THE ANATOMY OF ECONOMIC MIGRATION
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 24 2006
A study by the International Association for the Study of Forced
Migration (IASFM) says currently some 350 000-450 000 Georgians are
working outside the country. This is 11-15 percent of the working
population in Georgia. The average monthly income for each Georgian
immigrant is USD 775, most migrants work abroad in order to support
their family at home.
The newspaper Akhali Taoba reports an IASFM a poll of approximately
1132 Georgians who had at least one family member living abroad.
The study revealed that 48 percent of the immigrants were unemployed
before going abroad.
80 percent of those living abroad used Western Union to send money
home. 14 percent are young Georgians studying abroad who did not
send money.
On average, each immigrant sends USD 180 per month to their family back
home. The largest individual monthly sums are sent from immigrants
living in the US and Greece while the smallest monthly amounts come
from Turkey and Armenia. For 56 percent of the Georgians with family
abroad, the main source of their income was from their relatives
working in other countries.
The study also reports that of those immigrants who returned to Georgia
after working abroad, only 19 percent of them were able to establish
successful businesses in Georgia. Four percent used the money they
had earned to pay for university expenses and 40 percent paid off
their debts (Most people borrowed money to fund their trip abroad).
37 percent of the immigrants from the study are unemployed again and
nine percent are working in jobs for which they are over qualified.
Despite everything, 65 percent of the immigrants stated they were
content working abroad.

SUMMER MISSIONS PROGRAMS MAKE WAVES WORLDWIDE
By Katelyn Foster
Baylor University The Lariat Online, Texas
Oct 24 2006
Mission trips to Kenya, Armenia and Honduras next summer will continue
the progress made by Baylor students in recent years.
Each trip includes teams of students divided into the students’
academic concentrations. Discipline-specific teams are able to use
their classroom knowledge and expertise to focus in on particular
problems affecting the country.
“The purpose of going is to take Baylor students within their
disciplines,” Christy Correll-Hughes, graduate assistant for University
Ministries missions, said. “It gives them a chance to use the skills
they’ve learned to discover a sense of calling.”
Kenya
“Kenya is a very good gateway to Africa,” Ryan Richardson, associate
director for worship and media, said.
Richardson has been the leader of the general ministries team for the
past two years. He said Kenya is a “good first experience in Africa”
because it is westernized enough to be safe, but students can still
experience the culture shock in the slums.
Most teams stay in the Nairobi area and work in the Kibera slum. He
said Kibera impacts students and “looks like what you see on TV.”
According to the African Medical and Research Foundation, Kibera
is the second-largest slum in the world and is home to nearly 1
million people.
In the last two years, the engineering team built bridges across
bodies of water. Kenyans travel 20 miles around water to get to a
market, but bridges cut the trip down to one mile.
The general ministry team worked in a slum with a school with about
200 students ages 4 to 18. The school had two functional rooms and
was in very poor condition.
“I mean mud walls and a metal top,” Richardson said. “It had no
seating, no curriculum and only four teachers.”
The team taught high school students to set goals while other Baylor
students worked with children by singing songs, jumping rope and
playing games.
A team from George W. Truett Theological Seminary worked with Living
Water, an organization that builds wells in Third World countries.
The team also partnered with the Olympic Vocational Center in Kibera.
The team played soccer with Kenyans at a school but also helped train
them in beauty school. Richardson said the goal was to help them
“envision a successful life.”
The progress made two years ago allowed for 10 students to stay on
an extended trip this past summer. Different disciplines comprised
the extended team and stayed an extra two weeks.
The group did in-home visits with victims of HIV and AIDS and worked
with Beacon of Hope, an organization that shares Christ with women
living with or affected by AIDS/HIV in poor communities.
In the future, Richardson said, he hopes to branch out of Kenya.
“Ten years from now I hope we’re going to six or seven African
countries,” he said.
He sees the possibility of 2,000 students going on mission trips
every year.
“Kenya needs you, but you really need Kenya,” he said.
