Relative Strangers - Armenia and Diaspora in Searc

[Aovin]

I allowed myself to shorten an article to some extent ( though without changing any piece of the remaining text ) and put here the most interesting parts of the story ..

Probably this article would be a strating point for an interesting discussion particularly relevant for this forum .

Regards

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.. ( paragraph is ommitted about the examples of Armenia -Diaspora successful cooperation which are well known to everybody here)

Where it goes wrong is when Diaspora Armenians see the country as some sort of playground in which they come to believe that their financial success abroad entitles them to build ego-boosting facilities of little immediate relevance to the needs of the country. A building with your name on may look good to the people back home but will be of little comfort unless what's inside the building is also appreciated by the people who will use it.

There are undoubted successes, yet both Diaspora Armenians and those in the republic can point to experiences that have soured their views of the other. I recall a meeting with Armenians from the Middle East who had made a substantial investment in a business in Gyumri but who spoke with such bitter disillusionment of their experiences with the corruption and incompetence of the local bureaucracy. Given their time over again, they would not have got involved.

I speak to many Diasporans in my work and it isn't long before complaints surface about corruption or the general condition of people in the country, or the fact that so many have emigrated. After ten years of pouring in money, as they see it, and lobbying for aid to Armenia, they do not understand why life in the country is still so difficult for so many. Some conclude that those running the country are unfit to do so - and that they will have nothing more to do with Armenia until things change.

Some of the criticism is well founded - though not such as to tar the whole country with a bad reputation. In their turn, some in Armenia complain that Diasporans come here full of ideas about how things should be done, paying little attention to the thoughts and experiences of those who actually live here. If there was a period in the immediate aftermath of independence when Armenians were willing to adopt the role of eager pupils sitting at the feet of Diasporan teachers, that time is now well and truly past.

During a decade of independence, the people have triumphed in war and endured economic meltdown of a scale unknown in the Diaspora. They have emerged confident in their ability to find solutions to problems - and want now to work with Diaspora Armenians who recognise that, while they lack finance, they have much of value to contribute in other ways. Diasporans who have been successful here have recognised that fact - others have mistaken it for a desire only to milk them of cash.

I have taken a long time to set out examples of why I think Armenians in the Diaspora and the Republic have struggled to find ways to work together. Part of the blame for that lies in the relatively poor state of Armenian media. Largely for financial reasons, few have risen to the challenge of reporting the new world of an evolving relationship between Nation-State and international Diaspora.

It remains a divided world of small-time Diaspora community papers and largely partisan publications in Armenia, inward-looking and lacking the sort of detail that would help readers and citizens to make informed decisions about events in the country. In this environment, unsubstantiated rumour becomes fact and the reality of life here gets lost in misperceptions and cynicism. I would argue that Armenians here know more about life in Russia and Armenians in Boston more about those in California than they do about each other.

The Internet offers one potential solution, giving Armenians the opportunity to connect with each other over great distances based on shared interests and at low cost.

I mentioned earlier that the clash between Diasporan Dream of Armenia and Armenian Reality has had much to do with the difficulties of harnessing the energies of all Armenians to the goal of developing a just and prosperous society here.

The country of their childhood - the perfect Armenia - was not the country they found. Instead, Armenia was chaotic, difficult, at times incomprehensible. The past decade has involved painful adjustment to the reality - but it is only by seeing things as they are that both Diaspora and Republic can agree on what they should become. .........

Despite everything, Armenia and Diaspora have more in common than divides them. This fact alone should encourage both parties as they search for a relationship that turns them into close family rather than distant cousins.

The experiences of other peoples - the Irish, the Jews - suggest that this future must be one that acknowledges the primacy of the republic's needs while respecting the desire of the Diaspora for a meaningful voice in the debate.

[chachanak]

I wanted to open a similar topic for a while now, but hesitated, thinking it may bring up some other issues about Armenians from Armenia.

As far as commenting on the article, I would add that it's a two ways street. And unfortunately, there is a certain way of treating Armenians in Diaspora by native Armenians in and outside of Armenia also.

[Aovin]

..

[FidelKasparov]

Aonin

Allow me to digress a little bit and point here to a greater issue at hand.

The majority of Armenians today live outside Armenia, and the majority of them are either alienated or assimilated, or on their way there. The term Armenian Diaspora will be obsolete in two or three generations. According to new studies it turns out that Armenians have weaker self-preservation mechanisms than other major ethnic groups, their willingness to melt and adapt exceeds that of almost every other group (to a great surprise of “AAA” and “ANCA”). Many realize this fact but only few fight the process of their natural extinction.

Not trying to talk down or demean the issues you raised in the article, but I see the problem of Diaspora or its demise as more serious and complex.

Naturally, Diaspora-Homeland relationship is never easy, that holds true for any ethnic group. Sorting out differences is a matter of time and circumstance. The provincial government in Yerevan today does not realize the threatening proportions of depopulation (new diaspra) let alone Diaspora issues

Only truly nationalistic and ideologically strong new government of Armenians (both Diaspora and Armenia proper) will be able to bring about changes so needed today

to the issues of dual citizenship, repatriation to Homeland, and election reforms.

The current government has no resolve and capacity to do it. Endless and useless talks should stop.

[chachanak]

The term Armenian Diaspora will be obsolete in two or three generations. According to new studies it turns out that Armenians have weaker self-preservation mechanisms than other major ethnic groups, their willingness to melt and adapt exceeds that of almost every other group (to a great surprise of “AAA” and “ANCA”). Many realize this fact but only few fight the process of their natural extinction.

[FidelKasparov]

but by all means, please be appreciative for what they have done for us, including the enormous help in Karabakh conflict.

[chachanak]

Now, please try do a little calculating and tell me how on earth a nation as old as 3000 years can count today only 3 million people. Keep in mind that Genocides and epidemics are just small fluctuations.

[chachanak]

Anyway, I'll try to do some fact checking in order to have a more meaningful discussion, rather than just a speculation.

[Понч]

I cant speak for whole armenian diaspora.But i do can speak for armenian diaspora in Israel(where i live)/There are two types of armenians here-newbies(10-15 years in country) and the others,so called "natives".Difference according to "natives" is the "soviet mentality",which is the couse of all the problems.Natives are much bigger patriots than the newbies,they do not assimilate.Most of them are "dashnaks",and you can stop worrying about their assimilation.

"Newbies" on the other hand,are much more unstable.All they care is how to get a better job,so they can earn enough money to pay for their urban dues.Some of them marryes "outsiders" and assimilate,but its only a little part of them.They have no time to think about their hameland,or its problems(thats why they immigrated in the first place).Anyway i think "newbies" deserve time to "settle in" before anyone can judge them.Everyone deservs a better live...

[FidelKasparov]

I cant speak for whole armenian diaspora.But i do can speak for armenian diaspora in Israel(where i live)/There are two types of armenians here-newbies(10-15 years in country) and the others,so called "natives".Difference according to "natives" is the "soviet mentality",which is the couse of all the problems.Natives are much bigger patriots than the newbies,they do not assimilate.Most of them are "dashnaks",and you can stop worrying about their assimilation.

"Newbies" on the other hand,are much more unstable.All they care is how to get a better job,so they can earn enough money to pay for their urban dues.Some of them marryes "outsiders" and assimilate,but its only a little part of them.They have no time to think about their hameland,or its problems(thats why they immigrated in the first place).Anyway i think "newbies" deserve time to "settle in" before anyone can judge them.Everyone deservs a better live...