Like Grandfather, Like Granddaughter: Stories of Resilience in the Armenian-Lebanese Diaspora
Posted on May. 6. 2021
The Armenian Genocide is a phrase not apt to encapsulate the tragedy it really was. During the massacre, young Armenian children were taken from their parents and sent to the shores of Lebanon where they were hosted by monasteries as orphans. This is the story of young Bedros. Having a medical condition, he was advised to move to a drier atmosphere, and this is the story of Bedros’ coming to Zahle. He met his wife, got married, and had 6 kids. Growing up in poverty and a lack of financial security, Sarkis, the 2nd oldest of 6 kids, was brazen, bold, and simply different from his siblings. He always knew that there is more to life than accepting the mere reality.
He fervently believed that poverty is not a final resolution, that it is possible to do more; he knew of the world’s endless possibilities. Even though he lacked a formal education, he knew this belief in his heart. At the young age of 9 years old, he started selling photos of Christian Saints, namely Saint Charbel. After that, he roamed the streets of Zahle, selling random things on carts. To get his start, he would pawn his mother’s wedding ring for money to help launch his cart-business, though he would never forget that ring, coming back at the end of the month to acquire it back with the money he made through his business.
After some time, he started renting a small staircase where he disposed of his items, and little did he know, he opened his first shop, then his second, and his third and one day, the biggest store in the region, “Makhazen El-Kubra,” a renowned three-story mini-mall on Zahle’s main thoroughfare. It is now seen as a major landmark. Eventually, he became one of the biggest and most famous clothing merchants in the area. His motto was “sell cheap, and let everyone have what they need,” giving him the moniker, “Father of the Poor.”
Fast forward from the days Sarkis to the millennial generation:
In 2007, a young girl unexpectedly lost her father to a sudden heart attack.
At the time, she was 15. Yet, she knew in her heart that this death was not a final sentence to her family, but a pivotal point to a different life. She knew of the limitless opportunities of the world, and she also knew that her father’s death shouldn’t define her but empower her to do something bigger—something that would have made him proud. She excelled in her studies of Architecture, yet she felt the need to do more.
Through all the trials and tribulations, this young woman wouldn’t have been able to carry-on without the strong women in her life, in particular, her mother, Jeanette Demerijian (the daughter of Sarkis), her sister, Stephanie Bitar (grand-daughter of Sarkis), and her grandmother, Therese (wife of Sarkis). Having lost her father at a young age, having these three women filled the house with a feminine ambiance and character that kept her grounded, and which molded her resolve, ambition, and determination.
In 2014, devastated by the poverty outbreak caused by the Syrian refugee crisis in her community of Zahle, while feeling a patriotic duty, she took the lead and launched a personal initiative to help the newly-impoverished Lebanese communities. Following this success, she officially initiated a non-profit to help her struggling community called the “Charity Donation Foundation.” Little did she know this initiative would be very successful and turn into a non-profit, and an internationally recognized foundation, headquartered in Washington D.C., in the United States of America.
This young girl would grow up to become Terry Bitar, granddaughter of Sarkis Demerjian. The resemblance is well-defined between the two as both did not accept the reality bestowed upon them, but constantly strove to change it. They took the initiative in changing the world they felt wasn’t good for them, and in the process, worked to contribute to the quality of life of others, uplifting their families and communities in the process, while etching an Armenian mark in Zahle and now in Washington D.C. This is the Armenian way: despite the hardships they endure, they were never refugees. Wherever they go, they integrate successfully and work to find solutions to rising problems. The fact that Armenians have their share of seats in the Lebanese Parliament, is evidence that their presence is a value-add to Lebanon. America too, boasts a robust and vibrant diaspora of Armenians, stretching from California to New York.
As inspirational as this may seem, this young girl started from nothing. Her success brought her international recognition, whereas communities from different entities began inviting her to speak at International conferences, such as the “All Pakistan Electrical Symposium” in Lahore, Pakistan organized by the University of Engineering and Technology, where she talked about sustainable development for humanitarian purposes to all Engineering students. She also partook in the “Jordan Build Expo”, where she offered talks on rebuilding countries in conflict, such as Syria, while clearly outlining the importance of human well-being in the re-development processes. She was also part of the “Paris Peace Forum” where she spoke of the need to empower women as a major driver to poverty alleviation.