Armenia
This summer will mark the second mission trip Baylor has taken
to Armenia.
Kelli McMahan, outdoor adventure coordinator and a leader of an outdoor
advancement team in Armenia, said the purpose of the Project Armenia
mission trip is “to develop small and large business ideas related
to tourism.” This helps create jobs for the locals, she said.
“The people there don’t really have a mind set for developing business
ideas and how to be competitive,” McMahan said.
Armenia is a country of natural beauty with historic monasteries
and has potential to attract tourism potential from Iran, the United
States and Western Europe, she said.
“The potential to really impact the economy in this country is huge,”
Correll-Hughes said.
Project Armenia partners with Gospel Armenia Mission based out of
California, Armenia Forest NGO, and Gospel Armenia Outreach.
This year, the environmental studies team will be working with the
water quality and creating a map of trails to walk from one monastery
to another. The team will also create a hut system along these trails,
McMahan said.
The outdoor adventure team will make routes within the mountains for
easier passages.
The team plans to work with Armenian college students and teach
them to be white-water river guides. They will also work to build
Styrofoam houses.
“I think Armenia is developed enough that they’re ready for the ideas
we have,” McMahan said.
She said Armenia is filled with “bright young people that love their
country and want to make it better.”
Honduras
Deaf people in Honduras are shunned and not allowed to go to school,
said Lori Wrzesinski, a senior lecturer and director of the American
Sign Language Program.
Baylor will take its third trip to Honduras this summer to help the
deaf community.
Baylor students work with deaf children while teachers from
Tegucigalpa, Olancho, La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula are trained at
Manos Felices, a school located in Tegucigalpa. The teams work with
New Life Deaf Ministries, a ministry in Honduras dedicated to helping
the deaf and spreading the gospel.
This year will be the third and final stage of the teacher-training
program at the school for students in pre-school to second grade. A
new grade has been added every year.
Wrzesinski said the best part is hearing what the parents of the deaf
children have to say.
She told the story of a dad who thought it was the end for his son
because he was born deaf.
He now works as a bus driver for the school to pay for his son’s
tuition.
He’s learning sign language and doesn’t miss a class, she said.
The work in Honduras is far from over.
“The vision is to have land, build a school, have a small store and
a restaurant, and to have work available,” Wrzesinski said.
She said the mission group will be taking books in hope of building
a library this year.

ARMENIAN GUESTS END VISIT TO TOPEKA
Story by Liz Dodds
49abcnews.com, KS
Oct 23 2006
Topeka is saying goodbye to one special group of visitors. Members
of the Department of Armenian Ministry of Defense are finishing up
their visit to the Capitol City. The two met with Kansas Adjutant
General Tod Bunting Monday morning.
The group came to familiarize the Armenian Ministry of Defense with
the U.S. military’s wartime and peacetime methods. But the Adjutant
General says the learning went both ways.
“Like us, they have a country that has a lot of severe weather and
emergencies, so they keep their public informed on what to do and what
they’re going to be doing in an event of an emergency. So we learned
from them you don’t have to be high-tech and fancy, you just need to
keep people informed and tell them what’s going on and what to do,
says Adjutant General Tod Bunting.
Kansas became a partner with the Republic of Armenia in 2003.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FRENCH REJECTS TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO EU
Angus Reid Global Scan, Canada
Oct 24 2006
– Many adults in France believe the European Union (EU) should
not welcome Turkey as a member, according to a poll by Louis-Harris
released by RMC. 58 per cent of respondents reject Turkey’s accession
into the continental group.
In October 2005, the EU officially began accession talks with Turkey.
On Oct. 16, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn discussed the
current state of affairs, saying, “We have some tensions in EU-Turkey
relations, but we can’t solve problems by dramatizing them. Instead,
we have to work prudently and with full determination in order to
find solutions.”
