Tweet
Rebuilding from the Rubble of Sumgait
Friday, February 27th, 2015
by Serouj Aprahamian
The majority of the members in the all-female Gomk Agricultural
Cooperative are refugees who fled from Azerbaijan and resettled in
Armenia after independence.
BY SEROUJ APRAHAMIAN
GOMK, Armenia--On February 27, 1988, Armenians living in the city of
Sumgait were subject to a brutal pogrom by rampaging mobs. These
massacres spilled into the towns of Baku and Kirovobad, as well. Two
years later, Armenian civilians living in the Azerbaijani capital of
Baku were likewise attacked for seven days straight.
Over 200,000 Armenians were forced to flee and find refuge in Armenia
as a result of these incidents and the ensuing war in
Nagorno-Karabakh. With the trauma of massacre in their minds and
little to nothing to their name, they were forced to start again in
the newly independent republic of Armenia.
Mariam Abrahamyan, a resident of the border village of Gomk, is one
such survivor. Originally from Baku, she fled with her husband and
newborn baby, settling in Gomk in the summer of 1988.
"My husband was a taxi driver in Baku," she explains. "Two men sat in
his cab one day and he overheard them talking about Sumgait, saying
the same fate awaited Armenians in Baku. He knew from that day on that
if we stayed, we would be struck down too."
With nowhere to hide, the family fled the country with other refugees.
They arrived in Armenia without a cent in their pocket. They didn't
even know how to speak Armenian.
They were given a small house by the government, but transitioning
from an urban life to a rural one was a major challenge in itself. The
family had to learn farming, animal husbandry, and adapt to the
hardships of the countryside.
"The important thing is that they didn't destroy us," says
Abarahamyan. "They weren't able to kill us."
Like Abrahamyan, the majority of families in Gomk are refugees from
Azerbaijan. The will to survive and stick together as a community is
what got them through the "dark years" of the early 1990's and allowed
them to rebuild from the rubble of war.
"Our happiness and strength comes from the fact that people assist
each other here [in Gomk]," says Abrahamyan. "Nobody's life is easy
but all you have to do is pick up the phone and they'll be there to
help you."
In 2012, Abrahamyan joined an Oxfam-sponsored initiative to form an
agricultural cooperative in the village. Together with other female
farmers, she operates a greenhouse that grows tomatoes, green beans,
cucumbers and other crops. The all-female cooperative is run
democratically as a social enterprise, which allocates a percentage of
its annual funds to social projects in the community.
The greenhouse has proven to be an efficient source of income and
empowerment for the residents of Gomk. By pooling their resources
together, they are seeing that they can develop economies of scale and
better resolve the socio-economic problems in their village.
In turn, the solidarity and success of the cooperative has reinforced
Abrahamyan's commitment to the land. As someone who has felt the
trauma of massacre and ethnic cleansing, she is quick to emphasize the
security of living in her homeland.
"This is where I feel safe and welcome," explains Abrahamyan when
asked if she has ever thought about leaving the country. "No one in
the village has any negative intent towards us. Everyone in this
village is like a family. I feel secure here."
The story of Abrahamyan and the female farmers of Gomk is one of
overcoming the carnage of massacre with the will to persevere and
rebuild. What's more, Abrahamyan and fellow cooperative members are
leading the way in offering an alternative mode of development for the
country--one based on solidarity and sustainability, rather than
individualism and exploitation.
Twenty-seven years after the Sumgait pogroms, it is important not only
to remember the suffering caused in those horrific days but also the
remarkable perseverance of those who survived.
Those interested in lending a hand to Mariam and the Gomk Agricultural
Cooperative in their current drive to purchase a mini-tractor for
their greenhouse can make a secure online donation today.
http://asbarez.com/132229/rebuilding-from-the-rubble-of-sumgait/
Friday, February 27th, 2015
by Serouj Aprahamian
The majority of the members in the all-female Gomk Agricultural
Cooperative are refugees who fled from Azerbaijan and resettled in
Armenia after independence.
BY SEROUJ APRAHAMIAN
GOMK, Armenia--On February 27, 1988, Armenians living in the city of
Sumgait were subject to a brutal pogrom by rampaging mobs. These
massacres spilled into the towns of Baku and Kirovobad, as well. Two
years later, Armenian civilians living in the Azerbaijani capital of
Baku were likewise attacked for seven days straight.
Over 200,000 Armenians were forced to flee and find refuge in Armenia
as a result of these incidents and the ensuing war in
Nagorno-Karabakh. With the trauma of massacre in their minds and
little to nothing to their name, they were forced to start again in
the newly independent republic of Armenia.
Mariam Abrahamyan, a resident of the border village of Gomk, is one
such survivor. Originally from Baku, she fled with her husband and
newborn baby, settling in Gomk in the summer of 1988.
"My husband was a taxi driver in Baku," she explains. "Two men sat in
his cab one day and he overheard them talking about Sumgait, saying
the same fate awaited Armenians in Baku. He knew from that day on that
if we stayed, we would be struck down too."
With nowhere to hide, the family fled the country with other refugees.
They arrived in Armenia without a cent in their pocket. They didn't
even know how to speak Armenian.
They were given a small house by the government, but transitioning
from an urban life to a rural one was a major challenge in itself. The
family had to learn farming, animal husbandry, and adapt to the
hardships of the countryside.
"The important thing is that they didn't destroy us," says
Abarahamyan. "They weren't able to kill us."
Like Abrahamyan, the majority of families in Gomk are refugees from
Azerbaijan. The will to survive and stick together as a community is
what got them through the "dark years" of the early 1990's and allowed
them to rebuild from the rubble of war.
"Our happiness and strength comes from the fact that people assist
each other here [in Gomk]," says Abrahamyan. "Nobody's life is easy
but all you have to do is pick up the phone and they'll be there to
help you."
In 2012, Abrahamyan joined an Oxfam-sponsored initiative to form an
agricultural cooperative in the village. Together with other female
farmers, she operates a greenhouse that grows tomatoes, green beans,
cucumbers and other crops. The all-female cooperative is run
democratically as a social enterprise, which allocates a percentage of
its annual funds to social projects in the community.
The greenhouse has proven to be an efficient source of income and
empowerment for the residents of Gomk. By pooling their resources
together, they are seeing that they can develop economies of scale and
better resolve the socio-economic problems in their village.
In turn, the solidarity and success of the cooperative has reinforced
Abrahamyan's commitment to the land. As someone who has felt the
trauma of massacre and ethnic cleansing, she is quick to emphasize the
security of living in her homeland.
"This is where I feel safe and welcome," explains Abrahamyan when
asked if she has ever thought about leaving the country. "No one in
the village has any negative intent towards us. Everyone in this
village is like a family. I feel secure here."
The story of Abrahamyan and the female farmers of Gomk is one of
overcoming the carnage of massacre with the will to persevere and
rebuild. What's more, Abrahamyan and fellow cooperative members are
leading the way in offering an alternative mode of development for the
country--one based on solidarity and sustainability, rather than
individualism and exploitation.
Twenty-seven years after the Sumgait pogroms, it is important not only
to remember the suffering caused in those horrific days but also the
remarkable perseverance of those who survived.
Those interested in lending a hand to Mariam and the Gomk Agricultural
Cooperative in their current drive to purchase a mini-tractor for
their greenhouse can make a secure online donation today.
http://asbarez.com/132229/rebuilding-from-the-rubble-of-sumgait/