Armenian News

Migration: Armenians continue to leave the country in search of jobs

By Marina Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Published: 13 February, 2009

According to recent research, the overwhelming majority of people who left Armenia between

2002-2007 are work migrants – 94 percent of 230,000.

According to the “Migrants who returned to Armenia in 2002-2008” research conducted by

“Advanced Social Technologies” NGO in cooperation with the Migration Agency of the Ministry

of Territorial Administration of Armenia and the OSCE Yerevan office, only 3 percent have

emigrated for permanent residence abroad, the others have left to study or with other purposes.

In all the groups the majority was going to Russia.

The Director of the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law, President of the Armenian

Sociological Association professor Gevorg Poghosyan believes that the deepening economic

crisis in Russia and other countries may lead to the return of a considerable number of

Armenian work migrants.

“Judging by data, the Russian market of job migrants will reduce by 30 percent. One may a

ssume that almost the same percentage of Armenian work migrants, about 240,000 people,

will have to leave Russia. If all of them return to Armenia, the situation will be quite grave,

especially taking into account the fact that the country is only capable of providing employment

for about 25,000 people a year.”

According to the Migration Agency, during January-December 2008 there were 23,059 more

people leaving the country than those entering it.
This is the worst indicator since 2001, when about 60,000 people left the country. In 2007 the

negative balance was only 3,200. The best indicator, according to official statistics, was

registered in 2006, when there were 22,000 more who returned or entered than who left.

Comparing the reasons for out-migration from Armenia at the beginning of the 90s and during

the above-mentioned period, the authors point out that the first wave of emigration was connected

with the desire to escape from the difficult consequences of the collapse of the system and the

first years of independence. In the recent years people have been leaving to earn money to improve

the living conditions of their families who remain in Armenia. About 10 percent of Armenia’s qualified

workers have gone abroad in search of higher salaries. The researchers point out that higher

migration activity is observed among 25-44-year-old males, which affects the demographic indicators

and can later lead to the shortage of work force in the country itself.

Hakob Torgomyan, 50, left for Moscow at the beginning of the 1990s. He says he was able to set

up his own business in just a year’s time from then. “At that time in Russia it was possible to live

and work and even set up your own business without being a citizen. Then I got Russian Federation

citizenship, I bought an apartment, a car, expanded my business. In short, things went well.”

Ninety percent of the emigrants have been able to find jobs outside Armenia. At the same time,

based on statistics on the RA population’s employment, the authors arrive at the conclusion that

30 percent of the migrants would have been jobless had they stayed in Armenia.

According to data, about 24 percent of the migrants, or 55,000 people, have returned to Armenia

within the past 6 years without having the intention of leaving the country again. Those who have

decided to come back to their motherland are mostly older than those who continue to live in abroad.

Torgomyan returned to Yerevan last year, but he hasn’t been able to find a job yet.

“I came back because here I have relatives, friends, a house. No matter how well things went in

Moscow, I always had the desire to return. But there are no jobs. That is why I have to live on the

income I get from renting out my apartment in Moscow.”

As to the reasons for returning home, the interviewed migrants say that they were rather conditioned

by the “alienating” factors in other countries than by those “attracting” them to Armenia. Among those

factors are the loss of jobs, the growth of alienation and difficulties of integrating into a new environment,

as well as the aversion to social values (especially in Russia).

The Association of Sociologists of Armenia has studied the reasons Armenians return from different

countries.

“Those who return from European countries are in a pitiful state,” says Gevorg Poghosyan, the director

of the Institute of Philosophy and Law, a doctor of sociology. “These are the people who failed to settle

in Europe and were deported. When they were leaving Armenia, they sold all their movable and immovable

property, because they thought they were leaving their motherland for good. And now, having been forced

to return, they have found themselves in a very hard social situation. Among those who have returned

from Europe, only about 5 percent have the means to start their own business in Armenia.”

«Irina Balasanyan, 26, left for

St. Petersburg to study 5 years ago.

She is a programmer by education.

“I had excellent opportunities to

get a job there, even without having

a citizenship. I was offered a job with

an initial salary of $1,000. But I came

back, because during the years of

study I was never able to get used

to alien morals and customs. Here

I get paid much less, but I don’t r

egret having made this decision.”

Among the reasons for not returning

many Armenians in Russia name

the factor of the children who have

already got used to living in a foreign

country that has become their home.

The research states that the problems

of migrants returning to Armenia were

conditioned mainly by the discrepancy between their hopes and the reality that governed the country, which

often becomes the reason for repeated migration.

According to Poghosyan, the reintegration of those who returned to Armenia is a very complicated process.

Rural migrants who have returned to Armenia face serious challenges not only of socio-economic nature,

but also connected with children.

“This is because the children of migrants – be it in Russia, Kazakhstan, or other former Soviet countries

– go to Russian schools.
And upon return they have to go to Armenian schools, because there are no Russian schools in villages.

And it is mostly high-schoolers we are talking about here. These and other adaptation issues often lead to

repeated migration from Armenia.”

Itar-Tass, Russia
Feb 13 2009
Russia to set up joint air defence system with Armenia - CSTO head

Moscow, 13 February: Russia will set up a joint air defence system
with Armenia, the secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, Nikolay Bordyuzha, told journalists today in Moscow.

"We suppose that the joint air defence system of Armenia and Russia
will be set up in the near future," Bordyuzha said.

"We suppose that the joint air defence system of Russia and Belarus
currently being created is part of ensuring security of the air
borders of the CSTO member states and only the first stage of setting
up three regional air defence systems: Eastern European, Central Asian
and Caucasian regions," Bordyuzha said.

He added that "after that we will move to a more serious stage when
the coordination of all regional systems will begin and unified rules
will be developed for exchanging defence system information and
everything related to the need to set up a common air defence system".

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY DELIVERS DIPLOMATIC NOTE TO ISRAEL
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.02.2009 12:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish Foreign Ministry delivered Saturday
a diplomatic note to Israeli Ambassador to Ankara Gabby Levy over
Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi's verbal attack on Ankara.

"These remarks violated all forms of diplomatic practices, and
contradicted with the historical and current realities therefore
these accusations and nonsensical talks targeting Prime Minister and
the country had been protested by a note," the Turkish MFA said in
a statement.

"Furthermore, we have stressed that the relevant statements of Avi
Mizrahi are ungrounded and unacceptable and as such we have requested
an urgent explanation from Israeli authorities," it said.

In a separate statement, the Turkish army said the commander's remarks
are in an extent that could harm the bilateral relations.

"These remarks, as the way they were published in the media reports,
are considered to be misleading the facts, unfortunate, unacceptable
and more importantly in an extent that could harm the national
interests between two countries," the army said in a statement posted
on its Web site.

The military also called on the Israeli army, "which is considered to
be attaching great importance to its relations with the Turkish Armed
Forces," to clarify Mizrahi's monstering, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

On Friday, Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi, a veteran professional officer,
called on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to look in
the mirror.

He went further to accuse Turkey of committing massacre of the
Armenians and suppressing Kurds. Mizrahi also mentioned the Turkish
occupation of northern Cyprus.

Belgovision.com, Belgium
Feb 15 2009
Video . Armenia: Inga & Anush - Jan Jan

The sisters Inga & Anush will represent Armenia in the Eurovision Song
Contest 2009 with the song Jan Jan, performed in English and
Armenian. Inga & Anush defeated their twenty competitors in the
Armenian national final and will defend the Armenian colours in the
first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.

Watch YouTube at
http://www.belgovision.com/en/index_f.php?id=5165

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~