Cyprus joined the EU in 2004. Relations between the Greek majority
and the Turkish minority in Cyprus have been frayed since 1974, when
a Greek-sponsored attempt to seize the government was met by military
intervention from Turkey. In the skirmish, the Turks gained control
of almost two-fifths of the island, which in 1983 declared itself
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
On Oct. 9, French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy discussed his
conditions for Turkey’s EU accession, declaring, “The first is that
there is a bilateral commission between Armenia and Turkey which has
equal representation, so that these two countries can conduct the
work of acknowledging history. The second condition is that Turkey
reopen its borders with Armenia. And the third condition is that
Turkey gives up its penal law which forbids people speaking of the
genocide in Turkey.”
Polling Data
Do you think the European Union (EU) should accept Turkey as a member?
Yes 28%
No 58%
Not sure 14%
Source: Louis-Harris / RMC Methodology: Interviews with 1,003 French
adults, conducted on Oct.
13 and Oct. 14, 2006. No margin of error was provided.
fm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13565

GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER: “WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH TURKEY”
Regnum, Russia
Oct 24 2006
Countries, involved in project of construction of
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia – REGNUM)
railway have sufficient will and capital, which enable saying that
the project will be realized; Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and State
Minister for European and Atlantic Integration Giorgi Baramidze said
in an interview with the Turkish Daily News.
According to the minister, Georgia has no doubts that a proposed
railway project linking his country with Turkey and Azerbaijan will
be realized despite recent decision by the US Senate to block any
funding for it from the US Export-Import Bank. Responding to question
whether the US Senate’s decision, backed by US Senate pro-Armenian
group, would affect the fate of the project, Baramidze said: “Not at
all. There is already money coming from Turkey and Azerbaijan. There
is the will of three countries to do this. So it will happen.”
Armenia opposes the Kars (Turkey)-Javakheti (Georgian area, populated
by ethnic Armenians)-Tbilisi-Baku railway project, which would bypass
Armenia from the north. Pro-Armenian groups in the USA argue against
the project, saying the regional countries have already been linked by
railway passing through Armenia. However, the route is not functioning
because of blockade, imposed on Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Georgi Baramidze is sure that the Kars-Akhalkalaki project
is economically viable. According to him, if it is realized, it may
be of benefit for all regional countries, including Armenia.
According to Baramidze, Armenia should demonstrate constructive
approach, rejecting its position, according to which the region
does not need new railways because there is the existing one which
is inactive due to serious problems between Turkey and Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Baramidze believes that if the railway via Armenia were active,
investors would not have thought about building another one. Also,
he pointed to fact that it was difficult to say when the existing
railway could ever become operational, given the rising tension between
Turkey and Armenia. “Because the existing one is not functioning,
certainly the new one should be functioning, making a profit.”
It is worth stressing; Turkey has ignored the decision of the US
Congress, stating the project never needed financing from countries
not involved in the project.
As for French National Assembly’s bill criminalizing public denial
of Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, the Georgian state minister
stressed that “such decision would not contribute to normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia and regional safety.” According
to him, such decision does not contribute to healthy dialogue between
Turkey and the EU, too. “We support Turkey’s joining NATO,” Baramidze
stressed. In its turn, the Turkish periodical stresses that “Georgia,
complaining of what it calls Russian imperialistic ambitions in
its region, is eager for integration with Western institutions,
most notably NATO.” Baramidze said that his country was eyeing
stronger ties with Turkey, particularly economic ones. Turkey and
Georgia are negotiating a preferential trade agreement. “Georgia’s
economic borders are wide open to Turkey, and the Georgian economy
is practically becoming part of the Turkish economy, as we feel very
comfortable with Turkey,” Baramidze stated.

TURKEY, FRANCE: FRENCH FIRMS SET TO SUFFER FROM TURKISH ANGER OVER ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL
Monday Morning, Lebanon
Oct 23 2006
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has appealed for
calm and opposes launching a campaign which might end up hurting
Turks more than the French
But the government is still weighing other responses which may hit
French firms, from blocking the country’s defense and energy companies
from bidding for multi-million euro (dollar) contracts to the more
symbolic, such as lawmakers replacing their official Peugeot cars.
