Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Water issues in Armenia
by Areg Gharabegian

Published: Saturday July 06, 2013

This year’s Vartavar – Armenia’s water holiday – is on July 7. Photolure

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Armenia has abundant water resources which are generally adequate for
drinking, irrigation, and industrial use throughout the country, with
some limitations in a few areas. Water usage has been reduced after
independence due to reduction of industrial and agricultural
activities.

Approximately 98% of drinking water supplies are from groundwater
and/or springs with remaining percentage from surface water, mainly
streams. The quality of ground and spring waters is generally
satisfactory for potable use and as a result only
chlorination/disinfection treatment is required. However, conventional
water treatment systems are used for water from streams. The water
sources are quite well protected and only rare cases of contamination
or bacterial pollution have been reported in recent years. Base on the
forecast of water demands for urban and rural areas, it is anticipated
that the water sources would adequate to satisfy future water needs.

The adequacy of water resources is not the reason for issues related
with water services in Armenia. During the Soviet era, large
investments were made on water related projects to provide water to
urban and rural areas. However, quality of workmanship was low and
there were lack of proper water resource management and control of
consumption. In addition, water delivery and treatment infrastructure
were neither routinely maintained nor upgraded. Furthermore, major
repairs, investments, and upgrades were almost stopped for many years
after collapse of the Soviet Union due to the lack of funding. There
were also a wide spread misuse of assets and resources such as
stealing pipes and pumps.

During the last 10 years significant legislatives have been enacted
and institutional reforms have been introduced in Armenia related to
water resources management and protection. One of the main
achievements was introduction and application of the principles of
integrated water resources management.

Improvements in continuity of water supply can only happen with
increased investments in infrastructure. Initial estimates indicate
that short to midterm investment requirements could be about $179
million ($79 million for Yerevan and $100 million for other urban
areas). Recent proposed investment programs are linked particularly to
improving efficiency.

Five state-owned enterprises were established to manage and administer
the water systems in different areas of Armenia as part of the water
supply system reform. Currently the majority of the population of
Armenia is served by the following water utilities:

– Yerevan Jour – serving population of 1 million in Yerevan and 33
nearby villages;

– Armenia Water and Sewerage Company (AWSC) – serving population of
620,000 in over 300 villages; and

– Three Regional Utilities (Nor Akunq, Lori, and Shirak) – serving
population of 320,000.

Additionally there are 560 villages outside these utility service
areas, served by arrangements that vary by each individual community.
All five major utilities are engaged in some form of private-public
partnership arrangement with various international operators. AWSC is
currently managed and operated by Saur, a French utility company. The
fee-based contract had an original term of 5 years but was extended
for an additional year until 31 December 2013.

Armenia’s water supply networks and systems are in need of major
repairs and upgrades. The absence of investments over the years,
coupled with the lack of routine maintenance, has resulted in
deteriorated infrastructure that is unable to deliver the appropriate
level of service to its users. Water losses or nonrevenue water is
estimated to be up to 85% which according to World Bank is one of the
highest percentage water losses in the world. More than 50% of water
losses are due to leaks from old pipes and the remainder is due to
nonpayment, underpayment, or theft. Nearly 65% of the nonrevenue water
losses are at the multifamily residential buildings and private
houses. Besides leaks from pipes, these losses are due to meter
tampering by using of magnets, leave water running, and use of 2nd and
3rd unmetered inlet pipes at residential units.

Increase in level of services using old leaky pipelines has a negative
effect on water losses. This is due to running high pressure water
through old pipes with leaks for longer time which cause more water to
be lost through the leaks. Recently about 70% of the distribution
system in Armavir was replaced and water supply duration was increased
to 22 hours a day but non revenue water has only decreased from 87 to
70%.

Most of the current water meters in Yerevan are old and are often of
low quality. These meters are inaccurate and they cannot provide
reliable results. In addition, most of the meters can be easily
tampered by using magnets. However, over 95% of residential and
commercial water connections are metered.

The water rates in Armenia are around AMD200 per cubic meter, which is
considered low compared to regional and international norms of
approximately AMD400 per cubic meter. Such a low level does not
provide adequate funding for water providers to renovate water system
infrastructure. The rates are not even sufficient to cover operation
and maintenance costs. The typical cost of water for one month for a
family is equivalent to three packs of cigarettes. It would be
difficult to imposing water rate increases on the public, especially
if the service is intermittent.

