FORUM SYNOPSIS:
ROUNDTABLE WITH REPATS

On Wednesday, June 28, Depi Hayk organized a forum dedicated to repatriation issues. In a roundtable format Armenian repatriates (aka repats) from the Diaspora shared their experiences since making Armenia their new home. Among the invitees were Raffi Niziblian (Canada), Alex Sardar (USA), Lara Tcholakian (Canada), Madeline Minassian-Ispirian (USA) and Maral Odabashian (Canada).

Raffi Niziblian, 33, moved to Armenia with his wife and 2 young daughters. His third child was born in Armenia. He stated that there are many activities for Diaspora Armenians, adding that “you will never feel bored in Armenia”. The country and the people are the main reasons that connected him with Armenia, and he highlighted the rich cultural life of Yerevan. Raffi concluded by saying that “We are living this historical moment with local Armenians and we have the opportunity to be part of the building of this new nation”.

Maral Odabashian, 45, is an artist from Canada who moved to Armenia with her husband and young son. She began the story of her repatriation by saying that the first time she felt a strong connection with Armenia was during the earthquake of 1988. After many years of seeking employment opportunities in Armenia, their internet search proved to be the charm, and they made the jump in 2003.

Mrs. Odabashian said that the most important factor in their repatriation odyssey was the assurance that their son Komitas will have the opportunity to grow up in an Armenian environment. Both she and her husband had worked in Canada for 25 years and now looked forward to the day that they can retire in Armenia. Life is full of challenges, she said, and developing a positive outlook to overcome those challenges is essential. Currently Mrs. Odabashian is the leader of the International Women’s Club in Armenia where she organizes art exhibitions.

Madeline Minassian-Ispirian is the Director for Public Relations and Events at Cafesjian Museum Foundation. She started by describing her first visit to Armenia. It was many years ago, while still a student. After returning home to the US, she told her mother that she wanted to move to Armenia. Her mother suggested that in order to be more useful for the country, she should first finish her education. She graduated from UCLA in 1999 with a major sociology and a minor in Armenian Studies. Soon afterwards, she came to Armenia on an Land and Culture (LCO) mission, and later began to work at the LCO office in Yerevan. Feeling that she was not ready and experienced enough to repatriate, she went back to New York where she met her husband Arthur Ispirian, a pop singer in Armenia. They lived in NY for 10 years and in 2001 finally repatriated. Madeline came here to help but soon she realized that Armenia gives much more to her than she gives to Armenia. “When I was working in NY I was thinking that it will be much easier for me to live in Armenia and I will finally be able to relax there, but when I came to Armenia I understood that I was wrong”.

The next rapat to share her experiences was Lara Tcholakian Doudaklian from Canada. She admitted that she didn’t want to come to Armenia but that her husband said: “Let’s just go there for our honeymoon”. That’s when her outlook changed. After several years she eventually found a job in Armenia with the Eurasia Foundation. The job was challenging because she had to deal with her counterparts from Baku. During her work in Armenia Lara understood that she needs to adapt herself to the norms of the society. According to her, repats in Armenia should have patience and flexibility “Then you will realize you’re at home” she concluded.

The evening’s last speaker was Alex Sardar, Chief of Party at Counterpart International. He stated that his case was somewhat different than those of the previous guests. Firstly, he was not raised within an Armenia community, and the only Armenia that he learned was when he and his sibling were taught the language at home. Being Armenian was not something that he felt strongly about. After moving to the US, and finally interacting with the organized communities did he start to find his Armenian identity. His internship at the Foreign Ministry of Armenia in 1999 was a turning point in his life, and after finding an employment opportunity, Alex repatriated in 2002. He arrived in Armenia thinking that he is coming home. “But after the first “romantic” year I began to see the difficulties and problems” he said. “You should be patient to understand that everything takes time,” he concluded.

A question and answer period ensued, and the packed audience of volunteers were eager to find out more details about the level of health care, choices for education of children, salaries, and other practicalities of being repatriates.

On the issue of educating their children, the repats said that there are various public and private school options available. The private schools are very inexpensive compared to private schools in the west, and some have good academic standards. As anywhere, parents must follow closely the progress of their children in order to make sure that they do not fall behind. Public schools are often less academically advanced because of poorer teacher pay scales, and less incentive for them to teach. They make up for the deficit by seeking to tutor children after hours.

As far as healthcare, there is a decent standard of services rendered, but not necessarily matching what one may obtain in the more advanced countries. Again one must be get references for the best doctors and hospitals around.

The participants were also asked why they keep their citizenships from other countries. All of the invited guests said that they kept their non-Armenian citizenships as a safety measure, and for ease of travel to their previous home countries at their leisure.

Volunteers were also interested in local salaries; some of them said that it is easy to be a repatriate in Armenia with an American salary. The repats responded that state salaries are very low, and that salaries with international organizations are much higher, but still low compared to salaries in the West.