LIFE AS IT IS IN YEREVAN

As it Really is.... the life in Yerevan

2012-01-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

The reason I started this blog was to tell something special about the life in Yerevan, some special things that could be shared with people. Things that inspire or disappoint, things that makes you laugh from joy and scream with anger. Beautiful things, wonderful things, mostly amazing things connected our lives in Yerevan.

But later on, things that disappoint in life in Yerevan got more and more and the excitement and beauty less and less. So after pointing out one issue or two, i couldn't say anything more, cause I suddenly lost the sense of beauty.

So, life in Yerevan is hard and messy. People seem to have lost their kindness. Judgement is everywhere, in every family, every house and in people's hearts.

Right and wrong is not necessarily written, but its always announced.

We've forgotten about freedom of soul and think of everyone as bodies not persons.

First thing that defines people is their gender, then age, family, traditions, job position.

We should think more about people as souls, as persons, as friends and people that change our lives, make a difference.

We all should make a difference in this life in Yerevan by changes how we treat each other.

This video below made me very angry today

(sorry to all the non-armenian speakers, its about sexual freedom)

And then I watched another one, seems from another world

Where life gets better, because people speak out and make a difference by treating each other as persons

And then in spite of the sad reality of our lives in Yerevan, I remembered all the wonderful people who make my life different, who make me who I am and will surely change the world to a better place due to their craziness and audacity to be different.

meet Marina Danielyan, funny, creative, full of life and energy to make me laugh with joy

Gayoush Kabalyan, my oldest friend, who annoyed me when we were kids, and then became a wind of hope and assurance for the lifetime I have to spend. With whom everything is possible :)

the Crazy, Inspiring, loving and caring, "You can achieve anything you want in this world"-type of person, next to whom beauty comes in my life.

Extremely extraordinary Elaine Krikorian, who is ready to stick stuff in her nose and break ancient pieces of chess, to make you laugh

Interesting and thorough Meline Ter-Minassian, who can be the best friend in the world

"Yeah babey", Zhirair Terzyan, "zibon", brilliant and fun, silently thorough, strikingly loud :)

The brightest, purest love in the world, Marie! Who is my change to this world, who will grow as a person, loving beauty and kindness and compassion and freedom, bringing joy to people and screaming about all the disappointing things in this life in Yerevan!

There are so many others, who will be coming soon in my further posts and so many others who I haven't yet met but am looking forward to :)

Yerevan, Armenia - Security and Crime!

2010-03-26T01:34:00.000-07:00

This article was posted on the Women's Resource Center of Armenia Blog. It has been written by a very courageous girl, who tells about a real incident of abuse by an Armenian policeman.

We all need to hear the TRUTH, we all need to SPEAK up and STAND for our rights!

RA police officer...protector or perpetrator?

May 9th is a holiday for many citizens of our country, but for me it is a day full of sad memories which make me shiver until today. I decided to write about this day when during the PR campaign of the Sexual Assault Center I heard many negative opinions, saying: "What are you so worried about? There is no violence against women in Armenia." I am one of the people responsible for this... because I was silent.

After the fireworks my boyfriend and I walked home up Baghramyan Street. We were both around 18 at that time. Pushkin Park (today's Lovers' Park) had been out of the City Hall attention for the last few years. Even the wood parts on the benches were missing, probably had been burned in one of the cold apartments of Yerevan. The park, with its dark and quiet corners, had become the favorite spot for many young couples. We also sometimes found our solitary corner there and so we did that day.

Passionate kisses and hugs were interrupted by somebody's footsteps. Suddenly in the dark a cellphone light hit my face. It was a man in a uniform, looking at us with a kind of smile on his face that a child would have finding the hidden chocolate box. Studying carefully our faces and lower bodies with the cellphone light, his smile became even bigger, when he noticed my undone belt. "Where you fking?" - there was an obscene laugh. We froze in fear. "The truck is parked right there. Do you want me to throw you in and take you to the station?"

Seeing the Patrol Service cars by the park every day I would wonder what their duty was. Now in my head I came to the conclusion, that besides the drunk and drug addicts, they are also there for the people who have sex in public.

We were faced with a huge challenge; to prove to the officer that nothing like that happened. And of course he didn't believe us and decided to make sure of it himself by trying to check if I was "pure"(virgin) by touching my body in its most intimate places. Because of my lack of knowledge of the rules and my rights well enough I let him humiliate me in front of my boyfriend. My boyfriend was way too scared. He only kept insisting that nothing happened. And I let the officer do whatever he was doing just to keep out of trouble. He was stupid enough to believe that fluids are a sign of missing virginity and now sure that his suspicions were right, he asked my boyfriend to let him talk to me alone. He took me a few meters away. I made sure that my boyfriend was never out of sight.

