Stories of Armenian repatriates

[Tigranakert]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

"I'LL COME TO LIVE IN ARMENIA," MANY OF FIRST PARTICIPANTS OF COME HOME PROGRAM SAY

Noyan Tapan
July 24, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 24, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. Young Sargis who has
left Syria for Armenia within the framework of the Come Home program
of the RA Ministry of Diaspora decided again to return Armenia in two
months and permanently settle in Armenia. In any case, he told the
Noyan Tapan correspondent about it. In Sargis' words, it is already
his second visit to Armenia, but he sees great difference between
those two visits. "When I first came to Armenia, it was a more Soviet
country, it has greatly changed to good now," Sargis said.

Sargis likes architecture in Armenia in which he sees reflection of
the Armenian soul. He likes the people's warm attitude, hospitality
and does no like the indefferent attitude of inhabitants of Armenia
towards cultural values: "It is minor for them," he mentioned with
pain. In Sargis' words, it is also bad that young people from Armenia
smoke heavily.

Tamar from Turkey also expressed a great wish for living in Armenia,
though, as she mentioned, the number of people assisting Armenians
increased in Turkey.

Anahit from Georgia is also among the participants of the Come Home
program.

Though she is already for the fourth time in Armenia, but in her wrods,
she this time as well found Armenia changed: Yerevan has changed,
it became beautiful, people's clothes changed. "Armenia develops,
and it makes me happy," Anahit said. She also has a goal to move to
Armenia for permanent residence.

To recap, Diasporan Armenian young people at the age of 18-25 arrived
in Armenia within the framework of the Come Home program implemented
by the RA Ministry of Diaspora. They live in families which are
inhabitants of Armenia, closer get acquainted with the life of the
Homeland, deepen their knowledge about the Armenian culture, history
and other national values. The first group of young people arrived in
Armenia a week ago has already visited places of interest of Armenia,
has been in Matenadaran, History Museum of Armenia, had a meeting with
YSU Rector Aram Simonian, RA Minister of Diaspora, learned Armenian
dances. A group of them even visited one of military units of the
Armenian Army.

[Haykakan]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

My wife and son just returned from Armenia and she said it has changed a lot since we were there last three years ago. She said the city looks even more modern now and not much is left of the Yerevan she remembers as she grew up there.

[Federate]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

Not exactly a repatriate but a settler in the liberated territories (Nor Shahumyan/Kalbajar)
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Karvatchar Diary: “We Do Not Recognize Those Protocols You Have Signed”


I have been living in the village of Verin Shen in the liberated Artsakh district of Karvatchar for the past eight years. When we relocated here back in November 2001 we faced numerous obstacles that we overcame with dignity. Now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. The land welcomes us with a blustery autumn and the deep freeze of winter.

We weren’t prepared for that winter either psychologically or financially. There was no electricity, telephone service and almost no transport. All the stores belonged to one individual and the nearest was ten kilometers from our house. I will not tell you what prices were being charges in those stores out of shame.

Happily, all this is in the past and mere memory. Our neighbors were as industrious and hard-working as we were; creating their own future. Some couldn’t cope with the hardships and eventually moved away. But they were replaced by other newcomers.

Years passed. We got our electricity and cell phone service. Public transport is still lacking but it’s better than before.

Armenian children were born here and after a two hundred year absence their birth certificates note that they were born in Karvatchar

With each passing year of liberation, stone-crosses and gravestones with medieval Armenian inscriptions were removed from the walls of house and stables and from street pavements.

We were literally forced to remove them piece by piece, cleaning them from the two hundred years of cow dung and plaster they has been profaned with by the former usurpers of the land.

We also had loses; people died due to the harsh conditions. One was my father, a poet, linguist and a soldier; a man who simply was devoted to his country with all his heart and soul throughout his entire life.

He was born in the village of Akori, near the town of Alaverdi in northern Armenia. His parents are buried there. My father’s forbearers went to Lori from the ancient district of Akori

Our relatives continue to reproach us for burying him in a land with “an uncertain political future”. I find these words to be very insulting.

Of course, we have experienced many problems here but the land’s beautiful majesty has become an inseparable part of my conscience.

The rebirth of this land has given my life new meaning. On its sacrificial altar I have simply been able to offer my services as a teacher, replete with sweat and tears.

My sisters have raised families here and offered their eldest sons to the land. My father was the first in these parts to be laid to eternal rest according to Armenian Church ritual.

