Picnics for Patriots
The Transnational Activism of an Armenian Hometown Association
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11700280 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sevan N Yousefian (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 31-52 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of American Ethnic History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0278-5927 • E-ISSN: 1936-4695 |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5406/jamerethnhist.34.1.0031 |
| OpenAlex | W2313675155 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 2 |
LATE IN THE SUMMERS OF 1947 and 1948, Armenians from all corners of New England met for picnics, which involved music, dancing, raffles, and other activities that were organized to raise money for the relocation of their less fortunate compatriots struggling to survive in post-World War II Europe and the Near East to the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR). The picnic goers, however, were not just any Armenians. They were Sebastatsis, who had come to the United States from the Ottoman city and province of Sebastia (Sivas) decades earlier, and it was their hometown association, the Pan-Sebastia Construction Union, that rallied them in support of a transnational campaign to collect funds for migration to Soviet Armenia. On November 21, 1945, the Soviet government issued Resolution 2947 “On the Measures for the Return of Armenians from Abroad to Soviet Armenia.” The decision gave Soviet Armenian authorities Moscow’s approval to organize an ambitious immigration program that would ultimately bring close to ninety thousand settlers from Europe, the Near East, and North America to the ASSR between the summer of 1946 and early 1949. In spite of the name of the resolution, these Armenians were not actually returning or repatriating to Soviet Armenia. The majority were refugees who had fled the Ottoman Empire during World War I and their descendents, and a significant minority came from Armenian-populated villages and towns in Iran. Moving tens of thousands of people to the Soviet Union would require money, and in order to procure some of the necessary funds, the Soviet Armenian government in Yerevan called upon Armenians in the United States to extend a helping hand to their co-nationals overseas. Armenians in the United States answered the call to action, with a prominent philanthropic organization, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), spearheading a community-wide fundraiser to collect money for migration. Of the various organizations and institutions that participated, Armenian hometown associa
Ancient history · Armenian · Economic history · Immigration · Political science · Refugee · World War II · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,22 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2022 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |