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BIKING FOR BUCKS: ARMENIA’S FIRST FITNESS MARATHON PUTS NEW SPIN ON CHARITY
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
On Saturday afternoon in Yerevan’s Republic Square, several dozen Armenians
and international expatriates will ride bicycles for six hours. And go
nowhere.
Considering Yerevan’s congested traffic patterns this may not be
unprecedented. But as an event that combines sport, fitness, singing, dancing,
prize-drawings, martial arts, fashion and charity, the `Schwinn Cycling
Marathon’ is surely a first for Armenia.
A fitness fad throughout the Western world for several years, `spinning’ was
introduced to Armenia last year when the Armenia Marriott Hotel started
classes in its new fitness center.
Marriott Fitness Consultant Andrzej Hentszel started classes with five of the
specialized stationary bicycles, and the hour-long exercise classes became so
popular that reservations were required.
Hentszel trained former Armenian champion boxer Mher Grigoryan to share the
workout load and expand classes to accommodate the popularity of spinning.
Last spring the number of bikes were doubled, and the exercise – first almost
exclusively made up of ex-pats – caught on also with some locals (who could
afford the $65 a month fee for fitness center use).
Now, Hentszel and Grigoryan hold five classes a week, and tomorrow (October
15) will take their spinners — as well as several first-timers (including a
team from ArmeniaNow) — outside to pedal with a purpose.
Based on a similar event he organized in Warsaw (where he worked before coming
to Yerevan), Hentzel has put together the spinning marathon to raise money for
the Shoghakn NGO – to support Nerses Mets Special Boarding School N4 in
Yerevan to repair its building.
Each team `buys’ its time on one of the bicycles – about $22 for one hour, or
about $100 for the entire marathon.
`We will have 11 bikes – one for me, and ten for all the participants. So far
we have around 40 registered participants. We have teams – Austrian Airlines,
HSBC Bank, ArmeniaNow, as well as a couple of individuals,’ says
Hentszel. `The aim of the marathon is to move all the bikes for six hours.
People can change whenever they want, but the bike should move all the time.’
Most participants are expected to go for short periods of time. (For example,
the 7-member ArmeniaNow team will takes shifts of 30 minutes.) But for
Hentszel and Grigoryan, the event will surely define `marathon’, as each of
the trainers will go for the entire six hours, from 12-6 p.m.).
The event is hoped to raise $5,000 for the school, through the team
contributions and from sale of raffle tickets during the event. Also, as the
bikes will be across the patio from the hotel’s outside café, the Marriott
will give all sales from the café during the marathon to the charity.
Spinners and onlookers during the marathon will be entertained by singers,
dancers, a fashion show, a wushu (martial arts) exhibition – all hosted by
popular Armenian TV Star Aram Chakhoyan.
Raffle tickets, at about $4 each, will give buyers a chance to win two nights
at the Marriott’s Renaissance Hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia.
(Two people in each hotel, and not including travel expenses.)
Hentszel, 34, says while the focus on Saturday is to improve the condition of
the boarding school, spinning itself () has proven an
effective means of fitness training.
`You sweat a lot, and so you lose your weight, or calories, and can get a
better shape,’ says the instructor, adding that a 45-minute spinning session
may burn between 600 and 700 calories.
Spinning classes are always accompanied by loud music with a clear and
hypnotic beat. A device on the frame allows the rider to adjust the resistance
to his/her liking.
`This is like riding a bicycle, so you can imitate going up to the mountains
or just running,’ says Hentszel, adding that this workout is good for the
legs, the butt, other groups of muscles, and also for the heart.
And on Saturday, he hopes it will be good for a school of needy children.
In May 2003, he organized Poland’s first spinning marathon, for the benefit of
a women’s shelter.
`I thought maybe we could also organize a similar charity marathon in
Armenia,’ says Hentszel. `I am glad these marathons have been kept running in
Poland already for a third year, and if it proves a success in Armenia, we
hope to have such marathons at least once a year.’
PENNY FOR A POUND?: GOVERNMENT OFFERS PLAN TO COMPENSATE LOST DEPOSITS
By Suren Deheryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
It is estimated that when the Soviet Union collapsed approximately 1 million
Armenians had bank accounts holding a total of 6.5 billion rubles. At late
1980s exchange rate the amount would have made about $5-6 billion. Real market
value of the money ranges as high as $800 million.
When communism disappeared, so did the Armenians’ money, lost to
hyperinflation and in accounts that were frozen.
