PAN Photo agency and Sputnik Photos, with the assistance of Visegrad Fund, present a photo project about emigration. Three stories about emigrants, those leaving the country in buses and maleless villages.
The project consists three parts: #stayed, #going, and #gone.
#stayed
UNMANNED VILLAGE |© PAN Photo / Arthur Gevorgyan|
Sarchapet village is situated in the north of Armenia, 68km far from Vanadzor, the center of Lori province. The village was established in 1928; it has its own administrative building, school, kindergarten and first-aid post.
Emigration is the village's major problem: about 60% of the population has left. Some of the migrants return in November for a couple of months to celebrate the New Year. These men often have another family in Russia, where they earn a living. The women have to do every kind of work, starting the day at 6 am with taking the cattle out to the shepherd, one of those few men who returned after emigrating either due to poor health or document problems. There are also death cases.
#going
FROM A TO A |© PAN Photo / Aram Kirakosyan |
Several times a week buses transport from 40 to 50 job seekers to different Russian cities. Most of them do not return and a mini bus brings only 10-20 people back. The journey takes about 30 to 40 hours; the buses cross two borders, making numerous stops for smoke breaks.
#gone
ON LINE |© PAN Photo / Inna Mkhitaryan|
All these people have left for a better life. Some are irritated with the neighbors, the others complain of working conditions. Policemen, bad business partners, lack of perspective are cited among the reasons. Some are pleased with the education they got but don't want their children to study in Armenia. There are also people who are satisfied with their life here but wants "something better" abroad. Demands are different, the questions are the same: to leave or not, where to go and what to do.
"...Ani used to live in Kantaghbyur village of Armenia's Aragatsotsn province with her son. Hard living conditions forced her to leave for Russia's Tyumen region, where her brother resides. For about a year, she has been living with her brother's family and trying to establish her own business - a bakery, in vain. Now she stays at home for weeks, sometimes going out to buy food from a nearby shop. She misses her relatives and friends in Armenia."
The exhibition
A photoexhibition was held on September 30, 2014 at Dalan Art Gallery.
