Free healthcare in Armenia a new reality?

I was so happy to read this news... so many people really didn't get treatment because they couldn't afford it. I really hope it keeps up and that the healthcare providers get proper compensation too - or they may just leave...

From: RFE/RL

The Armenian government reported on Monday a sharp increase in the number of people visiting state-run policlinics since the abolition, effective from January 1, of all medical charges levied for disease prevention and non-surgical treatment.

Officials said in Yerevan alone policlinic visits this month were 47 percent up from January 2005, while the number of medical tests performed there jumped by 51 percent compared to the same period last year.

...

Anecdotal evidence and witness accounts suggest that the government decision is being implemented. “I had a sore foot and went came here on January 4,” said an elderly patient at a policlinic in central Yerevan. “I also suffer from diabetes and come here to see my doctor. It’s all done for free. I have not been charged a penny.”

“They didn’t ask for money,” confirmed a middle-aged woman who just visited a gynecologist. “I am very happy with that.”

my bags are packed

my bags are all packed...
waiting to go on the biggest adventure of my life.
don't know departure time... it's kind of still up in the air.
david is the only person who can decide this.

who is david you ask?

well this is one of my most exciting blogs because i get to tell you about david.
he is the other man in my life.

i have known him for nine months now... but have not officially met him yet. that is why i am so excited about this adventure... i will finally gaze into his eyes and officially tell him i love him.

ok, before your jaws hit the floor as you all jump to shock thinking i am cheating on my wonderful husband arthur... i will break this little game up and tell you whats really going on.

i am due any day with our firstborn son... david.

as i sit here... wondering when he will decide to come into this world... i am thinking about a lot of things... his future (i want to buy latin tapes so he can listen to them in his nursery... so his future medical schooling will go easier)... his life (starting his life off living in healthy and wonderful armenia surrounded by such wonderful people) and all those that will love and support him. i thank GOD for all the blessings that david will be born with.

and i must say that i want him to know.

the one overwhelming desire... the one thing that has been on the lips of our ancestors for the last millenium is a free, independent and united armenia. it is a miracle that we have this today and i just hope that david partakes in this historic moment in the history of the armenian people. i hope he will contribute to its health, and receive of its fruit. my desire for him is to appreciate that today we have what our people have wanted for thousands of years... and that he should cherish each square centimeter that we call ours.

i miss armenia. los angeles is very nice and i am happy to be with my family for this very special occasion... in warm weather... with my mom... where i grew up... this was important for us... but i do miss my life back in yerevan. i cannot wait to introduce david to all i know and love there... i cannot wait to share my vision of what armenia is... and what it can be... i cannot wait till he learns his first armenian nursery rhyme... or understands his first toumanian fairytale... i cannot wait to raise an armenian.

but for now david is telling me to wait a little longer... ready to burst, we are sitting around waiting for a departure time... bags are packed... we are waiting for david to decide.

will fill you in as events progress...

The Great Ocean Road

I got back from a two day trip along the "Great Ocean Road" last night and once again can say that marketing and planning go a long way in the tourism business. The most impressive site along the road was the Twelve Apostles, which used to be called the Sow and Pigs which was changed for marketing reasons, and which never numbered that close to 12 at all. That area was definitely very impressive, but it was a very very small part of what they call the "Great Ocean Road" and the rest of it was ho-hum for someone who has driven up and down the Pacific Coast Highway so many times.

Also, I saw this Armenian business card in an art supply store I entered here in Melbourne, Australia... such a random Armenia related sighting I had to log it.

Leaky pipes & Face Control

Wow, haven't logged in over a month! I guess it was my annual S.A.D. attack, keeping me from doing anything productive.

Last week my nutcase of a neighbour from downstairs rang my doorbell. As I opened the door he pushed me aside, walked into my apartment, and straight into my kitchen. "What do you think you are doing???", he yelled at me with his frizzy Einstein haircut. Me ... still in my sleeping clothes, "Huh?" He started accusing me of spilling water in my kitchen which he claimed was going down to his studio downstairs (he's a painter.) Long story short, he is a nutcase. In the past 1.5 years I have been living in this apartment I've never spilled water which would have leaked downstairs. But he didn't want to hear what I had to say. He kept yelling and yelling, "What are we going to do about this??? All my paintings have been ruined!!!" Still, I was confused as to why I was being blamed for something I hadn't done.