On Wednesday, during an address to the National Assembly of Armenia, Prime
Minister Andranik Margaryan, unveiled the Government’s plan to help people get
their money back – although only a fraction. The Government plans to allocate
about $2 million in next year’s budget to finance the payback.
Citizens such as Vrezh Minasyan, 68, listen with interest, but without much
hope.
By 1990, Minasyan, a construction engineer, had saved 10,000 rubles –
approximately $9,000 at that time.
Minasyan estimates that he and his wife saved at a rate of about 1,000 rubles
a year. Still, the amount would have been enough to by a new Niva. The amount
he might expect back would hardly be enough to buy tires — $460. (The
Government plan would compensate accordingly: up to 1000 rubles, $200; 1000-
3000 rubles, $340; 3000-5000 rubles, $420; 5000-10,000 rubles, $460; more than
10,000 rubles, $480.)
Opposing a bill put forward by the coalition party Orinats Yerkir that called
for spending $83 million on all deposit holders, the Government plan would
compensate depositors in stages, beginning with those who are now receiving
State welfare. No dollar figure has been calculated for the overall Government
plan.
The scheme is hardly anything for those such as Minasyan to get excited about.
Nor does it impress opposition politicians, who, for years have raised the
issue as evidence of the Government’s inability to care for its constituents.
National Assembly deputy Hmayak Hovhannisyan, who is the most active among non-
partisan opposition deputies in the matter of returning deposits, is not
satisfied with the plan.
`If only $1 billion are envisaged to be spent from the budget next year, then
that makes only 0.2 percent (allocated for compensation). And it is
ridiculous, if we take into account the fact that the total deposited sum
subject to return makes 8 billion, 200 million Soviet rubles (about $7
billion – at Soviet-era rates),’ says Hovhannisyan.
(In some post-Soviet states deposits were returned at different values. For
example, in Russia 1,000 Soviet rubles were compensated with $34, in Belarus –
with $77, in Kyrgyzstan – with $6.5, in Moldova with $74 and in Lithuania,
with $250.)
According to Hovhannisyan, for a fair return of deposits it is necessary to
compensate at least at a ratio of 1 to 10, i.e. $100 for 1,000 rubles. In this
case, $820 million will be needed.
`The terms of returning deposits should be within the limits of common sense,
for example within ten years, but not 400 years (according to his $820 million
figure),’ the deputy says.
Markaryan said the State will determine on a year-by-year basis how much will
be allotted from budgets. Already, next year’s proposed budget represents an
increase of nearly 20 percent in pubic spending.
Meanwhile, Vrezh Minasyan isn’t out shopping . . .
`We understand that the returning of deposits is a luxury for our state
today,’ he says. `But at least they could compensate it in a way that a person
should not feel disappointed about the life that he has lived.’
HOPE FOR BETTER HEALTH: POLYCLINICS TO BE FREE BEGINNING NEXT YEAR
By Arpi Harutyunyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Beginning next year, all Armenians will be treated free of charge in the
republic’s polyclinics.
Currently free polyclinic services – examinations, diagnosis, some vaccines,
etc. – are available to those who qualify for State aid. But the new policy
will make such services free to everyone.
Even though Armenia’s `poorest’ (and elderly) have had free access to
polyclinic services, health officials believe there are many – also
vulnerable – who are not getting primary care because they cannot afford it –
either due to legitimate fees, or to bribes, that are a common part of the
healthcare experience here.
(Public access to healthcare in Armenia has severely declined over the past 15
years due to widespread poverty and corruption among medical personnel. A
nationwide household survey conducted by the National Statistics Service in
2003 found that only one in three people visit a medical facility once they
have problems with health.)
The new policy is expected to favor, for example, pregnant women who should
already be getting free healthcare, but maternity hospitals are among the most
corrupted of Armenia’s healthcare structures.
`When we say primary healthcare is free that means nobody can demand money
from citizens at the polyclinics anymore,’ says Armen Soghoyan, head of Health
and Social Security at the Yerevan Municipality.
The State expects to spend about 39 billion drams (some $87 million) on
general public health next year. The amount designated for polyclinics has not
yet been determined.
The new policy, announced Monday, will do away with the tradition of `open
doors’ – occasionally designated days on which all citizens were treated for
free.
For example, on October 8, in honor of the 2787th anniversary of the founding
of Yerevan, 5,300 citizens took advantage of the latest `open doors’ day.
