Women’s Month in Armenia

There is a strange pattern of using dates to mark events in Armenia. Two of these are March 8th and April 7th. They commemorate International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, respectively. With a full month’s gap in between, this is come to be known as Women’s Month, as signs and wellwishers state the same thing – Ձեր Միամսյակը Շնորհավոր.

While women around the world lament that they are remembered only once or twice a year, Armenians can boast a full month of events, gifts, and special treatment. Businesses capitalize on this and target men who are keen on making the women in their lives happy. This includes mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, cousins, and any other female a male might be close to.  Florists hike up the prices and enjoy a full month of increased sales. Chocolatiers encourage couples to bask in the sweetness of their love. Kids around the city walk around with roses and tulips to sell. With the start of the spring season comes the business of old ladies with tiny yellow and purple sprouts they have procured from the fields, coupled with small papers of printed papers presenting messages of love towards beautiful women and fruitful mothers. For a country that reveres motherhood, all this fits perfectly into its narrative.

International Women’s Day was originally celebrated on February 28, 1909, in America. It only became widespread with its adoption in Soviet Russia when women gained suffrage on March 8, 1917. Becoming an annual holiday, it later spread across the world and was officially added to the UN’s celebrations in 1975. Most countries still barely remember its existence, but not Armenia. Here, it is not only celebrated but declared a state holiday celebrating womanhood. There are no protests, no upheavals, nothing negative connected with the day here. On the contrary, state workers enjoy the festivities while businesses make up for the slow season that comes after the New Year partying.  

As for April 7, while some celebrate it as World Health Day, Armenia has a long-standing tradition dedicated to the festivities of the ancient fertility goddess, Anahit. This is a day Christian Armenia has also adopted as in celebration of the Conception of Christ, to be born 9 months later on January 6, Christmas Day. In the old calendar, April was known as Arats and the 7th day named Anahit. The goddess is often depicted wearing a wreath of flowers on her head on this day, while the pagan populations brought fresh sprouting branches to the temples dedicated to her name. To this day, April 7 is Armenia’s Motherhood and Beauty celebration; flowers are presented to all the mothers and beautiful women in one’s life. Peacock feathers are a less common but equally traditional gift. Since a woman is considered most beautiful when pregnant, the country is especially good for expecting women.

 

If you are a woman in Armenia, enjoy the month! You deserve it!

A Boom in “Made in Armenia” Demand

It has been 3.5 years since I moved to Armenia and those who know me are perfectly clear on how I feel: it has been the best 3.5 years of my life. Now, as I sit here and contemplate my daughter’s future, waiting to welcome her to this world, I cannot help but think about the future of the country as well. Back in Canada, there was a time where people were trying to push the locally made or at least locally branded products your way; I did not truly understand it, though obviously it logically made sense. Buying local means supporting local, means increasing local revenues and contributing to the local economy in a very positive manner. It means more jobs for the likes of you and me. It means more new businesses and more investment into SMEs around town. But while logic made sense, the emotional value was not there for me. Not at that point. Today, in Armenia, that value is felt to my core and I would not buy non-Armenian is I knew that the local version existed. I rarely buy internationally branded shoes and would not touch a Made in Turkey for the life of me, mostly out of principle. Yet I have a closet full of Made in Armenia shoes, cloths and everything in between. I might pay a little more, but I don’t mind so long as I know it helps keep a new business on its feet. Creams and shampoos I only buy local, while food is always preferred to be home-grown…. unless it’s blueberries. I don’t think we get them locally, do we?

In any case, it is the fact that there seems to be a heightened preference for “Made in Armenia” production these days that has me intrigued. Many stores are popping up and putting up signs about their locally made products, with multiple naming their shops “Made in Armenia” as well. While socks, underwear, and baby clothes are the most commonly presented pieces, there are groups popping up on Facebook that encourage buying local, presenting all types of SMEs, while malls are also making it a point to include as much Made in Armenia as possible. Tashir Mall’s fourth floor opening was a huge step forward in that, while Tashir Street on Northern Avenue has more local production stores than foreign already. Toy stores like Mankan are growing rather large, and while they carry imports as well, it is amazing that we can find so many options there. Supermarkets are also placing the focus on local products, with Yerevan City seeming to be the most in tune with the trend, carrying everything from locally made stationary to it’s own haberdashery and even Vernissage style gifts that one can buy on his/her way. It is a great time to get into the “Made in Armenia” business at the moment, especially if you look at the DFA’s work concerning putting together the annual expo, since we seem to really be seeing a boom in local production support and an increase in quality due to a good amount of healthy competition. Of course, this has been my passion since I got here myself, with Facebook lists coming in very handy, such as this one I keep adding to!

