Yerevan vistas and the reasons for staying

by Maria Titizian

Published: Saturday October 25, 2008 in Living in Armenia

Swan Lake. Photolure.

Swan Lake, nestled among weeping willows on the corner of Toumanian and Teryan is home to Arno Babajanian, sitting in front of his piano, one hand extended in the air immortalized in the form of a basalt statue. The monument to the great Armenian composer was the cause of much cultural debate several years ago when it was unveiled, because it did not fit into the mold of the classical statues strewn throughout the city. Those statues are so similar in style and composition, that you could switch heads and be no less the wiser of who it actually is - Sundukian or Toumanian himself. The one exception is the statue of Mother Armenia perched upon a hill, with a sword in her hand standing guard ready to protect the homeland. A closer look at Mother Armenia and you can't help but notice that she looks more like a man; nothing feminine about her at all. But a statue to replace one of Stalin in the 1950s would have to contain the characteristics of all things imperious.

I have been guilty of being overly sentimental, some might even argue borderline delusional about my connection to this land. And while I continue to live and learn about Armenia, my friends and acquaintances continue to wonder what it is that makes me want to stay. Colleagues will often question why I question things, "Ba, Maria jan, are you just realizing what kind of country you are living in," or "You left a country like Canada to come here; are you crazy?"

Most times I am at a loss to try to put to words the reasons for coming and the reasons for continuing to cherish the lives we have been able to create. I sometimes wish people would just accept the fact that moving to Armenia and staying here isn't an anomaly.

This past week afforded me the opportunity to remember why I love being being here. Swan Lake for starters. When the man-made lake was transformed into a skating rink in the winter months in 2005, it without a doubt added to the quality of life. Families had somewhere to go in the winter to spend time with their children. The skating rink, with it's $1 million dollar price tag, was donated to the people of Yerevan by the city of Moscow.

Last year the government of France refurbished the fountains in Republic Square. Every evening starting from 9 P.M til midnight, Yerevantsis are able to enjoy a spectacular water and light show set to music by Aznavour and Khachaturian. Without exception, there are hundreds of people there every night. It too, like Swan Lake became a place for families to take their children, meet up with friends, and enjoy the Square, lit up and glowing like soft candlelight. When we went for the first time to watch the show, it was mesmerizing.

This past week, thanks to the Boghossian Foundation, Lovers' Park opened its doors to the residents of our capital city. I was there on the day of the opening, having arrived much earlier than the appointed hour for the official ceremonies. I walked around and then sat on one of the many benches by a man-made lake and enjoyed the beautiful autumn weather. A camera operator, a former colleague, walked up to me and asked why I wasn't working - in other words why wasn't I interviewing the architect or the officials from the Armenia Fund who were milling around the park. What he didn't realize was that, in my own way, I was working. I was simply enjoying being in a miraculously tranquil corner of a bustling, noisy city, thanking the Boghossian family for having the foresight to bequeath to the city something so beautiful and worthwhile. Something was added to the quality of my life and I'm sure for the rest of the city's residents as well. The next day I took my children so that they could share in my borderline, delusional happiness. When we arrived and saw that hundreds and hundreds of people were streaming into the park, curious to see the new gift they had received, strolling around the grounds just as happy as I was, I felt vindicated.

While we continue to reap the benefits of all the qualitative changes taking place in our city and country, we have our diaspora compatriots to thank, we have foreign governments to thank, and we also have expats to thank. Russian-Armenian Levon Hayrapetian, formerly of the village of Vank in Nagorno Karabakh, was singlehandedly responsible for the betrothal of 700 young couples in one day this past week (see opposite page). When we started receiving the photos that our reporter in Karabakh had taken of rows of young brides in white gowns standing with their grooms framed by lush mountains, there was a collective sigh of joy in the office. It was a day of national celebration. 700 new families on the road to a new life, ripe with promise and hope, a gift of $2,000 and a cow. What else could you ask for?

My son, for reasons I have decided not to explore, has felt the shortcomings of this country more acutely than the rest of us. He hates inequality. He is always giving money to beggars. He is incensed at what he sees around him. He can't understand the dynamics of relationships here, nor can he understand why people drive the way they do. My fear has lately been that at some point he would not see his future here.

I have tried not to pass judgement, but to let him formulate his own opinions. The nudging fear of not being able to justify all that which is truly unjust to my young son was momentarily lifted a few nights ago. Talking about all these changes, about some new directions that the government seems to be implementing he said, "Wow, I didn't stop to think of all the good things happening." It's true, we are all quick to pass judgement, we are all impatient to finally see the promised land as we individually envisioned it.

There are things on my own wish list. I could ask for a quick and easy resolution to the Karabakh conflict, access to the sea, cleaner air, regular garbage pick up, more parking spaces, more jobs, more civil liberties, more quality of life.