Diaspora is Armenia’s Top Asset
By iwpr.net
Created 16 Apr 10

Loyal expatriate Armenians return often, support economy.
By Aghavni Harutyunyan in Yerevan

In a market in Yerevan, visitors can buy an empty jar labelled simply
`Armenian Air’. It appears absurd, but it taps into a profitable
emotion: the love that diaspora Armenians feel for this little
post-Soviet Republic.

Ashot, who runs the stall selling the jars, said they were very
popular with visiting Armenians and had helpfully labelled the jars
with ingredients: the spirit of hospitality; the air of Yerevan and
the mountains; the smell of Armenian bread and meat; the steam of Lake
Sevan.

Five million of the world’s eight million Armenians live outside the
republic, and their visits are a major boost to its economy. Almost
two-thirds of the 575,281 tourists who came to Armenia last year were
from the diaspora.

Salbi Agarakian, in her late fifties, was born in Aleppo in northern
Syria but has lived in Los Angeles for almost half a century. She
first came to Armenia in 1991 and has visited whenever she can since.

`When I see Armenian TV channels, when they show the [Yerevan
landmarks] Cascade Complex or Republic Square, I immediately want to
come to Armenia, to walk the streets, to mix into the crowds. I always
miss Armenia. I feel pangs for it, for the people and the country,’
she said.

`Compared to the 1990s, there have been significant changes, but the
country must grow further. All of us must try to become better.
Although it takes 16 hours to fly here, and my work does not let me
travel often, I want to be in [the religious centre of] Echmiadzin for
Easter, to hear the priests talk, to be among the people, with my
family, my extended family. For me the nation is a family, and not
just people. Here I do not feel alone, I am with my family.’

Agarakian’s ancestors, like those of most diaspora Armenians, were
scattered across the world by the mass killings of Armenians committed
by Ottoman Turkish troops in the First World War. The question of
whether the campaign of murder was a genocide or not has dogged
relations between Armenians and Turkey ever since.

According to Suren Manukyan, deputy director of the museum of the
Armenian genocide, there are no precise figures for the number of
Armenians who lived in what is now eastern Turkey before 1915. He said
most historians think there were two million, of whom 500,000 survived
the mass killings, and found asylum in various countries around the
world.

The major inflow of diaspora Armenians takes place in April, since
April 24 is the Remembrance Day for the victims of the atrocities,
marking the anniversary of the arrest and savage murder in 1915 of 250
Armenian intellectuals in Istanbul.

In the first years of Armenian independence, many diaspora Armenians
invested in the country, although often these deals ended unhappily
owing to official corruption or incompetence.

`Several complaints remain today. Either the money due for payment is
not paid, or a high price is set for some services or goods. The
American and French Armenians are used to accuracy, and clear
relations,’ said Tevos Nersisyan, spokesman for the diaspora
ministry, which was set up in October 2008 with the aim of encouraging
unity among Armenians.

`This is a very difficult duty, since sometimes Armenians from
different societies differ more amongst themselves, than in relation
to different nations. There are people who feel themselves to be
Armenians if they no longer have Armenian names, while many who have
Armenian surnames feel they are foreigners. It happens that Armenians
living in the same country only meet each other at our events.’

For seven years, Anahit Meliksetian and Artush Andreasian have visited
Armenia regularly from their home in Iran. Their two children study in
Yerevan.

`We always had connections to the homeland. When the chance came to
study in Armenia, the children preferred to come to Armenia although
we have a `green card’ and they could have studied in the United
States,’ Meliksetian said.

`Everything is coming together bit by bit. Armenia is our homeland. We
do not ask what our country can do for us. We ask what we can do for
our country.’

Her daughter, Ani Andreasian, is in her second year at university in
Yerevan.

`I decided for myself that I would live and work here. I do not feel
like I do in Armenia anywhere else. It is nice to feel that
everything, be it good or bad, is mine. I am thinking about living
here for longer, and becoming a citizen of Armenia,’ Ani said.

Diaspora Armenians can receive citizenship in a simplified procedure,
without the usual need to live in the country for three years or know
the Armenian language. They can also, if an agreement exists with
their country of origin, become dual nationals.

Armenians from the 18 countries whose citizens require an invitation
to gain a visa can enter the country without bureaucratic
procedures. This applies to countries like Syria, Egypt and India,
which have significant Armenian populations.

Iranian Armenians can get an entrance visa at the border. Shahen
Babaians, was born in the city of Urmia in Iran, and first came to
Armenia in 1991, although his homecoming was not what he had hoped for
since the economy was collapsing and the country was at war over
Nagorny Karabakh.

`After three months I returned to Iran, but with a desire to come back
to Yerevan as soon as I could. However, I only got back to Armenia in
2002. Then I came to Armenia with a firm desire to live here, to
marry, to raise a family. After a few trips, I at last managed to move
my business to Armenia, to marry an Armenian woman, and my daughter
Sose is now six years old,’ he explained.

He said it was harder to run a business in Armenia than Iran, but did
not regret his decision to move.

`I always dreamed of living in my homeland. I know Armenian badly, and
always dreamed that my children would get an Armenian education, and if
possible, in the homeland itself,’ he said.

Aghavni Harutyunyan is a journalist from the Azg newspaper.

Seda Muradyan, IWPR Armenia country director, contributed to this
report.

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