The good, the bad, the ugly

This weekend was my last excursion. We spent the day in the village of Mozrov, exploring an active cave. It was incredible – the rigorous climbing, the sound of dripping water and eerie quiet, the beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. I think caving might just be my new favorite thing.

Then we had a delicious lunch of fried potatoes, chicken, cheese, wine, bread and home grown honey. We visited the villagers’ bee farm and talked to the “tatik and papik” (grandma and grandpa) who spoke with great affection of the Soviet years. This is a common generational divide in Armenia; the elders in communities will more often hold onto “Soviet” mentalities and express nostalgia for that era, particularly when compared with the difficult early years of independence and the ongoing struggles of a transitional state. The papik made one comment I thought was interesting – “we’re dependent on Europe, on America, on Russia – what kind of independence is that?” The struggle to move from aid to sustainable development is a real problem, as is the corruption and waste that comes with many aid and development programs.

On the topic of development and resources, a friend’s host mother once complained, “Most countries have oil, gas, forests, minerals – all Armenia has are rocks and mountains.” She was joking, but you do notice driving through the country how barren it is. Much of the country has been deforested; trees are a rare and precious resource here. Often I’ve been told this is due to the energy crisis when the borders and the pipeline through Azerbaijan were closed (90% of imports came through the pipeline) and when the nuclear power plant was closed following the earthquake. Armenians used any scrap of wood they could find for heat – furniture, park benches – however, I’ve been told massive deforestation in the countryside had been going on long before the crisis by means of both legal and illegal logging. Deforestation has profound ramifications, from climate regulation, to erosion, to conservation of water, agriculture and biodiversity. By some estimates, Armenia will have virtually no forests by 2020. It's pretty terrifying. In happier news, a friend of mine is the regional director of the Armenia Tree Project, an organization working to reforest the country, seed by seed. I don't know that they can beat the logging industries though, without serious political and public support.

Something else you will notice in Armenia as a result of the crisis years, aside from the rocks and mountains, are the women. Women outnumber men and there are a large number of single women led households as a result of the war and also male emigration during the economic collapse. Many men go to Russia or other countries to find work; some send remittances back, but some don’t, others never return. Of course without the male breadwinning single women households are more vulnerable to poverty, but a professor of mine at LSE cautioned against assuming women led households are always worse off, financially or otherwise. There need to be more social safety nets for families across the board here – there are few resources or state support for vulnerable families. However, it is a good thing that family and community is so important in Armenia as that often takes the place of the welfare state. And the women are tough. As someone once told me, if an Armenian woman can’t fix it, it can’t be fixed.

But back to the weekend. On Sunday I had a lovely day drinking coffee in the park, eating kebab for lunch and exploring a children’s park in the gorge running through the city. There was an amazing graffitied tunnel and an ancient children’s railroad, which I rode with a friend. It was a sunny and relaxing weekend.

Today was my last working day with the Women’s Resource Center. We finished strategic planning with an action plan for the year. I hope to continue working with them back in the States if I can, as they always need help with fundraising, reporting and capacity-building. I’ve really enjoyed working with the women in the Center. Clearly, there are different work mentalities here and there are also the universal struggles of a grassroots organization trying to do too much with too little resources. But I truly admire the work they do; they are one of the few organizations in the country providing any sort of services or advocacy for women. They face physical threats, very conservative social mindsets, and everyday obstacles. A for instance - I was walking home from work the other day, and saw a young man brutally beating his girlfriend on the street. He easily could have killed her. He didn’t try to hide it, and she didn’t try to defend herself or get away. No one on the street even stopped to stare. There were police standing on the other side of the street who did nothing. It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. Here, if you report such a crime it’s not guaranteed to be prosecuted. And there are no restraining orders; often the onus of guilt is put on the victim. A traditional folk saying is that “A woman is like wool: the more you beat her, the softer she will be.” It is still very much considered a private matter, among both women and men. While this rings true in many places, and domestic violence is an epidemic everywhere in the world, there is a desperate need in Armenia for awareness, education and organizing around this issue.

This week I also wrap up my projects with ICHD, which mostly entails finishing a research report on models for women’s economic independence as a means of preventing domestic violence. I also have my last research interviews, one with someone working in women’s entrepreneurship in the villages and another with a local democratic organization. I think my favorite interviews were both last week, with women activists, one of whom told me she hopes to run for President one day. I hope she does.