While the participants of the “Ari Tun” Program were touring the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, I noticed a group of girls near a tree. I approached them and tried to find out why they had gathered there and why they were so cordial to each other. It turned out that the girls, Angela and Armine Arakelyan, Kristine Topchyan, Zhenya Garnetsyan and Angela Khodikyan are close friends and live in Sukhumi, Abkhazia. They attend the local Hovhannes Tumanyan School and study at different levels. The girls said that’s not an impeding factor for their warm and sincere relations. They also said there are many Armenians in Abkhazia, which allows them to preserve the Armenian identity and communicate with the Armenians often. They are members of choirs and dance ensembles. For instance, Armine is one of the dancers of Sukhumi’s Arevik Dance Ensemble. On Sundays, she and her friends visit the newly opened Armenian church located in Gagra region.

They had heard about the RA Ministry of Diaspora’s “Ari Tun” Program for Diaspora Armenian youth’s homeland recognition a lot. Children from their region had participated in the program in the previous years and had suggested that the girls also participate. The girls had started gathering information about the program on the Internet, were motivated and filled out their applications to confirm their participation. They were even more motivated since they were going to be visiting Armenia for the first time ever.

The first thing they saw as they stepped off the plane at the airport was Mount Ararat, and they got very emotional. They feel great and want to visit as many sites as possible so that they can share their impressions with their family, friends and relatives upon their return.

The girls say they’re content with and grateful to the host families and say they are humanist. The girls live with the host families in the Karp village of Aragatsotn province.

Zhenya said she celebrated her birthday in Armenia on July 14 and is very happy. She’ll always remember her host family’s surprise as she came home after the tours and saw a beautiful cake with her name on it. After the surprise, the members of the family invited the birthday girl and her friends to one of the leisure spots in Ashtarak Dzor to celebrate her birthday. They all had a great time.

These are the many surprises that are in store for the participants of the “Ari Tun” Program organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora for young Diaspora Armenians’ homeland recognition…

Gevorg Chichyan