One more time he touched different parts of my body and with the same obscene voice he pronounced the following sentence, which I will never forget: "Honey, we can solve this issue very easily. You just can't tell your boyfriend anything about it." While I was trying to figure out if I got him right, he continued: "Everything will be good for you for sure. You don't want your parent to find out that you fcked with your boyfriend, do you?" Finally I recovered from the huge slap on my face and very confidently explained to the "animal" that I was from a modern and civilized family and that my parents did not intrude in our relationship.

It got to his stupid head that he wasn't going to get what he intended, and to keep out of trouble he quickly took me back to my boyfriend, wished us a happy future and disappeared. "I will tell the other guys to leave you alone. Do you need a ride home?" - were his last words. The tears were pouring on my face like a river.

For several days we couldn't talk to each other. I tried to imagine what my boyfriend felt at that moment and I felt terrible about it. I could never tell him what the officer had told me. And he also never asked. Soon the park was closed for renovation. We never went there again.

I told nobody for 3 years. I was ashamed. I was ashamed, when in fact I had done nothing to be ashamed of. I was ashamed when somebody else should be ashamed instead: the protector of law and order.

G.K

Hayland.am Organizes "The Wake Up Call"

2009-04-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned in my previous post. Hayland.am on April 23rd, prior to the Armenian Genocide Memorial day, had organized a very special rally "Wake up Call" in front of the USA Embassy in Yerevan.

In spite of the miserable weather, everything went as it was planned and I am very proud to share with you the video of the Rally!

For the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide

2009-04-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Resolution, April 24, 1998

"Today we commemorate the anniversary of what has been called the first genocide of the 20th century, and we salute the memory of the Armenian victims of this crime against humanity".

Even after so many years of discussions, the Armenian Genocide has not yet been accepted by the Turkish Government.

Not a single Armenian has forgotten about the real facts and everyone is waiting for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

A very unique event called "Wake Up Call" is going to take place near the American Embassy in Yerevan, on April 23 at 2pm. Armenian will come together to turn on their alarm clock all at the same time, to announce that the time of change has come! Read more about "Wake up Call"

How to apply for child allowance (երեխաների նպաստ) in Armenia!

2009-03-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

As many Armenians know starting from January 2009 there have been various amendments in different social spheres. I know that to many of you, this may not be very interesting, but as a mother I felt the obligation to inform other mothers in Armenia about the changes in the children allowances, as well as to help with instructions on applying for the child allowance.

First I want to happily announce that instead of the old allowance rates for children, we can now receive more help from the Armenian Government. Regardless the fact that this won't make our lives in Armenia easier, we shouldn't be ungrateful and not to mention that we can now afford more diapers for our babies :)

Anyways, the current rates are the following:

The lump-sum money assistance for child birth is set at the rate of 50 thousand AMD. ( instead of the former 35 thousand)*
For the third baby and for every next baby the rate is set to be 430 thousand AMD
The child care benefit rate for children under 2 is 15 000 AMD per month for employed mothers (instead of the former 3000 per month)

What I really wanted to focus on in this post were the documents needed to apply for the allowances mentioned above. I have researched the web and I tried to call the proper organizations where one should file for the child allowance in Armenia.

The proper organizations and the Ministries weren't quite welcoming and the only answer I got to my questions was to visit them and find out at place.

The web didn't turn out to have much information, the most useful information I found was at The Ministry of Social Security of Armenia website.

I have also found the list of necessary documents, but of course I still had to run around for some that were not mentioned in the list.

To apply for the lump-sum money assistance for child birth the following papers are needed:

ա) դիմում (this is a form that you fill out at the Social Security Institution where you will apply for the allowance, after all the necessary documents are available).
բ) երեխայի ծննդյան վկայականի պատճենը,
գ) տեղեկանք բնակության վայրից(as you know every area has a person who is responsible for writing this kind of papers, you need to find that person :).

 դ) խնամակալության կամ որդեգրման մասին փաստաթղթի պատճենը.

 ե) ծնողի (both parents' if available) կամ խնամակալի անձը հաստատող փաստաթղթի պատճենը.
զ) երեխայի և ծնողի (both parents' if available)  կամ խնամակալի սոցիալական ապահովության քարտը (and copies) կամ տեղեկանք սոցիալական ապահովության քարտ չունենալու մասին:

To apply for the child care benefit rate for children under 2, you will need the following documents:

 ա) դիմում (which comes the last after you have all the documents together and this is given to you at the Social Security Institution where you take your papers)

 բ) երեխայի ծննդյան վկայականի պատճենը.
գ) տեղեկանք բնակության վայրից (as you know every area has a person who is responsible for writing this kind of papers, you need to find that person :).
դ) տեղեկանք աշխատավայրից իր` մինչև երեք տարեկան երեխայի խնամքի արձակուրդում գտնվելու մասին( you need to take a special form from the Social Security Institution (Paros) and give it to your employer to fill it out and sign).
ե) ծնողի(both parents' if available) անձը հաստատող փաստաթղթի պատճենը.
զ) երեխայի և ծնողի(both parents' if available) սոցիալական ապահովության քարտը ( and the copies of the cards) կամ սոցիալական ապահովության քարտ չունենալու մասին տեղեկանք:

I hope this helps those who search for this kind of information. In case of any questions don't hesitate to ask me. I would be very glad to share my experience :)

The Special VIP Deal in Yerevan!

