Tens of thousands of Armenians have left Armenia in the past 5 years. The opposition says 200 thousand, the government says 100 thousand, it is not important; even the second number is huge for a small country like ours. The current government led by the president is primarily responsible for that. However, it seems to me that political and social figures,
intellectuals, commentators, in a word, all of us – the people on whose words something depends – don’t do “our part” to soften that phenomenon. It seems it is more important for us to win “society’s approval,” so to say, take an attitude pleasing society, “This people have widened their necks, and the poor people are suffocating, leaving their homeland” etc. Thus, our citizens have completely freed themselves of the obligation to act independently, stay here, in Armenia, and fight; the fact that they are leaving the country is not criticized, moreover, it is presented almost like a manifestation of civic bravery, “What else can people do?”
We, journalists, talk about the result every day, sometimes several times a day. All participants in big or small rallies, regardless of whether their demands are legitimate or illegitimate, threaten with emigration at the end of every speech or interview. For example, taxi drivers want to park where they like and don’t want speed guns and cameras to record their violations. And if they don’t reach their goal, they say, “We will leave this country.” Those who have stocks and whose boss has refused to give them dividends also claim that they will emigrate, if they don’t get the money they are entitled to. None of us has ever gotten a receipt from dentists in return for the money we had paid, and thus, their income is out of any control, but when the government suggests that they pay for being a dentist, they oppose and say that they will leave the country in that case. The same applies to vendors, victims of the state needs, and other citizens who have problems. There really are problems, and they must be solved. However, whom do they threaten? The government? Does it care much about emigration?
…The electrical strain in my house has been 170V on average during the whole winter, as a result of which the washing machine can be turned on only after 1 a.m. If the company that is operating the electrical grid doesn’t fix this problem during February, I will probably emigrate.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