The same afternoon I was telling this story to a relative of mine, and he told me the same thing had happened to him a year ago, and in the end he found out that it was the drainage pipe under his shower.

Before I bought this apartment my plan was to buy a non-remonded place, renovate it myself, not skimping out on proper electrical wiring, pipes and so on, so that I wouldn't run into problems like this one. But the first time I saw this place, I gave in for a few reasons.

Well, for 2 weeks already I've been waiting for a plumber to come by and tell me what the actual problem is, but it seems like all the plumbers are sick or too lazy to come out in this snowstorm we are having.

Let this be a warning to all, "If you plan on buying an already renovated apartment in Armenia ... be careful."

On a completely different note, I want to say congrats to Sam and Stepan for Square One's continual success. Even in this cold weather, when you don't see many people outside (except for the skating rink area), their place is always packed. They've also got a new "risky" menu now ... with lots of chicken dishes ;-) But I really want to commend them for something else as well ...

The other day a friend of mine and I decided to go to Cube (light food menu, decor a cross between Square One and a Canadian donut shop, with a bar/disco hangout downstairs). There were only a couple of non-occupied tables, but we were told we couldn't sit there since they could accommodate up to 4 people and they would rather give the tables to more than 2 people. So we decided to go downstairs to the bar/disco instead. Again refused. This time cause we were 2 males. We went to Cactus instead, and 2 other people were to join us. Again refused cause the football player with us was wearing sweats and sneakers. We decided to go back to Cube, to sit at the 4-people table, again refused cause of the guy wearing sportayin shorer.

So this is how things work in Yerevan. Cactus, Cube, Jazzve ... cross them off your list if you plan on going out with sneakers. No real face control at Square One, and I have a feeling even our much much more higher class restaurants don't even have face control.

FINALLY!

Armen and I had to fight the snow storms you saw in Alex's pictures to move into our apartment. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after six months of "next month we'll move in" it has finally happened. I don't know if I believe it myself... someone pinch me!

With that being said we have only a table and four chairs, bed, partially installed kitchen, and half completed bathrooms. Our couch should be delivered tomorrow and the rest of the furnishings done in the next few months. Once I get around to it I'll take and post some pictures... I might have to get over the shock first.

Now that my spirits are high you should be hearing more from me!

Greetings from a rookie (b)logger

I’ve been meaning to sign on this log page since my husband Raffi (no, not K. nor N., but Doud.) moved to Armenia from Canada in 2004. I’m not a very eloquent writer, but I do feel that I need to voice my 2 cents on many of the adventures we have (and continue to) stumbled upon. I never felt compelled to log my experiences when living in other transitional and developing countries, so why start now? In reading the logs of so many of you in the past couple of years, I have felt a certain harmony that I could not feel with any other. In reading your stories, I would constantly nod or giggle on my own and pleasantly agree or disagree with your thoughts while living in this love/hate place we call Hayrenik.

We did not move here with the illusion of ‘helping’ this country or strengthening its social-economy. On the contrary, we felt that Armenia could help us in many ways. We knew that our new lifestyle here would not be easy but tell me of a place in this world where it would be (who wants to pay life-long mortgages just to have a relatively decent home in humdrum suburbia that you cannot even enjoy since you spend more time on the road in traffic?). One thing is for sure: here I don’t have to continuously struggle to remain Armenian or make endless efforts to explain and justify what my language/history/geography/ethno-background is to my non-Armenian colleagues.

Growing up in the Diaspora for me was like being imprisoned in the body of a Chinook salmon – an endangered species constantly migrating from one water to the next; swimming against strong currents facing many obstacles especially by menacing predators; then finally journeying back to the stream where it was born just to spawn.