Some may say that I am overly emotional as I write these lines. But I am not ashamed to write them down since I believe they impart a valuable message regarding our nation and state from a historical perspective.

The blood of our soldiers and the cries of our newly born gave us back our honor, xxxxxled by genocide and centuries of dispersion, and gave us the right to walk with pride as free men and women.

As a woman I can appreciate and understand how great this gift is. To be a sister or wife to those men who fought an unequal war and to make them a gift in turn – to bring their children into this world.

Today, how many Armenian women actually think about who saved them from dishonor, figuratively speaking and in the direct sense of the word? These are empty words and are free of oratorical embellishment. This question cuts to the very heart of the matter.

The world has not changed and neither has the Turk. Peace and the rebirth of Armenia will only be possible if the gates to our country are steadfastly defended with the might of our men; in the name of life and honor.

Sadly, what is taking place in Yerevan today greatly angers me. That despairing defeatism, to buy peace and prosperity at the price of making life-threatening concessions to the enemy, is disgusting and an abomination.

One is amazed at just how blind and cut off from reality such a large segment of our public and leadership can be. Are you so naive to believe in the security guarantees being bandied about by certain international forces?

Haven’t you yet realized the simple truth that our village tranquility and the opulence of your palaces is directly dependent on the frontlines defended by our soldiers along the snow capped Mrav Mountains and the sands of the Kur-Arax plains.

Don’t you understand that when our soldiers quit those positions we will have forfeited the peace we now enjoy, obtained by the sacrifice and travails made by thousands of fellow Armenians, and that Armenia will be once again be engulfed in a torrent of death and destruction?

Have you become so blinded by the external opulence of the international power brokers that you now fanatically seek the Nobel Peace Prize and other awards they hold out before you. Have you become so infatuated with their promises of gold and investments once a settlement is reached that you are ready to betray and sell the last sacred inheritance we possess – our fatherland?

Even without their empty promises you have squeezed the country dry of everything possible; ingloriously selling off all its riches. And now, in the name of your petty commercial interests, you are willing to bargain with the memory of the victims of the Genocide.

I fully realize that you have little in common with the ideals of honor and morality and that, when it comes to personal responsibility towards the nation, you are sorely lacking. This evaluation equally refers to the government and the leaders of the so-called opposition, who are just as malevolent.

It is futile to appeal to your conscience and your sense of honor, buried as it is under fleeting riches. But if you for a moment believe that we will cave-in to all of this, you are sadly mistaken.

We do not recognize those protocols you have signed. We will not forfeit our homes, our sacred sites, our cemeteries in the name of the “Madrid Principles”; a document that dishonors the free blood flowing through our veins.

Remember these words when you go to negotiate in the name of our country or before you sign some worthless scrap of paper. Remember that the curse of people and the ire of the nation will follow the fleeting acclamation and applause you receive from world leaders and the comical team of political analysts and Turkish experts you heed.

This is the fate that awaits you. It will follow you constantly and will stamp its deadly seal on the foreheads of your offspring for seven generations to come.

The “guarantees’ now promised you will be forgotten. They will say “bravo” and then throw you into the dust bin of history where you will be devoured by those who now slavishly serve you.

This is the fate that awaits you.

Thus, I, in the name of all women of Artsakh and the residents of the liberated territories, declare that you will not give anything back. I state this as a frail woman but strong in spirit. Your condescending and commercially-inspired protocols and Madrid Principles will remain scraps of paper and a testament to your feebleness and spiritual blindness.

The unity of the Armenian homeland must be restored. Not one inch of land will be handed over to the enemy!

http://hetq.am/en/society/qarvajar/

[Federate]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

Araz Artinian explores the past
Project Under Construction



Yerevan - After an in-depth examination of her Armenian identity with the 2005 film The Genocide in Me, Araz Artinian was tired of exploring what she called "the Genocide issue."

"I didn't want to hear the word ‘Armenia' or ‘Armenian,'" Artinian told the Armenian Reporter. "I was ready to give up my Armenian identity.... I had begun by fighting against my dad's obsession with his nationalism, but I became worse."

She told herself, "If I stay in Armenia, I'll do something with kids. I'll do something about the future of Armenia and something that touches the art world.... I started doing research."

Artinian's new project is to create an interactive website. Like "20 Voices," a site she began after finishing The Genocide in Me, this website will include a map, in this case of Armenia today.