Note:  One of my favourite enterprises producing local is Homeland Development Initiative Foundation, employing women around the country to create handmade pieces that can be sold/exported with ease. This includes everything from handmade dolls and bears to baby rattles and tape measures, to Christmas ornaments that range from trchnakir letters to your traditional crochet symbolism in angels, trees and snowmen.

 

24 Years Later on a Golden Path: The Generation Born to Independence

I should start with a rather hearty congratulations sent out to every Armenian out there. Armenia is officially 24 years old, as of September 21, 1991. It is an incredible feeling really and I am more than just a little excited to see how the country will mark its 25th anniversary in the upcoming year.

While it may not seem like the country is very old (we have gone through so many regimes, changes in power and a mega metamorphosis over the years, making the multi-millennium old country appear no older than a mere teenager), it is clear that it is maturing at a very fast pace. Ups and downs put aside, this is a country where the most incredible things are happening every day, if only you know where to look. We are transforming into such a pretty butterfly, but one that lives for an eternity, not the type that dies within a few days. We will have our Golden Age come soon, a renaissance of sorts that will sweep the nation. First, however, we need the Independence Generation to mature a little more. They are, after all, a mere 24 years old, born in the days of homes quashed and rivers of sorrow. This is the generation that will bring about the best years this country has ever seen for they have nothing to compare with. These are the heroes of our future, the leaders who do not look back on Soviet days long gone, but to a bright and incredibly inspirational future. They are the seedlings who will bud into the most fragrant of roses, with thorns to warn off those who seek to overthrow their rule.

This brings to mind the tale of Vartevar and how the tears of Asdghig gave rise to roses thus healing the world of its sorrow, pain, anger and jealousy. The sun shines really bright these days really, brighter still than when I first move in 2013, years ago. The sun is warmer, the sky clearer and it appears that the blossoming roses are truly giving rise to a nation of positive energy, hardworking and beautiful, with a love for each other and their country that overflows from their hearts. It appears the tyrant has been slain and Asdghig’s tears turn to that of happiness, knowing that her own love has found roots in the generation born to independence. And who better to beam with pride than her lover, Vahagn, the very essence of the sun?

Independence is hard to come by but we have brought it about twice in the past 100 years. In 1918 we proved that we are ready to be free, to govern our own people in our own nation, without having to kneel. We brushed off our knees and stood tall, a feat that many could not have imagined being achieved only years before. In 1991 we once again joined hand in hand to ensure we have a nation, to ensure we save our language, our culture, our identities. We gave the vote that was overwhelming, nearly unanimous in the call for freedom from foreign regimes. We snatched our future from the hands of those who would have devoured us and thus paved our destinies with gold. Only, we failed to notice the value of the ground we walked on as we trudged forwards, forgetting that beyond the dirt, the grime, the sorrow and death was glittering warmth and a wealth that would be irreplaceable. Some failed to see because they kept looking backwards, some because they only looked to the sky. Today, however, that path is clearing, the snow is melting, the ice has become nearly nonexistent. There are still those who look back, still those who have yet to notice the gold on the ground because they are too busy looking up or to the sides where the same path does not exist, but the youth, the well-read and well-rounded, the generation belonging to the days of independence knows the truth. The sky is blue, the sun shines bright and just ahead of us the road is clear once more, the golden shimmer mirror the proud rays of the sun. The old gods and the new rejoice because Armenia is becoming whole once more, one steady step at a time. Now is the time before the rise of the Golden age and those who remain, those who dare to dream and can see beyond the fog, they will be the ones to create what will be the foundation for a new Armenia.

Happy Independence Day to our dearest homeland. May your Golden Age rival that of the most esteemed of countries in the world. May your children forever feel the call of the mountains you cave created to protect your land. And most of all, may the Independence Generation grow to become the most awe-inspiring and magnanimous of rulers, known for bringing peace and prosperity to our lands. Happy Independence Day and may you stay free for all the centuries and millennia to come!

