Author: Badalian Vardan

A MARSEILLE LE BUSTE DE MISSAK MANOUCHIAN PROFANE PAR UNE CROIX GAMMEE

COMMUNIQUE DE L’UCFAF

L’Union Culturelle Francaise des Armeniens de France (UCFAF) a pris
connaissance avec consternation de l’acte odieux commis a l’encontre
des fusilles de l’Affiche Rouge par la profanation dans la nuit du
24 au 25 juin 2014 du buste de Missak MANOUCHIAN a Marseille dans le
square qui porte son nom.

Après avoir taguer la fresque qui rend hommage au groupe MANOUCHIAN
passage du Surmelin dans le 20eme arrondissement de Paris, c’est
Marseille qui connaît aujourd’hui l’affront d’actes xenophobes dans
cette ville qui a accueilli dans les annees vingt les rescapes du
genocide armenien et qui represente une mosaïque de cultures d’origines
très differentes.

Ces heros, ces martyrs du groupe MANOUCHIAN etaient composes
essentiellement d’etrangers. Ils avaient dû fuir leur patrie parce
que le fascisme les avaient chasses. Ils avaient tous de bonnes
raisons de s’engager dans la resistance et d’etre determines dans
la lutte armee pour la liberation de la France. Ayant des valeurs et
des ideaux communs a defendre issus de leur propre histoire, ils sont
alles jusqu’au bout de leur engagement.

Fusilles le 21 fevrier 1944 au Mont Valerien, le groupe MANOUCHIAN
incarne les plus belles valeurs de l’humanite : celles de la liberte,
de la paix, de l’amitie et de la fraternite entre les hommes et les
peuples, celles des droits de l’homme et de la justice partout dans le
monde. Ils sont un exemple pour les generations actuelles et futures.

En cette periode difficile de crise où resurgissent les vieux demons du
passe nous appelons tous ceux qui sont attaches aux ideaux humanistes
a rester vigilants pour defendre les valeurs de la Republique.

L’UCFAF condamne fermement la profanation du buste de Missak MANOUCHIAN
par le signe de la croix gammee et demande aux autorite francaises
de tout mettre en oeuvre pour trouver et condamner les auteurs de
cet acte infâme.

Le Conseil d’Administration de l’Union Culturelle Francaise des
Armeniens de France Paris le 26 juin

vendredi 27 juin 2014, Ara (c)armenews.com

DES SOLDATS ACCUSES POUR DES DECES HORS-COMBAT

ARMENIE

Des enqueteurs militaires ont formellement accuse les premiers
suspects dans le cadre d’une mort recente hors-combat d’un soldat
armenien qui a servi près de la frontière avec l’Azerbaïdjan.

Nerses Karapetian, conscrit de 19 ans, a ete tue dans un poste de
l’armee armenienne dans la province de Tavush le 10 mai dans des
circonstances non encore elucidees. Des expertises menees sur le site
de la fusillade que Seyran Ohanian ministre de la Defense a visite
le site juste après l’incident, ont exclu la possibilite d’un suicide.

Meri Sarkissian, un porte-parole de la division chargee de l’enquete au
Ministère armenien de la Defense, a declare jeudi que le commandant de
la compagnie de l’armee où Karapetian servait, le capitaine Garegin
Asrian, a ete accuse d’harcèlement et d’humiliation de soldat, en
violation des règles de droit du combat et falsification de documents.

Elle a dit que les enqueteurs militaires ont egalement porte de moins
graves accusations a l’encontre d’un autre militaire, le sergent
Edgar Manoukian.

Meri Sarkissian a dit au service armenien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am)
que les deux hommes ont plaide coupable aux accusations et ne seront
pas arretes et places en detention provisoire. La responsable a refuse
de preciser, cependant, qui a tire dans la tete de Karapetian et si
les deux suspects ont ete directement impliques dans le meurtre. > a-t-elle dit.

Certains des parents de soldats morts ont trouve ce fait suspect
car il suggère que 40 jours auraient ete assez de temps pour que les
militaires identifient le tireur. Ils disent que peu de temps avant
sa mort Nerses s’est plaint a ses parents que le capitaine Asrian l’a
injustement blâme pour un vol de 180 litres d’essence et lui a demande
de compenser la perte.

OUR SECURITY DEPENDS ON CORRECT MANAGEMENT OF OUR LIFE

Siranuysh Papyan, Interviewer
Interview – Friday, 27 June 2014, 12:35

The RA Prime minister announced in Artsakh that Armenia will do
everything for the security and development of Artsakh. What is your
opinion on this statement?