I know that I’m still not in my ‘stream’, and no matter how ‘endangered’ this stream may be, we’ve made it our home and making the most of it.

My 2 cents…

And now for the good news

I had written last week about the commonplace, not-so-professional service I receive at one of the more famous hanrayin khanoutner of the city. Well, it would be unfair of me to not write about the pleasant surprise that occurred there a couple of days ago.

As I was getting the usual dndesagan abrank, the lady at the counter mentioned to me that she clearly remembers accidentally overcharging me last time (which was probably a while before). I really had no idea to what she was referring, and, even though she insisted that I had known but kept quiet, I hadn't a clue, and said so. Anyway, the point is, she aplogised and gave me my 50 drams back. Well, she cut 50 from whatever it was that I was buying, but it amounts to the same thing. And, yes, 50 drams is indeed next to nothing, not even a full marshrutka ride, for Heaven's sake, but it's The Principle Of The Thing that matters.

Sure, as I am known to profess from time to time, this place is indeed not working well as a country, but I expect we are getting there. Gamats gamats.

Meanwhile, how's the weather for you lot ? Snow good, eh ? :-P

Snow, Snow, Snow Everywhere!

Yerevan has been besieged by snow. Snow is growing out of every cavity of the city and its inhabitants. Hilly streets have been turned into make-shift ski resorts, and sleigh rides are a common sight everywhere.

Transportation is very difficult, and at times comes to a halt. The first major batch came starting Friday, through Saturday mid-day, and then it began snowing again Monday noon, and it is now 24 hours later, and it has not stopped.

There is a calmness to the snow blanketing the city. A few social habits have been observed in this situation as well.

For example, when shoveling snow from the stoop of one's shop, the owners mostly won't simply collect the accumulated snow to the side of the entry way, but simply throw it right into the middle of the street. The explanation is that cars driving over it will melt the slush--except, there are no cars driving over the slush, because cars slip and slide. So, eventually the slush turns into ice, and the rest is history!

Or, snow trucks don't alway clear the snow, but simply resdistribute it onto the asphalt so that it's not in lumps, because afterall one wouldn't want to drive over lumpy ice, but smooth, olympic standard ice is much better for cars to drive on.

All in a fun day's life in Yerevan! And for my friends who know that special little being in my life, there is a little taste of her for you in the first picture.

Google Earth

One of the perks of being abroad and having genuine high speed internet is being able to use Google Earth, a free program that lets you look at the entire world from satellites and aerial photos. I love flying around the planet and checking out landscapes, cities, coasts...

It also lets you add your own markers on the globe, with links and info and all... so how could I resist creating a massive compilation of sites in Armenia? I couldn't. I have put the file online and anyone using Google Earth can visit the Armeniapedia.org Travel and Tourism page and click on the "Armenian Locations on Google Earth" link. I'd like to keep going and add every little Armenian "thing" in the world eventually, keeping the file up to date, so if you have any additions, just email them to me. Otherwise, just enjoy.

A trip to the mobile phones' bazaar

My cellphone had been giving me problems lately. It's one of those old Nokias, the generic kind, starts with a "3"... Anyway, it would just switch-off mid-conversation. Last week, after I turned it off myself, it refused to be turned back on. Hmm... Come to think of it, I'd never been able to successfully turn things on. For example, the ladies don't exactly get turned on by me, but, in my defence, a phone has a button. If only it were that simple with women... Sigh...

Anyway, anyway, I'm digressing. So, I took it to one of those innumerable "bjjayin herakhosneri veranorokoum" places. It was a small place near Paregamoutiun, and there were other people before me. That's a good sign, it showed the varpet there was probably a good one. Well, as I waited, the guy just dismissed one customer after another.

"Varpet, es ban'e..."
"Ch'gitem, aper!". Next!

"Mi ban aretsin menu-is het..."
"Yes menu-neri het gorts ch'ounem!". Next!

My turn.

So, the guy opens up my phone, tests the battery, says it has to be changed. He happens to have some old second-hand ones from those sorry chaps from the States who think their phones will work around here. He charges me 2000 drams, says to test it for some time, and, if it doesn't work, we can try another battery, or he'll give me my money back.

