To me, Ara is one of those “Yes! I totally agree with you!” repats. We meet in person once in a blue moon, usually over burgers and beer, and end up talking about all things Armenia-related. And for the most part, we’re on the same page.
 

Ara already sat down with Repat Armenia for another article, but I decided to take a different approach this time around. I wanted this interview to be more candid, really bringing out Ara’s wit and wisdom that, if given the right platform, can amount to big changes. We ended up chatting over 14 questions, and Ara went into the smallest details. To make the whole interview easier to process, we’ve split it into two parts. Here’s the first part of getting candid with Ara Yeramian.
 

Q1. When people ask “So why did you move to Armenia?” what answer do you actually give, and what answer do you wish you could give if you didn’t have to be polite?

A: That’s the first thing everyone asks when they find out that I lived in Germany for 15 years (moved from Aleppo before the war) and now in Armenia for 5 years. They ask this with a specific look on their faces, a look with the thought of “there must be something wrong in your head to leave Germany for Armenia”.
 

This attitude sometimes has an impact on mutual relations with others, and could even become an obstacle for any progressive relations and discussions. I covered the underlying rational and sentimental reasons for my move, along with the process itself, in detail in a previous Repat Armenia article for which I am grateful.
 

Coming back to the original question, I have one type of answer that I give and end up sharing the link to the above article. There is no “hidden” answer or a different one in my mind. Also, connecting an actual answer to politeness is a bit surprising to me, but I understand where it comes from as most people in Armenia confuse openness, straightforwardness, and constructive criticism with impoliteness. This is a continuously evolving form of art that takes years of self-practice, questioning, reading, and listening (the last one being a rarity in Armenia).
 

If I recap the article: Two groups of reasons for my move from Germany to Armenia. One, rational: lower relative taxes, higher profit margins due to system differences between Germany and Armenia (talking about pre-Ukraine-war period), bringing knowledge and experience to a region that places me at a higher value, opportunities to connect with others from different countries (resulted in establishing the Biomedical Engineering Association of Armenia www.beaa.am). Two, sentimental, rooted in my origins from Aleppo: thirst for anything and everything Armenian (specially the language), nostalgic memories of my family in Armenia as a teenager in the 90s, eagerness to explore Armenia’s nature, the possibility that I might be able to have a positive impact on things and people as a diasporan “from inside”, not as a diasporan living abroad. To a certain level, this last conviction has largely changed over the past few years.

Q2. What’s one misconception people have about you because you lived in Germany for 15 years?

A: I give two general misconceptions. One: there must be something wrong in my head that I moved from Germany to Armenia. Two: I must’ve been a failure, did not find success in what I did in my country of residence that I decided to move to Armenia. The sad part is, these two points are not unique for me; most people in Armenia have the same thought and attitude towards almost everyone moving to Armenia from abroad.
 

I heard about such an attitude on a few occasions, plus, other fellow repatriates faced the exact same situation. The advantages of (pre-Ukraine-war) Armenia are felt and noticed mostly by those who lived abroad, or pendle between two countries (one of which being Armenia). Unfortunately, most of these advantages have been rapidly diminishing over the past few years. I’m not talking about these from a personal perspective but a more general long-term one.
 

A misconception unique about me: As a scientist and an engineer from Germany, I must be “dry”, “rude”, “no fun”, “unemotional” of a person. In reality, many people including friends, acquaintances, and former clients stated that I’m the most sentimental person they’ve ever met while simultaneously being the most rational one. This accurately describes me as an individual.

Q3. What’s the most “Armenian” thing you do now that the Germany-version of you would never understand?

A: Reading this question just made me realize that it is assumed that the “Germany Ara” is vastly different from the “Armenia Ara”. In reality, the difference between these two “personalities” is smaller than it seems. I’m convinced such a difference is a natural course of any evolving individual and is often highly dependent on each individual’s efforts, regardless where they live. Basically, people choose, willingly or otherwise, to evolve or stay dormant.
 

Attempting to answer the question, this is what I came up with: Being angry and indifferent sometimes towards some points that used to matter to me. This is one long-term consequence of living in Armenia. I know many people who became indifferent mostly because they have no other option to survive. My writings are one form of attempt not to become one.
 

Armenia tends to bring out the best and worst in the majority of people when they continuously live in the country for at least 3 years. Whether we like it or not, Armenia has a negative impact on us at some point, especially repatriates. Those who cannot cope with this aspect either leave, show signs of emotional/mental/health distress, or become indifferent. If someone states otherwise or dismisses this reality is either in denial, suppressing it in public, or hasn’t reached that conclusion yet.
 

Whomever in Armenia ends up reading this, I hope they pause and do a self reflection: when was the last time I got angry and/or indifferent, and why. Traffic in Yerevan? A rude salesperson at the store? A political debate? Watching the news? Sewage overflooding? Collapsing public transportation? Air and water pollution? Unreliable food security? A wrong medical diagnosis? Child being mistreated at school? Power shortage? The contrast of what we have vs. what is promoted? The list is long...
 

Even though I made my peace with many aspects in Armenia, when I sometimes get angry/indifferent I try to employ that frustration and energy into solving the issue that caused me to feel that way. Despite that, I often end up with the same conclusion: Armenia’s core source of problems are three: severe lack of responsibility & accountability, lack of proper & feasible application of processes, financial profit being the ultimate goal almost always (regardless how it is achieved).