Revenue collections are extremely high when compared against
international and regional experience. However, generally billing is
based on flow volumes, and as noted earlier, currently it is almost
impossible to obtain accurate measures of consumption because of the
poor state of the metering. As a result there is no clear indication
of whether customers are paying for actual water volumes received.

Despite Armenia’s abundance of water, the population’s supply needs
could not be met, as a significant proportion had access to drinking
water for just a few hours per day. To address these issues, the
Government of Armenia has sought to improve the water supply and
sanitation sector through various policy and legislative reforms as
well as capital investments with support from international
institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and with
private participation through public-private partnerships.

In 2007, the ADB approved a loan of $36 million to Armenia to help
improve public health and the environment for 576,000 people in 16
towns by revitalizing and rehabilitating the existing water
infrastructure and increasing the capacity of the water supply and
sanitation service providers. While this project had positive
implementation results, the need to address pressing issues, including
capital investments for upgrading of the network and the long-term
financial sustainability of the Armenian water supplying companies
remained. Thus, in 2012, ADB approved the Government of Armenia’s
request for $40 million in additional financing to continue and expand
the improvements delivered by the initial project.

Operationally, the project has increased potable water supply by at
least 12 hours to more than 600,000 residents. Payment collection also
increased from 61% in 2008 to 74% in 2010, driven by the installation
of water meters and an ongoing community program to raise awareness of
water use and management.

Water supplying companies acknowledge that nonrevenue water is
staggeringly high. To address the issue, they are suggesting that to
(i) utilize large capital investments to replace and upgrade aging
infrastructure and decrease leaks in the network; (ii) install better
water meters for residential properties and electronic water meters
for high-rise buildings to better account for water use; (iii) install
better flow meters to account for more accurate flow values; and (iv)
place more attention and efforts on decreasing the incidence of
illegal connections through better community consultation and active
monitoring.

Sources:

Water Sector Note, Report No.: 61317-AM, Sustainable Development
Department, Europe and Central Asia Region, The World Bank, May 2011

Armenia: Fostering the Long-Term Financial Viability and
Sustainability of the Armenian Water and Sewerage Company, Asian
Development Bank (ADB), Central and West Asia Department, Working
Paper Series, Adrian Torres, March 2013

ARMENIE-ROUMANIE
Des variétés de prunes de Roumanie seront produites en Arménie

Du 8 au 9 juillet se tiendra à Erévan la 4ème rencontre de la
Commission de coopération arméno-roumaine chargée du Commerce et des
Sciences. Cette commission intergouvernementale vise à développer les
échanges entre l’Arménie et la Roumanie. Lors de l’ouverture des
travaux, interviendront par des discours, le ministre arménien des
Transports et des communications, Gaguik Beglarian ainsi que Varoujan
Vosganian, le ministre de l’Economie de la Roumanie. Le développement
arméno-roumain est dans le domaine du commerce, de l’énergie, de
l’élevage, des transports, du tourisme ainsi que de l’agriculture. La
société arménienne « Hayastan Mirk » (Fruits d’Arménie) développe le
projet d’implantation en Arménie de plusieurs variétés de prunes de
très bonne qualité, venant de Roumanie et qui pourrait se développer
en Arménie. Les relations diplomatiques entre Erévan et Bucarest sont
très chaleureuses et parallèlement à la coopération en matière
économique de nombreuses manifestations culturelles arméno-roumaines
sont au programme au cours des prochaines semaines.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 7 juillet 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Glendale News Press, CA
July 6 2013

Glendale library system offers tales in other tongues: Armenian and Spanish

The Stories in Other Languages program expands its services to include toddlers.

By Daniel Siegal, July 6, 2013 | 5:03 p.m.

At the Library Connection in Glendale’s Adams Square Saturday,
librarian Kristine Markosyan read children’s stories to about 10
wide-eyed toddlers in a scene that is a common sight at public
libraries – except this story-time was in Armenian, and included
versions of traditional Armenian fairy tales.

The session was just one instance of the Glendale Library’s Stories in
Other Languages program, which provides the same story-time
programming for young children that is offered throughout the system,
but in Armenian or Spanish.