No Armenian official visiting Artsakh can say that Armenia will not
guarantee the security of Artsakh. Of course, it should be so, and it
is not heroism. However, there was another message in this statement
that Artsakh is not ours according to our perceptions and legislation.

It would be better if the Armenian prime minister said “though
legislatively Artsakh does not belong to Armenia, but in our
perceptions Artsakh is ours”.

Therefore we have initiated Artsakh Is Ours and That’s It Movement.

You also demand Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation.

We demanded Serzh Sargsyan earlier, a year ago. As to the attitude to
the RA government, the conditions increasingly aggravate, the world
and region are undergoing geopolitical changes. In fact, security in
the region is not ensured by politics only. People’s psychological
readiness is more important, and this is the only guarantee of our
security. People must be psychologically ready and encouraged. And
the reason is, first of all, injustice, including social injustice. We
must strive for justice because people’s morale cannot be boosted when
they can see unfair treatment, when they see their government leading
the country in the wrong direction. Today, the loss of sovereignty
of Armenia disrupts security.

The security of Artsakh is ensured by our inner potential, not on the
condition of being with Russians and guided by them. The policy of
the Russian government which is already centuries old is not close to
our heart. Having highly complicated relations with Turkey, Russia has
always resolved its problems at the expense of Armenian territories.

Should we be so faithful to Russia to agree to give a boost to its
foot? We should not be so blindly faithful to the empire. This is
the danger. Most of our people are blind, and a government official
who belongs to these people may also be blind. Here is the secret of
our security, not Smerch or other missiles. If our morale is high,
the enemy will not be able to do anything, no matter how strong it is.

Look at the United States, being such a powerful country, in the
long run it was unable to bend Afghanistan and had to withdraw. And
in our case, Azerbaijan is not stronger than us, on the contrary,
we are strong, we are the winner country.

Our security is the correct management of our life not to have our
citizens leave the country to earn a living in other countries. This is
an alarming thing and needs to be addressed. One cannot feed people on
words. If a person migrates from the country to earn a living, it means
it is really bad in our country. We must understand this, both the
government and people. And we must be able to resolve these problems.

Recently the border has been tense. We have victims in the army almost
every day.

We have made a number of proposals to the head of state, army command
but they are declined. On the one hand, this is obviously a war that
is not over, and victims are possible but it is possible reduce
victims and no steps are taken. There are no experienced veterans
among the high and middle-ranking commanders on the front line. They
come from the Armed Forces. They don’t want to serve because they
cannot reconcile with the strange phenomena observed in the army.

Indeed, there are steps and actions that strengthen the army but
there are also actions that disturb the natural course and friendly
coexistence in the army. We have negative examples and facts, such as
the 9 levels of the law-enforcement system for regulation of relations
within the personnel, in the result of which thousands of officers
and sergeants are incarcerated, and 80% of servicemen are serving a
conditional sentence. Isn’t this a serious reason for people to quit
the army? There must be justice in the army as well. If there is not,
we must attend to it.

How is it possible to prevent violations of field manuals, inhuman
treatment of soldiers in the army?

There are methods. Unfortunately, the army we gave birth to does not
exist anymore. I wish we had the army which we created once. It was an
Armenian army which was created in accordance with the situation and
under specific conditions. Now the prominent ex-Soviet military who
were not there during the war have created a different army. They came
later and created an army which is not like the armies of the world. I
have served in the Soviet army where there were three levels of law
enforcement system: command investigation, military prosecutor and
military arbitrator. Our army currently has about ten law enforcement
bodies and they all have their agent networks inside the army, which
disturbs army life. In other words, it is necessary to establish
social justice in the army as well.

Mr. Badasyan, is the security of the airport of Stepanakert guaranteed
considering Azerbaijan’s regular threats to strike the planes taking
off from the airport.

The operation of the airport of Stepanakert is ensured, Azerbaijan’s
statements are bubbles. I think those statements stem from Russian
imperialistic ambitions to have Moscow station troops and use the
airport of Stepanakert as a Russian lodgment. I am sure we can use
the airport tomorrow, and nobody will hinder because if they strike
our plane, we will strike their planes. During the wars of the past
century, including World War II, no civilian planes were hit.