During a press conference, Soghoyan was asked whether making the polyclinics
entirely free would have a damaging effect on the quality of care expected.
Soghoyan replied that the amount of the allocated money (about $25-27 per
citizen), naturally, implies relevant quality. (He said it does not mean,
though, that patients will be asked, for example, to bring their own bandages,
as is sometimes the case now.) Subsequently priority will be given to the
diagnosis and prevention of illnesses.
`Health care establishments are state institutions, and the size of the wages
are decided by the director of the given institution. Of course, increase of
health care establishment budgets is foreseen but at present no drastic
increase of salaries is possible,’ says Soghoyan.
(Information for this report was also provided by RFE/RL
)
INMATE IN CHARGE: ACCUSED MURDERER RE-ELECTED MAYOR IN NOR HAJN
Shakeh Avoyan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The mayor of a small town near Yerevan who was arrested late last month after
reportedly shooting dead a local rival has been reelected for another three-
year term.
Official results of Sunday’s election showed Armen Keshishian winning nearly
50 percent of the vote, against 41.5 percent polled by his sole challenger for
the post of Nor Hajn mayor. It is the first time that a jailed person wins an
election in post-Soviet Armenia.
`It can be said the election in Nor Hajn was the most peaceful in the entire
district,’ the chairman of the district election commission, Gnel Ghalumian,
told RFE/RL. `I feared something bad might happened, but everything was
alright.’ He said the commission has not received any written complaints from
the defeated candidate.
Keshishian has been under police custody since a September 24 bitter argument
with the head of the local power distribution network, Ashot Mkhitarian, which
resulted in the latter’s death. Witnesses, among them two police officers,
said the incumbent mayor fired several gunshots at Mkhitarian from an almost
point-bank range.
The killing took place in broad daylight at the site of what law-enforcement
authorities call `illegal construction’ financed by the victim. Keshishian was
reportedly furious with his failure to obtain permission for the construction.
Keshishian is now facing a lengthy prison sentence, charged with
a `premeditated murder committed in a way that endangered many peoples’
lives.’
The two men are said to have fallen out last year, leading Mkhitarian to back
the mayor’s election challenger who heads the local branch of the Yerkrapah
Union of the Nagorno-Karabakh war veterans. The dead man was reputed to be a
protégé of Armenian `oligarch’ Gagik Tsarukian, while Keshishian was until now
close to Prime Minister Andranik Markarian’s Republican Party.
The outcome of the Nor Hajn election may have given Keshishian a huge moral
boost, but it is unlikely to prevent his trial and almost certain
imprisonment. Under Armenian law, criminal suspects can contest any election
before being found guilty by court. And unlike parliament deputies, heads of
local government do not enjoy immunity from prosecution.
`I have no idea how he is to govern the town until the court verdict,’ said
Ghalumian.
It has emerged that the handgun used in the Nor Hajn shooting had been
presented to Keshishian by Markarian. Newspaper reports have said Markarian’s
gift pistols have also been used in other crimes. The embarrassed prime
minister assured journalists last week that the Armenian police will now
screen prospective recipients of such presents `more strictly.’
Sunday also saw local elections in 12 other towns and some 270 villages across
Armenia. The polls were effectively boycotted by the opposition.
SHORT ON TRADITION: RISING HEMLINES RAISE EYEBROWS AND CHALLENGE CONCEPTS OF
ARMENIAN FEMALE PROPRIETY
By Marianna Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
When this school year started a month ago, it seems some Yerevan girls’
hemlines stayed on holiday. Better put: Hemlines are up, and so is attendance
of boys standing outside university entries to offer fashion commentary . . .
There is a popular, if peculiar, social study that says when economic times
become better, women’s skirts become shorter. Yerevan would be the
sociologist’s friend in this case, as, with double-digit GDP rise have come
near single-digit length mini-skirts.
`During the last one-two years we sold more short skirts than during the
previous five years,’ says Vartan Andreasyan, director at a of women garments
shop in Yerevan. Andreasyan says the introduction of knee-high boots
contributed to the appearance of thigh-high skirts. But there are other
reasons, too:
`Armenian girls have recently become freer, although this does not mean their
taste has improved,’ says designer at the `Lilit’ fashion center Lilit
Margaryan. (Margaryan mentions with regret that fashion in Armenia is dictated
not from Paris or Milan but from Turkey and Dubai. The result of `fair
fashion’ is that the Armenian girls choose things that are
supplied. `Otherwise maybe nothing would be so flashy. The greater part of
girls and women do not know what is worn where. For instance, they can wear
beach dresses in a restaurant; they can go to university in an evening gown
made for a restaurant.’) Still:
`If years ago a short skirt or open dress were exceptionsal in our lifestyle,
today nobody will be shocked at it.’
