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Changing Armenia: the 12-cent dilemma
by Mihran Aroian
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-09-22-changing-armenia-the-12-cent-dilemma
Published: Sunday September 22, 2013
Activists agitate against the fare increase. Mihran Aroian
Related Articles
In Armenia, more - and higher paid - jobs is the answer
We have all heard stories of corruption in Armenia. We read stories of
election irregularities and how humanitarian aid ends up in the wrong
pockets. My involvement with the Armenian government is limited. Aside
from obtaining a travel visa, I have no real experience. It was what
the government did not do that impressed me this summer.
The government allowed people to protest. I saw people protesting in
Armenia who I would not have expected to see. I did not see these
protests last summer. It was all quite civil, but people were
protesting for what they believed were injustices. Retired pilots,
veterans of the Karabagh war, and average citizens were protesting the
rise in bus fares. They were all-out protesting to bring about change.
When a government allows its citizens to criticize what they see as
wrong in society, that is a very positive step in the right direction.
It would have been very easy for the government to close down these
protests or not allow them to happen in the first place, but they did
allow them and they continued. They allowed the average citizen to
voice their discontent. This shows both a restraint by the government
with an attitude toward change. And, one of the protests actually did
bring about change!
The summer of 2013 was my second summer working in Armenia. In my
business ethics class, students asked if it was ethical for them to
pay the recent 50% increase in the local bus fare. The price had
changed from 100 dram to 150 dram-an increase of 12 cents. Although I
did not think of this as an ethical issue, my students were very vocal
in their disagreement. I told them that if the price for the fare was
posted on the bus and that they were informed of the new price, that
it was unethical to not pay the higher price. They had a choice, pay
the higher fee or don't take the bus.
The bigger question was did the bus operators have the right to add a
50% increase? In a free enterprise system, the answer is yes. But to
some degree, this was seen as a tax on the poor. If you depend on the
bus to go to work and earn $250 per month, is it ethical to add yet
another "tax" onto the citizens?
Over the course of the next few days, the population in Yerevan
protested. Natural gas prices had just increased by 20%, as had the
cost of electricity. For the month of June, I spent under $10 for
electricity, gas, and water. For the month of July, these same
services tripled in cost-and I spent few waking hours in the apartment
each day. How were those cost increases absorbed for families with
limited incomes?
The increase in bus fare was simply the last straw for Yerevan
residents. The youth took to the streets. At major bus stops, they
told the riders to pay only the old fare to the bus drivers. If
everyone held firm, their thinking was that they would succeed.
If you kept up with this summer's news, you already know that the fare
increase was reversed. Could this be the start of a new way for people
to gain some level of control? Could true democracy be just around the
corner?
I am impressed that Armenian citizens were allowed to protest. Sure,
police were often found at these protest sites, but they were there to
ensure that nobody was hurt. They were not interfering. Why would the
government allow people to protest? Perhaps the government knows that
Armenia must change if it is to survive. Perhaps the government
recognizes that the people want change.
Every Friday from 10am until noon, a group of retired airplane pilots
are allowed to hold a protest in front of the Presidential Palace.
Technically, they protest across the street but still in front of the
Palace. For two hours, they hold up their signs and talk to passers-by
to tell them their stories. The police who watch over them generally
mind their own business, but one particular week things got a little
testy, and the police argued with the protesting pilots. Perhaps
having an American present changes the dynamics of the situation. I
don't know.
I was told by a policeman that entry-level police officers in Armenia
do not receive a salary until they reach a certain rank. One cannot
help but wonder if this lack of salary encourages unethical behavior
in young policemen. Does this have an impact on their professional
behavior as they move up in rank? I reminded these policemen that if
things do not change, they could find themselves on the same protest
line in 30 years, asking the government why they, too, have not
received the retirement benefits they were promised.
The Yerevan Opera House was a favorite protest site for Karabagh
freedom fighters. These brave veterans also were promised benefits.
The signs they held expressed a jarring though interesting message
that set the tone for their protest. With high unemployment, high
taxes, increasing energy costs, and increasing concerns for the
future, Armenians clearly want change. How much more will the people
endure before they demand change? Actually, quite a lot of endurance.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence "...and
accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." On the path of
least resistance, we will endure a lot of hardship before we demand
change.
The Karabagh veterans held protest signs saying, "Turkey removed 1.5
million Armenians, but the Armenian Government has removed 2 million
Armenians." With a poor economy and high corruption, the general
belief is that some 2 million Armenians have left Armenia. The "brain
drain" of Armenia has been going on for decades. Unless Armenia grows
strong, will there be anyone left in Armenia a decade from now?
Still, I am impressed that the Armenian Government lets this sort of
protest proceed. It is important for the citizens of Armenia to voice
their concerns. It is also just as important for Armenians in the
diaspora to support the committed citizens of Armenia.