Standing Up for Their Rights: The Rise of #ElectricArmenia

The streets have been ringing with calls of miatsoum (Join us!) and alive with the excitement of the people who once again show hope in seeing a better future for days now. The hearts are beating, the eyes alight with a fire to see things change, and change for the good. This is no revolution, not in the sense that both Russian and Western media make it out to be. This is a call to those living in the country to stand up and show their own strength, for once feeling like they hold the power… and all of it done legally, peacefully, with heads held high and pride surging through their veins. The youth have awoken, this time coming to the streets better prepared to protest against a hike in electricity prices that essentially would make the poor even less likely to live a standard of life they are entitled to. As I see the crowds gathering in waves, waning during the peak times of day and the dead of night only to be bolstered with newcomers as the dawn breaks and dusk sets in, I hear myself singing a rather fitting song from Les Miserables:

Do you hear the people sing!
Singing the song of angry men?
It is the music of the people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

I most definitely am hearing the people sing, and dance as well! The unity among the people, the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the MP and the waitress, the writer and the butcher – this is what Armenia is truly about. This is what #ElectricArmenia is about.

Armenians may divide among themselves, but as Gevorg Emin so aptly stated, when there is a threat, particularly from the outside, they will come together and fight alongside one another. In this case, the governing parties are not seen as one of the people; they are seen as enemies more so sometimes than Azerbaijan. While there are those uninformed who may call it an anti-Russian rally, or one which seems to take on the style of the Ukrainian revolution, the truth is that this is merely the local population grasping at an opportunity to make its voice heard, struggling for control over the way the people “elected” into power use the reigns given to them. After all, absolute power corrupts absolutely, they say. When the authorities begin to abuse their places, exploiting what is in their power for their own gains, or so it appears, those who initially dropped in their ballots will certainly rise to the occasion and remind said individuals that their power is truly not as absolute as they may think. In the meantime, they will certainly enjoy themselves to the maximum, including dancing Kochari in the middle of Baghramyan Street, sleeping on the hot asphalt, and playing chess while being cheered on by total strangers who feel suddenly like close family.

Water Us and We Will Sprout and Grow

In response to the only show of violence seen throughout this protest, the 2.5 thousand became 10, and now we see ever increasing numbers on Baghramyan street, with new waves flowing in from Freedom Square. The diaspora stands in solidarity with those living in Armenia, raising its own voice to match the strength found in the boom that resonates throughout the country, beginning the hashtags of #ElectricYerevan, #ElectricGyumri, and #ElectricArmenia.

Of course, in response to the water cannons used to disperse the population camping out on the streets on June 23, those gathering on the 24th came in with their own precautions and entirely Armenian humour:

Setting the Record Straight

While we in Armenia know the truth, it appears that the police were indeed correct in stating that there are provocateurs among us in the crowds. These people include “journalists” spreading false propaganda:

Russian media is abuzz with the false information being transmitted, not only by apparent Armenians who are only Armenian in name, but also Ukrainians and Russians themselves who are warping the stories to present the appearance of an Armenian Maidan, while Turks and Azeris are using the propaganda machine for their own interests, some even stating their stance of solidarity in the “fight against the Armenian government.”

Of course, there are images which have us amused to no end as well, as spread by Russian sources. Apparently our Dear Kanye West is a Western provocateur here to encourage unrest. I doubt I’ve ever seen anyone so happy to be arrested though!

Of course, no “revolution” would be complete without love blooming – whether we are talking about the sudden revolt in Vancouver when Canada lost a game or the love of comrades in Les Miserables, the love the spurs the fight against the English for Braveheart or any of the other love stories that have captured the hearts of freedom-loving individuals everywhere.

Strong images from the past few days include:

               Celebrating Birthdays While Protesting – © Narek Aleksanyan

This brings to mind another of Emin’s incredible works, the Dance of Sassoun. “As Sassoun danced, the world was enthralled; as Sassoun danced, the world understood that this is no dance, but a country’s history where even the losses count as prideful victory; where nothing can defeat this ancient people, who with their efforts and with their wills know how to dance…”

Պարեց Սասունն, ու ողջ աշխարը հիացավ,
Պարեց Սասունն, ու ողջ աշխարը հասկացավ,
Որ պար չէ սա, այլ մի երկրի քաջ պատմություն,
ՈՒր պարտությունն անգամ ունի հպարտություն,
Եվ չի հաղթի ոչինչ այն հին ժողովրդին,
Որ այս ջանքով,
ՈՒ այս կամքով
Պարել գիտի…
Հասկացան ու ասին ի լուր ողջ աշխարի,
-Հալալ է քեզ,
Սասուն, պարի…

