some family friends flew in from Yerevan a couple days ago and came to visit, here’s some of the things they said that really stood out to me:

1.) they really hate diasporans that go to Armenia acting like they’re better than them because they grew up in (they specifically said) Russia or Glendale, and they feel like the diaspora sometimes treats Armenia like how a white missionary would treat a third world country.

2.) the fight for irredentism needs to be put on hold while the actual borders of Armenia remain under jeopardy by and : reunification is a pipe dream if we can’t even take care of the land we still have. Focus on protecting Syunik and our remaining lands first.

3.) The sentiment re: Pashinyan is the same as it is in the diaspora, and people who support him or work for him need to stop acting like saviors of Armenia when they don’t even live there or have a political career. He couldn’t even give our soldiers blankets.

4.) Diasporans should repatriate and get jobs in govt because Armenian politicians are still stuck in a post-Soviet bubble and are too self-serving, they’re either thieves (old regime, Koch) or stupid traitors (Pash) and can’t adequately protect or grow Armenia.

5.) The preservation of what remains of Artsakh and Armenia itself, the rescue of our POWs and bolstering our military in any way possible should be everyone’s top priorities. Nothing was done to ensure we kept Artsakh and we were doomed to lose it. We can’t lose anything else.

6.) Kilikia is the best beer you’re going to find in Yerevan.

7.) Every diasporan has an obligation to learn Western Armenian if they have WA heritage. The language is dying and we need to keep it alive by any means necessary.

8.) (this guy’s nephew was on the front lines): we don’t prioritize soldiers enough outside of returning POWs and we need to focus our attention on them more. There are soldiers with PTSD and disabilities that can’t get adequate care and the govt forgets them.

9.) overall, they love us and are proud of our hard work but they think we need to pay attention to Armenia itself more and hear what the people are saying instead of assuming we know what’s best. We are a huge asset to Armenia & should align ourselves more strongly w/its people.