"The main reason I started [this project]," says Artinian, "was I thought that Armenian history was not that well taught in our school.... I said it will be interesting, even for me, to recreate scenes from the 22 past centuries of Armenia so kids can have something visual to base their knowledge on, and by remembering the photos they can remember the history."

In order to choose the themes for the 22 centuries of Armenia's history, Artinian sought out 30 children, ages 10 to 17, from all 12 districts of Yerevan, each of whom practices an art form that is disappearing in Armenia. With these children she travelled as far as Karabakh to create the moments that represent each century.

The website will have two components, fiction and documentary. Artinian began her project by visiting schools in Yerevan and photographing the students. "I looked for kids who were photogenic and talented. And I would ask the teacher, ‘who would you suggest?'... I went mostly after the talent."

The 22 centuries of Armenia have themes ranging from musical instruments (duduk, zurna, and dhol in earlier centuries; kanun, oud, and kamancha after the 15 c.), and visual arts (ceramics, miniature painting, lace) to horseback riding and the acrobatic arts, as well as famous figures (e.g. Mesrop Mashtots, representing literature).

For the documentary portion of her site, photographed by Karen Mirzoyan, Artinian interviewed and collected information on the lives of the children who learn and perform these arts. They are photographed in front of their homes and their schools, and while performing their art forms. Beneath the photos are quotes from the parents and teachers, with information on how much the teachers are paid and what their lives are like. The site "is going to show the social life of Armenia, and how hard it is for parents to send their kids to these art schools."

One of the first schools Artinian visited was the Seven-Year Armenian Folk Instruments Music School in Shengavit, a district of Yerevan. At some point during her visit she went to use the restroom: "they brought me to this room (and it's a big school) it was a hole in the floor; the toilets were maybe 50 years old and they were broken...I freaked out." Later, upon requesting funding for her current project and getting turned down, she received an offer of funding "only to be used in helping the schools [she'd] visited." Before this, Artinian states, "I didn't have an idea that I wanted to do humanitarian work ... but I said ‘yeah, give me the funding and I'll do it.'"

With this start, and later funding, Artinian raised $250,000 dollars. The largest donor is MTS-Vivacell. She used the money to renovate the toilets in the schools in Yerevan. "I said if I'm gonna help one school, I'm helping all the schools. I did a list of all the art and music schools in Yerevan; there's about 50 of them. There are different schools, but I didn't differentiate. I said ‘if I'm helping you, you have to give me the names of three other schools in your district because I'm helping everyone.'"

The "fictional" photographs will be representations of the history of the century and the region. One photo, depicting "the art of wood," shows a young boy holding a long fisher's cane, elaborately decorated. He made the cane himself. He stands by the Argichi River across from the Kotavank church; he's a fisher. "The business of fish was booming during the ninth century," Artinian said. "Grigor Supan II who built this church, he betrayed the Armenian nation, and he was the son of the Princess Mariam who had built the churches on Sevan Island." (Artinian visited "more than 400 churches" while choosing locations for this project.)

The costumes the young artists are wearing in the photos were made over a two-year period by Souzanna Baghdassarian under Artinian's direction. Their designs are based on miniature paintings, researched by Artinian at the Matenadaran repository of ancient manuscripts to reflect the fashion of the periods they represent.

"Except for this one," Artinian mentions, "I couldn't find a photo of a miniature painting of an astronomer. But I found something from the time with all of these symbols on it that related to the subject, so we made a costume with the symbols on it." She is pointing to the photo depicting Ananya Shirakatsi. "This is Dvin, seventh century. Ananya Shirakatsi was invited to Dvin by the Catholicos." The young boy in the photo, in an astronomer's clothes, gesturing toward the sky is standing on a ruin. "This is the only thing left from Dvin where they had the meeting."
Not only helpful as history lessons, Artinian adds, these photos will provoke interest in the different sites she visited. "If they're interested in coming to Armenia, [people will] where to go, but not your typical places."

Many of the historical characters depicted in these photographs stand in the midst of the very ruins of their age. For the 8th century photograph, Artinian comments, "I went through hell looking for the location. I had seen the photo of this khachkar [stone cross]; it was one of the first of Armenia but you have to walk two kilometers to find it in this village in Talin." Or in the case of the 12 c. ("stone"), of St. Krikor Partsrakashi Church" it was totally destroyed. You have to walk down a valley to get to it."