This young woman could have accepted the reality posed by the poverty outbreak and acquiesced to the status quo, however, her grandfather’s words, his motto, were still imprinted in her ethos. In a time of great challenge, she took it upon herself to feed and provide essential needs to her hometown’s locals, just as was done for her great-grandfather, Bedros, when he first emigrated to Zahle.
In 2016, this young girl was asked to run for Zahle’s City Council. It was evident to locals and politicians that she portrayed an unprecedented work ethic as exemplified in her founding and leadership of her very own foundation. This Architect exhibited the merits to run and win this race, though, she didn’t, simply because her young age prohibited her.
In 2018, she was once again asked to run, however, this time, it was for a Parliament seat. Due to the politicization of the 2018 campaign season, where partisan politics defined the parliamentarian race, she precluded herself from running once again.
At the end of 2018, she came to the conclusion that poverty cannot be eradicated with the giving of items to the needy, rather poverty alleviation can only work by empowering and investing in the most challenged communities with social-economic opportunities.
She gathered some elderly ladies and got them to make some healthy Lebanese snacks so that once sold, they would be given a basic income, this became a staple known in Zahle as “Love Bites.” Unexpectedly, this project would achieve an unprecedented level of success, where in a few months, it grew to 40 people on board with 5 different pop-up stores in malls throughout Lebanon. Terry earned herself the community-given nickname: “Mother of the Poor,” just like her grandfather.
This social venture was the source of many public and private contracts up until 2020 when the Beirut Blast brought the capital to its knees. This young woman was in the heart of the Explosion zone tending to her foundation’s staff.
Instability is a state of normalcy in Lebanon, but this last incident wasn’t merely another episode, but the world’s largest non-nuclear explosion, which had decimated Beirut’s port and with that, this young woman’s resolve, but despite this, her resilience did not waver. With a mix of grief and resilience, Terry Bitar left her homeland Lebanon and made the trek to Washington D.C., in pursuit of sustainable solutions to Lebanon’s greatest challenges.
Faced by a huge cultural difference, and the grievance of leaving her old way of life back in Lebanon, Terry was not deterred from her lazer-focus on achieving her biggest goals. Dealing with all the uncertainty, she managed to finalize the legal registration of her own foundation while establishing its headquarters in Washington D.C. She was appointed as a Global Goodwill Ambassador and was called to represent Lebanese Female Entrepreneurship in the Arab World, a conference held by The George Washington University. All this, while virtually leading her team and executing her foundation’s mission through service initiatives based in Zahle, and throughout Lebanon.
During her time in Washington, she organized multiple conferences, calling for solutions to Lebanon’s sinking economy while advocating for worthy causes within her Foundation, such as leading a Disability Conference in order to further Charity Donation Foundation’s poverty alleviation efforts, while taking the lead and employing two persons with disabilities as part of her own executive team.
The shift to Washington was not conventional, she faced a lot of criticism and challenges, where people called her deluded for leaving all her success back in Lebanon to start from scratch in a land of cut-throat competition.
Regardless, Terry’s faith in herself, her resolve imbued in her upbringing, and the endless opportunities in the world did not tremble and it is here where she is building a new legacy, but this time from the political capital of the world, in Washington D.C., in the “Land of the Opportunity,” the U.S.A. Currently, her newly-minted and U.S.-registered Charity Donation Foundation is planning and organizing an inaugural launch of its initiatives to be held in Washington D.C., an event that will rally members of the Armenian and Lebanese diaspora alike, in supporting Lebanon’s revival.
Despite these experiences and challenges, this young girl who grew up to become an aspiring young Architect, always felt a penchant to lead; maintained the will to change; and the impulse to not accept the reality for what it was, but to work to change it, much like her grandfather, Sarkis. This is all possible, however, by virtue of the Armenian culture, a culture of fortitude, infused with Lebanese cosmopolitan heritage; both of which make this ‘story of resilience’ a viable profile of courage, with endless possibilities and potential for future achievements in service of people and humanity.