The designer apparently has not stood, however, outside places such as Bryusov
Institute, Yerevan’s unofficial `babeland’ (where the enrollment is almost
entirely female), and watch the boys watch the girls go by.
`Inch lavn es’ (`What a beauty’), `Aziz’ (`Love’), `Kyank’ (`My
life’), `Kyankis yerazank’ (`Dream of my life’), `Tsit’ (`Birdie’).
Girls such as 18-year old Emma Grigoryan are used to such commentary that,
in `progressive’ societies would be seen as sexual harassment, but here is
taken (or at least tolerated) as part of the mating ritual, as surely as `love
forever’ initials carved on a poplar.
`I like wearing short skirts, it emphasizes my style and I feel more
worthwhile,’ says Emma. `If I pay attention to the way some people react to my
look I will just sit at home and do not go outdoors. That is why I try to
ignore many things and do not be upset. Although civilized compliments also
happen.’ (These are not your grandmother’s Armenians!)
Emma crosses the street in her short skirt trying to reach the bus station
and `ignoring’ several dozens of very interested glances.
The story is almost always the same and repeats.
`Akhper (brother), how can we keep silent and hide our thoughts when such
beautiful birdies come across,’ says one of the boys outside Bryusov.
Few `civilized comments’ come from babushkas.
The elderly (some who seem to have forgotten that in the `60-70s, Soviet
Armenia had its own sort of hemline perestroika), have a low tolerance for
high hemlines.
`Shame on them. How can they wear such things? Was it like that in our
times?!’ Antaram Mkrtumyan, 70, gets angry and shakes her head as a sign of
her displeasure. `Don’t they have parents or brother to show their real
place?’
Well, new age `Yerevan Akhchikner’ such as Anahit Hakobyan, have both. But in
the battle for a teenage girl’s attention, when culture and fashion
collide . . . well, let us put it this way: There is a reason why the History
Channel and Fashion TV don’t share the same audience.
`It is very hard to convince my family that wearing short skirts is not that
bad,’ says, Anahit, 17. `Either my brother forbids me, or my father, so I
sometimes try to find a proper moment to escape their eyes and go out in a
short skirt.’
Like cultural changes that eventually (or not) find their way into the
republic, the maxi interests in miniskirts is a Yerevan phenomenon.
Narine, a 19 year old resident of Echmiadzin studying in Yerevan says showing
skin in the capital is a whole different matter than in the city of the Holy
See (or anywhere else outside Yerevan).
`If a girl has a freer style, neighbors and relatives begin discussing
her `moral character’,’ she says. `That is the reason we prefer to wear
something while leaving home and then change the dress in the capital, which
is not convenient at all, but we want to be fashionable and nice.’
It’s only 20 kilometers from Echmiadzin to Yerevan. But a lot of changes take
place – including a girl’s fashion freedom.
Christine Besalyan, professor at the Interlingva Lanugage University agrees
that everything mixes because of unawareness.
`I don’t think it is right to go to university in very short, flashy clothes,
although many do not feel the nuance,’ says Besalyan. `If everything is done
with good taste, it is interesting and beautiful, otherwise it can be a
hindrance to studying. And some girls seem to go to university to show off,
and not for getting knowledge.’
University student Gagik Sughyan knows something about `hindrance’.
`If there is a girl in a short skirt in the classroom during the lesson it
shifts attention. We do not listen to what the instructor says and what the
lecture is about,’ he says, then adds: `But of course it is pleasant.’
HEALTHY SKEPTICISM: CONSUMER RIGHTS ADVOCATES URGE SHOPPERS TO CHECK LABELS
BEFORE PURCHASING
By Mariam Badalyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The most trustworthy protectors of consumer rights are the Armenian food-
consumers themselves, the Union for the Protection of Consumer Rights NGO
says.
Despite constant efforts on behalf of local NGOs and international
organizations – including monthly product monitoring – food safety in Armenia
is still a big issue.
Last month a monitoring of products conducted by the UPCR in 21 shops, food-
stalls and supermarkets revealed 50 items of outdated or wrongly labeled food
products. The union advises Armenian consumers to look carefully on the labels
even in the supermarkets, where products are claimed to be more reliable.
