Life in Armenia

[KanadaHye]

Re: Life in Armenia

That's great guys... you've finally discovered how western society has influenced the rest of the world!

Florida teen, 14, charged with first degree murder after she strangles newborn baby, hides his body in shoe box and dumps it in laundry

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-laundry.html

Woman convicted of killing pregnant woman, trying to steal full-term fetus

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/20/woman-convicted-killing-pregnant-woman-trying-to-steal-full-term-fetus/#ixzz2GON97LSA

Abusive boyfriend 'murders his pregnant girlfriend and mutilates her body'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ates-body.html

Teen 'stabbed his mother 14 times after she scolded him for staying out late...then threw a party while body decomposed'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...oods-home.html

[Federate]

Re: Life in Armenia

Newest statistics on Internet download and upload speeds has been released and Armenia has seemingly made huge advances. 45th in the world in download speed (12.11 mbps) and 43rd in upload speed (3.98 mbps). We are way ahead of Turkey, Azerbaijan & Iran while Georgia has only a slightly higher speed. We are also surprisingly faster than such countries as Israel, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy etc.

Check out the list here: http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries/

[londontsi]

Re: Life in Armenia

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Great progress compared to a few years ago.

Is Armenia dependent on Turkey for its internet in any way, say via Georgia.

I know we are connected to Iran in the south. The capacity of that link was modest.
Mind you this was a few years ago.

[TomServo]

Re: Life in Armenia

Well, I remember reading an article not too long ago about an Armenian woman in Georgia (accidentally?) cutting a cable and all of Armenia losing internet access as a result, so I'd say they are probably dependent on Georgia.

[londontsi]

Re: Life in Armenia

Well, I remember reading an article not too long ago about an Armenian woman in Georgia (accidentally?) cutting a cable and all of Armenia losing internet access as a result, so I'd say they are probably dependent on Georgia.

Yes agreed, I understand that.

My implied question was where does Georgia rely on for its internet backbone, Russia or Turkey and of course the dependence of Armenia.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Life in Armenia

Newest statistics on Internet download and upload speeds has been released and Armenia has seemingly made huge advances. 45th in the world in download speed (12.11 mbps) and 43rd in upload speed (3.98 mbps). We are way ahead of Turkey, Azerbaijan & Iran while Georgia has only a slightly higher speed. We are also surprisingly faster than such countries as Israel, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy etc.

Check out the list here: http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries/

This supposed improvement in speed is very sudden and very recent and has grown from a very low value that had been the normal value for a decade. This means that there is no proof it will be maintained and every reason to think it will not. It probably will not be maintained because even if the speed increase is down to a real increase in capacity, that increased capacity will encourage more people to use the interent and to use it in a more intensive way - so the capacity will be quickly used up and the speed will drop back to the old level.

A figure showing the % of the population that used the internet regularly would be more valuable. And what % have an internet connection at home. You can't say Armenia is way ahead if only 5% of its population uses the internet regularly while 80% of the population of Ireland or Italy use it regularly. And it is my experience in Turkey is that internet speeds are acceptably fast everywhere for basic internet usage - even in small towns. There is no data on that website for places in Armenia except for Yerevan. Gyumri isn't even mentioned.

[Federate]

Re: Life in Armenia

This supposed improvement in speed is very sudden and very recent and has grown from a very low value that had been the normal value for a decade. This means that there is no proof it will be maintained and every reason to think it will not. It probably will not be maintained because even if the speed increase is down to a real increase in capacity, that increased capacity will encourage more people to use the interent and to use it in a more intensive way - so the capacity will be quickly used up and the speed will drop back to the old level.

A figure showing the % of the population that used the internet regularly would be more valuable. And what % have an internet connection at home. You can't say Armenia is way ahead if only 5% of its population uses the internet regularly while 80% of the population of Ireland or Italy use it regularly. And it is my experience in Turkey is that internet speeds are acceptably fast everywhere for basic internet usage - even in small towns. There is no data on that website for places in Armenia except for Yerevan. Gyumri isn't even mentioned.

Unfortunately the data for Armenian users of the Internet from the World Bank stops at 2009. From 2008 to 2009, population % of Internet users jumped from 6% to 15% in one year http://www.google.com/publicdata/exp...n_US&ind=false

I tried exploring other websites and found some website called Internet World Stats which seems like a marketing-oriented website or something... dunno if reliable. They claim 60.6% penetration of Internet in Armenia. Their claim that only 30,000 people in Armenia used it in year 2000 is in line with the World Bank figure though. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm

[londontsi]

Re: Life in Armenia

http://repatarmenia.org/eng/home-internet-access-in-armenia/

Home Internet Access in Armenia


RepatArmenia
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Home Internet Access in Armenia
Moving Forward
Home Internet Access in Armenia

In Armenia, 33% of adults in 2011 reported having home internet access, according to Gallup surveys conducted in 148 countries. This is by 1 percentage point more than the global average, which stands at 32% according to the same source.