And although an official ban is unlikely, consumers and businesses
are set to cold-shoulder French goods, nearly five billion euros
(6.25 billion dollars) worth of which entered Turkey last year.
On October 12 the French National Assembly, the lower house, passed
a bill making it a crime to deny that the 1915-1917 massacres of
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks constituted genocide.
The bill, which stipulates a prison sentence of up to three years and
a fine of up to 45,000 euros, must be approved by the French upper
house and by President Jacques Chirac before it becomes law.
The result has caused widespread dismay, not only in Turkey — several
hundred people rallied outside France’s consulate in Istanbul —
but also from French historians and European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso.
Turkey says 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks, died in
civil strife when Armenians took up arms for independence and sided
with invading Russian troops as the Ottoman Empire fell apart during
World War I. But it refuses to accept this was genocide.
Armenians, who constitute a sizeable minority in France, say up to 1.5
million of their forbears were slaughtered in orchestrated killings,
which they maintain can only be seen as genocide.
In 2005 France and Turkey exchanged goods worth more than eight billion
euros, and French imports to Turkey were worth 4.7 billion euros.
Commercial ties between the two countries run deep. Some 250 French
companies have strong links with Turkey stretching back many years.
The carmaker Renault, for example, employs hundreds of people at a
factory in the Northwest of the country.
As a result, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, together with
the country’s more liberal newspapers, has appealed for calm and
not to launch a campaign which might end up hurting Turks more than
the French.
“What do we have to win or lose by boycotting products? … We should
consider that with a great deal of caution”, Erdogan said recently,
adding that his government would proceed with calm.
Lutfu Yenel, head of the Turkish affiliate of the French telecoms group
Alcatel, said he was astounded by calls for a boycott of his company.
But although an official ban is unlikely, Turkish consumers and
businesses are expected to vent their anger by not buying French.
The country’s consumer organization, for instance, has said that a
boycott would begin at the 500 gasoline stations in Turkey owned by
France’s Total.
Every week there would be an appeal to boycott products from a new
French firm until the genocide bill is scrapped, the organization
threatened.
“From today onwards, we’re going to boycott every week a French brand
and show our reaction in a language that France can understand,”
said Bulent Deniz, the group’s president.
In some commercial centers in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, shops
were calling on Turks not to buy French — although it was business
as usual at an outlet of French chain Lacoste in the city.
Ankara’s merchants’ association has also decided to post on billboards
in the capital pictures of products that will be boycotted such
as perfumes and cosmetics, according to the group’s head Mehmet
Yiginer. And across the country, commercial groups and businessmen
have called on their fellow citizens to cold-shoulder French brands.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GAZPROM SEEKS TO CONTROL IRANIAN-ARMENIAN GAS PIPELINE
By Andrea R. Mihailescu – UPI Energy Correspondent
United Press International
Oct 24 2006
Russia has tightened control over Armenia’s power distribution network
after a subsidiary of Russia’s state-controlled Unified Energy Systems
purchased $73 million of the Electricity Networks of Armenia, on
Sept. 26.
It remains unclear why it took so long and the deal was formalized
one year after Yerevan approved Russia’s decision to buy ENA from
Midland Resources Holding, a British-registered firm that privatized
the once loss-making network in 2002.
Armenian media reports suggested UES, which is expanding its operations
throughout the region, was re-examining ENA’s books and discovered
serious financial irregularities.
But the Armenian firm is desperately in need of capital and the
Russian energy giant said it will invest $20 million in ENA over the
next 12 months.
Critics are concerned the deal will further increase Armenia’s
dependence on Russia. Gazprom controls Armenia’s largest thermal
power plant and is the country’s only supplier of natural gas.
Russian gas is used for generating nearly 40 percent of Armenia’s
electricity. ENA also saw its Russian gas prices double when Gazprom
decided to increase the price of its gas for all three South Caucasus
states.