`At the moment this product was bought,’ independent expert Anahit Chalkadryan
says showing a can of Russian `Moya Semya’ mayonnaise, `it had run out its
expiration date for 10 days already.’ And, she says, holding a colorful pack
of sweets that has no label: `This candy is made by an unknown producer. It is
obvious that this product is made by a private person at his/her home.’
Chalkadryan showed another such candy bought two years ago. `This means that
nobody had stopped the small food-stall from selling this product, which
obviously has demand.’
According to Armenian law only registered producers – firms or private
entrepreneurs, have the right to produce food, and the shops selling products
without a certificate will be fined 100,000 drams ($225) for the illegal
transactions, whereas the fine for selling a product with an expired date is
10-50,000 drams ($22-112).
`The fine for selling a product with an expired date is very small, plus the
law does not contain information on what is done to the product. The vendor
may well continue to sell it,’ head of the UPCR Abgar Eghoyan says.
Currently, UPCR and the State Agency of Quality are jointly working on a draft
government order on the confiscation, storage and utilization of dangerous
food.
A change in food production law requires that all products carry Armenian
labeling, a requirement that some shop owners find an unwelcome addition to
their routine.
`Information on the product in Armenian will enable the Armenian consumer to
better understand the way product must be used or stored or its side effects
if it is a medicine,’ Chalkadryan says. `Besides, it will help to avoid fake
products.’
`The changes to the law will enable the consumers to be legally better
protected,’ head of the organization Abgar Eghoyan says,’ But in order for the
law to work the consumers must know their rights.’
According to the changes to the law, which came into force in August, imported
products must be labeled according to the requirements of the Armenian laws.
Along with information on net weight, list of food-additives, the country of
origin, producer, directions of use, food values and bar code, now it must
indicate if the product is made of or contains Genetically Modified Organisms.
Now the law requires the label must include production day, month, year and
expiration date. Along with other new definitions, a GM product, a product
made of GM sources or other products containing GMO are now defined in the
law.
`There has been practically no control on the import of GM products in
Armenia. With the new changes to the law the consumer has a choice – he may
choose to buy a GM product or not buy it,’ Eghoyan says. `However, it was yet
impossible to prohibit entry of GM foodstuff in Armenia, like it was done in
the EU countries or Japan. Recently, Japan refused to accept tons of `Lays’
potato chips, which instead of being shipped back to the producer were
imported in the CIS countries. `Lays’ is made of GM potato and contains
synthetic flavoring. Due to lots of TV advertisements our kids buy them.’
`That a product is not labeled as GM does not mean that it may not contain GM
ingredients,’ head of `Women for Green Way for Generations’ Karine Manukyan
says. `The definitions in the law do not mean that there is any limitation on
importation or reproduction of GM foodstuff. In none of the three South-
Caucasian republics is there a single laboratory able to examine GM products
or revealing GM consistency in products. Today in developed countries stricter
measures are being applied towards GM products. However, the issue in Armenia
still remains unresolved.’
(The permitted level of EU-approved varieties of GMO in food products is 0.9%,
for GM varieties which are not yet formally approved but which received a
positive EU risk assessment is set at 0.5%. Some of the EU countries –
Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Luxembourg have imposed bans on
some GM products despite existing EU approvals.)
As a consumer, Anahit Chalkadryan feels much safer when buying food by
Armenian producers and made of Armenian raw materials.
`Legally registered Armenian producers pass strict control by the State Agency
of Quality,’ she says. `Their production processes meet the requirements of
the law.’
Manukyan is more skeptical, however, saying one must scrutinize all Armenian
products, especially since GM vegetable seeds and unfamiliar animal breeds
have been imported from abroad over the past decade, and one cannot be sure
whether food produced in Armenia is healthy or not.
WGWG () plans to publish a report on its survey of tested products
in Armenia containing Genetically Modified Organisms.
NEW PLAN FOR OLD YEREVAN: ARAM STREET TO BECOME CENTER OF HISTORY AND
NOSTALGIA
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
A new project by the Urban Planning Council of Yerevan plans to put the city’s
most historic buildings or those that best represent 19th and early 20th
century architecture – on one street.
If the plan is successful, some three years from now Aram Street, just off
Republic Square might better become known as `Old Yerevan’ Street.
Nineteen buildings that have been dismantled either because they were in bad
condition, or to make way for current urban renewal, are to be rebuilt in
their original form, reflecting the classical Russian style of the last
century.
