Campaigning for the preservation of the Birds’ Nest historic site that includes the Cemetery of Genocide Survivors (built in 1924) and the Saint Kayaneh Church (built in 1921)

The Context

In the plot of land adjacent to Byblos’ ancient ruins lies the Birds’ Nest: a group of structures including an orphanage built to house Armenian refugees who were saved in the aftermath of the 1915 Genocide. The Birds’ Nest has served generations of Armenian children who have also attended both the school built on the site and countless seminars and day camps. The southern part of the plot includes Saint Kayaneh Church. Built by the orphans themselves in 1921, it is the only place of worship for the Armenians of Byblos. A small cemetery established in 1924 as the final resting place for thirty-three orphans and other genocide survivors lies on the edge closest to the ruins, underneath a palm tree by the sea.

What is the threat?

On Feb 21st 2015, The Armenian Catholicosate of the Greater House of Cilicia located in Antelias, Lebanon, guardian of the Bird’s Nest since 1967, announced that it would be renting out the southern section of the plot to developers, who intended to transform the area into a beach resort. The statement, published in the main Armenian dailies of Lebanon, specified that the nearly 100-year-old Saint Kayaneh Church would be included in the handover. This announcement  also included an even more disturbing detail. The thirty three bodies interned in the cemetery would be exhumed and moved to the northern section of the plot, and placed in a collective grave. Families and descendants of the deceased were not given an opportunity to object to the removal and destruction of their family members’ graves. This relocation was presented as being part of a new genocide museum project. Given the historic role Lebanon played in offering refuge and saving Armenian survivors, we are campaigning for the preservation of the Bird’s Nest cemetery and the Saint Kayaneh Church. These landmarks are now threatened by “The Diplomatic Club”, an exclusive beach resort planned on the majority of this historic site. Our campaign against its destruction is a continuation of the centenary commemorations of the Armenian Genocide when Armenians throughout the world remembered and mourned the attempted annihilation of the Armenian nation.

What are our demands?

It is the Catholicosate’s duty as a representative of the Armenians of the diaspora, a defender of their rights, their memory, and their heritage to stop the destruction of the cemetery for ethical and historical reasons, and to preserve the Saint Kayaneh Chapel which is an important part of Byblos’ heritage.The Directorate General of Antiquities should exercise its duties by preserving the cemetery area, which is classified as an archeological excavation field (G1), and is protected from construction given its proximity to the historic ruins. (G1 is defined by the Higher Council of Urban Planning as “Public Domain”, excavation field, subject to Directorate General of Antiquities control and administration.) The Municipality of Byblos and the Ministry of Culture should exercise their respective powers and duties in declaring the Birds’ Nest Cemetery of Genocide Survivors, a site of importance to world heritage as well as a memorial site for Lebanon’s historic role as a place of refuge. Rather than privatise more of our beaches and disturb the slumber of our dead, we demand that the cemetery be given its due prominence; that it be turned into a public memorial site, accessible to all people. In the aftermath of the 100th year commemorations of the Genocide of the Armenians, we take this stance against this latest erasure of Armenian history and its heritage. We oppose the desecration of cemeteries and the displacement of our family and community members. We are all the more dismayed that these actions are being undertaken by our very own representatives. We as Lebanese, as Armenians, and above all, as concerned citizens ask that all involved authorities exercise their duties and responsibilities towards their community members, history, and human dignity and block this agenda.