Two days ago Hetq Online reported that the town of Talin, located in Armenia’s Aragatsotn region, will receive two garbage trucks in September, and a recycling plant will be built there in 2010. The gifts will be made by Talin’s sister city in France, Bourg de Valence.
In Talin, as a result of the bond forged between the two towns, French is taught as a second language in it public school system. The town recently received two buses for local public transportation as well.
The residents of Aknaghbyur in the Tavush region are also reaping the benefits of benefactors who are based in the US and Canada. The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has just unveiled a brand new soccer field, basketball court and other sports facilities there. The project was actually sponsored by an Armenian from Cyprus named Vartkes Mahdessian in cooperation with the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. Also in the area, a 3.5 kilometer-long water pipeline is being constructed, which is financed by the ARF Central Committee of Canada.
The revelation of such projects in the regions of Armenia is always uplifting. It personally raises my spirits whenever I read that Armenians who are perhaps less fortunate than those living in the capital are benefitting from the generosity and sheer selflessness of their brethren residing outside Armenia.
Unfortunately, these reports are few and far between. Armenians living in the diaspora should be much more proactive about rebuilding infrastructure, schools and social centers throughout the regions, let alone factories to put citizens to work. Everything needs to be done to sustain the livelihood as well as hope of Armenians living in rural areas of the country. The more projects that Armenians take on, the more likely people will stay put in their regions and build their communities rather than lock the house and move away to find opportunities elsewhere.
Armenians can’t afford to let people living in the regions be left undermined and destitute.
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