The programs are offered once a month at the Library Connection and
the Central, Grandview and Pacific Park libraries.

Markosyan said after the program’s conclusion that the program was
part of the library’s efforts to encourage all members of the Glendale
community to take advantage of the library’s services.

“I’ve been seeing more Armenian families in the library, at the other
story-time programs, she said.

Markosyan said the Spanish language story-time program has seen
similar levels of turnout as the Armenian one.

According to 2010 Census data, 55% of Glendale residents were born in
a foreign country, and Markosyan said that new arrivals might not
realize that the library wants to offer programs for them as well.

“We do have people asking if we offer programs in Armenian, and people
are surprised that we do,” she said. “If there’s more demand, we’ll do
more.”

For first-time attending parent Harout Shamamian, who was born in
Yerevan but grew up in America, the program was a chance to help his
children grow up bilingual.

Shamamian said that mostly Armenian is spoken in his household,
because his children, Patrick, 3, and Lillian, 6, are learning English
at school, but he wants to ensure they are connected to their
heritage.

Although the program has been in effect since 2008, Markosyan said
that recently the library started offering it to younger toddlers to
capture a new generation of the Armenian community.

“I think those kids grew up,” she said. “I’m noticing, too, the new
generation are trying to reconnect with their culture.”

Sam Darbinian, who was at the library Saturday with his 2-year-old
twins and their 5-year-old brother, said the program was important
because it instilled a love for reading in a generation that is
bombarded with digital temptations.

“You want to get them interested in reading,” he said. “It’s easy to
find entertainment, but not something educational.”

,0,3767237.story

Patheos
July 6 2013

The Women Deacons of the Armenian Church

July 6, 2013 By Deacon Greg Kandra

Hours after this story broke, about the head of the CDF’s remarks on
women deacons, the item below popped up in my Google newsfeed. I think
it opens a window to a part of the Christian world many of us in the
Latin church don’t know about.

The story recounts a talk given last month in Illinois by the
historian Knarik O. Meneshian, who gave some of the background behind
women deacons in the Armenian Apostolic Church:

`Women deacons, an ordained ministry, have served the Armenian Church
for centuries. In the Haykazian Dictionary, based on evidence from the
5th-century Armenian translations, the word deaconess is defined as a
`female worshipper or virgin servant active in the church and superior
or head of a nunnery.’ Other pertinent references to women deacons in
the Armenian Church are included in the `Mashdots Matenadarn
collection of manuscripts from the period between the fall of the
Cilician kingdom (1375) and the end of the 16th century, which contain
the ordination rite for women deacons.’

`The diaconate is one of the major orders in the Armenian Church. The
word deacon means to serve `with humility’ and to assist. The Armenian
deaconesses historically have been called sargavak or deacon. They
were also referred to as deaconess sister or deaconess nun. The other
major orders of the church are bishop and priest. The deaconesses,
like the bishops and monks, are celibate. Their convents are usually
described as anabad, meaning, in this case, not a `desert’ as the word
implies, but rather `an isolated location where monastics live away
from populated areas.’ Anabads differ from monasteries in their
totally secluded life style. In convents and monasteries, Armenian
women have served as nuns, scribes, subdeacons, deacons, and
archdeacons (`first among equals’), as a result not only giving of
themselves, but enriching and contributing much to our nation and
church. In the 17th century, for example, the scribe and deaconess
known as Hustianeh had written `a devotional collection of prayers and
lives of the fathers, and a manuscript titled Book of Hours, dated
1653.’

…To appreciate more fully the role of the deaconess in the church,
Father Abel Oghlukian’s book, The Deaconess In The Armenian Church,
refers to Fr. Hagop Tashian’s bookVardapetutiun Arakelots… (Teachings
of the Apostles…), Vienna, 1896, and Kanonagirk Hayots(Book of Canons)
edited by V. Hakobyan, Yerevan, 1964, in which a most striking thought
is expressed:

If the bishop represents God the Father and the priest Christ, then
the deaconess, by her calling, symbolizes the presence of the Holy
Spirit, in consequence of which one should accord her fitting respect.

