SMALL COUNTRY WITH GREAT HEART.ARTSAKH

According to the tourism ministery of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, every year Artsakh becomes a provisional home for about 16 500 tourists from foreign countries, who come here without any fear. Number of our Armenian friends who come to visit Karabakh every day is twice more. Gandzasar with it's holy spirit in the atmosperse, Dadivank with the wild and untamed nature, white peaks of our high and elate mountains can't but attract tourists. And even now, after recent 4-day war we can see a great amount of tourists walking in the parks and streets. It was impossible for us not to approach and speak to them. Most of the visitors are from Armenian diaspora, but some of them are just people who wanted to have some rest and contribute something for Karabakhs development.

Zabelle

The first woman we met was Zabelle Berberian, a Western Armenian living in Proshyanavan for 16 years. She is working as a guide in a tourist agency and as she told, the group she is working with is in Karabakh now by chance.

"At first the group wanted to have a tour in Artsakh, too, but after the war everyone was afraid so we had some problems with it and we decided to have a tour at least in Armenia. As there was no Artsakh in their tour, we reached Tatev monastery and stopped there. Everyhting started with a little girl, who wanted very much to take picture with Queen and King, as she was calling Grandmother and Granfather monument. I asked my guests if they wanted to visit Karabakh, but only for 4 hours, and everyone unanimously agreed and we started our tour to Karabakh. So the tour that had to be to Tatev and back became to Stepanakert and back". Her guests are mostly parents of schoolchildren, they have never been to Karabakh, except one or two parent,who were here during the war.

According to Zabele, who visited Artsakh 2 years ago, our country is developing from day to day and everyone abroad knows about it. She, her friends and relatives from USA and Canada look for the information about Artsakh every day and everyone's heart is here with us. As Zabel promised, this year as always young memberes of Armenian revolutionary federation “Dashnaktsutyun”, will manage to make a summer camp here in Artsakh.

At the end Zabele suggested us to speak a little with her guests who kindly accepted our solicitation.

Ani Khendarian,born in California, USA is one of the few people of the group who has been to Karabakh a long time ago. She admitted that Artsakh changed very much since the war, when she was first here. The society she lives in is full of Americans, Armenians and Turks, for sure."Though, there is no conflict between Armenians and Turks in America, the strain between us is still noticeable”, — she said. 

Sossi Gosdanian Kalandjiyan, who was, by the way, a schoolmate of TUMO’s Center’s CEO Marie Lou Papazian, shared her excitement about Karabakh with us, saying that she never had any fear of coming here, and thinks that coming to Artsakh is her destiny.

“The belonging is the thing we all feel being here, the belonging we have never felt. First I was living in Lebanon, surrounded by Arabs, then in USA, and everyone here is like me. And now here I hear Armenian speech everywhere and each of us is feeling BELONGING to who we are, what is our ethnicity'', — confessed Sossi.

“In 1915, after the Genocide, Armenians spread all over the world and the most part of them were not able to return to their homes for many reasons. Our brothers spent a lot of years in foreign countries looking for home and everyone found it somewhere.

Living in a foreign country with foreign people,speaking foreign language — what can be worse for a person who is warmly connected to his homeland? And after more than 50 years, after that kind of awful life you are walking in streets and hearing sound you were waiting for so much. And then you feel who you are.You feel that you are Armeninan and your language is Armenian and not Arabian, English, French or somethign else. This is the feeling that everyone felt coming here»

After Sossis confession her friend Ara joined our conversetion. He was listening calmly to what we were speaking about and then, after a short pause, explained us his vision of Armenia's and Artsakh's future. Ara thinks, that if every Armenian comes to his homeland at least once a year Armenia wil be thrilling then. “8 million Armenians, friends, 8 million Armenians, what will happen if each of them visits Armenia. Each of them will need food, place to live, guide… At least $1000 for a person! $1000 from everyone of 8 millions… God, Armenia will have billions, many billions. Armenia will become the most developed country in the region. I think it is the least that every of us can do, every Armenian is not living in our homeland” – ended Ara with tears on his eyes. “52 years, I have lived 52 years and I am in Karabakh only now, what can be worse”.