As soon as I get home, I plug it in, and it doesn't work. Sigh...

Next day, I actually do get my money back. And he was being so kind to everyone, that guy, it was really amazing. He must have been having a bad day before. Anyway...

When he was being rude prior to that, he mentioned to someone to take his phone to the "Posta" on Saryan, where, he said, there's a cellphone repair guy on the right. I decided to steal that piece of advice, and that's when things got interesting.

I had never been inside that large, imposing structure before. There were at least two, maybe four doors in the front, with one marked "Moutk". As I approached it, a bunch of people started coming out, and I got all upset with my favourite hobby-horse for being upset that gets to me every time I go to the Yeritasardakan Metro Station, when I feel like shouting, "It says MOUTK! The YELK is the other one! Can't you read ?".

Right. Anyway, I got in, and went to the window on the right that gave the usual propaganda in Russian for "programmi, igri, kodifikatsia, etc., etc.", and handed my phone. The guy took a look, recommended that I go three windows left, and ask for Edo. Hmmm. I go to Edo. He, on his part, has a look or two, all the while exclaiming with delightful surprise, "Chi el mianoum...!", and said that I should go upstairs and consult with either Homeros or Vahan. Well, well... Off upstairs I go, and find the little window behind which was either Homeros, or his representative.

Now comes the best part. The guy (he was a pretty young kid, so I expect he wasn't the Homeros himself) takes my phone, takes out the battery, notes down the battery's and cellphone's serial numbers, then takes down my name and number, and hands me over a slip with a registration number, asking me to call next day using that number as a referral. Wow! And - would you believe it ? - a couple of hours later Homeros himself calls! It was such an honour...! Well, fixing my apparently-very-damaged phone will cost a bundle, but that's not the point. Hmm... on the other hand, they could be ripping me off. But no, no, I want to concentrate on the professionality of this place.

As I was leaving, I noticed that, indeed, that entire foyer area, except one bit where there was actual postal service being provided, was filled with cellphone people. It was like a whole guild! Like old bolsahay "esnafs", like in an eastern bazaar, you know ? A "souq". One is where all the gold is sold (we still have voskou shoukas around here, and, incidentally, "shouka" and "souq" have the same Assyrian/Semitic root), one for spices, a bunch of stalls of people selling textiles... and now, Anno Domini 2006 - a cellphone repair bazaar! :-)

And you know what else I noticed as I was leaving ? The door, through which I entered, which was marked "Moutk" on the outside, was marked "Yelk" on the inside...! Sheeeeesh, man! Sigh...
Afterwards, I happened to have a couple of items of shopping to do, and therefore frequented one of the more elite hanrayin khanoutner of the city. Very often had I been disappointed with the service that the either very thin and young or very fat and middle-aged women of the store would provide, and this time was no different. Plus, one guy in one section of the store didn't know where I could find something else I needed, even though he's working in the same building. Sigh...

Yes, yes, I've gotten used to it. And I've been saying for a long time now to everyone that this is a terrible country, but we're here anyway, that Armenia is on the road to ruin for sure, but the Armenians have been surviving thus far, and will continue to do so, etc., etc., but every time I am REALLY impressed with something good that's going on around here, I am immediately and sorrowfully drawn back to reality.

Will we ever manage to establish and maintain a level of professionalism in this country ? Why do chocolate bars have Georgian writing all over them, but rarely any Armenian ? How come the DVD rental place from where I bought a movie a couple of weeks ago did not have another copy of that DVD to rent out to other people ?

Okay, okay, I could go on and on, but I expect this will suffice for now. In case anyone out there intends to write an epic, though, I do happen to know a man with just the name with whom to consult...

"Prosperous Armenia"?!?!

