Homeless, Burns Hospital, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006

As posted about here, here, and here, Hetq Online staged an exhibition of some of my photos taken during the past year at Yerevan’s Naregatsi Art Institute last week. The exhibition came to an end today, but Hetq has just posted an English translation of last week’s report in Armenian.

“I had no idea that there were people like this in Armenia. Now I can imagine how hard it is for them, I see the conditions they’re living in. I see that they are deceived and forgotten, but it shouldn’t be like this,” said seventh-grader Christine Khachatryan.

“I like these pictures because they’re different from the other pictures that usually represent Armenia – beautiful mountains and churches. Here I see that there are people in Armenia in need of real help and sympathy,” said photojournalist Mark Baguelin.

“I’ve read the stories about these people and to some extent I’m aware of their problems. But it was very interesting for me to see all these pictures together and to put together a kind of panorama in my mind. I appreciate it very much as a series; it’s serious, thoughtful work,” found Alex Sardar.

“The pictures contain quite a power in them to change people’s opinions and attitudes toward the homeless and those in need. I work with various NGOs dealing with socially vulnerable people so I’m somewhat aware of the matter, but generally people don’t realize that such people exist,” Arpine Grigorian said.

The full article is here.

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Berd, Tavoush Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006

After already posting an entry about my Hetq Online photo exhibition, Christina has since been to see the show, so to speak, and posted more. There was some TV and newspaper coverage of the event, but this is the only thing on a blog, so thanks for that Christina. Don’t know much about her apart from the fact that she works for some high-brow think-tank, but anyway. As usual, Nessuna again provides the translation even if this time round Notes from the Armenian Language Blogosphere has been posted by little old me.

Onnik Krikorian’s Photo Exhibition — A Summary

Yesterday I finally managed to see Onnik’s photos. Because those were photos taken as a result of working with Hetq, I already had certain expectations in mind. I expected them to have something to say, and the whole series to be totally diferent from the usual “art for art’s sake” ideology. Simply loving photography, but never even coming close to being an expert, it’s hard for me to talk about light, shadow, background and other professional stuff, but the photos were VERY GOOD. Without any adornment and unneccesary emotionality they showed those parts of our life which we usually push aside, hoping inside that maybe one of us will have more courage to not ignore them.

However, in order to make that impression more powerful and to make people act, I think that maybe the photos could have been introduced a bit differently, because in my opinion, their purpose was to create a tangible change in the area of social activity, and not on the planes of knowledge or emotions. I think that these photos needed a bigger, almost life-size format as well as a bigger hall, where “you feel small,” but that you can “grow” if you are more attentive towards the silence staring at you from the walls, not demanding anything…

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One of last week’s more pleasant experiences was receiving an ICQ message from Alexander Aslizadyan (Sasha), bassist and founding member of the young but promising local rock band, Sard. Sasha is studying graphic design in Russia and England, so ICQ has been a good way to touch base from time to time, especially about another band he’s close to — the Russian-Armenian Deti Picasso. However, last week’s conversation was a little different.

[20:08] sard: hey onik how are you?
[20:08] Oneworld Multimedia: fine, thanks. you?
[20:08] sard: I’m just great I’m on wacation right now
in Yerevan
[20:09] Oneworld Multimedia: vay… tsavet danem…
[20:09] sard: and you are in armenia now?
[20:10] Oneworld Multimedia: sure.
[20:10] Oneworld Multimedia: actually, i’m about to shoot off to The Club now if you have nothing planned tonight.
[20:12] sard: hm I have a meeting arranged but I’ll would like to see you to so do you have the same mobile number?
[20:12] Oneworld Multimedia: yeah, i do.
[20:13] sard: OK great so I’ll call you and if it will be posible I’ll join you laiter if not I hope will be able to arrange a meeting another day

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RFE/RL reported yesterday that Armavia has rejected Russian claims that the crash of one its planes earlier this year was due to pilot error. Almost everybody I’ve spoken to in Armenia about the findings of a special commission to investigate the crash also feel the same. They’re not convinced that the full story has come out.

Russia’s Transport Minister Igor Levitin said on Wednesday that the Airbus A-320 plunged into the Black Sea as it approached the Russian resort city of Sochi because of a “human factor,” effectively laying the blame on its crew. He said this is the conclusion drawn by a Russian-led inquiry into the worst air disaster in Armenia’s history.

A special commission formed by the Interstate Aviation Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States also took part in the inquiry. The Russian head of the body, Tatyana Anodina, endorsed its findings, saying that the A-320’s main pilot “did not ensure control of the plane as far as angle and altitude were concerned.”