It is important to understand, that the Gallup survey doesn’t reflect the internet penetration rate, because these results only reflect responses to the question — “Does your home have access to the Internet?” So it is possible that adults have access to the Internet through other means, including schools and universities, Internet cafes, and smartphones.

However, this is a very interesting survey with its Global reach. I’ve used the figures in the suvey to build the chart below.





Home Internet Access in South Caucasus acc. to Gallup

Hence, according to the Gallup survey, 29% of adults in Georgia and 15% in Azerbaijan said they have internet access at home.

Wordlwide, fewer than one in 10 respondents in 41 nations said they had Internet access in their home, including 0% in Burundi, Guinea, Mali, and Madagascar.

Access in Sweden and Singapore is highest worldwide, both countries are tied with 93% of residents reporting home Internet access, followed by Denmark and the Netherlands, where more than nine in 10 do.

DETERMINING INTERNET PENETRATION IN ARMENIA – A PROBLEM

Earlier this month the Armenian Government officially approved a method for determining the internet penetration rate in Armenia.

In the past, the data was collected by a methodology proposed by the International Telecommunications Union. Armenian government claims, that the ITU’s methodology is not accurate. In 2009 internet penetration was only 6.4% of Armenia’s population according to ITU. In 2011 and 2012, the ITU was using figures provided by Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission. According to these figures, in 2010, Armenian internet users comprised 47.1% of the population; in 2011, this figure was 60.6%.





Caucasus Internet Access Infographic

The Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) does alternative research to determine Armenia’s internet penetration rate. 44% of Armenia’s population was using the Internet in 2011 according to CRRC. Back in April 2012 American scholar and South Caucasus technology expert Katy Pearce had published a great infographic on internet penetration and usage in Armenia, as well as the other two South Caucasus countries.




BOOST IN INTERNET VIDEO

YouTube Internet Speed in Armenia

Even if I’m still not sure which figures to trust, it is clear, that internet penetration in Armenia is growing and surpassing the global averages.

Here you can see another chart taken from YouTube, showing, as prominent technology blogger Kornelij rightly noted, for the first time, that Armenia has surpassed the global average of accessing YouTube servers.

YouTube is the 3rd most popular website in Armenia (after Facebook and YouTube’s mothership Google) according to Alexa.com, so it seems, that YouTube is becoming a major competitor for the Armenian TV networks, which are already facing increased competition from online news portals.


Original Article

http://ditord.com/2013/01/16/home-internet-access-in-armenia-higher-than-global-average/

[Lernakan]

Re: Life in Armenia

Relocation With a Reason: Some Syrian-Armenian families find advantages to resettle in Karabakh

Numerous Syrian-Armenians have moved to Armenia because of the war in Syria, many among them further moved and have settled in the internationally unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s Kashatagh region.

This southwestern part of Karabakh has now 23 Syrian families totaling 71 people. The first family moved there much earlier, in 2008, even before the war broke out. The majority of families migrated from northeastern Syrian Qamishli city on the border with Turkey.

Vardan Poghosyan's family is one of them. He moved to Kashatagh together with his wife and 18 month-old daughter. They live in the region’s capital Berdzor. Both are accountants and have jobs, and soon will be allotted an apartment.

“It was my decision to come directly to Karabakh. Rather than going to Europe or America, why not come and live in our homeland. Of course, there are many difficulties, but we have to endure. After all, we have lived in a foreign country more than enough,” Vardan, 29, told ArmeniaNow, adding that following their example his brother Serob, too, moved there with his family, in-laws and relatives.

Some of the Syrian-Armenian families live in Kovsakan, the second largest city, and Ishkanadzor of Kashatagh region. Robert Matevosyan, head of the re-settlement department of Kashatagh administrative district, says the first families who had moved to Kovsakan now have private houses, for the others a multi-storey building has been renovated and apartments have been allotted.

"In Berdzor they still live in the guesthouse, soon will have their own apartments provided to them free of charge with an ownership right. Those families that will adapt and stay, will later be given the property ownership certificate,” Matevosyan told ArmeniaNow. “People with professions are now employed, rural families have been given land lots. The state has granted agricultural loans with zero interest rate. People have sown wheat, oats, and will return the money when they harvest the crops.”