I read some interesting news on RFE/RL about a new political party being set up by - Dodi Gago, the super rich oligarch - called "Prosperous Armenia". He has a very interesting background, getting his start after winning an arm-wrestling prize of I hear $100,000 and starting his business off with that. Now he owns Multi-Group and Kotayk Brewery and a slew of other things, and drives around in a huge Hummer. If there weren't so many stories about less than honest business practices (it seems his $100,000 may not have turned into presumably tens of millions without some questionable dealings) and more worrisome than that the fact that he is paying so little in taxes (see Multi-Leo on the list of taxpayers) I'd be a lot happier about this news. The things I do like about the guy is that he does actually run a lot of production in Armenia, rather than just monopolizing the import of one thing or anther, and he does give some money to charity... In any case, it gets stranger. Gago is very tight with the President, who has been vocally hated by Victor Dallakyan, who is now looking likely to run his new party.

I'm not a big follower of Armenian politics, but things definitely look set to become more interesting... Read all about it here.

Sign of Life

This morning, as I was getting up before dawn, I realized that the string of lights on the foothills of Ararat were visible. This was significant because for the last several weeks, fog and clouds have shrouded the view of Mt. Ararat almost completely. I wasn't sure if the mountain itself would be visible, but sure enough, even before real sunlight, the outline of the two peaks began appearing.

The air is crisp and cold this morning, and the temperature has dropped well below freezing, but a welcome change from the muggy days of the last month or so.

The other welcome visitor I had this morning almost in my bedroom was a swallow perched up on the balcony tiles. You know what that means! Spring can't be too far off. Yes, I do this to console myself.

Friday night was old new year's eve. Here's a jumbled shot of a lot of color, in the midst of light snow fall. It was beautiful all around.

Enjoy the view.

On More Constructive Paths

So, the last log I posted caused a bit of an stir. Some of the comments on the post got me thinking of more positive approaches to issues of oppression and hate.

I spoke to some Armenian colleagues and friends of mine here in Yerevan, and I explained to them why I was so utterly dismayed at some of the comments on news programs about certain minorities, and in discussions, one said to me that as a 31 year old father of a son he fears for the community in which his son will be raised, because he doesn't want his son to grow up in a community/society where members do not have basic respects for one another. He told me that he wasn't surprised, but he also didn't find it justified, for anyone in this Armenian society to be bigoted, but the way he explained it to me was that given the social and economic experiment called the Soviet Union, in which citizens were essentially pegged against one another, there is no sense of social contract and the respect required in such a contractual relationship, and therefore, we see what we see in Armenia on levels whether it is corruption, poverty, bigotry etc.

And I thought, well, there is one Armenian who gets it, so my cohorts in the comments section can't be that right about the average Armenian being a bigot.

Heeding the call of other comments, I'm posting the the following list from www.tolerance.org where you can find additional information. It even has ways any church can play a role in fighting oppression. Great concepts!

1. Act
2. Unite
3. Support the Victims
4. Do Your Homework
5. Create an Alternative
6. Speak Up
7. Lobby Leaders
8. Look Long Range
9. Teach Tolerance
10. Dig Deeper


Moving forward!

Xmas in Yerevan

This was the first time in 3 years that we spent our Holidays in Armenia. Christmas is not celebrated here, as most of the readers know already. However, given that most of our family is Catholic, we decided to organize a Christmas eve supper and invite our friends; Turkey and sushi were part of the menu. It was a very pleasant event.

On Christmas day, Amassia was performing with her dance group (Sophi Devoyan). This was followed by a “Children of the Staff” party of VivaCell, where I work. It was held at the Chamber theatre – one of my favorite places of Yerevan.

That week was packed with corporate holiday events for or different partners, gift exchanges among the staff, good wishes and the company staff party.

New Year’s eve was spent at Hotel Europa. There were a total of 27 people out of which 22 were our friends and us. The kids had a wonderful time with clowns, well known singers and of course, Santa. I must admit, it was one of the best New Year's I had had in a while. Of course our family was not there, but to be with friends who were in the same situation as us (same age, married with kids of the same age) made it so much more ... appropriate.

The next day we slept in... waaay in. Then we met with friends at Mariotte Hotel for an exquisite brunch.

During that week, we visited some local friends’ house as it seemed to be the custom here. It was much fun to be honest. At one friends’ house, we even sand songs on their Karaoke machine.

