Dustiness

The dust in the city is unbearable anymore. It is everywhere, a mild wind is able to raise it and bestrew you with a thick layer of dust. I tried to have a walk in parks, hoping for some green, but the dust caused of the constructions on the streets along the parks cover all the adjacent areas. I have allergy on dust, so I hold breathing whenever I have to pass those areas, alas, I can’t not breath for hours. I start itching, I take shower several times a day when I come home, and the water is slightly black as it flows down my body. Will this dust disappear some day from this city???? Sick!!

I need to escape, but have to breath this air for one more month or so. Can’t wait for the day to leave.

Follow the Rock Festivals!!!

Become the voice of voiceless!!!

Photo by Mariam Sukhudyan

If you ever find a free time to kill till April 20, I advise you to visit the environmental exhibition titled “Become the voice of voiceless” at NPAK (Armenian center for contemporary experimental art). I blogged about this event, as well as the previous activities (Teghut Forest destruction in particular) carried out by this group of young environmental activists before.

The aim of this exhibition is to react to the urgent ecological issues through raising public awareness and developing environmental ethic through initiating various activities. Incidentally, it was the successful intervention of this young people due to which the destruction of a natural monument called Garni’s “Stone Symphony” was halted.

Environmental Exhibition

Dear photographers,
We would like to invite you to participate in the environmental exhibition “BECOME THE VOICE OF VOICELESS’ which will take place from 14 March to 5 April in NPAK.

Mostly photos will be exhibited, but there will be also paintings, sculptures, video art, etc.
The exhibited photos will present the untouched nature as well as polluted and damaged areas. The exhibition aims at arousing love and care in our society towards the nature and animals, contributing to the development of eco-consciousness and informing people about the crucial environmental problems. In the frames of the exhibition there will be also eco-seminars, films on environmental topics, rock and classical music concerts, etc.

We are open to cooperation and will be happy to get to know your ideas and suggestions.

http://www.davosstudio.com/Call%20For%20Entry.htm
environmentalexhibition@gmail.com
Thank You.

Update: Save Teghut Forest! Puppet theatre at Nubarashen special school #11

Thanks to vhovhan who informed me about their intention to take a puppet theatre to Nubarashen special school #11. This is a group of young activists whose initiative is to bring change about the everyday life of these children and not only. Incidentally, this is also exactly the group of young people who rose their concern about destruction of Teghut Forest with the purpose of exploitation of the ore mine by the Armenian Copper Program (ACP). Recently this group visited Teghut Forest to see it personally and talk to the dwellers of adjacent areas. A young activist Ovsanna posts her impressions and discoveries:

We used to think that villagers were against forest destruction because they care about their health, but in reality they were happy, because now they could have work. They didn’t know their children could develop health problems from the mine and they didn’t care about it. I didn’t even speak about the trees and animals. It would be useless to talk about animals when people don’t even care about their children. But, no, they told us, they do think about their children. The mine will give them an opportunity to earn money and send their children to Yerevan city. They were also falsely informed about the number of trees to be cut down, because when we asked them if they knew how many trees will be cut, they answered “100”. In reality, over 170.000 trees are going to disappear.
The villagers didn’t believe us when we told them we are just young activist who left our jobs to come and fight for nature. They think somebody paid us to do this.They no longer believe that humans will do something for nothing.
This is a very poor village and a cooper mine is a real “dream” for them. I want to mention the last thing they told us “They give us money, we are on their side. You give us money, we will be on yours”. MONEY…. KILLER MONEY!

Why luxury of cars and mobiles!

Always thought that mobile phones are just a means of communication, while cars being that of transportation and not luxury. However, with the current crappy telecommunication provider Armentel disfunctioning for most of the time (still fixing something) and traffic jams caused not that much because of the construction going on in Yerevan, but because of abundance of cars, I’m happy I purchased my new mobile, which now is mainly used as mp3 player, and just on that especially when I get stuck in a traffic jam every day on my way home.

So now I change my opinion – mobile phones must have as much functions and be as entertaining as possible in order to have something to busy yourself when you are stuck in a van with dumb faces looking at each other and shoutings, signals and noises outside, while you can put on your headphones and enjoy the mess outside listening to your favorite music, unless something more interesting is happening inside the “marshrutka” ;).
And just on that, cars must also be very comfortable with all the necessary equipments inside, so that you do not have to get frozen and nervous when waiting in a jam and giving way to stubborn drivers who think they’ll run their turn to break the congestion.

Save Teghut Forest!

