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Rebuilding from the Rubble of Sumgait

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  • Rebuilding from the Rubble of Sumgait

    Rebuilding from the Rubble of Sumgait

    Friday, February 27th, 2015
    by Serouj Aprahamian


    The majority of the members in the all-female Gomk Agricultural
    Cooperative are refugees who fled from Azerbaijan and resettled in
    Armenia after independence.


    BY SEROUJ APRAHAMIAN

    GOMK, Armenia--On February 27, 1988, Armenians living in the city of
    Sumgait were subject to a brutal pogrom by rampaging mobs. These
    massacres spilled into the towns of Baku and Kirovobad, as well. Two
    years later, Armenian civilians living in the Azerbaijani capital of
    Baku were likewise attacked for seven days straight.

    Over 200,000 Armenians were forced to flee and find refuge in Armenia
    as a result of these incidents and the ensuing war in
    Nagorno-Karabakh. With the trauma of massacre in their minds and
    little to nothing to their name, they were forced to start again in
    the newly independent republic of Armenia.

    Mariam Abrahamyan, a resident of the border village of Gomk, is one
    such survivor. Originally from Baku, she fled with her husband and
    newborn baby, settling in Gomk in the summer of 1988.

    "My husband was a taxi driver in Baku," she explains. "Two men sat in
    his cab one day and he overheard them talking about Sumgait, saying
    the same fate awaited Armenians in Baku. He knew from that day on that
    if we stayed, we would be struck down too."

    With nowhere to hide, the family fled the country with other refugees.
    They arrived in Armenia without a cent in their pocket. They didn't
    even know how to speak Armenian.

    They were given a small house by the government, but transitioning
    from an urban life to a rural one was a major challenge in itself. The
    family had to learn farming, animal husbandry, and adapt to the
    hardships of the countryside.

    "The important thing is that they didn't destroy us," says
    Abarahamyan. "They weren't able to kill us."

    Like Abrahamyan, the majority of families in Gomk are refugees from
    Azerbaijan. The will to survive and stick together as a community is
    what got them through the "dark years" of the early 1990's and allowed
    them to rebuild from the rubble of war.

    "Our happiness and strength comes from the fact that people assist
    each other here [in Gomk]," says Abrahamyan. "Nobody's life is easy
    but all you have to do is pick up the phone and they'll be there to
    help you."

    In 2012, Abrahamyan joined an Oxfam-sponsored initiative to form an
    agricultural cooperative in the village. Together with other female
    farmers, she operates a greenhouse that grows tomatoes, green beans,
    cucumbers and other crops. The all-female cooperative is run
    democratically as a social enterprise, which allocates a percentage of
    its annual funds to social projects in the community.

    The greenhouse has proven to be an efficient source of income and
    empowerment for the residents of Gomk. By pooling their resources
    together, they are seeing that they can develop economies of scale and
    better resolve the socio-economic problems in their village.

    In turn, the solidarity and success of the cooperative has reinforced
    Abrahamyan's commitment to the land. As someone who has felt the
    trauma of massacre and ethnic cleansing, she is quick to emphasize the
    security of living in her homeland.

    "This is where I feel safe and welcome," explains Abrahamyan when
    asked if she has ever thought about leaving the country. "No one in
    the village has any negative intent towards us. Everyone in this
    village is like a family. I feel secure here."

    The story of Abrahamyan and the female farmers of Gomk is one of
    overcoming the carnage of massacre with the will to persevere and
    rebuild. What's more, Abrahamyan and fellow cooperative members are
    leading the way in offering an alternative mode of development for the
    country--one based on solidarity and sustainability, rather than
    individualism and exploitation.

    Twenty-seven years after the Sumgait pogroms, it is important not only
    to remember the suffering caused in those horrific days but also the
    remarkable perseverance of those who survived.

    Those interested in lending a hand to Mariam and the Gomk Agricultural
    Cooperative in their current drive to purchase a mini-tractor for
    their greenhouse can make a secure online donation today.


    http://asbarez.com/132229/rebuilding-from-the-rubble-of-sumgait/

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