The first time Salpi Boshgezenian left Aleppo for Armenia was for study purposes. In 1989, she graduated from the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University, got married and moved to Holland.

“I have three children. My first child started going to school when he was four years old. One day, he came home with a sad look on his face and asked why he had black hair and the other children were blonde. It was then that I realized that the child was in search of his identity and that he would be searching for that identity all his life. We Diaspora Armenians always have an identity crisis abroad,” repatriate Salpi Boshgezenian said in an interview with Hayern Aysor. Salpi Boshgezenian was one of the participants of the recent meeting hosted by the RA Ministry of Diaspora with the title “The Repatriates of Our Days: The Returnees”.

Salpi Boshgezenian stated that a person living abroad has three paths to take. First, not having an alternative in a foreign environment, he adapts to the life in that environment and gets married to a foreigner. Second, living abroad, he is in a psychological crisis and has health problems. The third path is repatriation.

“If you don’t want your child to be in a crisis, you have to return to the Homeland with him or her. Only in our country and on our land are we able to feel fully Armenian. I came to Armenia because living abroad is temporary, and I want my grandchildren to be born and raised in Armenia. That is why we repatriated in 2014. I wasn’t thinking that I was coming to a heavenly land. I accept Armenia with its good and bad sides.

Since my little daughter faced some hardships after our move, I am currently trying to prevent the danger of assimilation and help her integrate in Armenia,” Salpi Boshgezenian stated, adding that she has gained knowledge and experience as a pedagogue in Holland and really wants to invest that knowledge and experience in the field of education in Armenia.

Gevorg Chichyan