These remote locations are brought to our attention in the photographs, and the eroding historical sites, ruins, and monuments seem naturally to give rise to the ghosts positioned beside them in the photos. Or do the young artists and models in the pictures give rise to ghost ruins? In either case, the physical scene is repopulated by the living counterparts of the people of those times the current practitioners of these disappearing arts. The ruins stand in relief as testimony from the past, issuing a quiet threat concerning these art forms, about the disappearances that come with time and forgetting.

Artinian is still looking for funding to help with the postproduction of the website. The website is set to be launched on International Children's Day, June 1, 2010.

http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=EB4A97D1-CD22-11DE-B8F70003FF3452C2&pg=1

[Federate]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

Baghdad in Ararat: Iraqi-Armenian refugees face difficulties adapting to the “homeland”


The village of Darbnik, Ararat province, has become home to 26 families who escaped war in Iraq in recent years. The United Nations mission in Armenia has renovated the building of Darbnik’s former agricultural college, and prepared 46 apartments for the refugees.

In April, last year, the Margaryan family settled in Darbnik, after having originally fled to Armenia in 2004.

The eldest member of the family of 9, Genevel Margaryan, 62, recalls that it became impossible to live in Iraq, where the family had lived in Baghdad since early last century.

“I could go to a market and never come back,” Margaryan says.

The family was worried about kidnapping (widely spread in Iraq), and made a decision to quit everything and to seek asylum in the historical homeland.

“Now when we get home, and I show you our photos (of their Iraq home), you will say, “Oh my God, how do you live here,”” Margaryan says walking along the muddy streets of Darbnik to home.

Darbnik (some eight kilometers southwest of Yerevan) is a village of only 1,130 residents and more than 90 percent are refugees. In Soviet times the village was populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis, who left Armenia during ethnic tensions in the late 80s leaving their village to Armenians who fled Azerbaijan. Now the village has 315 households, of which 26 belong to Armenian refugees from Iraq.

The Margaryans, as all Armenians living in Iraq, before the American-Iraqi War, during Saddam Hussein’s regime (1979-2003) lived a safe and prosperous life. Iraqi-Armenians were famous as skillful artisans. They had no role in the political life of the country, which is typical to the Armenian Diaspora communities in the Middle East. According to the data provided by the Migration Agency of Armenia, 991 Armenians, citizens of Iraq, have sought asylum in Armenia since 2003, 806 of them have secured residence permits. Currently about 750 Iraqi-Armenians are residing in Armenia. (Some of them (about 150) left Armenia and left mainly for the US and for the countries of Middle East.)

Margaryan came to Armenia with her husband, two sons, daughters-in-law, daughters, and two grandchildren. The family lost the head (Margaryan’s husband) in Armenia, and two members were added (the younger son’s two daughters). Brothers Aram, 37, and Azat, 30, are married to two Assyrian sisters – Nadia and Asil. When coming to Armenia, they used to rent an apartment before moving to Darbnik.

“Papa (her husband) could not stand it anymore, soon after moving here (in 20 days), he died. He said, ‘Oh my God, what a place is this?! There is not even asphalt here’,” Margaryan tries to explain why her husband died. He could not put up with the fact that they had lost their house in Baghdad.

They have a satellite in their house in Darbnik, tuned to an Arabic music channel. Genevel asks her grandchildren to dance, demonstrating the Arabic dances taught by Asil.

Currently, the Margaryan brothers have a car renovating workshop in Yerevan.

“Life is very expensive here. We have paid no money for water, electricity and gas in Baghdad, everything was free of charge,” says Margaryan, who cannot put up with Armenia’s winter, too.

“Besides, the state was giving all families some goods (rice, flour, and sugar) every month free of charge,” says Asil, 24, who learned Armenian after getting married. However, some Russian words are already noticed in her speech (something very typical to Armenians living in Armenia).

According to Gohar Galstyan, Chief Coordinator of ‘Cultural Adaptation through Education’ program of Save the Children NGO (the NGO implemented a number of programs on the adaptation of Iraqi-Armenians and the improvement of their life standards in Armenia), besides the asphalt, the country transportation creates many difficulties for Iraqi-Armenians (the bus passes through several villages, and it takes about an hour to get to Yerevan). Rubbish collecting is not implemented here at all (peasants are simply throwing their garbage on the road taking to the village).

Galstyan says moving to Armenia comes with social problems for Iraqi-Armenians, who typically had more comfortable lives in pre-war Iraq.

“They also have some problems connected with the language, because they do not speak the (Armenian) language well enough to get a normal job. Besides, only few of them have a higher education, most of them (Iraqi-Armenians) are xxxelers and auto mechanics,” Galstyan says.