Azerbaijan will not hit either because currently tens of Azerbaijan
planes fly over Artsakh and we do not strike them. The airplanes can
fly freely and one can only make guesses why they are not flying yet.

– See more at:

IRAVUNK: ARMENIA NEVER HAD PROFESSIONAL AMBASSADORS IN GEORGIA, SAYS PARLIAMENT MEMBER

09:33 * 27.06.14

We have never had formally trained professional diplomats in Georgia,
a lawmaker from the country’s Armenian-populated region of Javakhk has
said, commenting on the President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to appoint
the ex-minister of sports as Armenia’s ambassador to the Georgia.

“Yuri Vardanyan is sports professional, so I think has to study the
aspects of the Armenian-Georgian relations to make his work effective,”
Shirak Torosyan told the paper in an interview.

Asked whether he thinks the appointment will offer any advantages to
the bilateral relations, Torosyan said he expect the success of the
Armenian-Georgian friendship has to depend on the ambassador. “Armenia
has never appointed a professional ambassador to Georgia ever since
gaining independence. Individuals accomplished in different areas have
been appointed but they were never diplomats. So it has become a kind
of tradition. As for the Armenian-Georgian relations, I don’t think
they have to be linked to the ambassador’s work. The ambassador is
just required to use his potential to better develop those relations,”
he answered.

Armenian News – Tert.am

EURASIAN INTEGRATION REMAINS ONLY CHOICE IF NO ALTERNATIVE FOUND – OPINION

10:25 * 27.06.14

In an interview with Tert.am, the coordinator of the Eastern
Partnership Program’s Armenian National Platform commented on the
possibility of continuing the suspended European Choice initiative.

Boris Navasrdyan said he even expects the project to be an alternative
to the Eurasian integration plan by offering better solutions to
problems and difficulties in most different areas.

“Even after [the Eurasian integration], many political, economic and
security-related problems will keep demanding a solution in Armenia.

And only an alternative can propose such a solution, because I am
convinced that the Eurasian [Union] cannot give an answer to those
solutions. And that will be reflected in the form of most different
problems which we will encounter in the months to come. And we want
it or not, the presence of those problems and the absence of ways
to reach a solution will require another initiative, trend, idea
or approach. So I believe the European Choice is the idea which may
propose that role. And that’s the only initiative, because I don’t
see any other way,” he noted.

Navasardyan said he thinks Armenia needs a common platform enabling a
cooperation between the civil society and the political forces. “And
as we saw from the actions and reactions of parties, they are not
ready to collaborate with one another to coordinate like-minded
representatives of civil society and political forces. There is
no willingness or resolve yet, so we have to characterize that as
passiveness by political parties. And more importantly, there is
no collaboration among political parties sharing common ideas. And
because the political component did not find any definition in the
initiative, it is too early to speak about the institutional format. I
am hopeful it will happen one day, and we will be able to speak about
the status. If that’s not possible, then the civil society already
has different formats,” he added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

“POLICE BEAT ME WITH A TRUNCHEON”: ACCUSED TELLS COURT OF POLICE TORTURE

06.26.2014 13:26 epress.am

One of the defendants in the scandalous “gang case,” Artur Manukyan,
said in court yesterday that he was tortured in police custody.

Manukyan claims that he was unable to make any phone calls and speak
with his family for 3 days after he was arrested; instead, he was
lying on the floor, beaten up, with handcuffs on his hands.

The accused claims he was beaten also while in the detention facility,
his legs tied and he, hung upside down.

“The cleaning lady was mopping the floors; they took the dirty bucket
[from her] and poured the dirty water on my head, and they were
beating me on the head with a truncheon. From where to begin?

“Five, six days later I was taken to court, issued an arrest warrant,
then again taken to the detention facility. Then, on September
30, if I’m not mistaken, they took me to NSS [National Security
Service], where the doctor wouldn’t see me because of my serious
health condition. I even heard him say, you’ve brought the guy here,
what, to dump him on us? I was again taken to the detention facility,
then 4 days later again brought to NSS. For one year, I was deprived
of calling and seeing my relatives,” he said.

The defendant said only one of the affidavits he wrote himself —
on September 25, 2011. There is another affidavit attributed to him
(dated September 22), but Manukyan says he was arrested on September
23, so he couldn’t have written it himself.

Recall, in this case, 5 people are arrested and accused of committing
burglary in September 2011. The accused (and their lawyers) claim that
they are being tortured and testimony obtained under such conditions
shouldn’t be admitted in court and become grounds for prosecution.