Though coming at a time when the city center is being rebuilt, the city’s
Chief Architect Samvel Danielyan says the idea is not a new one.
`Attempts to gather these buildings in one place, to create an atmosphere
typical to Yerevan, as well as discussions about the idea have been there as
early as in Soviet times, but they have remained unrealized,’ says Danielyan.
`But it is more important today, since as a result of large scale urban-
planning processes many buildings have either been dismantled or have appeared
in a totally alien environment, are not concentrated in one place and lose
their true artistic value in an improper surrounding.’
Part of the project would include recreating backyards typical to the old
Yerevan, with small archways leading to green yards full of light, where
museums, workshops, small galleries, and old Yerevan style taverns and other
such things will be created to show the routine lifestyle and traditions of
previous times.
`This environment will be of interest for both tourists and the local
population, who will enjoy nostalgic recollections in the backyards,’ says
Danielyan. `The implementation of this project also has an educational point
of view, for the future generations has to see and be aware what ground
Yerevan has been created on, what was its architectural appearance.’
Tourism operator Hrachik Muradyan says the need for such a project is very
strong in Yerevan.
`I communicate with dozens of tourists every day and all of them ask to see
the place where they could see the old Yerevan, where are our old buildings
people used to live and how they used to live there,’ says Muradyan.
If successful, the project will feature old design, while implementing modern
construction as well. For example, an underground parking garage near the
street will accommodate 1,400 cars.
The project has the approval of 27 out of 28 Urban-planning Council members.
Only one, former Senior Architect Narek Sargsyan objected, and his protest was
related to the location.
The former Senior Architect suggested that the territory of the `Firdousi’
market be used for the implementation of the program.
`There are already 8 historical-cultural monuments at Aram Street that are not
subject to moving to another place,’ explains Danielyan. `Besides, it is the
logical continuation of the Armenian National Gallery and the History Museum.
Moreover, many of the council members suggested including the territory behind
the Gallery as well and that the street would stretch on the opposite side to
the tunnels leading to the Hrazdan gorge.’
President of the Armenian Union of Architects Mkrtich Minasyan believes this
project is the only way to preserve the old structures today.
`In this period of total dismantlement this is the only hope we have to not
lose a huge portion of our history,’ says Minasyan. `Every town is unique with
its cultural layers where the architectural structures are on the first place.
No one is impressed by contemporary buildings and skyscrapers, but our old,
narrow yards and wooden balconies with incrustations will.’
In approximately two months the full portfolio of the project will be
submitted for a tender on construction rights.
According to Danielyan, this will be one joint urban-planning program and will
not be divided into lots.
`The project will be implemented under strict supervision to escape change of
environment; although this is one joint project and demands huge investments,
the interest is already quite big and I think in five years we will wander
across an Old Yerevan Street rich with old unique colors,’ says Danielyan.
PEACE IS ONLY A NAME: AGHAVNI RECALLS THE FAR REACHING EFFECTS OF SEPARATION
By Ruzanna Tantushyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Her name, Aghavni, means `Dove’.
It is a name meant, also, to symbolize the soul and peace.
In 1915, at the age of four, Aghavni the little dove found her place of peace
in an orphanage in Lebanon. Like thousands, Aghavni Gevorgyan was separated
from her family when invasions by Turks made orphans of Armenian
children. `Little Dove’ was sent to a home for children, founded by Americans
and Danes.
She had been there eight years when word came that she had a brother, who was
waiting for her outside the orphanage gates.
`What is a bother?’ little bird asked. `Brother is a close relative,’
explained her teacher.
Aghavni remembered that she had a brother. But the young man outside the
orphanage was not someone she recognized. Aghavni resisted his hugs. After
finding out the `brother’ was not married, the headmaster did not allow him to
take little Aghavni away although she had reached the age when the children
usually were to leave the orphanage.
In fact, Aghavni had two brothers, both of whom she was separated. One,
Hovhannes, settled in France, never to see his family again.
Aghavni’s cousin, Armenuhi, also was living in Lebanon. One day she recognized
Aghavni among the orphans. And another new `nest’ was found for Little Dove.
Sometime later – and 17 years since disappearing – a more familiar face
returned to Aghavni’s life.
A photo with her mother reminds her about their reunion in 1932, and still
brings tears of joy to Aghavni’s 96 year-old pale cheeks.
`My mother had a scar on her neck. I used to ask her what it was and how it
had happened,’ Aghavni recalls. `It was only when I had my second child that
she told me the cruel story of it.’
