The Bird’s Nest Cemetery after workers attempted to relocate one of the graves on the right (Photo: Vartan Avakian)
BY GARIN BOGHOSSIAN
From The Armenian Weekly
BEIRUT—Over the past few months, reports have appeared in various media outlets claiming that a a luxury beach resort will be built on two-thirds of the historic Bird’s Nest Orphanage plot in Jbeil, Lebanon (see map for exact areas). In early February, the Board of Directors of Bird’s Nest (Trchnots Pooyn, in Armenian) informed the community—particularly the relatives of those who are buried in the cemetery—that plans for the site now envision relocating the 33 individual graves to 2 collective tombs on the upper part of the plot. Around two-thirds of the graves are of orphans; one-third are of genocide survivors or employees of the orphanage born before 1915. The decision to relocate the bodies was purportedly made to “bring the remains of these orphans closer to the grave of Maria Jacobsen, the founder of the orphanage.â€
Your generosity empowers our advocacy, inspires our work, and sustains our momentum.
