It’s getting a little old now, but the issues remain the same — poverty, children enrolled into residential care, conflict resolution, landmines, and democracy — so I’ve decided to make the electronic PDF version of my book, Armenia: Poverty, Transition & Democracy available for download. The book was meant to be a vehicle for raising such issues in the Diaspora, but apart from one or two presentations to the London-Armenian community, few were interested.

Armenia: Poverty, Transition & Democracy

[…]

Articles and photographs cover issues as diverse as socially vulnerable families, children enrolled into residential institutions, mental health, landmines and UXO in Nagorno Karabagh and on the border with Azerbaijan, resettlement in the territory between Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and the impact of the Rose Revolution in the neighboring Republic of Georgia on Armenia.

Ironically, the heads of international organizations working in such areas in Armenia such as the United Nations and the USAID/PADCO/STP (Social Transition Program) welcomed and praised the book. However, it would appear that most others are just interested in churches, khachkars and scenic pictures of villages even if they have had their populations depleted and for those that remain, poverty and emigration have become a way of life.

Nevertheless, although brief, the book represents years of researching and photographing poverty-stricken families, the homeless, children in residential care, border villages, the territory situated between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, landmines, countless opposition protests since 1999 and the elections they were usually timed around. The design and page layout as well as the text and photographs is also mine.

Anyway, the electronic version of book itself can be downloaded at:

http://www.oneworld.am/armenia_book.pdf

Note: Right click and select “Save As…” to download a
permanent copy to your computer.

There’s also another electronic version of a book I wrote, photographed and designed for UNICEF available for download in English and Armenian versions. Again, the images and articles are just a few of many more I’ve produced over the years. A few more of the photos can be seen in various galleries available on my main site, on my Lightstalkers portfolio, or on this blog.

Photographs from the recent presidential election in Armenia can be found here.

Incidentally, I’ve also started to look at the situation in Georgia when it comes to social vulnerability, ethnic minorities and refugees for the Newport-Kutaisi Association and would like to continue to do so. Contact me via the email address at the top right hand corner of this page if any organizations are interested.

Hostel, Erebuni, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2003

Nursery Home of Estery, Imereti Region, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian / NKTA 2007