2009-03-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

As a marketing specialist I can't help noticing every marketing activity held by Armenian companies. I do my best to keep track of innovations and changes in the Armenian market.

For many Armenians, taxis are a vital source of transportation and compared to other countries they cost pretty cheap (in other words, cabs are not luxury in Armenia). But the sad thing about Taxis here is that the companies don't pay attention to the quality of the service, the drivers are not carefully selected as most of the taxi services always have vacancies for the drives and can hardly find anyone that would agree to work for a taxi service.

I have heard many drivers complain about working conditions, long hours and the fact that in case of any damage, they are responsible for repairing the car, not the company itself. I figure, this must be a risky job to take.

In any case, Armenians love taking taxis, especially on holidays, when you can hardly find a taxi, or when it's snowing. Suddenly everyone in Yerevan calls the taxi services.

Every person has a favorite taxi service or a couple of them. I have two! As I live far from the city center, I call a taxi service which is close to our house. This is in case I am leaving home. When I am in the center of Yerevan, I usually call Taxi Opera!

Usually! But one day my marketing curiosity won over my habit. And on hearing that a well known Taxi Service called VIP (for some reason Armenians very much like such words as Prestige, Elite, VIP, etc.) has a new special deal, I thought I should try this.

The special deal was the following: any time the cost of the ride is over 1000AMD(Armenian Drams), the customer pays 1000AMD. Interesting I thought and called Taxi Service VIP!

When the car arrived, my friends helped me to take all my stuff to the car including my daughter Marie's stroller, which perfectly fits in a trunk of any car.

Me and Marie got into the car and it took off. I wasn't very surprised, when the driver made the ride longer by not taking the shortest way. "Well, I guess he needs to make sure it goes over 1000AMDs," I was very mad. My frastration grew when a car cut our way and our driver started cursing the driver of the other car. I was in such a shock that I couldn't say a word. When we reached our house, my husband came out to help us with the stuff. Before getting out of the taxi I looked at the taximeter, which showed the amount of money I was supposed to pay at it said 1200AMD. When taking my favorite Opera Taxi, the amount never passed 1000AMD. It was still ok, as they had their "special deal"! I got out of the car and took Marie home (she had fallen asleep on the way like she usually does). My husband paid for the taxi and carried our stuff home.

The curious thing about all this was that my husband not knowing about the special VIP deal paid 1500AMD as the driver told him to do.

I was so mad, that I called the Taxi Service, the operator girl was surprised when I told her the whole thing. She told me she would check this with the driver and call me back with the explanation. Satisfied with the answer I calmed down a little. After a couple of hours, when I still didn't get the call from the operator girl, I got mad again and gave them another call. The girl explained that because we had something in the trunk they charged us more and she told me that usually they don't charge additional money if the trunk is well closed. Apparently the driver claimed that the stroller was so big that the trunk of the car remained open. Very interesting explanation, isn't it?

I couldn't help thinking about this incident for a couple of days, I told all my friends about it, telling them not to use this Taxi Service ever again, but it didn't make me feel better. It didn't because I know that no matter how mad you are and how much you complain no change is made by the company. And this is a big problem now in Armenia, that many companies don't understand how important is the customer's opinion and that only one in a hundred customers actually expresses his dissatisfaction, the rest just don't use the company services any more.

I am still hopeful for the Armenian companies to one day start acknowledging that it doesn't take only initiating special offers, it is also very important to find out if the customers are satisfied with the special deals.

First Post

2009-03-06T02:59:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to start a personal blog, but then for some reason it took you quite a while to get to it? What would be reasons for someone to hesitate about writing a personal blog:

this is a big step towards sharing your life with the whole world (it really is I guess!)
maybe there are people who you wouldn't want to hear your story (why not?)
what if you want to delete all your posts and somehow you are not able to and 20 years later people can still read your silly life story (this sounds silly doesn't it?)
you don't think that you should devote your precious time to a personal blog

What I am hoping to find out by starting this personal blog of mine is why actually people do this, I mean blogging? What good does it do to people who write personal blogs. Well, I guess, we'll find out all about it soon.

Decision is made and I am starting my personal blog "Life as it is in Yerevan". Living in Yerevan can be both exciting and franstrating (those who live here will surely understand what I mean). But what is the secret of happiness in Yerevan, anyways? Has anyone tried to step out of the life stream in which we all are and try to look at our life from outside? This is what I am hoping to do in this coming couple of years. And who knows I may find the happiness equation for living in Yerevan.