One of the accused, Arman Dallakyan, 41, died on September 7, 2013,
in the hospital for prisoners. His mother told Epress.am that not only
was her son beaten, but also his parents weren’t allowed to take him
his medication.

VERS OU PENCHE L’ARMENIE?

RIA Novosti
26 juin 2014

Par Iouri Gorodnenko, RIA Novosti

L’Union economique eurasiatique (UEE) entrera en vigueur le 1er janvier
2015. Les hommes politiques americains se sont exprimes a plusieurs
reprises – et negativement – a ce sujet. Au second semestre 2014
Washington devrait redoubler d’efforts pour empecher l’integration
eurasiatique. L’Armenie sera certainement sa prochaine cible après
l’Ukraine.

Erevan devrait prochainement adherer a l’accord sur la creation de
l’Union economique eurasiatique. Il serait donc possible pour celui
qui s’y oppose de saboter l’UEE de l’interieur en organisant un coup
d’Etat dans l’un de ses pays membres.

Ensuite, l’Armenie est sur la route qui mène aux regions petrolifères
de la mer Caspienne.

Enfin, une base militaire russe se situe sur le territoire armenien:
il est donc possible d’organiser des provocations contre les militaires
russes pour les impliquer indirectement dans un conflit militaire.

L’opposition

L’activite des ambassadeurs americain John Heffern et polonais Zdzislaw
Raczynski confirme que l’Armenie pourrait etre la prochaine sur la
liste de Washington après l’Ukraine. Ils sont en consultations avec
les leaders de l’opposition armenienne, Levon Ter-Petrossian (Congrès
national armenien) et Raffi Ovannissian (Heritage), qui participent
activement aux activites antirusses.

Ter-Petrossian appelle desormais a changer de gouvernement “rapidement”
et a transformer le referendum constitutionnel en “rassemblement
national de defiance envers le gouvernement”.

Dans l’ensemble, la rhetorique antirusse de l’opposition, qui contrôle
près d’un tiers des sièges du parlement, est extremement primitive.

Par exemple, les arguments suivants sont encore cites pour “prouver”
l’implication de la Russie dans la politique du genocide armenien:

– Le ministre russe des Affaires etrangères Alexeï Lobanov-Rostovski
aurait declare a la fin du XIXe siècle: “Nous avons besoin d’une
Armenie sans Armeniens”;

– Le gouverneur du Caucase au debut du XXe siècle Grigori Golitsine
a dit: “Je ferai en sorte que le seul Armenien reste a Tiflis soit
un Armenien empaille au musee de la ville”.

Mais le fait est qu’aucune de ces phrases n’a ete confirmee par des
sources historiques. Neanmoins, dans le contexte de vide ideologique
general, ces phrases imaginees de deux dirigeants russes ont servi
de fondement pour une puissante campagne russophobe.

Le gouvernement

Comme l’a demontre l’Euromaïdan, plus le travail ideologique du
gouvernement est faible et plus la corruption est importante, plus
il est facile d’organiser un coup d’Etat.

Le parti republicain armenien au pouvoir ressemble aujourd’hui
plutôt a un club d’affaires. Son ideologie officielle est le > de Gareguine Njdeh. Le concept ethno-religieux
de cet homme d’Etat de la Première republique (1918-1920) date d’un
siècle. A l’ère des technologies mediatiques et de la mondialisation,
le monde a tellement change que ces thèses de cent ans sont devenues
complètement archaïques.

De plus l’ideologie de Gareguine Njdeh, comme tout nationalisme, ne
travaille pas pour l’unification mais la confrontation, notamment avec
les Turcs. Un pays entoure de peuples turcs ne peut pas vivre en etat
de conflit permanent, alimente par des idees de suprematie “aryenne”.

Historiquement ce pays a toujours ete au croisement des civilisations
et des cultures: a l’epoque antique – entre l’Empire romain et la
Perse (Parthie); au Moyen Âge – entre Byzance et le califat arabe;
aujourd’hui – entre le monde russe et islamique. Les Armeniens ont
ainsi toujours trouve un terrain d’entente meme la où cela semblait
impossible – et ont donc eu la reputation de population tolerante et
accueillante. Le nationalisme prive au contraire la nation de tous
ces avantages.

Enfin, Gareguine Njdeh a activement collabore avec les nazis pendant
la Seconde Guerre mondiale considerant les Armeniens, de meme que les
Slaves, comme des sous-hommes. Pour les descendants de l’un des pays
vainqueurs, il est donc offensant d’en faire un heros.

