Bourj Hammoud

multimediaGuide Song | 'Where were you, God, when prayer froze on the lips of my nation?' Hearts quiver with the questions posed in Arthur Meschian’s uniquely rebellious rock-prayer “Ur eir, Astvats” (“Ո՞ւր էիր, Աստուած” | “Where Were You, God?”), especially after a year of loss, heartache, and looming dangers in our homeland. While many Armenians struggle to come to terms with the catastrophic changes in Armenia and Artsakh, Sandra Arslanian, a Beirut-based Armenian singer, and C-rouge, a Yerevan-based musician, collaborate for a celestial rendition of the song. Why would it matter that a new version of an old favorite was premiered just before the end of the year? H-pem reflects on the origins of the song and the remarkably cathartic new single, with illuminating quotes from exclusive interviews.

feature A cocoon of refuge within my Lebanese-Armenian identity In this candid piece for h-pem, Beirut-based Ges Noorig explores her identity as she traverses the streets of Yerevan and Bourj Hammoud and takes a trip to the picturesque strawberry fields of Ainjar...