Epress.am News from Armenia
Over the past few months, two teams of journalists, writers and bloggers in both Armenia and Azerbaijan interviewed a handful of women of different ages and backgrounds, both in the capitals of Yerevan and Baku and in the regions as part of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Women’s Narratives Project. We asked them about their lives, their hopes and wishes for themselves, their families and their countries. Epress.am will feature the interviews — one a week, published every Monday. As yesterday was a non-working day, this week’s interview — the third in the series — is published today.
To listen to the audio file of the interview below (in the original language, Armenian) as well as read the interview in full, visit the blog by clicking here. No photographs were taken of the interviewees to create a more comfortable interview environment and to respect their privacy.
Goris resident Armanush Bakunts, 52, lost her husband in the Nagorno-Karabakh War. She is the president of the Syunik branch of the Republican Council of Mothers and Wives of Perished Freedom Fighters and the director of the Sero Khanzadyan museum. Here is her story:
I was born in Goris, in Verishen. I graduated secondary school here. From ’77 to ’82 I studied at the Yerevan State University Faculty of Physics. I’m a physicist by profession, but I haven’t worked in my profession.
I have two sons: one is now working toward a master’s degree in physics. My oldest son graduated, but didn’t find work here… it has been 3 years since he graduated. He’s gone to Yerevan where he works and lives with his younger brother.
My second child was a month old when the Artsakh movement began in ’88 and our life became enveloped in this movement. My husband fought for the liberation of Artsakh; he died in the very beginning, in ’91. He was keeping guard at border village toward Vorotan. There was a village there, Ayvazlar, there were still Azerbaijanis living there. Shots were fired and it hit him.
After ’88, from ’92 to ’94, artillery work began in Goris. There probably wasn’t a house in Goris that wasn’t damaged. That time of course was bad, we didn’t have regular electricity, we didn’t have water, there was nowhere to work, there was no hope; regular [public] transportation didn’t work in our city. Well now, thank God, again there’s transportation, things work, life is better. You can’t say we’re hopeless, but it could be better.
My husband and I used to work at one of Goris’ first-rate factories, which produced transformers for military planes. We also have a three-bedroom house we got from the factory. But many factories dissolved after the Soviet Union collapsed. The factory where we worked still exists; the foundation is there. They can establish a sewing manufacturing industrial complex again, I think, with small volumes, to sew military clothing, say like that. I think if production is developed, if industry develops in our city, we can focus and build our homeland, to build our children’s future in our homeland.
It seems to me, there are many social problems among our people. I don’t think supremacy of law exists yet in our country, and I believe that we, as a people, have moved away from God. We should use our natural resources, our scientific potential and the experience of developed countries.
There should not be emigration, instead people should come and make it prosper; create a strong Armenia. These are big issues; it’s not a problem of daily bread. The problem of daily bread bothers us very much. It shouldn’t, though it’s a very real issue. What to do so people can come out of poverty? When they come out of poverty, they can think about global issues, about Armenian problems, about joining together.
Women now are passive because there’s no work. After struggling for so long, I barely have work; for 2–3 years, the civic work I did was unpaid. Now there are many femaIe entrepreneurs; I notice progress now. It’s just that there’s no work sector for women to appear, though there are mainly women in the field of education.
It hasn’t been easy for women in the South Caucasus. In Azerbaijan too, also in Georgia. They all have this issue too, because there’s the issue of [lack of] work. It’s the same in Georgia and in Azerbaijan. Though Azerbaijan is wealthier than us — they have oil. But there too there are such issues; power is centralized in one person’s hands. We know that too. This is the main problem of less developed, poorly developed countries. Much depends on women. The woman is the foundation of society, of the family.
Yes, I consider that Armenia is in a crisis. If there’s no crisis, there will be no emigration.
I don’t picture my life outside of Armenia. Goris is a very beautiful city. If only we knowingly make it beautiful. If we create cultural centers, beautiful spaces, places of enjoyment, people would be able to spend their time beautifully. To be amazed by nature, to be liberated. Let others’ homelands also prosper. But we have to create ours, we have to like ourselves. Elimate the bad inside us. I’m optimistic about the future. Optimism, hope — it’s always there.