Gazprom also initially confirmed, but later denied reports that it
will acquire ownership of an incomplete Armenian pipeline, which
is slated to start pumping gas from Iran early next year. Armenia
remains concerned over these reports.
According to Armenian media reports, Moscow also reportedly wants to
ensure that the pipeline diameter is not large enough to allow Iran
to re-export its gas to Georgia or Eastern Europe. Tehran and Yerevan
are considering building a second pipeline to deliver Iranian gas to
third countries.
“Naturally, when Iranian gas starts flowing into Armenia, perhaps it
will be exported to other countries as well,” Gholamali Haddad-Adel,
the speaker of Iran’s parliament, told reporters during a recent
visit to Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PRESENTS: JAZZ IN PROGRESS-MONK IN MOTION-THE NEXT FACE IN JAZZ
All About Jazz, PA
48
Oct 24 2006
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Presenting, In Concert, The Top Three Finalists
In The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition
Tigran Hamasyan – November 20
Aaron Parks – November 27
Gerald Clayton – December 18
The Tribeca Performing Arts Center, in partnership with the Thelonious
Monk Institute, proudly presents Jazz In Progress-Monk In Motion,
featuring in concert, the top three finalists of the prestigious
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, now celebrating its
20th anniversary. This year the renowned competition was devoted to
jazz piano, and the three finalists, pianists Aaron Parks (Washington),
Gerald Clayton (born in the Netherlands, currently residing in
California), and Tigran Hamasyan (Armenia, currently residing in
California), were singled out from a strong field of twelve semi-
finalist musicians by the competition’s distinguished panel of judges,
including Herbie Hancock, Andrew Hill, Danilo Perez, Renee Rosnes,
Billy Taylor and Randy Weston.
Each of the three concerts of the Jazz In Progress-Monk In
Motion Series will feature one finalist leading their ensemble,
demonstrating the perpetually diverse nature of jazz, and showcasing
three of the plethora of exciting, young musicians making jazz
their life’s work. Tickets are $25 General Admission, $15 Students &
Seniors. To order tickets and for additional information click on
or call the box office at 212 220 1460. The Tribeca
Performing Arts Center is located at 199 Chambers Street, New York,
NY 10007.
Jazz In Progress-Monk In Motion Concert Schedule:
Tigran Hamasyan – Monday, November 20, 2006 at 7:00 PM Tigran Hamasyan
was born in Gyumri, Armenia and began playing piano at age 10. He
currently attends the University of Southern California where he is
studying jazz piano. Influenced by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk,
Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Miles Davis and Bud Powell, Hamasyan began
writing his first piano compositions at a young age. He recently won
first prize at the Monaco Jazz Soloist Competition and has performed
at concerts, competitions, festivals throughout Europe.
Aaron Parks – Monday, November 27, 2006 at 7:00 PM Aaron Parks was
raised in Seattle, Washington and began playing piano at age 10,
learning mostly by ear. He began is career in jazz at the age of 16
after leaving the University of Washington to focus more intently
on jazz studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Parks
won first place in the 5th American Jazz Piano Competition and is a
Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianist Association. Currently,
he tours with Terence Blanchard and is featured on Blanchard’s CDs
Bounce and Flow.
Gerald Clayton – December 18 at 7:00 PM Gerald Clayton was born in
Utrecht, The Netherlands and was raised in Los Angeles. He began
playing piano at the age of five. Currently, Clayton is pursuing a
Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies at the University of Southern
California. In addition to his studies, Clayton performs frequently
and has played with a host of well-respected musicians including
Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Baron, and Clark Terry. He recently
appeared on Back in the Swing of Things with the Clayton Brothers.
Since 1987, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz has presented the
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the most prestigious
jazz competition in the world. Each year, more than $60,000 in
scholarships and prizes are awarded to talented young musicians
and composers. The scholarships help pay tuition for college-level
jazz education studies and provide funds for private, specialized
instruction. The competition focuses on a different instrument every
year and features an outstanding all-star judging panel. Branford
Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry, Dave Brubeck,
Marian McPartland, and Diana Krall have all served as judges at
past competitions.
