Today was the seventh day of camp in Gyumri. There are 180 eager children preparing for song competition on Thursday. In the hallway you can hear the different groups practicing and rehearsing their songs. The kids yell at the top of their lungs while they sing. I believe that they are convinced that this will guarantee them the win. When they are not practicing the songs the are learning English, having hygiene discussions, listening to educationals or competing with the other teams in a variety of activities for points.

Nare and I are the leaders of the orange team. We were in third place with the amount of points until Friday. By winning first place in the bucket-filling contest we began our winning streak; we won soccer yesterday and limbo today. After the first win, the drive in the kids to win was sparked. They are ready to compete and fight to win the competitions. The camaraderie amongst the children has also grown and they work as a team to win. Our group consists of six to twelve year olds and seeing the way they work together is amazing. The older ones always make sure that the younger ones receive their breakfast first and help them understand the games we play. They are given breakfast and lunch daily and always offer to help clean up. One of our kids, Jivan, eats his meal quickly so that he can be the first to offer his help. I truly enjoy seeing their eagerness to help and work together.

Our hygiene discussion today consisted of dental and smoking. After completing the discussion we asked if anyone had any questions or comments. One of our younger boys, David, who is eight years old, raised his hand and said that everyone needs to use their will power to avoid starting to smoke and stand up to their friends who call them weak and less manly. He mentioned that he was made fun of for being a dancer and how he overcame that because of his pride and realization that he had a talent that his friends did not. This was one of my favorite discussions with the children that I have had since camp started. This showed that they can stand above the influence and can fill their time with other activities that will keep them away from smoking and other influences.

Tomorrow we will continue practicing our songs for the competition and review everything they have learned thus far. They enjoy learning English songs, especially the ones with counting. When I ask my group which English song they want to sing, the first is always “Five Little Monkeys” and then “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” We will review those tomorrow and possibly teach them a new song as well.

I can’t believe the two weeks are almost over. It seems as though it was yesterday that we were counting our supplies and preparing to meet the new campers. Now we are preparing for the song competition and saying goodbye. The orange team will always have a place in my heart.

Maral Mirzayan

This experience has given me a new perspective on old traditions.  I’ve grown up as a Tashnagtzagan, I’ve been a part of AYF, I’ve attended Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School however,  I’ve achieved a new level of understanding on old traditions now that I’ve had the pleasure of being in Arstakh.

Growing up I proudly sang our revolutionary songs and commemorated our fallen soldiers, but living in the home of a mother whose son was taken away from her gives a whole new meaning to these songs. Living in a home which was once subjected to war but now remains Armenian soil is empowering to say the least.

Babo is the grandmother who owns the home where we stay. Babo’s wrinkles tell a million stories. We often sit with Babo as she engages us in stories from the war. She tells the stories with a certain pain that nobody can really understand unless they were part of the war. Babo told us about her son and how he lost his life in the war, dying for the soil which we proudly call Arstakh today.

There was a few minutes of silence after the story. We all stared off into the mountains and I began to ponder how many Babo’s out there lost their son so that we can proudly call these lands ours.

I’d like to dedicate this blog to Babo, her son, Vahleri Baboyan,  and all the mothers who have lost their husbands and sons in the war. We are eternally grateful for their sacrifice.

Nathalie Talar Ghazelian

After facing difficult circumstances in the past year, I felt as though I had lost my way. My decision to be a part of this years youth corps group was based on the mere idea of getting away from everything and actually doing something productive with my time. I could not have made a better decision.

I arrived in Armenia a little over a month ago. Overwhelmed to be in the motherland once more, I spent many nights in Yerevan with old friends, went to a preschool in Hraztan with AERF where they donated new backpacks for the kids and carpets so that they won’t have to cancel school in the winter from the cold, and enjoyed many other outings with my grandmother.

Two weeks later, my soon to be family arrived in Yerevan. Within our stay in Yerevan, we went touring and spent a lot of time getting to know one another. As the end of the week approached, the two groups split, and my group and I found ourselves on a long journey towards Arstakh.

The two weeks in Artsakh gave me a whole new perspective. Being surrounded by such passionate kids made me realize that this is not the end, but it is just the beginning of my life of learning about who I am and my place here, not only as a human being, but as an Armenian. Teaching them patriotic songs and feeling the intensity in their voice when they sang every word gave me hope for the future. They showed me the perfect example of never giving up no matter how tough life gets. They have seen war and lost so many family members, yet it’s an honor for all of them that their fathers and brothers fought in the war and lost their lives for their “Hayreni Hogh.”

Following the example of our azadamardigs, my group members and I are giving back to our homeland in our own way. By teaching the kids hayrenasirootyoon, the ideology of the ARF, teaching them English and Hygiene related topics, we are in hopes of carving a brighter future for our brothers and sisters, but most importantly for our nation as a whole. In order for one to see freedom, they must also need to see a struggle. Therefore, waking up early, standing under the sun all day, and taking care of almost 200 kids every day is the least we can do to see a united Armenia.

