Shame - Ամօթ

I was born and raised in a suburb of Washington DC, capital of the United States of America. Being surrounded consciously and subconsciously by the overflow of politics, I was aware of their importance in 5^th grade. When a teacher was berating me for being the only one in my class to be a ‘conservative’, I figured out that politics is comparable to a popularity contest (until being isolated became a ‘hipster’ thing.) Since then, my opinions haven’t changed all that much; rather they developed into mature amalgamations of my morals, family influences, and independent experiences. I’ve learned from these experiences that if you want something, you have to be responsible to obtain it. Nobody will do it for you, and it is not the government’s responsibility. Before I begin a rant, I should get to the point…

Fast forward to 2013, Yerevan, Armenia. The presidential elections have been stewing in all of our minds for the last few months. Normally I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about elections, especially in a country in which I am not a citizen. However this time personal connections compelled me to be active in supporting the most genuine, honest, and well-qualified man to run for president in tiny Armenia. Raffi Hovannisian, US-born lawyer and politician to genocide survivors, has been a family friend for years, and was the MC at my parents’ wedding. I quickly educated myself on his presidential platforms and professional experience in Armenia. Raffi is western-educated but has culturally adapted to understand the delicate mentality that exists in Armenia today. This mentality stems from the Soviet-era, where everyone was ‘taken care of’ and nobody had to make an effort to make ends meet. I cannot understand this mentality for a few reasons - including my age and lack of exposure to this kind of lifestyle. (It is also important to note that I am unsympathetic to almost everything…)

Raffi K. Hovannisian

Rewind – I got my first job at 14, where I was a soccer referee. I was even given a cell phone for Christmas, so I could be ferried around by my parents from game to game. I worked for three years as a lifeguard and pool manager, followed by more academic internships – like teaching and researching. I was taught that if I wanted to buy the next gameboy (gameboy SP, in pink!), I would have to earn the money myself. This motivation has to come from within, but I am thankful for my parents for raising me to think this way. Back to Armenia – Yes, it is a young country. Yes, there are many people without jobs. Yes, many of them aren’t used to having to work to get what they want. But NO, I don’t see that as an excuse for being lazy. Those who support the current president, Mr. Serzh Sargsyan, are either rich rabiz scum because of the oligarchs they are a part of, or are content living under the poverty level because they are afraid of change. There is a middle class that is starting to raise its voice.  

Serzh Sargsyan in his younger years.

My participation in the Heritage Party’s campaign has been the best part of my living in Armenia so far. I personally trailed Baron Hovannisian on the first day of the campaign in Yerevan, and accompanied him and volunteers four other times on trips to other regions in Armenia. Every time, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of Armenian politics through the eyes of the people. The old women making cheese in Bangladesh (district), the toothless men working at the butchers in Hrazdan, and the genuine families campaigning with Raffi together have shown me that there are people ready to move mountains. I have heard him speak, his baritone voice drawing crowds in wherever he is. I have seen him shake hands with hundreds of people per day, greeting each with the same smile and blessing as the last. I am confident that his leadership would be an amazing thing for a country that is suffering with emigration problems and lack of jobs. I don’t think anyone in the immediate campaign force ever sleeps, because they are constantly working around the clock to make our dreams for Armenia a reality.  

The campaigning days were chock full with countless violations, including bribery, intimidation and passport fraud. These don’t compare to the violations that took place on Election Day. The most notable violations include ballot stuffing, paying off polling proxies, and even physical harassment of election monitors. For a full list, please check out http://raffi4president.am/en/violations

 

The scariest thing is that the supposed observation committee didn’t recognize the election process as fraudulent or impeded. They said it was ‘lackluster’ and ‘without competition’. These claims are of course not true, as noted by the physical and numeric evidence. Raffi won Gyumri, Vanadzor, and most of Yerevan. The reported exit polls are the exact same as the ‘official results’, which is impossible.  I don’t want to get too much into the ridiculousness of the tallying and misrepresentation of numbers, but rather focus on the big picture.

Crowd shot at press conference

I can’t say I’m surprised at how much of a circus these elections are, but it is quite synonymous with the way Armenian things have run in the past. For example, as a 14 year old, I wanted to be on AYF junior executive committee – the voting back then was full of fake ballots. The kids would rip their papers in half and submit two votes, and then vote for their friends who weren’t even there. The community couldn’t accept a generous donation to build a new church because they were too busy bickering on where it would be built. The Armenian Genocide Museum of America project has been scrapped because of arguing on what to call it. SO TRIVIAL. 

The big picture, from my honey colored Armenian-American eyes, is thus: Armenia is its own worst enemy. I’m not a peace-loving hippie monger but I see the same problem in Armenian politics (in Hayastan and the Diaspora) that has been handicapping our ability to get anything done. We fight with each other, and we can’t settle even this so we can take care of more important issues – like Genocide recognition, Artsakh, oligarchies, and foreign relations. If slimeball Serzh truly cares about the “future and security of Armenia”, he should hand it back to the people and let them choose who they want to lead them. 

Look for the only white coat...there's Ani!