From: A. Papazian
by Mihran Aroian
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-09-22-changing-armenia-the-12-cent-dilemma
Published: Sunday September 22, 2013
Activists agitate against the fare increase. Mihran Aroian
Related Articles
In Armenia, more - and higher paid - jobs is the answer
We have all heard stories of corruption in Armenia. We read stories of
election irregularities and how humanitarian aid ends up in the wrong
pockets. My involvement with the Armenian government is limited. Aside
from obtaining a travel visa, I have no real experience. It was what
the government did not do that impressed me this summer.
The government allowed people to protest. I saw people protesting in
Armenia who I would not have expected to see. I did not see these
protests last summer. It was all quite civil, but people were
protesting for what they believed were injustices. Retired pilots,
veterans of the Karabagh war, and average citizens were protesting the
rise in bus fares. They were all-out protesting to bring about change.
When a government allows its citizens to criticize what they see as
wrong in society, that is a very positive step in the right direction.
It would have been very easy for the government to close down these
protests or not allow them to happen in the first place, but they did
allow them and they continued. They allowed the average citizen to
voice their discontent. This shows both a restraint by the government
with an attitude toward change. And, one of the protests actually did
bring about change!
The summer of 2013 was my second summer working in Armenia. In my
business ethics class, students asked if it was ethical for them to
pay the recent 50% increase in the local bus fare. The price had
changed from 100 dram to 150 dram-an increase of 12 cents. Although I
did not think of this as an ethical issue, my students were very vocal
in their disagreement. I told them that if the price for the fare was
posted on the bus and that they were informed of the new price, that
it was unethical to not pay the higher price. They had a choice, pay
the higher fee or don't take the bus.
The bigger question was did the bus operators have the right to add a
50% increase? In a free enterprise system, the answer is yes. But to
some degree, this was seen as a tax on the poor. If you depend on the
bus to go to work and earn $250 per month, is it ethical to add yet
another "tax" onto the citizens?
Over the course of the next few days, the population in Yerevan
protested. Natural gas prices had just increased by 20%, as had the
cost of electricity. For the month of June, I spent under $10 for
electricity, gas, and water. For the month of July, these same
services tripled in cost-and I spent few waking hours in the apartment
each day. How were those cost increases absorbed for families with
limited incomes?
The increase in bus fare was simply the last straw for Yerevan
residents. The youth took to the streets. At major bus stops, they
told the riders to pay only the old fare to the bus drivers. If
everyone held firm, their thinking was that they would succeed.
If you kept up with this summer's news, you already know that the fare
increase was reversed. Could this be the start of a new way for people
to gain some level of control? Could true democracy be just around the
corner?
I am impressed that Armenian citizens were allowed to protest. Sure,
police were often found at these protest sites, but they were there to
ensure that nobody was hurt. They were not interfering. Why would the
government allow people to protest? Perhaps the government knows that
Armenia must change if it is to survive. Perhaps the government
recognizes that the people want change.
Every Friday from 10am until noon, a group of retired airplane pilots
are allowed to hold a protest in front of the Presidential Palace.
Technically, they protest across the street but still in front of the
Palace. For two hours, they hold up their signs and talk to passers-by
to tell them their stories. The police who watch over them generally
mind their own business, but one particular week things got a little
testy, and the police argued with the protesting pilots. Perhaps
having an American present changes the dynamics of the situation. I
don't know.
I was told by a policeman that entry-level police officers in Armenia
do not receive a salary until they reach a certain rank. One cannot
help but wonder if this lack of salary encourages unethical behavior
in young policemen. Does this have an impact on their professional
behavior as they move up in rank? I reminded these policemen that if
things do not change, they could find themselves on the same protest
line in 30 years, asking the government why they, too, have not
received the retirement benefits they were promised.
The Yerevan Opera House was a favorite protest site for Karabagh
freedom fighters. These brave veterans also were promised benefits.
The signs they held expressed a jarring though interesting message
that set the tone for their protest. With high unemployment, high
taxes, increasing energy costs, and increasing concerns for the
future, Armenians clearly want change. How much more will the people
endure before they demand change? Actually, quite a lot of endurance.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence "...and
accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." On the path of
least resistance, we will endure a lot of hardship before we demand
change.
The Karabagh veterans held protest signs saying, "Turkey removed 1.5
million Armenians, but the Armenian Government has removed 2 million
Armenians." With a poor economy and high corruption, the general
belief is that some 2 million Armenians have left Armenia. The "brain
drain" of Armenia has been going on for decades. Unless Armenia grows
strong, will there be anyone left in Armenia a decade from now?
Still, I am impressed that the Armenian Government lets this sort of
protest proceed. It is important for the citizens of Armenia to voice
their concerns. It is also just as important for Armenians in the
diaspora to support the committed citizens of Armenia.
From: A. Papazian