She had a gold chain on her neck. During the resettlement, the Turks wanted to
tear it off, but could not. It was an old peace of jewelry made by Armenian
artisans and it did not come off easily. As a result of Armenian craftsmanship
good job and the cruelty of Turkish regulars, her mother came to wear a scar
instead of a gold chain.
In 1933, Aghavni married Gevorg in Aleppo. Gevorg was from Western Armenia and
was rescued by a family of Turks who were sympathetic to the Armenians.
He learned about being an Armenian from a Turkish boy who named him `Gyavur’.
The mistress of the house where he lived explained him that `Gyavur’ meant
Armenian.
`What is Armenian?’
`You are.’
`In that case where is my mother . . .’
This is how the boy of about 12 learned about his ethnicity and had so many
questions, answers to which he thought he could find only in his village. The
quest for the answers led him back to his village, his aunt’s house and his
sister.
Aghavni interrupts her story here saying, `Old people talk much and the more
they talk the more grief you learn.’
Aghavni and her husband moved to Armenia in 1946, bringing their 6 children
with them. They had three more in the motherland. They rented an apartment in
Arabkir district near a dry cleaners.
They had hardly moved in when a young woman came with a request to fix the key
of a suitcase. They were lucky since Aghavni’s husband, Gevorg, was a
craftsman and could repair nearly everything. But even luckier was Aghavni, as
the woman was to travel to Western Armenia, and could bring some news from
Aghavni’s brother whom she lost after 1915. And she did.
Aghunik (a term of endearment) also tells the story of her younger brother,
Hakob, who was also saved after Turkish attacks. Saved, like Gevorg, by Turks.
And remembered, like her mother, because of a scar.
The scar would mark his face when he together with his brother were helping
their father to shoe the horse. Little Hakob was not strong and skilled enough
to hold the horse’s leg and the horse kicked him.
Once again, a Turkish subject lent a helping hand to Aghavni’s family. One of
the Turkish shopkeepers burned horse’s mane and put it on the child’s eye,
saving it. After Turkish attacks started, the same man paid a Kurdish man
several gold coins for him to take the boy across the Euphrates and threatened
that he would find him and kill him in case he didn’t take the boy away. Hakob
was saved.
He moved to Armavir, Krasnodar region in Russia and found a sellers’ job in an
Armenian’s shop and settled down. He married the shopkeeper’s daughter. They
had two children.
In 1937, there was an announcement according to which all those who wanted to
leave the country were free to go in 24 hours. Hakob did not. He had a family
and he was already settled down. Nevertheless, he managed to send a note that
he made on a cigarette paper where he wrote, `The wound above my eye is
cured’. The note reached Aghavni and she knew he was alive. However, they
never met.
Aghavni had nine children. Five of them are now alive, but only three live in
Armenia. She lost contact with her brother and nephews who are now in Russia
and France. Those in France know little Armenian and cannot keep in touch.
The one named Little Dove has tried to bring her family together. It seems,
though, that the events of 90 years ago are too far reaching, even after
wounds have become scars …
SHOWING AGE: MUSEUM DEDICATED TO FOUNDING OF YEREVAN HAS NOTHING TO CELEBRATE
By Arpi Harutyunyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
On October 8th, while thousands celebrated the 2,787th birthday of Yerevan,
the occasion was mournful for the director and staff of the museum where the
very creation of the capital is documented.
The Erebuni Museum – on the site that was the first settlement of the city –
is threatened by wear and tear and perceived disregard.
`The monument is deteriorating, the museum goes out of use, and the pages of
history are being deleted from our memory and the earth, while our statesmen
celebrate the 2787 years of the destructing of historic Yerevan,’ says Suren
Malkhasyan, the museum’s embittered director. He reckons that the $180,000 or
more allocated by the State for this year’s two-day birthday celebration,
could have made long-lasting improvements to his decaying history museum.
`The open-air citadel-museum is gradually destroyed since there is no roof
above them. The Karmir Blur (the name of the museum, meaning `Red Hill’) has
collapsed recently,’ he complains.
Erebuni, where in 782 B.C. the first settlers built a fortress and created a
city center, includes an indoor museum, and an outdoor ruins. According to the
director, some 5-6,000 guests visit each year.
But weather and neglect are turning the site into less of an attraction and
more of an eyesore.