`Over the centuries, in some instances, the mission of the Armenian
deaconesses was educating, caring for orphans and the elderly,
assisting the indigent, comforting the bereaved, and addressing
women’s issues. They served in convents and cathedrals, and the
general population…

`Mkhitar Gosh (l130-1213), who was a priest, public figure, scholar,
thinker, and writer, `defended the practice of ordaining women to the
diaconate,’ Ervine writes, and she adds that in his law book titled,
On Clerical Orders and the Royal Family, Gosh described women deacons
and their specific usefulness in the following words:

There are also women ordained as deacons, called deaconesses for the
sake of preaching to women and reading the Gospel. This makes it
unnecessary for a man to enter the convent or for a nun to leave it.

When priests perform baptism on mature women, the deaconesses approach
the font to wash the women with the water of atonement behind the
curtain.

Their vestments are exactly like those of nuns or sisters, except that
on their forehead they have a cross; their stole hangs from over the
right shoulder.

Do not consider this new and unprecedented as we learn it from the
tradition of the holy apostles: For Paul says, `I entrust to you our
sister Phoebe, who is a deacon of the church.’

Book Review: Bohjalian’s `The Light in the Ruins’

By Wendy Plotkin

July 5, 2013

The Light in the Ruins
By Chris Bohjalian
New York: Doubleday (July 9, 2013)
309 pages, $25.95

Chris Bohjalian’s The Light in the Ruins is a taught, suspenseful
page-turner. In somewhat of a departure from his previous works,
Bohjalian’s new novel is darker, even flirting with the crime fiction
genre. The novel is set at a beautiful estate in Tuscany that is
dragged into the tragedy and destruction of World War II, along with
the family that owns it, the Rosatis. From the first pages, however,
Bohjalian makes clear we are in for something different here – this will
not be a tragic war-time love story – as the novel starts with the
grisly musings of a serial killer, describing the murder he is about
to commit. Who is this madman and why is he doing this? Once the stage
is set, the novel slowly unravels the mystery of who the murderer is
and why he keeps killing. Bohjalian keeps the reader guessing
throughout, making the book difficult to put down.

978 0 385 53481 9 197×300 Book Review: Bohjalian’s `The Light in the Ruins’
`The Light in the Ruins’ comes out on July 9, 2013.

The novel is narrated from multiple perspectives: the nameless killer
with murderous intent, the Rosatis struggling to deal with the
violence and upheaval of World War II, and a tough female detective in
the Florence police department who is investigating the murder that
opens the novel. Light in the Ruins alternates between 1955 Florence
during the murder investigation and 1943-45 at Villa Chimera, the
Rosati family estate in Tuscany. The connections between what happened
during the war at Villa Chimera and the horrible murders of 1955 are
what propel the mystery to an eventual – and surprising – resolution.

The Rosatis are a noble Tuscan family who, in 1943, are trying to keep
their family and beautiful way of life intact despite the war that is
raging around them. At the time, the Nazi army is fully ensconced in
Italy, and the Italian people are forced into the role of wary allies
and hosts. Villa Chimera becomes an attractive target for the Nazis,
who are enamored with Italian art and history. Antonio Rosati, the
patriarch of the family, when faced with the inescapable presence of
the Nazi army chooses the path of least resistance and welcomes the
local Nazi contingent from Florence into his home. These German
officials are interested in the ancient Etruscan ruins on the property
and visit repeatedly to inspect them and enjoy the Rosati’s
hospitality. Antonio’s son Vittore is a soldier but spends his time
off the battlefield as a representative of the Italian military at the
Uffizi museum in Florence, assisting – and in some instances covertly
preventing – the Nazi theft of Italian masterpieces. Vittore’s brother,
Marco, is a soldier bracing for an Allied invasion in Sicily. His wife
Francesca and two children live at the Villa Chimera with his parents
and sister.

Antonio’s youngest daughter, Cristina, is 18 years old. She is both
pampered and innocent, stuck at the Villa because of the war. Cristina
occupies her time playing with her niece and nephew (Marco’s children)
and riding her beloved horse Arabella. Her ill-fated romance with a
Nazi soldier who works with her brother becomes the focus of the story
set during the war. As the situation of the Germans in Italy
deteriorates, Cristina’s romance complicates her family’s fate.

