High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan presented the plan for the 2020 budget in parliament. Speaking about the “Ari Tun (Come Home)” program, he said that the program was implemented on a small scale this year since the duties of the High Commissioner were not clear yet. Over 300 people participated in the program, and it is anticipated that there will be 800 participants next year. Sinanyan noted that there is a demand for this program. “The program is so popular that, if money can be allocated to accommodate 1,200 participants, we will definitely have that many. The format changed this year- it’s a camp- which allows young people to gather in the regions. It is a great format and young people are not only becoming more connected with Armenia, but with one another. We will also take them to Artsakh next year.”
Bright Armenia deputy Arkadi Khachatryan said that specific results are necessary to know what needs to be done and for whom. “It’s not enough to say that they have traveled to several countries and got to know some people.”
Sinanyan said that he agrees, but the volume of working being done is so large, especially with investors from the Diaspora. On one hand, the commission is calling upon Diasporans to make investments, and on the other hand, administrative issues keep coming up. “Thankfully, the Diaspora has started to come to Armenia. People are coming from the Diaspora en masse. I believe that you will be shocked when you see tourism statistics for this year. People come here and want to meet with the Prime Minister, but they can’t, so I receive orders from the Prime Minister to meet with them. I also spend a lot of time at such meetings.”
Regarding the sustainment of language, Sinanyan said, “If we want to sustain our language, we need to gather Armenians from all over and bring them to Armenia. Our language can be upheld in Armenia.” According to him, people in the Diaspora are more open-minded, and they are not very connected to the Armenian language. There are also a lot of mixed marriages. Now, we can look at this as a tragedy, or we can look at this as an opportunity to expand our nation.” He said that, if Armenia is able to grow stronger, it will be more attractive, which will cause people from the Diaspora to come to Armenia and sustain the Armenian language. Sinanyan said that people act in their best interests, and not many parents can understand how their child would benefit from knowing Armenian. Therefore, Armenians must make that beneficial by creating a stronger Armenia. “We are facing a huge crisis.”
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Hripsime Jebejyan
