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 5th
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! |
