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The Stages Of Emigration From Armenia

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  • The Stages Of Emigration From Armenia

    THE STAGES OF EMIGRATION FROM ARMENIA

    Hayots Ashkhar Daily
    Published on April 30, 2008
    Armenia

    International conference under the title "Emigration Tendencies from
    Armenia to the Russian Federation: the role of the civil society,
    network cooperation and a dialogue between the state and the society"
    launched in Yerevan yesterday.

    Massive emigration from Armenia started from 1988 and the first huge
    flow has been recorded in 1988-1992: this was the first stage of
    the massive resettlement. According to the Head of Migration Agency
    under the Ministry of the Territorial Governance Gagik Yeganyan the
    first stage of the massive emigration was conditioned by certain
    extraordinary factors. The first factor was the deportation of 360
    thousand Armenians from the territory of Azerbaijan, part of them
    left for different post-soviet countries.

    Ecological emigrants - who left Armenia after the disastrous earthquake
    of 1988. And the third flow - the internal emigrants, deported from
    the frontier zones, because of bombings. Those were 72 thousand people.

    1992-1995 was the second stage of the massive emigration from Armenia,
    which, according to G. Yeganyan, was conditioned by economic, social,
    political, and moral-psychological factors, due to the economic
    crises in the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Around
    800 thousand people left Armenia at the third stage of the massive
    emigration, from which 400 thousand people returned. In general,
    from 1988 to 1995 1,2 million people left Armenia, that is to say
    the 1/3 of the population.

    The third stage of massive emigration was from 1995 to
    2001, which stands out by the reduction of the volumes of
    passenger-circulation. Though certain volumes of emigration were
    maintained, linked with the fact that routine-social problems were
    replaced by social-psychological, the process of the reunion of the
    families took place.

    The period of 2001 to 2008 is peculiar with the continual growth of
    the passenger-circulation. According to Gagik Yeganyan every year
    those volumes used to grow by two-digit number, both the entry and
    the departure.

    Assessing the situation Gagik Yeganyan underscored that from 1988 to
    2003, from 800 thousand to 1 million people, that is to say 28-31
    % of the population left Armenia. The key vector of the migration
    flow has been directed to the post-soviet countries, mainly Russian
    Federation - 75%, European countries - 15%, and the USA - 10%.

    Most of the emigrants were aged 20-44, 60% of them were males: "They
    were mostly employment emigrants and they didn't keep entry rules, that
    is why their stay in those countries was illegal." Gagik Yeganyan said.

    Speaking about the emigration policy in Armenia G. Yeganyan
    noticed that the first comprehensive document in this regard was
    "The Conception on the State Regulation of the Emigration of the
    Population" adopted in 2000.

    "For the first time on the state level a policy on emigration was
    elaborated, the helpful and the harmful aspects of the emigration were
    separated. The document underscored certain versions of promoting
    emigration flows deriving from the interests of the state, as well
    as the reduction of the negative influence of separate types of
    emigration." Head of the Migration Agency underscored.

    The conception was reviewed in 2004, when new problems linked with
    emigration flow emerged. A new state emigration policy was elaborated,
    where 10 priority issues were underscored. The document envisaged
    certain goals and means to solve them. But at present, connected
    with the adoption of the European Neighborhood Action Plan, there
    is a necessity to review this conception, because an imperative of
    elaborating a comprehensive national migration program has appeared:
    "The new policy must contain the standards accepted in the EU
    countries, which implies assisting issues linked with employment
    migration. 14 new supremacies are proposed and in June we will
    get the assistance of the EU experts for the new national program,
    with whom we will elaborate the structure and the contents of the
    program. After which working groups will be established, to create
    the program, within 1,5-2 years." Gagik Yeganyan underscored.

    Speaking about the present state of emigration in Armenia and the
    emigration policy G. Yeganyan underscored that the main problem is
    linked with the former emigrants who are returning at present. "They
    are in an illegal state in different countries, and one day they will
    face the problem of deportation. Some people return of their own will
    and the state must assist this process. Many Armenians are willing to
    return but very small part of these people realize this intention. We
    must take measures to assist those who have intentions to return to
    their motherland." Gagik Yeganyan said.
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