Coming into this trip, I asked myself how Armenia could help me, however I came to the conclusion that I was asking the wrong question. To take from JFK, it is not what Armenia can do for me, but what I can do for Armenia, and this helped me realize I am slowly finding myself by doing so.

Hoory Minoyan

The world is at a constant struggle between villains and heroes. The heroes are selfless characters who intertwine their lives with the struggle and perseverance of others. Constantly vying for their presence, they fully dedicate themselves to a motive that befits the needs of the majority. The villains, on the other hand, control most of the access to resources and commodify them to satisfy their interests. It is this constant struggle between heroes and villains that pummels nations deeper into poverty and hinders their growth and development. Respective governments become fractured by these conflicting interests, obligatory to the ideals of the heroes and citizens, but highly dependent on the offerings of the villains. Thus, in turn the development challenge comes about.

The development challenge has become a reality for the majority of the world’s population. Developing countries face problems that are very different from one another, but follow a similar pattern. Living in a comfortable world becomes all the more difficult when we face the reality of having one billion people live in developing countries. As a developing nation, Armenia faces these difficult issues within the realms of its society. The problems that Armenia faces are serious, but they are fixable. With strong leadership and an informed citizenry, Armenia has all the tools in place to bring about these reforms. A wide range of policies and programs need to be utilized in order to correctly set these standards and establish norms of behavior. Internal challenges to the government and society are not necessarily hindrances, but can be valuable to the growth and development of the nation as a whole.

First and foremost, Armenia needs to establish forums for the citizenry to have a voice in their government. These forums need to routinely coordinate with the populace  in order to determine which services are desired. Government should be open, permissionless, and generative, encouraging current generations to turn to collective action. The politics of the country cannot change, but the government can be altered to work for all of us. An evolutionary change is needed to fix the way people view citizenship, not just try to bring about quick and unstable reforms. We need to establish values-based organizations that consider what is complacent to the whole of society and collectivize a specific and progressive goal.

The problems in Armenia do not stem from apathy amongst the people. We simply live in a world that encourages disengagement and makes it difficult for us to become involved. It is not that people do not care, but they are not given the opportunity to care. The intentional exclusion of people keeps us away from the decision-making process, making it seem as uninviting as possible. Citizenship is not a spectator sport, but it is a full-on, contact game. If people are not encouraged to participate in government, we cannot expect them to see themselves as potential leaders of their communities. The environment may place obstacles our way, but we need to identify and dismantle them.

The reforms needed in Armenia will find their way with the engagement of the society as a whole. We need an independent and fair judicial system that will uphold the rule of law. A reformed police force of properly trained individuals will implement those laws and establish them as behavioral norms. We need an increase in funding for social services based on the changing needs of the citizenry, allowing civil society to prosper. The educational system needs to be renovated to ensure a strong and stable curriculum, guaranteeing that future generations are receiving a quality education. The reforms in the health system needs to provide quality, affordable care for all citizens. Monopolies on certain markets need to be broken up and competition encouraged. There should be clear incentives for small businesses, encouraging citizens to take up their own ventures. We need strong support for the growing information technology sector in Armenia, promoting investments for its development. We need to put an end to the degradation of the Armenian environment through mining projects that benefit foreign investors.  We need real leaders who inspire the populace, not just those who have position and priority.

We need movements led by people who work hard for what they believe in. These movements need to emerge organically, not when there is a sense of urgency.

It is not about throwing money at these countries or these problems. It is about immersing ourselves and taking action. Change cannot be imposed, but must come from within. There are many struggles between brave people who are willing to work for change and interests who are too entrenched amongst themselves. We cannot be bystanders in bringing about change to this world. We need to take an active stance and become a part of the struggles. In some cases, providing aid does not work well in certain environments. It is not enough for us to recognize the problem and sympathize with it. Understanding the problem is the easiest part of development, finishing the job is the hard part.

We need to build a unity of purpose. We need to change the ways of thinking that have imbedded themselves too deeply within this society. We need to reach out to wider audiences and create a new and informed citizenry. Thus, we will not only allow Armenia to grow and prosper, but we can establish a new sense of hope for the people here. Development is about giving hope to the people living in Armenia that they can create the society they want to live in. Without that hope, people will direct their energies not to development, but to escape.

For the past few weeks, I have spent my time in Armenia with people who carry these very ideals. We work hard each and every day at camp because we believe that we are making a difference in the lives of these children. We try hard to understand the way of life here. We immerse ourselves into the culture and accept it as it is. The problems in Armenia are our problems. We are not guests here. These are our struggles and we accept them. We will take the opportunities that we have been given and use them as catalysts for change. We carry the burden of using all that we have to create the Armenia that we imagine. This is our country and we accept full responsibility for it.

Nare Kupelian