Comments on: Telethon Collects $15 Million 275 Thousand

By: Global Voices Online » Armenia: Telethon

Global Voices Online » Armenia: Telethon — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:15:25 +0000

[...] to the annual Thanksgiving Day Telethon held in the Diaspora. A day later, The Armenian Observer reports that the telethon raised over $15 million. Share [...]

By: kronstadt

kronstadt — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:01:59 +0000

What’s more is that I always sense a somewhat arrogant and cocky attitude toward Diaspora. I cannot see the Republican Armenian discourse even trying to understand the cultural uniqueness, the language(s), the literature, the experience and history of Diaspora … with its unique culture of hybridity that has learned to live in and celebrate diversity rather than unanimily of the dictated and monopolised claims of what this new model of Armenian identity might be. It definitely doesn’t strike me as an attitude of respect and of a desire to understand and learn more about various Diasporic communities living outside of the STATE of Armenia, as if that is all of “Armenia” and as if “Armenia” is just a territorial entity.

By: kronstadt

kronstadt — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:40:39 +0000

Somehow I get the feeling that much of this ammount could have come from the Immigrant communities, who often live separate lives from those neat and all encompassing category of “Diaspora”.

Onnik, I have to aggree with your comment completely. The way that I see it is that KocharianaSerjakan bandocracy is the main obstacle between Armenia and Diaspora. I can list so many instances (that you don’t hear about on the news) whereby Kocharian has been doing things to which one may say “How short-sighted are these guys?”. They think that having a relationship means having the right to exploit and getting an opportinity to get close enough as to fool and rob them. There is also this unhealthy attitude as if Diaspora owes something to Armenia and should feel feel blessed for this. They don’t seem to have any notions of what a long-term relationship may be, and how to build a relationship and that the Diaspora has it’s own politics too. They have been keeping diaspora at bay, seeing at as a threat rather than an asset, playing games with it, fooling it and sometimes openly turning it’s back on it at times when political help is needed, At the same time the Diaspora has started to loose faith in Armenia.

BUT If there was a governance by an Open , Accountable, Decent and non-corrupt persons with sound democratic practices and a foreign policy with a spine… If Diaspora could feel less estranged and less as distant relatives, and more like brothers… If Diaspora could view Armenia as their homeland, rather than an exotic tourist destination… that distant Diaspora would embrace Armenia in a way that you woulldn’t believe — there would be so much investment pouring into Armenia that Azeri oil revenues might seem like pocket change. I’m quite serious! This regime has been more of an obstacle and a burdain to both sides of Ararat.

Some say Diaspora has dried up, I say Diaspora has just lost faith. They just don’t want to deal with country where nothing can be done without corruption. And they wouldn’t be sending any more money than a symbolic minimum when they know that the money for the Mardakert-Hadrut road was collected 7 years ago and it is still incomplete and in budget deficit, that over 1/3 of the money raised for upgrading irrigations in Lori simply vanished, that the money simply doesn’t make it to its final destination … that it gets “lost in translation” :(

By: Onnik Krikorian

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:58:27 +0000

Well, the usual criticism of the telethon is that the bulk of it is made up from single rich benefactors and that less and less average Armenians in the Diaspora donate. However, I haven’t been following this year’s and I have no interest in doing so.

Mainly because of one simple fact. If the Diaspora put it’s foot down and stopped bailing out the government, think how much more could be achieved. $15 million is NOTHING compared to amount of money that’s being siphoned off. So, sorry, I’m cynical about this and things changed in this country there would be no need for such telethons.

Moreover, INVESTMENT is better than donations without proper oversight and transparency.