Q4. What part of daily Armenian chaos secretly gives you joy?

A: Its unpredictability. You don’t know what you might face, something wonderful (or horrible) you might witness. This unpredictability is a form of excitement on the short term, but could be catastrophic on the long term since it is extremely challenging (if possible at all) to plan or execute anything reliably; every day a new law comes into light, an existing system turns out to be unreliable due to lack of proper investigation, planning, or a hidden cause, fluctuating unstable tiny local market, draining discussions that go nowhere, stubbornness of majority of people.
 

This unpredictability, although it mostly gives me joy on the short term, it makes me live a cocktail of negative emotions that the Armenia that has been promoted for years is far from what it is on the ground (with little hope of improvement), despite the fact that I was fully aware of this sharp contrast prior making my relocation decision.
 

Everyone knows and is aware of Armenia’s drawbacks, shortcomings, and problems. They admit these in secret, in private discussions, but usually promote the opposite or suppress these in public events and online. I am deeply convinced that the first step in solving a problem is openly addressing it, self-reflecting through it. In Armenia, everyone considers themselves part of the solution, no one considers themselves part of the problem. Potential practical solutions are available, but most groups are not focused on that.

Q5. Has living in Armenia changed the way you interact with people?

A: Not really. I always try to maintain the same approach towards people that I always had and developed over the years; respond with kindness (if others deserve it) but make sure they are aware you are not naive, that there are consequences if they attempt to take you for granted or advantage of. It took many long years of self-awareness and effort while in Germany to develop this and other habits in interacting with others, views, mindsets. However, I am continuously placing considerable effort not to lose these, as living in Armenia for prolonged periods of time (at least 3 years) has a negative influence on repatriates, which is why many end up quietly leaving the country or becoming indifferent. I have witnessed this multiple times, unfortunately.

Q6. What’s one encounter in Armenia, a stranger, a taxi driver, anyone, that stayed with you?

A:  A guy named Vartan/Vardan whom I met during a renovation project. Vartan is a pure hearted young family father from outside Yerevan, with a deeply rooted love for the country. I invited him to my lunch table multiple times where we shared laughs, talked about the country, life, while enjoying his wife’s cooking and mine. Eventually, I met his family and infant children, and made a friendship bond beyond our work agreement.

Q7. What’s one thing the diaspora gets right about Armenia and one thing they consistently misunderstand?

A: One thing the diaspora gets right about Armenia: Armenia needs diaspora as much as diaspora needs Armenia. One thing diaspora consistently misunderstands about Armenia: Their mutual relationship.
 

Armenia and diaspora are like a married couple stuck in a toxic relationship for a very long time, but stubbornly refuse to talk about it or divorce. Armenia’s needs for the diaspora is beyond mere financial support, but it’s in denial of this need mostly due to its stubbornness and arrogance; “We know what we are doing, do not interfere in our affairs, but you’re most welcome to make a financial contribution”. This is a literal statement I witnessed, more than once. Diaspora providing support and knowledge beyond financial means is crucial, but most of the time it does not achieve the intended goals on a mass scale whether it is in education, infrastructure, healthcare, charity.
 

A considerable portion (if not the majority) of those receiving such support end up either discarding the acquired knowledge or leaving the country. I am not talking about such diaspora-supported/diaspora-initiated programs on an individual’s level but as a collective group of people, en masse. It is the rare few who reach the intended goals of such programs. This vast topic is beyond the scope of this interview.
 

A part of this mutual relation is repatriation. How many diasporans have willingly relocated (not enforced due to war in the Middle East)? How many diasporans have relocated from Europe and North America, and continuously lived in Armenia for at least 1 year? How do these numbers appear for repatriates living in Armenia for 1 year, 3 years, 5 years? What are the percentiles? What are their age groups? Their average financial and social statuses? The answers to these questions are crucial to have a realistic picture of the state of repatriation, to start to understand underlying reasons and, consequently, to proper planning. On the other hand, Armenia fully places the burden of repatriation on the diasporan; “It is the diasporan who is obliged to integrate with us, not the other way around. We are the origin and end-goal”. Another literal statement I witnessed. That approach has repeatedly proven broken. Repatriation is a two-way street; there are duties to be fulfilled by the local Armenian (as much as the relocated diasporan) for a successful integration en masse.
 

As part of this mutual relation, the diaspora publicly announces that it views Armenia as part of its unified entity. This has been the diasporan public stance for a long time through its various organizations. In reality, there are only two aspects in common between the diaspora and Armenia: a shared past, and a shared alphabet. Take a moment to reflect on this. We agree on at least one future goal; to have a prosperous Armenia, but disagree on the definition of “prosperous” and the means to achieve it. For a meaningful and a fruitful collaboration, diaspora and Armenia need to be on equal levels around the table.
 

One fundamental way for this is for the diaspora to have an official, legal stance in Armenia’s policy making processes. Due to this particular inequality between the diaspora and Armenia, I ceased making any financial donations 10 years ago. Instead, I switched to volunteering and knowledge sharing. Why volunteering and knowledge sharing? Because our strength is in our unity through our differences. Armenians from each country are uniquely excellent in specific domains; An Armenian from France is good in a domain other than what an Armenian from the U.S. or the Middle East is good at. If we could employ such “differences” to our own advantage, serving the collective main goals, sitting around a table as equal partners, there just might be a realistic chance.
 

[To Be Continued]