THE EMIGRATION STATISTICS DO NOT CORRESPOND TO REALITY
ARMENIA
Armenian political analysts and economists regard as controversial
the latest figures on emigration published by the National Statistical
Service (NSS), which suggests that fewer people have left the country
in 2013 than in previous years.
According to statistics, the number of people who came to Armenia in
2013 reached a total of 1,452,085, while the number of those who left
the country amounted to 1,494,086. The negative balance amounts to
42,001 people, which is 7,659 less than in 2012 (49,660), which means
that the rate of emigration slowed in 2013 compared to previous years.
According to the NSS, the air passenger traffic fell by 0.3 percent,
which does not have a negative balance, but the negative balance is
present at ground control points to the Armenian-Georgian border that
people go through bus or minibus for cheaper and it is a suitable
way to travel for families.
According to data from 2013, a total of 39,726 people have left the
country by the checkpoint Bagratashen compared to 21,144 in 2012. The
figures for the checkpoint Bavra in 2013 and 2012 were 13,000 and
8288, respectively.
“The shrinking population and emigration is calculated from the
reduced number. If it continues like this, and there will be more
people in Armenia and for example, in 10 years, I can assure you
that the emigration rate will be reduced to 10,000 or 15,000 people,
“said former Prime Minister, now opposition member Hrant Bagratyan
Armenian service of RFE / RL.
Demographers say that in the past, unemployment and poor economic
conditions were a valid reason for emigration, whereas today despair,
lack of confidence in the future in many cases come as the main cause
of emigration, people no longer believe that their children will have
a good future in their country of origin.
“Recently, moral and psychological reasons have become more important
to people. This can also be seen on an individual basis, in private
conversations, many feel that they are frustrated, which is connected
to the moral and psychological situation in the country. No tendency
for change or improvement in this situation can not yet be seen,
“says demographer Ruben Yeganyan.
The majority of emigrants are outraged by the inequality of
opportunities to engage in economic activities in the country,
injustice and the exploitation of wage labor.
“People understand the objective difficulties of Armenia, as the
blockade, a constant threat of war, the objective difficulties
of achieving economic activities. But they do not understand that
these objective reasons are applicable only to some. A biological
instinct of a “closed area” is used, in this case, those involved in
the government of the country benefit from those who are not there,
“said the ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan ArmeniaNow.
According to her, it is possible to curb emigration if all persons
are equal before the law, if we do not slow down their life, work
and ability to create.If people receive support by doing everything
they want then according Kharatyan, miracles can happen even in
“closed areas”.
“Even in Armenia blocked the socio-economic climate will change if
the government members are guided by the principle of the protection
of rights and equality of opportunity in our country. Ten percent of
the population of our country is involved in the system of government.
Already scarce resources for the maintenance of these 10 per cent.
This is an abnormal phenomenon. On the one hand, there is a unit of
government inflated siphoning the last resources of the population,
on the other hand, the government itself is a barrier, “said the
ethnographer.
Government officials in Armenia have long downplayed the emigration
rate of the country, insisting that many of those who do leave for
migrant labor and are very attached to their country and participate
in the economic life by sending vital funds.
While acknowledging the presence of social and economic problems in
the country that grows a number of people to seek better opportunities
abroad, in an interview last year President Serzh Sargsyan accused
some media to create an atmosphere improper contributing to the dismay
of the population and possible decisions to leave.
Gayane Lazarian by
ArmeniaNow
Tuesday, February 25, 2014, Stephane © armenews.com
From: A. Papazian