No matter how important the Genocide recognition process is (where we are having serious victories), I will allow myself to deviate from this theme and to try to reflect our attention to a more “everyday” problem. I think everyone knows that in the coming years, we, Armenians, will have to tighten our belts. There are many reasons for such a prediction: Russia transfers, on which live thousands of our citizens, have been reduced to various estimates approximately 30-40%. The reason is simple, the difficult economic situation in Russia, which, as I understood from Putin’s yesterday statements will last long. The West’s help has also been reduced; USAID reduction programs are a good example. There are different reasons for different contributions. Some of them had been directed to the so-called “poverty”, but poverty is not overcome, on the contrary, it has deepened. The other part was directed to the development of democracy, legislation, social activism, training, etc., but here also vivid results are not seen. But the problem is probably not only the lack of results, but also in our rapidly turn to the EEC.
The problem is that our situation is not so “dramatic” to be able to receive money constantly. We are poor, but not to the degree to ask the benefactors for help by demonstrating our hungry stomachs or by demonstrating naked children`s photos sitting in the mud: thus looking forward to their charity. We need democracy, but not to the degree that there is no opposition in Parliament, no one is able to utter a word, even more, the active figures are in prison. Our country, of course, punishes opponents, but rather on “preventive purposes,” as it was now in case of the Founder Parliament. Tough our citizens call the public sector, the level of human rights, freedom of speech and demonstrations is not catastrophic, and the regime is not dictatorial.
It is useless to expect any significant help. This situation, of course, has its positive aspects, people rely on their internal resources; do not think of assistance but of other investments. People need to be more initiative to change the laws and customs and tax administration without any grants in order to give a chance to our businessmen to be able to take a deep breath in our country. I am not so naive not to understand why they do not “breathe”. But when it matures to an objective necessity, sooner or later all artificial obstacles vanish.
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Aram ABRAHAMYAN