She adds that majority of Iraqi-Armenians are not interested in getting an Armenian citizenship.

“First, in case of getting an Armenian citizenship, they will not enjoy any privileges (those which they have being refugees) any more. Besides, many of them have not made a final decision whether to stay in Armenia or leave for another country,” Galstyan says.

http://armenianow.com/features/20705/refugees_from_iraq

[Armanen]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

Baghdad in Ararat: Iraqi-Armenian refugees face difficulties adapting to the “homeland”


The village of Darbnik, Ararat province, has become home to 26 families who escaped war in Iraq in recent years. The United Nations mission in Armenia has renovated the building of Darbnik’s former agricultural college, and prepared 46 apartments for the refugees.

In April, last year, the Margaryan family settled in Darbnik, after having originally fled to Armenia in 2004.

The eldest member of the family of 9, Genevel Margaryan, 62, recalls that it became impossible to live in Iraq, where the family had lived in Baghdad since early last century.

“I could go to a market and never come back,” Margaryan says.

The family was worried about kidnapping (widely spread in Iraq), and made a decision to quit everything and to seek asylum in the historical homeland.

“Now when we get home, and I show you our photos (of their Iraq home), you will say, “Oh my God, how do you live here,”” Margaryan says walking along the muddy streets of Darbnik to home.

Darbnik (some eight kilometers southwest of Yerevan) is a village of only 1,130 residents and more than 90 percent are refugees. In Soviet times the village was populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis, who left Armenia during ethnic tensions in the late 80s leaving their village to Armenians who fled Azerbaijan. Now the village has 315 households, of which 26 belong to Armenian refugees from Iraq.

The Margaryans, as all Armenians living in Iraq, before the American-Iraqi War, during Saddam Hussein’s regime (1979-2003) lived a safe and prosperous life. Iraqi-Armenians were famous as skillful artisans. They had no role in the political life of the country, which is typical to the Armenian Diaspora communities in the Middle East. According to the data provided by the Migration Agency of Armenia, 991 Armenians, citizens of Iraq, have sought asylum in Armenia since 2003, 806 of them have secured residence permits. Currently about 750 Iraqi-Armenians are residing in Armenia. (Some of them (about 150) left Armenia and left mainly for the US and for the countries of Middle East.)

Margaryan came to Armenia with her husband, two sons, daughters-in-law, daughters, and two grandchildren. The family lost the head (Margaryan’s husband) in Armenia, and two members were added (the younger son’s two daughters). Brothers Aram, 37, and Azat, 30, are married to two Assyrian sisters – Nadia and Asil. When coming to Armenia, they used to rent an apartment before moving to Darbnik.

“Papa (her husband) could not stand it anymore, soon after moving here (in 20 days), he died. He said, ‘Oh my God, what a place is this?! There is not even asphalt here’,” Margaryan tries to explain why her husband died. He could not put up with the fact that they had lost their house in Baghdad.

They have a satellite in their house in Darbnik, tuned to an Arabic music channel. Genevel asks her grandchildren to dance, demonstrating the Arabic dances taught by Asil.

Currently, the Margaryan brothers have a car renovating workshop in Yerevan.

“Life is very expensive here. We have paid no money for water, electricity and gas in Baghdad, everything was free of charge,” says Margaryan, who cannot put up with Armenia’s winter, too.

“Besides, the state was giving all families some goods (rice, flour, and sugar) every month free of charge,” says Asil, 24, who learned Armenian after getting married. However, some Russian words are already noticed in her speech (something very typical to Armenians living in Armenia).

According to Gohar Galstyan, Chief Coordinator of ‘Cultural Adaptation through Education’ program of Save the Children NGO (the NGO implemented a number of programs on the adaptation of Iraqi-Armenians and the improvement of their life standards in Armenia), besides the asphalt, the country transportation creates many difficulties for Iraqi-Armenians (the bus passes through several villages, and it takes about an hour to get to Yerevan). Rubbish collecting is not implemented here at all (peasants are simply throwing their garbage on the road taking to the village).

Galstyan says moving to Armenia comes with social problems for Iraqi-Armenians, who typically had more comfortable lives in pre-war Iraq.

“They also have some problems connected with the language, because they do not speak the (Armenian) language well enough to get a normal job. Besides, only few of them have a higher education, most of them (Iraqi-Armenians) are xxxelers and auto mechanics,” Galstyan says.

She adds that majority of Iraqi-Armenians are not interested in getting an Armenian citizenship.

