Raw & Unfiltered

In the second of a two-part series on the need for a human rights-based approach to policymaking, human rights activist and researcher Anahit Simonyan talks to a number of ministers and a deputy minister about field specific issues such as poverty, discrimination, health protection and more.

Over 5500 senior citizens in Armenia who are not eligible to receive a pension, are on welfare. They receive about $50 US per month. Armenia’s minimum food basket, according to the Ministry of Health stands at about $72 US per month. In this photo story, EVN Report tries to understand how these pensioners survive.

In the public discourse, sex is often seen as being diametrically opposed to almost everything - religion, love, traditional values, even the motherland. With this in mind, many will be shocked to hear that sex does exist in Armenia, Sona Martirosyan writes.

Is it in the mutual interest of Armenia and the diaspora to build a stronger connection with one another? A recent study on Armenia-Diaspora relations sheds new light on perceptions, opportunities and possibilities, one of which might be the creation of a diaspora-portal as a web-based sorting database for establishing connections.

In 2018, the Armenian people were swept up in a nationwide movement that would come to be known as the Velvet Revolution. Photojournalist Eric Grigorian took thousands of photos, documenting and capturing images of ordinary people who came together to achieve the extraordinary. Through his own words, Grigorian tells the story of the revolution and the moments in-between.

Over a decade ago, Armenia’s government launched a pilot project called Deinstitutionalization of Orphanages. The initiative, which also sought the creation of a Foster Family program was not successful for many reasons, but mostly because it was never really child-centered. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is set to change that.

What happens to those senior citizens in Armenia, who don’t have families who can or want to take care of them? There are only a handful of public and private old age homes, most suffering from lack of funding and poor services.

Lack of awareness, knowledge and education is a contributing factor to malnutrition in Armenian children. Gohar Abrahamyan looks at the research and speaks with parents and experts in the field.

Dr. Aram Hovsepyan examines how people can sometimes fall victim to hidden violence by those closest to them. While this case study is an extreme one that led to implausible results, it highlights the need for education, awareness and most of all, compassion.

Many took the harrowing experience with them to their graves. Others would share only fragments of memories. All of them suffered unimaginable loss. They were the orphans of the Armenian Genocide and their stories must never be forgotten.