Varak Ghazarian in Hadrut, 2018

, that it took 30 years for us to appreciate and care for you. That it took losing such a large portion of who you were throughout history. That it took 30 years to realize a vital part of you was at the brink of collapse. Maybe we were not deserving of you. We never truly appreciated you, and it was made clear. For the past 100 years, we have opened the floodgates and fled your beauty, willingly or unwillingly. I do not fault anyone for this as my family fled due to the Armenian Genocide. The strife for a better life (or just even a life) is something all should aspire to. Yet, now we all sit in the comfort of our first-world countries, able to attain all of which we aspire to. I am at a loss because my aspirations can be sought out here in Armenia. Armenia needs many to come back and populate to its maximum capacity so that it can have all the strengths of a country and spring a new life. 

There is always a caveat as to why we cannot come and live here in Armenia as a diaspora. “Oh, let me go become a professional, and I will come back.” “Oh, let me go make X amount of money, and I will come back.” How many people have come and stayed out of all those making such claims? A handful, relative to the amount that needs to come. We pride ourselves upon these Western institutions we were raised in and believe are the cure-all. It is time to push them to one side and build up some Armenian institutions so the world can take note of our beautiful nation that is ready to blossom. Let us open the floodgates into the country, and build it up the proper way. 

One government to the next, it has always been the same shenanigans. Corruption and bureaucratic absurdities that will drive people thousands and thousands of kilometers away just to live a decent life away from all the nonsense. 

Let us instill some hope not only to Yerevan, but to the whole country. Let Stepanakert be full of Armenians from South America. Let Gyumri become a beautiful fusion of Gyumri and Glendale. Let Vanadzor have a Parisian Armenian community. Let Kapan flourish to become the next Moscow. Let them not be each their own centers, but rather a beautiful interconnected network working to advance Armenia in a multifaceted and unique way. One that the world can talk about and be a hopeful example to all. Because there still is hope for Armenia and for the world. 

We as Armenians and citizens of the world do not have a duty to flood into Armenia and project hope onto the world, but rather a sense of being. A sense of understanding and purpose which could be provided in Armenia. One that will not be received elsewhere or will be hard to come by. To find fulfillment in oneself by being part of nation and nation building. Let us not wait another 30 years for us to lose a larger chunk of land or receive another slap in the face. The time was yesterday. We did not take advantage, so let us instead start today. No more talking. Let’s take concrete steps to save whatever we have left in Armenia and this world. Look inward and find that purpose, for your clock is ticking and time is ephemeral.

– A Concerned Armenian