EXPECTATIONS UNFULFILLED? DIASPORA COUPLE FIND ARMENIA A “TOUGH GO”
Inga Martinyan
[ 2010/10/22 | 14:00 ]
“What’s the sense of a Diaspora Ministry if it doesn’t help?”
Mark, an Armenian from France, and Nadezhda, an Armenian living in
Dagestan, found true love through an internet chat site. Their love
eventually brought the two to Armenia.
After corresponding from afar, Mark and Nadezhda decided to meet in
Armenia. Nadezhda had never been to Armenia and longed to visit. As a
child in Dagestan, she was lulled to sleep hearing Armenian songs. In
France, Mark loved to eat dolma and proudly said he was Armenian.
Mark Avakian and Nadezhda Isakhanyan met up in Armenia in 2008. They
spent the next month touring the country and visited Artsakh. The
two got engaged, married and relocated to Armenia. They planned to
make Armenia their future home.
Their parents weren’t too pleased with the young couple’s decision.
“Hardships make you stronger”
“We came to Armenia based on our desires for the future. There’s a
whole other culture here.
People interact here socially and really live life. You hear Armenian
spoken everywhere. In France, people have turned into work machines.
Here, one really has to struggle day in and day out. There are
difficulties and disappointments, but you grow stronger as a result.
You become your own person. In France, people have lost their souls.
Your kids won’t grow up as Armenians in France or other countries,
no matter what you do,” Mark says.
Mark’s parents hail from Van and made their way to France after
the Genocide. Nadezhda, on her father’s side, traces her roots to
the village of Tegh, near Goris. Her mother’s family comes from
Stepanakert.
Mark is an accountant and marketing specialist by profession. He
worked for the Paris branch of the All Armenia Fund. Nadezhda taught
English in Dagestan and has a few students here in Armenia.
Their first year in Armenia proved to be the hardest.
“We expected a warmer welcome”
“We were like two crazy people walking the streets of Yerevan who had
left it all behind and came here,” recounts Nadezhda. Mark thought that
he would help Armenia by the move. He also expected that the locals
would be happy and proud to see a couple of diaspora repatriates,
The couple expected a much warmer reception than they got. “We haven’t
received any assistance from the government these past two years,”
says Nadezhda.
Diaspora Ministry has little to offer other than slogans
“Yeah, there’s the Diaspora Ministry. It’s a huge place with many
offices. I counted at least 17 with 5 staffers in each. But they do
nothing. I’ve gone there several times but never received any help.
Why did they create the ministry if it doesn’t assist diaspora
Armenians?” Mark asks.
They’ve contacted the ministry on several issues – employment, finding
a place to live, registering their marriage and getting Armenian
lessons. The ministry never offered any assistance or direction.
The ministry explained that their programs are designed for the
diaspora and not Armenia.
Nadezhda says that the Diaspora Ministry told them that “We aren’t
an employment agency.” I responded by saying, “Fine, if that’s the
case why do go around the world telling Armenians to ‘come home’
and that you will help.”
“Diaspora Minister Hranoush Hakobyan promotes the ‘Come Home’ program
when she visits various Armenian communities overseas. She says the
ministry will help those who go. We sort of believed her. We heard her
say “come home’ so many times, that we came. But afterwards…nothing.”
The couple still faces many difficulties in Armenia but have no desire
to leave.
“If only we could find some work”
First of all, they have no jobs in their respective professions. Mark
and Nadezhda have gotten by working as a bartender and waitress. The
couple says they are ready to continue working such jobs if necessary.
“We expected local Armenians to welcome us with open arms, with bread
and salt. We thought we would take Armenia by storm. It didn’t work
out that way,” says Nadezhda.
They say that if they found suitable work, they’d be able to stay
and raise a family in Armenia.
“We are just as vulnerable as locals”
“There are no jobs in Armenia and the wages are so low you’d have to
work several places just to get by,” Mark says.
God knows the two have tried to find work. They’ve posted job notices
and have visited a bunch of schools for a teaching spot for Nadezhda.
She’s convinced you either have to bribe someone to get work or have
an influential friend.
“People naturally assume we are used to creature comforts and that
we don’t want to work. That’s completely wrong. You feel personally
affronted when you see all the injustice here, in your Armenia.
Overseas, you don’t care as much. It’s not your country,” Nadezhda
says.
She also doesn’t like the fact that people gossip so much in Armenia;
that they want to know everything about your personal life.
The couple recognizes that there are many other unemployed people in
Armenia besides them.
“Here, a diaspora Armenian is just as vulnerable as a local. There are
the very rich and very poor in Armenia. Armenia is for the tourists
who have lots of money to spend. They can visit and see all the
sights. All the while, local Armenians go hungry,” Nadezhda says.
She says she feels more at home in Karabakh and that people there
are more down to earth. She compares this to the situation in Yerevan
where people are ready to sell their souls for money.
“All of Yerevan is in the hands of a few individuals. They get rich
and look down at the average people in the street with derision. These
fat-cats have forgotten their religion and inherited values. Their
entire raison d’etre now revolves around money,” Nadezhda says.
Life in Armenia has made Mark and Nadezhda more shrewd and
self-confident.
“In Armenia, you really have to project yourself. Here, we are no
good to anyone,” says Nadezhda.
From: A. Papazian