diana was born

in Rangoon, Burma (present day Myanmar) on October 12, 1859. Herfather, Hovhannes Agabeg, was a first generation Indian Armenian,

having migrated there as a young boy with his parents from New Julfa,

Iran. Her mother Avet was from the large and prominent family ofTadeos Avetum, formerly of Shiraz, another historic Iraniancity. Diana grew up in Calcutta, where she received her education in a

convent school and mastered the English language. She also spoke

Armenian, Hindustani, and Japanese. Diana married Apcar Michael Apcarin Hong Kong in 1888 or 1889. Michael's family also had roots in New

Julfa, Iran, one of the descendants of the prominent house of Apcar,

whose preeminent son Arratoon (1779-1863) founded Apcar and Company as

early as 1819. Initially established in Bombay, the company latermoved to Calcutta and expanded its operations to South Asia and the

Far East. Apcar and Company's activities included shipping,

import/export enterprises, and rice farming in the Dutch EastIndies. By the mid-1840s, the Apcar fleet plied the Calcutta, Penang,

Singapore, and China routes.

Following their honeymoon to Japan, newly weds Diana andMichael Apcar decided in 1891 to settle in Yokohama, where Michael

established A. M. Apcar and Company, an import-export firm. After the

sudden death of her husband in 1906, Diana assumed the heavy burden ofrunning her husband's business while raising her three children.

Initially Diana Apcar began writing by writing fiction. Her

first book, Susan, was published in Kobe in 1892, followed by HomeStories of the War, dedicated to the Japanese people. The second

decade of the 20th century was the most productive period of her

literary output, when she wrote eight more books, including: The Truthabout the Armenian Massacres (1910), Betrayed Armenia (1910), and The

Peace Problem (1912), all published in Yokohama and the subject of

"rave reviews" in such American periodicals as the St. Louis PostDispatch, Chicago News, and Buffalo News. These were followed by The

Great Evil (1914) and On the Cross of Europe's Imperialism, Armenia

Crucified (1918). Her articles appeared in several English-language

periodicals in Japan, Europe, and the United States, among themArmenia (later New Armenia), the Japan Gazette, and the Far East.

Becoming a champion of the oppressed and their causes, Apcar

wrote extensively about the condition of the Armenians in the OttomanTurkish Empire in an effort to raise the world's consciousness,

emphasizing on the moral duty of the West to save the Armenian nation,

the "Little Ally" during the First World War, from totalannihilation. She was particularly critical of the behind-the-scenes


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machinations of the Great Powers, whom she found responsible for the

calamities that befell her people.

In 1920, largely through her efforts, Japan became one of the

first nations to recognize the independence of the Armenian

republic. For her courage and dedication to the cause of her peopleand heritage, and especially "for defending the interests of thenewly-born Fatherland, and mitigating the conditions of our

compatriots," Apcar was appointed Honorary Consul from the Republic of

Armenia to Japan. This appointment, although short-lived, made her thefirst Armenian woman diplomat, and probably first woman ever appointed

to a diplomatic post in modern times.

The new title and position added to Diana Apcar's prominenceand stature. She corresponded with several international figures,

among them President Woodrow Wilson. She was in contact with

international humanitarians such as James L. Barton, secretary of theforeign department of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign

Missions; David Starr Jordan, director of the World Peace Foundation

and president of the World Peace Congress; and Arthur G.. Symonds,

Secretary of the Balkan Committee -- to name a few. She participatedin the fundraising campaigns of Near East Relief.

Apcar's faith in her people and the Armenian church wasboundless. Her correspondence clearly reveals her longing for the

Armenian Church after living for so many years in Japan: "There is not

a church like the Armenian church with her vibrant spirit and

consoling prayer, not even one which can have gratifying feeling ofthe Armenian liturgy," she wrote. It was her destiny to live out her

full life in Japan, without an opportunity to visit her homeland. As

soon as Michael, her only surviving son, came of age, Diana Apcar wasonly too glad to hand over to him the reigns of the Apcar business, so

that she could devote herself to her intellectual and benevolent

pursuits. During the Japanese earthquake in 1923, her home and most ofher papers and possessions were destroyed, but she and her family

members survived without serious injury. Rebuilding home and business,

the family continued its activities in Yokohama. Diana Apcar died on

July 10, 1937, and is buried in the Foreigners Cemetery of Yokohamanext to her husband.

Cooperating in the preparation of this exhibit are the many

members of the Apcar family now living in the United States, includingtwo surviving grandchildren, Lucille Apcar of Mariposa and Katherine

Berberian of Santa Cruz, California, and descendents of the Galstaun

family.


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In addition to the exhibit opening, the April 18 tribute, which

is open to the public free of charge, will include a book reception

marking the release of From the Book of One Thousand Tales, by DianaApcar, written in late 1920s, recently discovered, edited, and

published by her granddaughter Lucille Apcar, who will be present on

this occasion. Further information is available by contacting theArmenian Cultural Foundation at 781/646-3090([email protected]) or AIWA at 617/926-0171

([email protected]).

aiwa diana apcar tribute 04-18-2004

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