The museum’s current budget of about $15,000 is financed by the Ministry of
Culture (including salaries for the director and 47 staff). At about 50 cents
for locals, and about $2 for foreigners, admission costs cover minimal
expenses.
`The situation in both open-air and indoor museums is terrible today,’ the
director says. `The rains pour under the walls of the Erebuni citadel, while
in indoor museums some of the exposition halls have turned useless because of
the dampness.’ (The museum was not eligible for the Lincy Foundation’s 2001-03
culture campaign because it’s application was not filed in time.)
In response to Armenia Now’s Inquiry on what does the Ministry of Culture and
Youth Issues (responsible for the museum) do to reconstruct Erebuni and its
branches, said: `We are well aware of the bad condition of the museums,
especially the open-air citadel,’ head of the Museum, Library and Archive
Department at the Ministry Of Culture Anahit Galstyan told ArmeniaNow. `We
know Karmir Blur has big problems. But it is unknown when the reconstruction
works will begin. I can say we have planned to open a studio-laboratory in
Erebuni Museum specializing in Urartu studies.’
The date of Yerevan’s birth is decided by the year of 782 B.C. when Urartu
King Argishti I founded the town of Erebuni. Yerevan anniversaries have been
celebrated since 1968, the year when the Erebuni Museum (with its Karmir Blur
and Shengavit branches) was founded.
The Erebuni citadel is an open-air museum of more than two hectares that
include military, business and religious complexes, the larger part of which
were unearthed during excavations in the late 1960s.
The Karmir Blur Museum is closed up at present, due, Malhkasyan says, to its
poor conditions. Keeping historic and cultural treasures in such a place, the
director says, is `a crime’.
In fact, museum employees, anticipating the building’s collapse, removed
valuables and put them in the site’s other indoor museum.
Malkhasyan jokes saying they have appealed to all agencies but the funeral
service, but they have not received any response.
Erebuni has been repaired only once since 1968, and even then, only
cosmetically.
`If only 15 million drams (about $34,000) of the sum, that was allocated for
celebrations, were allotted to our museum we would reconstruct the Karmir
Blur, and would somewhat repair Erebuni. Who needs the events if they are
organized at the expense of preserving the museum,’ says Malhkasyan.
According to Anahit Yesayan, head of Information Service of the Municipality,
funding reconstruction of the museum is not under the municipal responsibility.
SPORT DIGEST: WE’RE NOT LAST!!!!!!!! (IN FOOTBALL)
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Football
Armenia ended their World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign with a victory on
Wednesday to leave the bottom of Group 1.
Beating Andorra 3-0 in an away match Armenia finished sixth in the group with
7 points in 12 matches.
In the first half of the midweek clash Armenian footballers dominated the
field with ball possession and good passing, but had few goal-scoring chances.
Nevertheless, they managed to score once before half time with the help of an
Andorran defender who deflected the ball into his own net after Yeghishe
Melikyan’s cross in 40th minute. Four minutes later the referee showed a red
card to an Andorran midfielder for foul play and sent him off the pitch.
Armenia realized this `power play’ advantage in the second half with two
beautiful goals from the Hakobyan brothers – Aram in 53rd minute and Ara in
63rd minute.
Chess
Levon Aronyan won the Karabakh-2005 international chess tournament in
Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh. The grandmaster gained 6 out of possible 9
points in the tournament held from October 2 through October 11.
All games of the last round in Group A ended in draws, which allowed Aronyan
to finish first. Ashot Anastasyan (Armenia) and Nakamura (Japan) shared the
2nd place with 5.5 points each.
In Group B the first place was shared by Tigran Petrosyan and Sergey
Grigoryan, who gained 6.5 points each. (A1 Plus)
Gymnastics
Vahagn Stepanyan has won the title of Armenia’s absolute champion in
gymnastics winning in freestyle exercise and on the rings on October 13, and
before that in the all-round competitions. The winner on the vaulting horse
was Harutyun Merdinyan, and in the vault – Artak Sargsyan. The winner on the
horizontal bar was Serob Soghomonyan. All athletes represent Yerevan.
In women’s competitions Astghik Gyulnazaryan from Yerevan won the title of
absolute champion.
Twenty-seven male and 13 female gymnasts from Yerevan and Gyumri participated
in the tournament.
On October 20, Vahagn Stepanyan and Harutyun Merdinyan will leave for Germany.
Led by coach Hakob Serobyan they will participate in the world gymnastic
championships to be held in Stuttgart on October 21-24. (Armenpress)