THIS WEEK Armenians around the world remembered the 1915 genocide in which 75 per cent of the population of historic Armenia was either deported or killed by Ottoman Turkey. To mark the 102nd anniversary of the genocide that led to the diaspora of around eight million Armenians, members of Egypt's Armenian community donated blood to the Egyptian Red Crescent as part of a campaign organised by the Homenetmen Ararat Cairo Scouts. Armenians in Egypt expressed gratitude to the Egyptian governments of the past century and the people of Egypt. The symbolically loaded donations will not only help in future emergencies but allowed many of those donating to learn their blood type for the first time. The hashtag #ArmEgyblood was created as trending on social media where blood donors posted their photos and thoughts along with another hashtag #TurkeyFailed that was created by diaspora Armenians on the genocide's centennial. Egypt was one of the first countries to take in refugee Armenians. The Armenian community in Egypt once numbered 25,000 but has dropped to 4,000 following emigration in the wake of the nationalisation of large sections of the economy after the 1952 Revolution and, more recently, the instability that followed the 25 January Revolution in 2011. Armenian community members are concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria. They have their own schools, social, cultural and sporting clubs, churches, benevolent associations and newspapers. Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture Symbolic gesture