Senior Armavia executives strongly disagreed with this, saying that other factors such as conflicting instructions reportedly given to the A-320 crew by Russian traffic controllers and stormy weather were also at play. Armavia’s Russian-Armenian owner, Mikhail Baghdasarian, insisted earlier that the plane would have safely landed at Sochi airport had it not received a last-minute order to veer away from the runway and make a second approach.

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Sasha, Homeless in Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006

I’m told that the Hetq Online Photographic Exhibition at Yerevan’s Naregatsi Art Institute will now be on until 1 August 2006. Previously, it was meant to last only from 24-27 July so now there’s a few more days to go see it. An article on the exhibition’s opening in Armenian is here. Christina has also posted something on the exhibition over at Life in Armenia. Translation is courtesy of Nessuna, but it’s worth pointing out that these photos on display are from the past year, and not “years” as Christina writes.

Օննիկ Կրիկորյանի լուսանկարների ցուցահանդեսը

Լուսանկարչության սիրահարներին ասեմ, որ Նարեկացի Ինստիտուտում բացվել է Օննիկ Կրիկորյանի ՀԵՏՔ-ի հետ անցկացրած տարիներին արված լուսանկարների ցուցահանդեսը: Շատ հետաքրքիր աշխատանքներ կան, որոնք ինձ հիշեցնում են “սոցիալական արվեստ” արտահայտությունը:-) Հրաշալի լուսանկարներ ունի, հատկապես երեխաների: Վաղն ընդմիջմանն անպայման փորձելու եմ տեսնել լուսանկարները…Իր լուսանկարներին կարելի է ծանոթանալ իր իսկ բլոգում` http://oneworld.blogsome.com:

To photography lovers let me tell you this, Onnik Krikorian’s exhibition of photos done during years he spent working with Hetq has opened at Narekatsi Institute. There are some very interesting works which remind me of the expression “social art” He has wonderful photos, especially those of children. I’m definitely going to try and see the photos tomorrow during my break… You can have a look at the photos on his blog at http://oneworld.blogsome.com

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The Basturma Chronicles has a blog with posts on the current Israeli action against Lebanon at http://www.stop-israeli-aggression.org/. Garo (AKA Christian Garbis) over at Notes from Hairenik also has something on how the displacement of hundreds of thousands in Lebanon has been met by the Armenian Government and what effect it might have on Lebanese-Armenians still living there.

Armenia on Tuesday announced that it would offer amnesty to anyone from Lebanon regardless of ethnic origin for as much as three months. This is quite a show of support for neighboring peoples in the region currently caught up in a sandstorm of bombardment. Lebanon is home to thousands of Armenians. At one time Beirut was considered the cultural, educational, and even political center of the Armenian Diaspora, as well over 200,000 people once lived in Lebanon. Those numbers have far been reduced in the last twenty years, especially since the onslaught of the civil war in the 1980s. Nevertheless, some Armenians there are once again looking for a way out.

I have relatives who are in Lebanon—at least three of my father’s first cousins and their families live in or around Beirut. So far there doesn’t seem to be any news as to how they are getting by. Apparently the wife and three young children of a good friend of mine from the Boston area are stuck in Beirut, where they were vacationing. My father is sometimes heard commenting that the Middle East should only serve as a depot for Armenians, a temporary transition place from the land of their ancestral roots back to that land or to other, more democratic societies. In the wake of recent events, perhaps he is right.

Armenia Now has more on how the military action in Lebanon has affected Armenia and Armenians here.

Given the socio-economic situation in Armenia and the obsession most Armenian women and girls have with South American soap operas that represent a welcome escape from the drudgery of life in a former Soviet and patriarchal society, I’ve often lamented the fact that there has so far been no attempt at creating a local Armenian alternative.

I suppose that it’s little wonder given that Armenian TV is geared up towards broadcasting everything BUT the reality of life here, but coming from the UK where soap operas reflect an albeit dramaticised version of real life in the form of Eastenders and Coronation Street, I still think it’s a pity.

EastEnders is set in the fictional London Borough of Walford. However, the central focus of the show is that of the equally fictional Victorian square named Albert Square.

The show’s creators were both Londoners, but when they researched Victorian squares, they found massive changes in areas they thought they knew well. However, delving further into the East End of London, they found exactly what they had been searching for: a real East End spirit — an inward looking quality, a distrust of strangers and authority figures, a sense of territory and community that the creators summed up as ‘Hurt one of us and you hurt us all’.[1]These themes that were found for the setting can still be found in a present day episode of EastEnders.