In 1992 (during the war) Armenian forces took control over Berdzor (Lachin) town and the Lachin corridor, which was also called the “road of life”, since it was the only land communication between Karabakh and Armenia. Zangelan, Kubatlu and part of Lachin (which are among the seven disputed regions around former Autonomous Republic of Nagorno Karabakh have been re-arranged into Kashatagh region with 3,376 sq.km total area, and the re-settlement of this area is of strategic importance. By the 2011 data of the NKR labor and social affairs ministry, 8,500 people reside in Kashatagh.

Matevosyan says they are expecting another stream of people to Kashatagh.

“We got the applications a while ago. Some 4-5 families have come to learn the terms. In any case we are ready to accept everybody. We continue building new houses and repairing the old ones. They adapt, live overcoming the challenges. There are language issues, but they are being overcome as well,” says Matevosyan.

Not only the NKR authorities, but also Kashatagh, the Tufenkian Foundation, Assistance to Self-Determined Artsakh charitable foundations are supporting the Syrian Armenians to settle in Karabakh, as well as Help Your Brother relief initiative for Syrian-Armenians.

According to Diaspora ministry data, some 6,000 families have moved to Armenia forced out by the military actions in Syria, 300 among them reside in the provinces of Armenia.

[Lernakan]

Re: Life in Armenia

Garo and Mher: These Qamishli Armenians Plan to Stay in Kovsakan

It’s not only their accents that distinguish Syrian Armenians from local Artsakh residents. It’s also their viewpoints.

If locals resent the wealthy lifestyles of state officials, Garo Magaryan, who moved to Armenia seven years ago from the Syrian town of Qamishli, doesn’t seem to mind.

“So what if top Artsakh officials are engaged in business. What’s important is that they aren’t leaving the country and taking their money with them,” he says.

After moving, Karo spent two years in Stepanakert and later relocated to Ashtarak. Later on, he decided on Kovsakan (former Zangelan) in the extreme south of Artsakh’s Kashatagh Province.

His friend Mher Boghosyan, also from Qamishli, moved to Kovsakan three years ago.

Today, they jointly farm some 200 hectares of land. Most residents of Qamishli, on the Turkish border, are farmers as well.

I met Karo and Mher in Stepanakert.

Garo’s family is now living in Sweden. They will move to Kovsakan after Garo builds a house large enough for them all. Mher’s family, all seventeen of them, are waiting back in Qamishli. He says a spate of financial problems has delayed their move to Artsakh.

They both say one can live normally in Artsakh. It just takes hard work and perseverance.

Garo said he didn’t stay in Armenia because all the land is being privatized and fenced in. “In Armenia, you can’t sit down on a river bank and eat a bit of cheese and watermelon. It’s all posted land.”

He points out that a similar trend is evident in Kashatagh and that it must be countered. “The law in Artsakh is that if someone doesn’t farm their land, someone else can. If you work the land, it’s yours. If not, it doesn’t belong to you. I believe this principle is correct,” Garo says.

Garo says that everyone must do their bit to ensure that the rule of law is established in Artsakh and gives a personal example.

“Once, I was stopped by a traffic cop. He told me that he would fix my 10,000 fine if I paid him 3,000. I told him that if he did this I would lodge a complaint.”

Many Artsakh residents complain that they can’t pay off their loans by farming. Garo thinks differently. “There are those who receive loans and then spend the money foolishly, on drink, expensive clothes and other baubles. In the end, they’re in a bad way.”

Both Garo and Mher Boghosyan believe that the roads around Kovsakan need immediate attention. There’s also the matter of improving cell telephone reception and building a temporary shelter for arriving Syrian-Armenians in addition to a granary.

Karabakh Telecom still doesn’t provide telephone service in Kovsakan. “You often see people up in trees with their phones in order to link up with a service provider from Armenia. But their connection is very weak,” says Garo.

The two former Qamishli Armenians believe that a temporary shelter for 15-20 people would be a great help for others just arriving.

They say that more Armenians from Qamishli will come if the government continues to provide assistance.

Unlike Aleppo Armenians, those from Qamishli are quite used to village life, the two friends comment.

Garo and Mher say they have no plans to return to Qamishli because, whatever the outcome of the civil war in Syria, the border town won’t be the same.

“If the rebels win, they won’t forgive the Christians for siding with the government. It would be like moving to Baku and living amidst the Turks,” says Mher.

Robert Matevosyan, who heads the Kashatagh Repopulation Department, believes that new families will relocate to the area once houses envisaged for the Syrian Armenians are completed.

Right now, a building with 12 apartments is being built for them in Kovsakan.

There are 28 Syrian Armenian families now residing in Kovsakan; 74 individuals all together.

http://hetq.am/eng/news/24611/garo-and-mher-these-qamishli-armenians-plan-to-stay-in-kovsakan.html