Concerns over the possibility of destroying a virgin forest and posing a threat to the adjacent settlements within the next 30-40 years were confirmed several days ago as the government of the Republic of Armenia conceded to the Teghut Copper-molybdenum mine in the province of Lori for exploitation.According to the working plan by Armenian Copper Program (ACP) the exploitation of the ore mine demands logging 357.16 hectares of wood, where the volume of timber will make 57,700 cubic meters.Environmentalists say 170,833 trees will be logged for the exploitation, including rare sorts of walnut, oak, apple and pear trees. In the Teghut woods 55,000 rare and 45,000 valuable trees grow, as well as plants and animal species included in the Red Data List that will likely vanish when the mine is exploited.“Our estimates show about 2,000 hectares of forests will be destroyed for exploitation, creation of the tailing and communication infrastructure. As a result Teghut will become a landslide zone,” says economist Razmik Terteryan.The fuss kicked up by environmentalists somewhat delayed the government’s decision. However, the new Minister of Environmental Protection Aram Harutyunyan, came up with a hasty positive conclusion to the examination set for the issue, thus continuing the work his predecessor Vardan Aivazyan began, despite the minister’s statement for holding another examination within the next one month.The work by the former and the present ministers was approved by Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who visited the mine in the village of Teghut several days ago to attend the set up of the ore mine. According to the PM any kind of mine exploitation would affect the environment, but the company has taken an obligation [to minimize the negative impact]. “I think there is no need to worry, because the RA government clearly defines the rules of the game and we, as the government, will constantly be supervising the second party of the process,” Sargsyan stated.

Read the rest of ArmeniaNow article.

“Culture belongs to everyone” and a bike tour

On November 2, at 1p.m., in front of Moscow cinema, “Unison” NGO organizes an undertaking titled “Culture belongs to everyone”, targeted to directing the attention of the society towards the problem of cultural integration of the disabled.

Take part and contribute to the cultural integration of persons with disabilities in our country!
Via Big Family

Sireli Barekam

Noyemberi 2-in, jame 13:00, Sharl Aznavuri Hraparakum (”Moskva” Kinotathroni harevanutyamb) “Unison” hasarakakan kazmakerputyune anckacnelu e annaxadep akcia”Mshakuyte bolorin e” xoragrov: Akciayi npatakn e ` gravel akciayi ushadrutyune hashmandamneri mshakutayin integracman xndrin, vori lutsmane metsapes xochndotum e mshakutayin ojaxneri fizikakan anmatcheliutyune saylak ogtagortsogh ev ayl sakavasharj mardkanc hamar:
Ays iravitchaki patcharov bazmathiv hashmandamner (inchpes kataroghner, aynpes el arvestagetner) zrkvats en mshakutayin ancudardzin masnakcelu hnaravorutyunic: Mievnuyn jamanak, zargacats erkrenerum hashmandamutyun unecox shat arvestagetner vayelum en hamashxarhayin hambav (orinak Stivi Wonder, Andrea Bocheli ev ayln):
Akcian kbacvi hashmandamneric baxkacats “Nor dzayner” vokal xmbi katarmamb: Baci ayd hamergin kmasnakcen Hayastani estradayin ergichner Arsen Grigoryane, Leyla Saribekyane, Anna Xachatryane,Tovmas Poghosyane ev urishner:Masnakceq akciayin ev Xthaneq hashmandamneri mshakutayin integrume mer erkrum:
Lracucich teghekutyunneri hamar 52 21 70
Tsragirn irakanacvum e HH-um Britanakan Xorhrdi Ajakcutyamb…

Double Stupidity in Yerevan

This is kind of a continuation to the post on Oneworld Multimedia blog about the construction mess in Yerevan and alleged money being spent on digging deep needless holes as if for constructing subways, although the rumor has it that “…the construction is being done now so that the authorities can spend as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time and siphon off much of it…”

However, this allegation may turn out to be true especially when the huge hole dug along Khanjyan street at Khanjyan and Tigran Mets intersection is now filled back.

What I got from talking to some people, no subway will be constructed there as one of the reasons I was told was that only after digging deep into it they found out that the metro passes under that area!

Almost funny, if it weren’t that sad. How on earth could they not take into consideration the fact that they might stumble upon the underground, especially when by simple logics one may presume that the line from Hanrapetutyan Hraparak to Zoravar Andranik stations should pass right under that area!!?? Didn’t they bother to shoot a glance at the metro map before starting their destruction??!!

If that’s not the case, then I wonder, what is a logical explanation for laying a double layered asphalt along Khanjyan street, then digging it deep, then filling it back??

Manic!!
Double stupid!!!

“Symphony of stones” being destroyed

Thanks to vhovhan for driving my attention to this and his email. As Arminfo reports:

ArmInfo. The unique quadras known as “Symphony of stones” are again being destroyed Garni. As it became clear to ArmInfo correspondent, it is already two days that destruction of
unique and picturesque monument of the nature is taking place not far from the pagan temple of the I century Garni, in the Azat river gorge. Two years ago ArmInfo managed to signal in time about a similar fact and to prevent destruction of the unique quadras.

That time Ecology Minister Vardan Ayvazyan promised to involve the stones zone in the administrative territory of Khosrof park, but local authorities prevented that stemming from their own ideas and benefit. Today several local residents supported by the village administration continue doing vandalism, “cutting” beautiful basalt quadras created by the nature and being a subject of vital interest of numerous tourists, and use them like construction material. The head of Garni village administration is responsible for this, but he did not want to have contacts with the press. It is not clear if the government will meddle in this matter or not. The village “businessmen” need these quadras, which are perfect by form and processed by the nature over hundreds of years, for sale. The quadras are so perfect that they may be used in construction of cottages without processing. According to the unspecified information, the head of Garni village administration himself “legally” allowed cutting of the stones. But the latter does not simply answer telephone calls of journalists.

The photo can be viewed here.