[…]

The storylines focus on the experiences of families and their interaction, and on relationships between people of different ages, classes and social structures. In some ways Coronation Street has charted the changes in public attitudes towards religion, politics, community, family breakdown, the gentrification of working class areas, etc.

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Vardavar, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005

On Sunday it was Vardavar, one of Armenia’s best known holidays that generally revolves around dousing complete strangers foolish enough to take to the streets with water. Unfortunately, because of the Hetq Photo Exhibition I didn’t take any photos this year, but I did blog something last year.

As with most festivals in Armenia, although now considered Christian, Vardavar in fact has its roots in pagan times and this variant of the festival is still carried out today by a small group of pagan Armenians. Actually, if the truth be known, most are not really pagans at all but believe that history goes back long before 301 AD when Armenians were the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity as the official state religion.

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Gyumri, Shirak Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2005

Now that my contract has ended with Hetq Online has finished, we’re holding an exhibition at the Naregatsi Art Institute next week. The venue is located on Yerevan’s Vernisage.

The Naregatsi Art Institute, incorporated in 2002, is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving Armenia’s existing cultural heritage through supporting Armenian contemporary artists and creating a forum in which the spirit of art and the common voice can resonate freely.

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Our Duty To Live, Vanadzor, Lori Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Tufenkian Foundation 2006

Today saw a visit to the Tufenkian Foundation’s Our Duty To Live project in Vanadzor. I previously posted some photos from the Our Duty To Live Center in Yerevan here and here. Anyway, with a sizeable number of families living below the national poverty level, projects like this are crucial to address the social, psychological, nutritional and educational needs of children from vulnerable families in Armenia.

In Vanadzor, the situation is made worse by the devastating effect of the 1988 Armenian Earthquake which still lingers. There are still over 300 families living in domiks – temporary metal containers — even today. I did something on this with a local journalist based in Vanadzor in 2004.

Eighteen-month-old Mariam, the youngest of Lena Shestakova’s nine children, was born with heart trouble. She lives with her family in a domik, or metal trailer. Doctors say she needs surgery, but only after her exhausted body has had time to regain strength. Her parents don’t have enough money to take Mariam for a medical examination. Her father, Styopa Khachatryan, says that the last time they went to the hospital, doctors asked for 20,000 drams (about $39) to treat the girl. Families like this, however, are entitled to free health care. “The poverty index of their family is higher than 38, which means that all the members of the family are entitled to medical services, including surgery, free of charge,” explains the deputy head of the department of health and social security of the Lori Marzpet’s (governor’s) Office, Valery Jaghinyan.

But Mariam’s family has had trouble claiming this entitlement. The only thing they can afford is the medicine for the injections that their neighbor, a nurse, gives the child six times a day, twice by candlelight. The family lives in the dark - their electricity meter was taken away more than a year ago, because they owed 8,000 drams debt. Their ailing daughter was recently bitten by a rat. Luckily, she wasn’t seriously injured.

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RFE/RL reports that the U.S. born first Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian who is now in opposition to the President has teamed up with Vazgen Manukian to form a pro-democracy movement in Armenia. Although both are likely to contest the 2007 parliamentary election in unison with other opposition forces, the two political figures say the movement will be “apolitical” and aimed at engaging the population in the process of democratization in Armenia.

A senior member of Hovannisian’s Zharangutyun (Heritage) party, Vartan Khachatrian, divulged more details on Wednesday, saying that the movement was launched on Saturday during a meeting in Yerevan of some 200 opposition activists, civil society representatives and even representatives of unspecified pro-government forces. He would not say whether there were other prominent oppositionists among the participants.

“This is not an [opposition] alliance that will aggressively campaign for regime change,” he told RFE/RL. “Its agenda is much broader.”

Khachatrian said the purpose of the movement is to “form and reinforce a civic base” that will allow for the protection of human and civil rights, judicial independence, freedom of speech and other ingredients of democracy. “The idea is to make courts as independent as possible by means of public pressure, to acquire media outlets or airtime which will allow us to trigger public reaction to the existing problems,” he said.

The initiative seeks to address widespread popular apathy towards politicians and politics in general which Armenian opposition leaders say seriously hampers democratic change in Armenia. Manukian has repeatedly stated that the existing mainstream opposition lack popular support and must therefore widen its agenda, largely confined to regime change, that would attract other public actors.

For sure, such a move is needed, but let’s see if it can achieve its aims and objectives, or indeed if pro-government forces move to nip any potential movement in this direction in the bud. Personally I fear the economic stakes are too high for the powers that be to allow such a movement to succeed, but one can only hope.

The full report is here, and an interview I conducted with Hovannisian last year is here.