The more weathered women of Villa Chimera – the marchesa, the haughty
Beatrice and her sharp-tongued sister-in-law Francesca – counter
Cristina’s sweetness. It is Francesca who is the victim of the
mysterious serious killer. Shortly after the novel begins she is
found, in 1955, murdered in her apartment with her heart cut out of
her body. While once a close-knit family, 10 years later the Rosatis
have become fractured as a result of the damage done to them during
the war.

The detective assigned to the case, Serafina Bettini, is the central
and most compelling character in the novel. She fought as a partisan
during the war and was severely burned, leaving her scarred both
physically and emotionally. Serafina is a trailblazer; there are no
other women in the Florence police department, much less in the murder
squad. After Francesca is murdered, another murder soon reveals that
the former was not random and that someone is targeting the Rosati
family. Serafina is convinced that uncovering the family’s wartime
past will lead to the killer. By looking backwards, however, Serafina
is forced to confront her own suppressed memories of the war and why
the family’s Tuscan estate, Villa Chimera, is so familiar to her.

In Serafina, Bohjalian has perhaps created his most complex and
compelling lead character. Bohjalian does not shy away from Serafina’s
darkness; the scars from the war fuel her determination rather than
make her tragic. The novel is expertly paced, and as Serafina
desperately tries to solve the murder and save the surviving members
of the Rosati family, Bohjalian also reveals the dark secrets from the
war that haunt both Serafina and the Rosatis. By tying the mystery of
the Rosatis’ killer to Serafina’s past, Bohjalian effortlessly turns a
work of historical fiction into a breathless whodunit. The Light in
the Ruins is arguably Bohjalian’s most accomplished work to date.

Wendy Plotkin is a litigation attorney at a Boston area biotechnology
company. Her book review and cooking blog can be found at
She also writes book reviews for the
Armenian Weekly.

150 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side registered in
the past week

15:12 06.07.2013
ceasefire violation

According to the data of the NKR Defense Army, about 150 cases of
ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the
line of contact between the Armed Forces of Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijan from June 30 to July 6.

The rival fired more than 800 shots from weapons of different caliber
in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the Defense Army gave a worthy response to the
rival and continued with their military duty all along the line of
contact.

Yerevan-Beirut flight to contribute to business environment of two
countries: Middle East Airlines General Director

12:05, 6 July, 2013

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS: The Minister of Diaspora of the Republic
of Armenia Hranush Hakobyan received on July 6 the
General Director of the Middle East Airlines Mohamad El-Hout, who
arrived in Armenia on the ocassion of the opening of the BeirutYerevan
direct flight.
The Minister of Diaspora considered the opening of the flight quite
important for the two countries. `Thus Yerevan and Beirut will be
closer to each other’, –
said Hranush Hakobyan.

As stated by the General Director of the Middle East Airlines Mohamad
El-Hout, the flight was necessary for such close courtiers,
as Lebanon and Armenia. `The flight will contribute to the development
of the business environment of the two countries’, –
said Mohamad El-Hout, as reported by Armenpress.

The Beirut-Yerevan direct flight was made on July 5, by which about
130 passengers arrived in Armenia, including the representatives of
the Lebanese Government and business circles. The flights will be
regular, twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. The ticket costs
420 EURO.

The flights will be implemented by the Lebanese MEA Air Company, the
representative office in Armenia of which is Sidon Travel.
The direct flights between Lebanon and Armenia have been suspended
because of the Armavia’s bankruptcy

Ts. Nazaryan: `The court system serves the interests of the Republican
Party’s vicious regime.’

()
22:39 | July 5 2013

The verdicts of the judge Levon Arazyan regarding the abuse cases of
Anik Davtyan and Tsovinar Nazaryan are announced. According to the
verdict of Anik Davtyan, naming the voter a `tomfool, gutter, monkey,
impudent, and so on’… pursued the purpose of providing normal course
of elections.’ To remind you that 75-year-old pensioner Anik Davtyan
and the journalist, member of `Law Europe’ observation group Tsovinar
Nazaryan requested the court to oblige Tigran Virabyan to publicly
apologize for offending phrases addressed to them, and that this
action is videorecorded and posted on YouTube website. Aravot.am, in
the conversation with Ts. Nazaryan, inquired how is sheassessing the
wording of the verdict, she said,- `It is a ridiculous decision,
because to abuse legal institutions of Armenia like this to make a
compatriot, tribal resolution, is just a direct insult to Armenia. By
the decision of the judge, it turns out that the chairmen of electoral
commission may offend the voters with all those words. I would not be
surprised if another decision is made, pursuant to which from now on
it is possible to attack the voters with an ax, as it is necessary to
protect the electoral process. During the election, Tigran Virabyan
was raising loud noise, calling the chair of precinct committee,
making a mess; the chair was joining the noise, and in the election
process was stopped.

