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700 ARMENIANS LEAVE COUNTRY ON JUNE 9; MOST SAY THEY WON'T RETURN
Larisa Paremuzyan
On June 9, some 700 Armenian citizens from around the country boarded
buses and left for Russia.
I witnessed this mass exodus at the customs house at Armenian-Georgian
border crossing at Bagratashen.
Eleven large Mercedes buses lined up at the check point from 11 am
to 11pm.
The buses were headed to Moscow, Donetsk, Rostov, Krasnodar and points
further afield in Russia.
Those leaving hailed from Yerevan, Hoktemperyan, Etchmiadzin, Vanadzor
and Alaverdi.
One of the passengers Baregham Nikoghosyan, told this reporter that
there were thirty residents of Etchmiadzin in the bus he was in.
Some of the reasons given by those leaving Armenia were the recent
presidential elections, unemployment, low wages, and heavy debt
burdens.
Some of them were farmers hit hard by recent hailstorms and didn't
see any way of getting back on their feet.
Many confessed that there was little chance of them returning to
Armenia any time soon, if at all.
In fact, a majority argued that the Armenian government was doing
everything to force them to leave.
They said that the money gambled away by certain government officials
in a day at some casino could, if properly spent, resolve the problems
of any given village in Armenia.
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/27265/700-armenians-leave-country-on-june-9;-most-say-they-won%E2%80%99t-return.html
From: A. Papazian
Larisa Paremuzyan
On June 9, some 700 Armenian citizens from around the country boarded
buses and left for Russia.
I witnessed this mass exodus at the customs house at Armenian-Georgian
border crossing at Bagratashen.
Eleven large Mercedes buses lined up at the check point from 11 am
to 11pm.
The buses were headed to Moscow, Donetsk, Rostov, Krasnodar and points
further afield in Russia.
Those leaving hailed from Yerevan, Hoktemperyan, Etchmiadzin, Vanadzor
and Alaverdi.
One of the passengers Baregham Nikoghosyan, told this reporter that
there were thirty residents of Etchmiadzin in the bus he was in.
Some of the reasons given by those leaving Armenia were the recent
presidential elections, unemployment, low wages, and heavy debt
burdens.
Some of them were farmers hit hard by recent hailstorms and didn't
see any way of getting back on their feet.
Many confessed that there was little chance of them returning to
Armenia any time soon, if at all.
In fact, a majority argued that the Armenian government was doing
everything to force them to leave.
They said that the money gambled away by certain government officials
in a day at some casino could, if properly spent, resolve the problems
of any given village in Armenia.
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/27265/700-armenians-leave-country-on-june-9;-most-say-they-won%E2%80%99t-return.html
From: A. Papazian