YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. 50 thousand Armenians are living in Fresno, USA. Armenians of Fresno are involved in various fields and most of them have achieved serious success, Pertch Apkarian – Honorary Consul of Armenia in Fresno told ARMENPRESS. According to him, despite the fact Armenians have successes in various fields, they are mainly involved in agriculture.

“Armenians of Fresno are involved in farming. They contribute greatly to the economy. The fresh fruits and vegetables – grown by Armenians – are being shipped worldwide. Armenians are famous there for viticulture and making raisins”, Mr. Apkarian said.

He says the Armenian community of Fresno has an important position, both by investments and material-economic status, as well as respect.

He reminded that back in the 1920’s it wasn’t the same, however due to their hard work and overcoming challenges, years later Armenians were able to achieve a high position.

Regarding the issues of the Armenian community Mr. Apkarian said the issue is mainly regarding the preservation of the language. “3rd and 4th generation Armenians are already living in Fresno, and the issue of language preservation is gradually becoming more difficult”, he said.

Several projects and a number of initiatives are attempted to be implemented in Fresno, in order to bound the community with the Fatherland.

One of those projects is bringing doctors from the US to Armenia and donating medicine and medical equipment to Armenia, with the community’s resources.

“Through this initiative, not only are the American-Armenians uniting, but also the local Armenians get to know each other and bound with one another. When we visited Armenia last year along with doctors and returned, we presented the work which we carried out, we showed the result, and they felt good having a contribution in the Fatherland. That’s why such projects are important”, he said.

Other projects are also planned to be carried out in the nearest future.

According to Mr. Apkarian, discussions were held in the Diaspora Ministry on future initiatives.