Artsakh - another Armenian Eden

[gamavor]

[MosJan]

GAmavor jan thank you ... an excellent find

[onjig]

Good, very good!

[Yervant1]

GARO AND MHER: THESE QAMISHLI ARMENIANS PLAN TO STAY IN KOVSAKAN

Hayk Ghazaryan

 

http://hetq.am/eng/articles/24611/garo-and-mher-these-qamishli-armenians-plan-to-stay-in-kovsakan.html

19:43, March 19, 2013

 

It's not only their accents that distinguish Syrian Armenians from

local Artsakh residents. It's also their viewpoints.

 

If locals resent the wealthy lifestyles of state officials, Karo

Margaryan, who moved to Armenia seven years ago from the Syrian town

of Qamishli, doesn't seem to mind.

 

"So what if top Artsakh officials are engaged in business. What's

important is that they aren't leaving the country and taking their

money with them," he says.

 

After moving, Karo spent two years in Stepanakert and later relocated

to Ashtarak. Later on, he decided on Kovsakan (former Zangelan)

in the extreme south of Artsakh's Kashatagh Province.

 

His friend Mher Boghosyan, also from Qamishli, moved to Kovsakan

three years ago.

 

Today, they jointly farm some 200 hectares of land. Most residents

of Qamishli, on the Tirkish border, are farmers as well.

 

I met Karo and Mher in Stepanakert,

 

Garo's family is now living in Sweden. They will move to Kovsakan

after Garo builds a house large enough for them all. Mher's family,

all seventeen of them, are waiting back in Qamishli. He says a spate

of financial problems has delayed their move to Artsakh.

 

They both say one can live normally in Artsakh. It just takes hard

work and perseverance.

 

Garo said he didn't stay in Armenia because all the land is being

privatized and fenced in. "In Armenia, you can't sit down on a river

bank and eat a bit of cheese and watermelon. It's all posted land."

 

He points out that a similar trend is evident in Kashatagh and that

it must be countered. "The law in Artsakh is that if someone doesn't

farm their land, someone else can. If you work the land, it's yours. If

not, it doesn't belong to you. I believe this principle is correct,"

Garo says.

 

Garo says that everyone must do their bit to ensure that the rule of

law is established in Artsakh and gives a personal example.

 

"Once, I was stopped by a traffic cop. He told me that he would fix

my 10,000 fine if I paid him 3,000. I told him that if he did this

I would lodge a complaint."

 

Many Artsakh residents complain that they can't pay off their loans by

farming. Garo thinks differently. "There are those who receive loans

and then spend the money foolishly, on drink, expensive clothes and

other baubles. In the end, they're in a bad way."

 

Both Garo and Mher Boghosyan believe that the roads around Kovsakan

need immediate attention. There's also the matter of improving cell

telephone reception and building a temporary shelter for arriving

Syrian-Armenians in addition to a granary.

 

Karabakh Telecom still doesn't provide telephone service in Kovsakan.

 

"You often see people up in trees with their phones in order to link

up with a service provider from Armenia. But their connection is very

weak," says Garo.

 

The two former Qamishli Armenians believe that a temporary shelter

for 15-20 people would be a great help for others just arriving.

 

They say that more Armenians from Qamishli will come if the government

continues to provide assistance.

 

Unlike Aleppo Armenians, those from Qamishli are quite used to village

life, the two friends comment.

 

Garo and Mher say they have no plans to return to Qamishli because,

whatever the outcome of the civil war in Syria, the border town won't

be the same.

 

"If the rebels win, they won't forgive the Christians for siding with

the government. It would be like moving to Baku and living amidst

the Turks," says Mher.

 

Robert Matevosyan, who heads the Kashatagh Repopulation Department,

believes that new families will relocate to the area once houses

envisaged for the Syrian Armenians are completed.

 

Right now, a building with 12 apartments is being built for them

in Kovsakan.

 

There are 28 Syrian Armenian families now residing in Kovsakan;

74 individuals all together.