In doing so, they were even disrupting the electoral process and not
providing unobstructed process.’ We inquired as to what was the result
of having such a judgment. Ts. Nazaryan replied,- `It is not news that
the judicial system is not only independent, but rather serves the
interests of the Republican Party’s vicious regime. Therefore, we can
say that the judiciary is corrupt, and is subject to one party,
instead of servicing the interests of the people and the public. This
is simply a disgrace. We will definitely appeal to the appellate
court, and it is not going to have the basis and reasons for not
considering the cancellation of the first instance decision.

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN Photo by Vardine GRIGORYAN

Serzh Sargsyan: International recognition of Armenian Genocide will
always be an imperative

11:29 06/07/2013 » ANALYSIS

President Serzh Sargsyan delivered opening remarks at the Second
Pan-Armenian Forum of Lawyers on Friday.

`Distinguished Participants of the Conference,
Dear Compatriots,

I cordially salute all participants of the Second Pan-Armenian Forum
of Lawyers in Yerevan. I am very glad that the RA Ministry of Diaspora
and the Pan-Armenian Conference of Lawyers organization have initiated
bringing together under one roof prominent representatives of the
Armenian legal mind.

Pan-Armenian professional initiatives have become one of the most
important areas of Armenia-Spyurk cooperation. And they have already
started yielding results, revealing new opportunities for the
efficient use of the Armenians’ potential all over the world.

It is no accident that the Armenian lawyers are holding in the center
of their attention the legal problems of the Armenian Genocide. You
have been bringing your active theoretical and practical participation
to its international recognition. Your efforts aimed at bringing the
attention of the state and political structures of different countries
to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and revealing the
truth to the entire world are commendable. These efforts will
contribute to the prevention of the hideous crime of genocide
everywhere in the world.

International recognition of the Armenian Genocide, its condemnation
and elimination of the consequences will always be an imperative. As
long as there exists the Armenian state, all efforts to deny and send
to oblivion this historical reality will be doomed to failure. The
greatest crime against humanity must be recognized and condemned once
and for all and first of all by Turkey itself.

Dear Friends,

The State Committee on Coordination of the events dedicated to the
100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was formed in April 2011.
Formed were also international advisory groups, as well as
corresponding regional commissions in Spyurk. Many of you,
undoubtedly, have already been actively engaged in these works.

Today, on the eve of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, you have
the opportunity to blend your knowledge and experience, come up with
proposals and scientific conclusions.

I wish the Second Pan-Armenian Forum of Lawyers all the best and
efficient work.’

Source: Panorama.am

Syrian Armenian decorates utensils with special materials and napkins

11:51, 6 July, 2013

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS: Alina Ter-Davidyan and her family, who
have come to Armenia from Aleppo, Syria, have lived
in Yerevan for about six months. After graduating from the school,
Alina has not got higher specialty but she tried to get images from
napkins and attach them to the transparent utensils. As the Armenpress
correspondent was reported by Alina, she made her
first work on an amateur level for her personal use.

`My friends encouraged and advised me to get to that work seriously
and approach to it more professionally. I began buying
better napkins and materials. It has been already for eleven years I
am doing this work and get a great pleasure from it’, – said Alina
Ter-Davidyan, adding that her handmade works have already participated
in three exhibitions in Armenia.

In Armenia Alina make the images on smaller pieces of utensils, as big
vases and containers cost more expensive and their sale is
quite difficult.

Armenpress presents the success stories of our Syrian Armenian
compatriots, who have come to leave in Armenia because of the
recent political events taking place in Syria. About 6,000 Syrian
Armenians currently live in Armenia. 600 of our compatriots applied to
the
Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia for work and 200 of
them have successfully found a job with the direct assistance of the
Ministry.

(THE FULL VERSION OF THE ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Prepared by Ruzanna Movsisyan
Photos by Arevik Grigoryan