Le parti republicain armenien a manifestement besoin d’elaborer une
nouvelle ideologie, differente du nationalisme du debut du XXe siècle
oriente sur le soutien de l’Occident.

Le besoin d’une nouvelle ideologie

Bien sûr, en parallèle avec l’integration eurasiatique, la
question de la recherche d’un nouveau fondement identitaire se pose
pour l’Armenie. Et comme le gouvernement a decide de changer la
Constitution, c’est visiblement le moment pour y apporter certains
changements qui pourraient prevenir le deroulement en Armenie du
scenario ukrainien par l’Occident:

– Reconnaître le russe comme deuxième langue nationale;

– S’orienter sur la priorite de l’idee de cohesion entre toutes les
nations vivant sur ce territoire dans la politique de l’Etat.

Sans oublier la formation d’une nouvelle ideologie reconciliatrice
et non basee sur le nationalisme.

L’Armenie fait penser aujourd’hui a l’arche de Noe, echouee près du
mont Ararat coince entre deux puissants tourbillons geopolitiques.

D’une part, la vague d’integration europeenne arrive via la Georgie et
l’Ukraine. De l’autre, une tempete du radicalisme islamique belliqueux
approche de la Syrie et de l’Irak. A l’interieur l’opposition fait
chavirer l’arche et l’entraîne au fond. Les integrateurs europeens
de Moscou lui apportent leur “aide” (Echo de Moscou, Vedomosti), qui
appellent la Russie a ne pas cooperer avec des “pays economiquement
en retard et politiquement non libre”.

Par ailleurs, il convient de rappeler que c’est en unissant leurs
efforts que la Russie et l’Armenie parvenaient a tenir le coup pendant
les epoques les plus difficiles.

Arriveront-elles a faire face une nouvelle fois aux defis a venir?

C’est du cap choisi aujourd’hui par l’arche armenienne que cela
dependra.

L’opinion de l’auteur ne coïncide pas forcement avec la position de
la redaction

Armenian Economic Association Best Paper Awards

Press Release
Armenian Economic Association
Contact: Shushanik Hakobyan
email: [email protected]

The Armenian Economic Association (AEA) is proud to announce the
winners of the awards for the best economics papers presented at its
2014 Conference in Yerevan, June 20-22.

The following are the recipients, their affiliations, and the titles
of their papers, in each of three categories of awards:

The recipients of the IMF best paper awards (sponsored by IMF):
1. Gayane Barseghyan, the Central Bank of Armenia and American
University of Armenia
Title: Income Distribution and Macroeconomics: The impact of
Technological Progress
2. Vahagn Jerbashian, University of Barcelona and CERGE-EI
Title: The Impact of Doing-business Regulations on Investments in ICT

The recipients of Grigor Artzruni awards — young scholars (sponsored
by USAID/FED):
1. Lilia Aleksanyan, Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne
Title: Economic and Financial Determinants of Firm Bankruptcy:
Evidence from French Manufacturing Firms
2. Saba Devdariani, ISET, Georgia
Title: Improving on the ‘Ramdom Path’-Algorithm
3. Michael Ghukasyan, Yerevan State University
Title: Dynamic modeling of the structure of Armenia’s economy (in Armenian)

The recipients of the Armen Alchian awards — general interest
(sponsored by USAID/FED):
1. Aleksandr Grigoryan, American University of Armenia
Title: Migration and Power
2. Nune Hovhannisyan, Loyola University Maryland
Title: Technology Sourcing through International Business Travel
3. Gurgen Aslanyan, CERGE-EI
Title: Are Bismarckian Pensions Immune to Unskilled Immigration?

The Armenian Economic Association 2014 conference was jointly hosted
by Yerevan State University (YSU), the Russian Armenian University
(RAU), and the American University of Armenia (AUA) on June 20-22,
2014. It was concluded with a workshop on Modeling Market Risk on June
23rd, at YSU.

The Conference brought together academics and researchers from
Armenia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Serbia,
Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Presentations over the three days included over 45 papers which
addressed topics in international trade, economic development, macro
and microeconomics, migration, finance, political economy, and labor
markets among others.

