I have spent most of the past week in Yerevan, it was very relaxed, just doing some errands, spending time with my boyfriend. We usually ended up at Lolik, a small eating place between Moskovyan and Prospekt that has become the hangout of part of the Middle-Eastern Diaspora Armenians living in Yerevan. I handed in my application for a visa at OVIR, for which I needed three tries and every time the OVIR-people told me I needed to bring a different paper or fill in a different form (or fill it in in Armenian instead of English....). The fourth time I got angry and that seemed to help. ;-) Some people are surprised I managed to hand in my application without giving money to speed things up a bit...

There has been a sudden and major change in my New Year's plans. My (Lebanese-Armenian) boyfriend is going to Lebanon for three months and I decided to join him for a month or so. We're leaving early Friday morning and will arrive in Beirut the same day about midday. So instead of in Armenia, I will be celebrating New Year in Lebanon.

This piece of news just made my day...

Press Release

FEDERATION OF ARMENIAN ORGANISATIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS (FAON)
24 April Committee
Weesperstraat 91
NL - 2574 VS The Hague
Contact: M. Hakhverdian
Tel. 070 4490209
E-mail: april24committee@wanadoo.nl
Website: http://24aprilcomite.ontheweb.nl

The Netherlands recognises Armenian Genocide

The Hague, 21 December 2004 - The Armenian Federation announces with
satisfaction that today the Dutch Parliament has adopted unanimously
a motion concerning the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian community of The Netherlands has been insisting at the
Dutch Parliament and the government on recognition of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915 for many years. Especially last year, in the run-up
to and during the Dutch presidency of EU, the 24 April Committee
of the Armenian Federation has persistently campaigned to bring the
Armenian question under the attention of the Members of Parliament
and the Dutch public.

The motion was introduced during the debate on the outcome of
the European Summit of last Friday in connection with the start of
accession negotiations with Turkey. In that debate nearly all fractions
asked the government about the absence of the Armenian Genocide issue
in the Presidency conclusions. This in spite of commitment by among
others France and the European Parliament and also by Dutch Foreign
Minister Bot himself, who ensured the Dutch Parliament that the
Armenian question has always been brought up at the meetings with
the Turkish colleagues. The majority of the Parliament Members had
asked to pay attention to this point.

In the motion adopted by the Parliament the government is asked "to
bring up the recognition of the Armenian Genocide continuously and
expressly in the dialogue with Turkey".

This motion has been introduced by the Chairman of Christian Union
fraction Mr. Rouvoet and supported by all other political parties in
the Parliament.

I have been travelling back and forth between Spitak and Yerevan for the past week. Work started, but it will really kick off for me after the holidays. I have started my battle with OVIR for a one-year residency permit.

Like last year, I spent December 7, Earthquake Remembrance Day, in Spitak. On that day people visit the graves of their beloved ones who died during the earthquake. I have visited the town's cemetary several times over the past years and every time I go there, I am caught by the somewhat surreal atmosphere of the place. For starters, the cemetary is way too big for such a small town. By far the majority of the people buried there, died on the same day, December 7, 1988. And there are so many graves of young people....

People here hang pictures of their deceased relatives on the wall of their living room (I don't know if it is a local Spitak tradition connected to the earthquake or if it is a general Armenian tradition) and there is hardly a house in Spitak that has no pictures hanging on the wall. I can think of literally less than a handful. One of them is my friend A.'s house. I remember the first time I visited her at home and how it immediately struck me that the walls of her living room were empty. It is the absence of pictures that is noticeable in Spitak, not the presence.

Just some random and unrelated impressions of the last couple of days.

Snow has arrived early this year and prices have gone up. People are complaining about both.

December has arrived, so the husbands, fathers and brothers who are working in Russia are one by one coming home for the holidays.

The other day I was helping my friend L. prepare a meal in the kitchen while her husband is cleaning a cow's head at the kitchen table behind us.

On my way back home I stopped by my friend H.'s shop to say hi and noticed how he built an addition to his shop since my last visit this past summer. I am glad he's doing well.

I am playing endless games of Four-in-a-Row and Rummikub with Armen and Tigran, the 7- and 8- year old kids of the family where I am staying.

While walking through town with S., we ran into her aunt, who immediately started inquiring about me: How old am I? Am I married? Turns out she is looking for a wife for her 32-year old son. At home S. tells her dad about this, who immediately starts praising his nephew, that he is such a good, smart, well educated man etc. and recommending that we meet when this cousin returns from Russia. I am used to this. After all, I am unmarried and way past marrying age (according to local standards, that is...). Go figure what a great "project" I make for all the tatiks around! Sometimes it freaks me out, but most of the time I just laugh about it. I am used to it already.

Over the past few months they put up all kind of road signs on the road between Yerevan and Spitak (12% slopes all of a sudden appeared everywhere), and also in Spitak's town center. Has the government started a campaign to teach Armenians traffic rules? I noticed that from the central square in Spitak it is 104 kilometers to Yerevan, but near the cemetary at the edge of town (which is at least 500 meters closer to Yerevan than the square) the distance to the capital has suddenly increased to 105 kms. Maybe the road workers who put up the signs had had one too many shots of wodka to keep warm....

But the absolute highlight so far has been Sunday morning breakfast consisting of khash and wodka.....For those who don't know what khash is, it is a very fat and very filling meal of broth made of cow feet, lavash and fresh garlic. You're supposed to eat the cow feet as well...(yes, I did run into quite a few dead cow already...;-) ). Needless to say I needed the rest of the day to recover.

This must be Armenia...