The Institute has presented competitions for piano, bass, drums, hand
drums, saxophone, trumpet, guitar, vocals and trombone. In September
2006, the competition once again showcased piano, in celebration
of the Institute’s 20th Anniversary, with the semifinals taking
place at the Smithsonian Institution’s Baird Auditorium and the
finals at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. The judging panel
and special guests featured a number of distinguished jazz artists,
including Herbie Hancock, Andrew Hill, Quincy Jones, Danilo Perez,
Renee Rosnes, and Billy Taylor.
This year, Quincy Jones, Phylicia Rashad and Billy Dee Williams hosted
the event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Herbie
Hancock served as chairman with Bill Cosby and Billy Dee Williams as
co-chairs. Honorary co-chairs included Madeleine Albright and Alma
and Colin Powell.
The 20th Anniversary Celebration was sponsored by General Motors
and Northrop Grumman. The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano
Competition was sponsored by G.M.A.C Financial Services. For more
information visit
Located on the campus of the Borough of Manhattan Community College
(a CUNY school), the mission of Tribeca Performing Arts Center is
to provide a professional season of culturally diverse arts programs
of high quality for the Metropolitan New York area, the residential
communities of Lower Manhattan and the college community in which it
is located.
Tribeca PAC maintains two theatres: a 913-seat theatre and a
262-seat theatre. The company offers an extensive 9-month long
season of programming that includes jazz concerts, dance, theatre
and family performances. The company also offers a year long Artist
in Residence program to 8 different artists (4 choreographers and 4
theatre directors/playwrights) and presents their new, original work
every Spring in the annual “Work and Show Festival”. Tribeca PAC also
hosts many critically acclaimed events during the season, including
the Tribeca Film Festival in the Spring and Resfest in the Fall.

TOBB DELEGATION LEAVES FOR FRANCE
Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006
ANKARA – Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB)
delegation left for Paris, France on Tuesday.
Holding a news conference at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, TOBB
Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that if a draft law which aims to
criminalize denial of so-called Armenian genocide is approved in the
French parliament, France would suffer much.
“Turkey opened its archives regarding so-called Armenian genocide.
France should also open its archives. Historians shall decide whether
there is a genocide or not,” Hisarciklioglu noted.
“We will convey Turkey’s views on the matter to French business
executives during our visit to France,” he added.
From: Baghdasarian

LIPPONEN HOLDS A NEWS CONFERENCE
Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006
ANKARA – The Party of European Socialists (PES) group co-chairman,
Finnish Parliament Speaker Paavo Lipponen said that he would meet
secretary general of Socialist Party in France to discuss the bill
(aims to criminalize denial of so-called Armenian genocide) which
would be voted in the French parliament this week.
At a news conference in Ankara, Lipponen noted that they had concerns
that if the draft law is approved in the French parliament, it will
yield some unfavorable results in both EU and also Turkey.
Indicating that so-called Armenian genocide would not be a criterion or
condition for Turkey in its EU accession process, Lipponen underlined
that relations between Turkey and Armenia must be normalized.
Replying to a question, Lipponen said that he would convey concerns
regarding the matter to secretary general of Socialist Party in France.
Stressing that PES supported Turkey’s EU accession process, he noted
that they did not consider “privileged partnership” for Turkey,
but full membership.
“I’m sure that Turkish government is resolved to keep fulfilling
reforms. EU appreciates the progress in Turkey,” Lipponen said.
Lipponen noted that Turkish parliament would make a decision regarding
the fate of Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK), stating that
however they hoped that something would be made on this article.
In regard to Cyprus issue, Lipponen noted that this matter could be
solved under the UN.
Responding a question, Lipponen stated that Justice & Development
Party (AKP) has become “a reform party”, stressing that AKP achieved
important success in Turkish economy.