The meetings were opened by PM Hovik Abrahamyan at YSU. He was shortly
followed by a keynote speech by Mattias Polborn, Professor and
Director of Graduate Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
USA. On Saturday, the keynote speaker at the opening at RAU was
Haroutioun Samuelian, Vice Governor, Central Bank of Lebanon. The
luncheon speaker on Sunday at AUA was Teresa Daban Sanchez, Resident
Representative to Armenia, International Monetary Fund.

The conference was in part sponsored by YSU, RAU, AUA, the Central
Bank of Armenia, and the USAID/FED program. For more details, please
visit the conference homepage at

AEA employs the conference format to advance scholarship in economics
and create an environment nurturing of research. Please write us with
your feedback on this and past conferences and suggestions for future
academic gatherings.

Stay tuned for the 2015 conference call for papers.

About AEA:
Follow AEA:
Become a member:

WHAT ARE ARMENIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSSING IN KARABAKH? – NEWSPAPER

June 26, 2014 | 07:42

YEREVAN. – Five official delegations have traveled from Armenia to
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), or Artsakh, in the last 10 days,
and all of them have met with NKR President Bako Sahakyan, Zhoghovurd
daily reported.

“Such attention toward and the frequent visits to Artsakh by the
officials of the native land perhaps are not accidental.

“As Zhoghovurd’s diplomatic sources claim, the discussions [between]
the delegations heading for [the NKR capital city] Stepanakert and
the NKR authorities are related to the problems that have risen in the
case of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, especially
NKR’s status, as well as the possible options to solve the problem of
the customs checkpoint to be set up on the [Armenia-Karabakh] border.

“That is why each administration is trying to understand what it has
to do,” Zhoghovurd wrote.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

INTERSECTIONS: REFLECTIONS ON A RETURN TO THE HOMELAND

Glendale News Press, CA
June 25 2014

By Liana Aghajanian
June 25, 2014 | 3:54 p.m.

After three years away, I am back in Armenia, writing to you from a
fourth-floor balcony overlooking a city perpetually caught between
East and West.

Warm winds have overtaken the capital, Yerevan, in the last few days,
but they are stirring up more than the dust left behind by construction
taking place across the city.

This is a place where your memories and ideas about “homeland” are
convoluted and blown away, scattered among the high-rise buildings
growing taller and taller by the day.

This is a place where you realize “homeland” is often best kept
within the confines of nostalgia and neatly framed paintings hanging
in dining rooms across Los Angeles.

I can come here over and over again, and every time, it isn’t just
the 12-hour time difference or overwhelming dry heat to which I
must adjust.

It is the fact that this is a country, not a concept — a thought
that perhaps hits home when the heavy door of an apartment complex
opens and the cool air comes rushing back at you, trapped within
seven flights of stairs you must climb in pitch-black darkness.

It is the fact that reality is hard not to overlook here when you
visit the police station to see the activists who protested rising
electricity prices being let out one by one after being brutally
taken away by police earlier in the day.

It is the corner fruit grocer, the one that keeps a goldfish tank above
the cash register enticing you with several varieties of apricots,
the ones you completely devour before you even get halfway up the
street, slicing them open with your bare hands as the juice drips on
your shoes.

It is sitting in a pub called “Heisenberg” completely modeled off
the brilliant series “Breaking Bad,” with the chemical formula for
methamphetamine painted on the wall.

Homeland carries more weight than just a geographical location. It
is the longing to discover and rediscover, the need to relate and
even the realization that sometimes there are more differences,
more stark realities than we like to admit.

Homeland is the place where you grew up, the place next door to the
country you’re in now, the one where you were born and the one you
fear you may never get to visit. It is sometimes all of these things
combined, too.

And then, it’s also coming to the realization that sometimes the
concept of homeland isn’t in the places we set foot in at 3 a.m.,
bleary-eyed and worn out, attempting to climb into the back seat of
a lovely blue Lada.

It’s the space in between — the need to go, to escape, that unsettled
feeling that the most comfortable space you can find is the one in
which you’re moving. This is a mark of the immigrant experience —
especially the Armenian one, where a defining characteristic of our
collective history seems to always encompass the necessity or desire
to keep moving on.

So I’ve come to the Caucasus for the summer, unsure of what brought me
here. Perhaps it was longing to learn about myself and others just a
little bit more. Or perhaps it was that intrinsic need to leave and
land in a place long enough to feel the need to move on again.

—

LIANA AGHAJANIAN is a Los Angeles-based journalist whose work has
appeared in L.A. Weekly, Paste magazine, New America Media, Eurasianet
and The Atlantic.

,0,4979131.story