Ara’s speech impressed all the people that were sitting with us and everyone agreed with his statement, while we could only think if a miracle like that could happen to us.

“Oh, I imagine me living in Armenia, I imagine all Armenians living in their country, after so many years that we spent abroad with strangers.”

As turns, that was not only imagination, because Sossi shared with us that she and her husband are thinking about buying a house in Karabakh.

“I have a friend who’s daughter has been to Armenia for 5 times with her school, and every year when she comes to her mother to come to Armenia once more,she always adds “Mom,you have never been in Armenia,you just don’t know how good is it” - told us Sossi.

Maybe we are living here and because of it we cant understand that we love our country and how precious is it for us, but they feel, and all we can do now is to add another word from them, that made us understand the whole hardness of their situation.

«We were born in foreign lands, we live in foreign lands but we would like our sons and daughters to be Armenians. We would like to see them keeping their Armenian roots, Armenian genes. Me,my friends and relatives, we all grew in foreign places and it was difficult for us to keep the Armenian soul, the Armenian power and heart, but we try to do our best to be Armenian».

Few days ago we took an interview with Wendy Leeson Wofford. She is an American, but she lives in Yerevan for 5 years. "We came to do an humanitarian work. We have a group of doctors from America and we are going to be in different cities to help in the hospitals", – Wendy says.

— Where have you been?

— We went to a very large and old tree (Tnjrie) . I hope when we come back to Yerevan, we will go to Tatev monastery.

—What are you thinking about Artsakh?

—I am at first time in Artsakh. It's beautiful. I hope to come back.

—Is there some difference between Artsakh and America?

—Of course. There are a lot of difference between Artsakh and America. In the USA people are busy, they don't spend time together. But in Artsakh everyone is together. It's better to be in community like that.

—Why did you decide to come to Artsakh, not another place?"

—May be because the war, and I know the people from America, who don't know about Artsakh, and when they hear about Artsakh, they think that it's a part of Azerbaijan and they don't realize that it is not, they don't realize that Armenians live here. When somebody comes here and then returns home he tells other people about Artsakh and they begin pray about the country and the people.

—What does attract you in Artsakh?

—The people. They are so kind and so helpful. It is so much stress but they stay kind and they are ready to help each other.

—What about sights?

—I saw a big big tree. We were in Tigranakert. It is very nice and beautiful, very historical place. I've seen a monument Papik and Tatik (Grandfather and Grandmother) on our way to Tigranakert . I hope we will return there tomorrow.

—You must be in Gandzasar . It's a very beautiful place. It's far from here. An hour. You can go to "Umbrellas" . It's like natural monument, it's waterfalls.

—We will leave on Saturday and go back to Yerevan. And tomorrow we will be in Askeran . I hope that we will find few minutes for "Umbrellas".

—Do you want to come back here?

—Of course. I hope that I will return.

—Can you say the main impression from Artsakh?

—The main impression is that if another people have so many problems, so much pain they believe in God and stay very strong. I am a Christian and I think that it's important to believe in God and to trust in God.

—Can you say what difference would you see in Artsakh? Which changes?

—I want to see Artsakh is free, independent and want to see peace here.

—Are you here with your family or friends?

—I'm here with my husband and with the group of volunteers from America.

—Why did you choose to learn Armenian not another language?

—Because I live in Yerevan for 5 years and I must speak Armenian, because if I live in a country I must speak this language. I lived in Ukraine for 12 years and I learnt Russian. Я говорю по русски (I speak Russian).

—Do you want to go to US?

—When I will be very very old. I like living in another country.

—Where did you hear about Armenia and Artsakh?

—I heard it from my Armenian freinds. Many of them come here to defend their homeland. And we pray about them, about safety and believe that God will protect them.

          Jengyalov hac

     is waiting for you 

            in  Karabakh

      Jengyalov hac

    is waiting for you 

       in  Karabakh