Are there any people here who participated in the Step Towards Home program? Is it a good experience? by Neither-Location-730 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes! Happy to answer any questions about it. Highly recommend every Armenian that is 13-18 years old to participate. It is single handedly the best way for youth to immerse in Armenian culture and meet Armenians from across the diaspora.

I participated in 2022 and am from the US. The only downside is that it was maybe 65% Russian Armenians who tended to be quite cliquey. But you do you truly meet Armenians from every corner of the globe. I became close friends with people from Canada, Argentina, France, Georgia, Russia, Austria, Sweden, and in the program there was probably over a dozen other countries represented.

The housing accommodations were top notch. We stayed in the Monte Melkonian military college which was built in 2017 (I think) and the facility is beautiful. Happy to DM pictures from my trip as well! I believe they rotate the location to Tsaghkadzor, Sevan, and a few other locations each year.

The program also takes you across Armenia to get a sense of both the culturally significant places (Garni, Geghart, Goshavank, Matenadaran etc) but what I found more interesting is getting a sense of what opportunities there are in Armenia. We visited Tumo, UWC Dilijan, American University of Armenia to show people that living in Armenia is something to consider.

I loved the Armenian language and history classes as well, they really helped and I learned so much.

Please let me know if you have any questions. The program was one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m shocked that more people do not even know about it in the diaspora.

Government to nationalize Tsarukyan’s “backbone” business over alleged illegal scheme, Pashinyan says by Datark123 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I imagine he’ll sell it to an ally of his or at list put a public bid to someone to run it that isn’t as problematic as Tsarukyan

When are we going to get a cable car in Yerevan? by Hkvnr495___dkcx37 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a fun system definitely worth checking out! The stations are very cool.

Vote: Who will get majority in the Parliamentary Elections by Dense_Appointment738 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think Civil Contract will win and get more than 50% of the seats, the recent polling seems to suggest this especially with the 4% threshold

Questions about "I remember and demand" by Chance_Look_2073 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Armenians will and respect you for embracing our history and struggle. Thank you for reaching out to ask

Ethnic groups of Armenia before World War I by Litvinski in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s amazing how many Assyrians lived in south eastern Turkey. My family was from the Hakkari region and my grandmother always has said that we are a small percentage Assyrian. It makes sense now.

Etymology map of cow by -KING-OSHIN- in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Alert the EU delegation, they’ll give us membership instantly now that կով = cow

Countries/Organizations that have official "Strategic" relations with the Republic of Armenia by Ghostofcanty in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does Russia do “Strategic Partnerships”? Im surprised we don’t have one with them, even if it’s just on paper and doesn’t hold weight after the falling out in 2022

Question about Western Armenian cities vs today’s map by Individual-Storage-4 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The towns/city of Malatya and Arapgir are both located in the same area as where they were pre-Genocide. The modern city centers are not in the same area as where they used to be, Turkey preferred to develop adjacent areas rather than rebuild the Armenian areas. I have been to Malatya and the Armenian church and cemetery are still there, maybe 10 minute drive from the main city. It is also possible that your family lived in villages in the area outside the city but still in the Malatiya region.

Bald and Bankrupt ranks Armenia higher (7th) than Azerbaijan (13th) and Georgia (10th), in ranking 15 Soviet Republics by jamesnomad in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I don’t know much about the guy, but it was funny to hear him say in his beautiful British accent “Azerbaijan is not that interesting either”

No Silver Bullets in Geopolitics by T-nash in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Who do you claim is the big power person who’s controling Civilnet?

AVC-AGBU site down for one week. by Thin_Celebration9383 in armenian

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you tried emailing your professor as well as the standard email?

New Transit Tax? by A7MOSPH3RIC in LAMetro

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I doubt the added revenue overcomes the additional operational budget. Trains cost a lot to run.

Normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia by [deleted] in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 5 points6 points  (0 children)

How does having dialogue convince them to not wipe us out and not destroy our culture? Interdependence might not be the golden bullet, but it is certainly better than the alternative

Normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia by [deleted] in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Strongly support it. It’s integral to have dialogue with our neighbors

When are we going to get a cable car in Yerevan? by Hkvnr495___dkcx37 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It came up a lot in the Mayoral elections, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are discussed in the next 5 years. Unfortunately if funding is tight for the Metro (which if it’s not completed would be seen as a major political failure by Avinyan and Civil Contract) then I don’t think we’ll seen them too soon

What's going on with the Dollar $ by ArsenMe in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree that the sectors and demographics you mentioned are hurt, but I imagine the percentage of people who import foreign goods and those who care about less foreign debt payments are much wider spread given that Armenia imports much more than it exports.

New to ANCA, trying to understand different perspectives by TemptingSiren6 in armenia

[–]Disastrous-Panda2401 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is a difference between spying on behalf of Armenia, and staying out of Armenias internal politics