“First, in case of getting an Armenian citizenship, they will not enjoy any privileges (those which they have being refugees) any more. Besides, many of them have not made a final decision whether to stay in Armenia or leave for another country,” Galstyan says.

http://armenianow.com/features/20705/refugees_from_iraq

The State should provide more for families like this to make their transitions easier. At the same time though, the attitude shown by this family is a bit disgusting. Coming to Armenia and complaining that they don't have asphalt, can't speak the language, and listening to arabic music as if they were back in iraq. One more generation and assimilation would have taken its toll!

Of course the article is from armenianow which is a cia funded paper, so they tend to show Armenia in a poor light whenever possible.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

The State should provide more for families like this to make their transitions easier. At the same time though, the attitude shown by this family is a bit disgusting. Coming to Armenia and complaining that they don't have asphalt, can't speak the language, and listening to arabic music as if they were back in iraq. One more generation and assimilation would have taken its toll!

Of course the article is from armenianow which is a cia funded paper, so they tend to show Armenia in a poor light whenever possible.

If "assimilate" means creating a generation that expects the government to give villages a decent infrastructure, good road communications, garbage disposal services, and low priced basic foodstuffs, then all of Armenia should "assimilate", and do it quick.

And Armenianow is the only free media operating in Armenia, so its little surprise roaches like you want it gone. Your intellect can't imagine an organisation actually wanting to tell the truth despite all the pressures on them not to, and will all the advantages they could have if they just followed the official line - so you substitute cia conspiracy theories to account for their continued, inexplicable, holding to high journalistic standards.

[Armanen]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

If "assimilate" means creating a generation that expects the government to give villages a decent infrastructure, good road communications, garbage disposal services, and low priced basic foodstuffs, then all of Armenia should "assimilate", and do it quick.

And Armenianow is the only free media operating in Armenia, so its little surprise roaches like you want it gone. Your intellect can't imagine an organisation actually wanting to tell the truth despite all the pressures on them not to, and will all the advantages they could have if they just followed the official line - so you substitute cia conspiracy theories to account for their continued, inexplicable, holding to high journalistic standards.

Listen pus*y, I was referring to the family's attitude about Armenia in general, comparing it to iraq. Iraq has been a sh*t hole for hundreds of years now, the only real period of stability was under hussein and that was only for a portion of the iraqi population. For them to come to Armenia from war torn iraq, and move to a village than compare it with baghdad, listen to arabic music, and complain about not knowing the language when they ARE Armenians is a result of partial assimilation. If those grand kids in the photo grow up outside of Armenia, they will surely be assimilated. Did you miss the part where I said the RA government should do its part to help these people out?

As far as armenianow, please, enough times it has been posted about hughes and the others who operate from armenianow. I'm not going to explain again to you, because I don't care what you think, you don't even belong in this forum, all you can do is insult people. So think what you want about armenianow, their foreign funded activities will not change as a result of what you or I think. And fyi, every media outlet has a bias, some are just more obvious than others.

[Pedro Xaramillo]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

If "assimilate" means creating a generation that expects the government to give villages a decent infrastructure, good road communications, garbage disposal services, and low priced basic foodstuffs, then all of Armenia should "assimilate", and do it quick.

And Armenianow is the only free media operating in Armenia, so its little surprise roaches like you want it gone. Your intellect can't imagine an organisation actually wanting to tell the truth despite all the pressures on them not to, and will all the advantages they could have if they just followed the official line - so you substitute cia conspiracy theories to account for their continued, inexplicable, holding to high journalistic standards.

Wow, why was there a need for personal attacks, can't argue with him by yourself?

[Federate]

Re: Stories of Armenian repatriates

RA Government endorsed Iraqi Armenians’ integration concept
18:25 / 03/25/2010

RA Government approved concept on integration of Iraqi Armenians in Armenia at the March 25 sitting.

Concept refers to 750 Iraqi Armenians who left the country due to intolerance towards Christians by extremists during the war, RA Government press service informed NEWS.am.

RA Premier Tigran Sargsyan noted that all organizations should assist smooth integration of these families into society.

Armenian community of Iraq presently totals 15.000 people residing in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Basra and Mosul cities. At the rough estimate, about 2.000-2.500 Armenians left Iraq since the hostilities in the country aroused.

As many as 1.960 Christians were killed in Iraq in 2003-2009. Presently, the number of Christians in Iraq is about 500 000.

A.G.

http://news.am/en/news/17565.html