Armenian Christmas was spent in Shushi with our friends from 2001. They have kids the same as ours so things go smoothly in these cases. Edik and Gayane received a wonderful gift from us (including a bunch of friends who contributed). We got them a washing machine!

Now, one more celebration left, the old New Year which is held on the 13th... big fun at Republic Square.

Regression, Oppression, Bigotry: Happy New Year!

After a brief break in the US, I'm back to a warm winter in Armenia. Although there is quite a bit of snow on the ground, and lots of brown slush and mud, the temperatures seem to be sticking right around 0 degrees Celsius, which for this time of the year is not too cold for Yerevan.

Returning to Armenia in the winter is always difficult. It's not the joyous act of liberation when one comes here in the summer. Last night, however, I went down to Republic Square, and the tall and grand Christmas tree was still standing, and will be standing until Armenia marks the old New Year on January 13, and it then officially closes out the holiday season.

This time, more than any other, upon returning I was struck by a strange sense of a time warp in Armenia. As I was unwinding with an Armenian TV program just after coming home from the airport, an entertainment reporter on that enlightened TV channel called Armenia TV, owned partly by the Cafesjian Foundation, was reporting on the Elton John/David Furnish same-sex civil union, made possible by recent, progressive legislation in the UK. Then at the conclusion of the report, the female reporter non-chalantly went on to say, "Unfortunately, the numbers of homosexuals in society are growing," but she concluded at least homosexuals offer good entertainment!

Here I was, having seen, just days prior, Brokeback Mountain, a film so raw and so real in its handling of social taboos including gay love among two men, and the painful and gutwrenching affects of societal bigotry on human lives, that I almost wanted to throw my remote into the TV screen, thinking that the reporter's moronic and useless commentary on the existence of gay men and women in our society, is the exact same ignorant mindset that wreaked havoc on people's lives and hearts in this film. While I understand the obvious differences in context, I can't help but continuously be awed by the level of backward prejudice that exists in Armenia, and at times, I'm even rendered helpless (not a usual state of mind for me) at dealing with this kind of attitude in Armenia.

Sure, Armenia and Armenians (including those in the Diaspora) talk of joining Europe and the rest of the world, but at the very least, even if they are not going to fundamentally change some of their most regressive attitudes, the public discourse should be aimed at creating a tolerant environment for all ideas and kinds of people to coexist. That's the least that the somewhat progressive elements of Armenian society (in Armenia and Diaspora) can push for.

Because really, modernization and progress should not only be measured with the number of western clothing stores and restaurants that become operational in a 2-mile radius of Yerevan.

And then there is the added layer of not understanding why a persecuted nation would so readily persecute any other minority, be it ethnic, racial, religious or sexual. As I've said before, it matters not that your name ended in ian in 1915, or that your name was Rosa Parks, or Matthew Shepherd, we of all people must understand that bigotry and oppression are the same wherever and whenever they take place, and we must be the first ones to put our dignity on the line to stop oppression.

May the new year bring us all courage to fight such bigotry.

Dreams and family trees...

I actually had a dream regarding the destruction of the Hin Jugha cemetary khachkars 2 nights ago... the US Embassy in Baku sent someone to inspect it, and there were some freshly broken khachkars which they posted some pictures of, but they said the damage was contained. Crazy dream, huh?

Aside from that I was talking to my aunt yesterday about the family tree, and found out about a branch of the tree in Tblisi! Apparently there was contact with them in the 1960s/early 70s, so maybe I can track them down if I can find out something about them. I always wondered what it would be like to have relatives in Armenia, and that's pretty close. Aside from that she had some really cool documents, some of which explain parts of the family tree quite well. It will be good to get all this information compiled into my family tree. I don't know how it's possible for all these loose ends to exist and you find out about them so slowly, bit by bit... apparently one of my ancestors was the consul of Russia to Ethiopia originally. I understand there is a good book on the Armenians of Ethiopia, but it's in Armenian. I need to get my hands on it...

anyway, Merry Armenian Christmas!