Guest Post: #TurkeyFailed Because I Live in Armenia and So Should You

As the World’s Armenian community gears up to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman turks, the hashtag #TurkeyFailed has been trending across armenian social networks. The phrase, usually followed by accounts of multi-generational survival, uploaded onto the web by Armenians is meant to empower the descendants of these genocide survivors. As photos of survivors, and their progeny are shared and commented on, we are reminded that though 1.5 million of our grandparents had been dehumanised, robbed of their birthrights, their possessions, marched into deserts and brutally massacred, yet the five hundred thousand or so who survived managed to, as William Saroyan so eloquently put it; “laugh, sing and pray again”; build “a new Armenia” in the four corners of the globe. They passed on as best they could their culture, traditions and language to a new generations of Armenians, now totalling over 7 million people.

However, declaring that Turkey Failed at this time would be similar to declaring victory over shark-kind while still floating in shark-infested waters: Though the immediate danger may have been averted, we, as a nation are not out of the woods yet. The fact that I need to write this piece in english, rather than Armenian in order to reach the majority of my compatriots living in dispersed communities around the globe attests to the fact that we have sacrificed a lot for survival; our language, culture, and traditions, are constantly being diluted despite our best efforts, as we continue to live in lands which we do not call our own, while the concept of a hyphenated Armenian becomes increasingly solidified.

In the 21st century, it is no longer enough for Armenian people to live with the hope of indefinitely preserving Armenian identity, language, culture and traditions in suspension in their newfound homes abroad. Despite hollow promises that we make to ourselves, that we are ready, at moments notice, to return to our ancestral land, how many of us are ready to leave our cosy city lives, our jobs, and the communities we helped reconstruct over 3 generations to go back to mud brick villages in eastern Anatolia? I can recall, the times when i was back in native Canada visiting family, discussing my new life in Armenia with local armenian friends, and finishing our conversations with the question “And when will you be joining me in Armenia?” to which I would always get an embarrassed response in the form of “some day”. Our lack of readiness to leave these comfort zones was most exemplified by the destruction of the well established Armenian communities in Iraq, and now Syria.

Turkey’s failure will only truly be complete when we secure the existence, and sustainability of the Armenian nation. This, of course, can only be done when the majority of those living in the Diaspora, who see the preservation of their cultural heritage, will begin to see the Republic of Armenia as a genuine option for establishing themselves, raising families, and contributing to.

Afterall, the job is not yet done. Our young republic, which we inherited 76 years after the genocide, still deals with many of the typical issues that a start-up nation, with a soviet legacy would be expected to. Armenia still struggles to fight corruption, imperfect democratic processes, economic stimulation, emigration, and the precarious nature of its geopolitical location. Despite all this, Armenia offers unique opportunities for those who wish to contribute. The country changes at an astonishing rate. Despite a century of separation, and contrasts between the soviet and diaspora experience, many repatriates are pleasantly surprised to discover how much they share with their local contemporaries.

Almost four years ago, wishing to bank on this opportunity, I made the move here, established a business, employ a modest number of people, and pay taxes to the State. I am setting the foundations for a family here, and live what can best be described as a ‘normal’ life. I say this not to invoke the envy of the readers, but to explain why, in my case at least, #TurkeyFailed. For the first time in 3 generations, on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, a member of my family will be in Armenia. My hope is that my story wouldn’t be unique.

Those who, like me, wish to see, a strong, economically sustainable, democratic and forward looking homeland, as opposed to one that dwells in its past, should know that Armenia doesn’t need your money, or pity, Armenia needs you. Armenia needs Armenians to populate the country, contribute to its job market, its economic development, cultural institutions, and demanding political change.

Until independence, the common line was that, “As soon as we reestablish an Independent Armenia, I will the first on the plane over there”. This has only materialised for a small numer. Today, there no more excuses: Many opportunity exists for those who want to help complete Turkey’s Failure, and subsequently Armenia’s victory, but living here. Those who may want to reconnect with Armenia’s culture, can always make use of resources online, such as the Armenian Virtual College’s Armenian lessons; they can receive a world-renown education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at the American University of Armenia, or simply try out life in Armenia to see if it’s right for them, by applying for the 3 month professional internship programme at Birthright Armenia. Resources such as the Repat Armenia Foundation dedicate themselves to helping Armenians from the diaspora to reclaim their birthright, and establishing themselves in their homeland. The possibilities are endless, the reasons are countless.

100 years after we were chased out of our lands, its time to come home. Only then, we can truly say that #TurkeyFailed

Post by Raffi Elliott