YEREVAN - Certain countries are done an injustice by geography. Armenia, a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region, is one of them. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, Armenia is bordered by Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan. With two of its neighbours, Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenia has problems, which have developed into military conflict, as happened with the latter in 1992 over the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. With a population of nearly 4 million, Armenia is, however, striving to stand on its feet and make its independence from the former Soviet Union in1991worthwhile. “We seek to create active co-operation with allsides in the region, including Turkey,” said Armen Gevorkian, Armenia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Territorial Administration. “We believe that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia alone will not create an influential regional market,” he told a group of Egyptian journalists, recently visiting Yerevan. “This is a crucial time for our region due to the outstanding problems. Besides the dispute over the right to self determination of Nagorno-Karabakh, ties between Russia and Georgia are tense because of a territorial dispute.” This ambition to reach out to other neighbours, including those with which it is on bad terms, may explain Armenia's painstaking efforts to create a dynamic economy. Despite its economic, political and military support for breakaway Nagorno, Armenia has not recognised its independence “in order to give current negotiations a chance”, according to a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Heavily depending on its expatriates, known as the Diaspora, Armenia is at pains to make good use of its resources. An estimated 7 million Armenian expatriates are living around the world, with 2 million in Russia, 1.5 million in the US and 500,000 in France. Egypt, meanwhile, has had a large Armenia community since the early 19th century, with Nubar Pasha, an Armenian politician, becoming the country's first Prime Minister. Armenian expatriates are bankrolling development projects at home to revamp infrastructure and construct new schools. “Armenia has great potential in the information technology sector and is trying to be a hub for this industry in the region,” said Gevorkian. The country is also trying to be a regional centre for healthcare, especially in treating cancer. “Armenia has an agreement with Belgium to provide it with the necessary equipment. We have another agreement with Germany to provide us with well-qualified personnel in this field.” Meanwhile, the country plans to set up a robust food processing industry. According to Gevorkian, a free zone is being created near Yerevan Airport to showcase the country's farming products. Armenian products such as drinking water and juices can generate a brisk market abroad. “And though we have no oil or gas, we export electricity and are interested in developing our mining industry,” he added, citing Armenia's huge copper exports. “We are thinking of manufacturing copper in Armenia and then exporting it. Also, manufacturing building materials in Armenia and exporting them could be of interest, particularly to the Arab world, given its growing constructionsector.” Hard hit by the global economic downturn last year, Armenia suffered a 14 per cent decline in growth rates, according to Gevorkian. “This year, we are making efforts to achieve a growth rate of 2 to 3 per cent,” he stressed on an optimistic note.
Tribute to translators
I am not sure if this is something limited to Armenia. What I have learnt, however, is that Translators' Day has been a tradition observed by the Armenians for centuries now. "In the beginning, Translators' Day was a spiritual ceremony, as most translators were saints. Now it is a massive-scale, secular celebration," says Armenian Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan. "The occasion is celebrated on the second Saturday of October in Oshakan, where Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet, is buried," she adds. The invention of the Armenian alphabet (36 letters in all) in 405 AD proved a turning point in Armenian culture, as it gave rise to thriving translations of books from different cultures and by well-known writers. The first sentence translated into Armenian was: “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding.” The extensive translation endeavours covered books of Christianity, which became the State religion, as well as the works of ancient philosophers and historians. Armenian translators are credited with developing arts, education and science through their efforts. A visitor to the Museum of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, the capital city of present-day Armenia, will be amazed at the large number and variety of well preserved manuscripts on display there. The oldest written documents of the Armenian people are parchment relics of the fifth and sixth centuries, petrified manuscripts and parchment fragments found in caves. The Matenadaran Museum of Ancient Manuscripts houses the largest Armenian manuscript in the world: ‘Homilies of Mush', a collection of homilies and sermons, with each page measuring 55.3x 70.5cm, and the whole weighing a massive 27.5kg. The smallest manuscript is a calendar dating from 1434, measuring only 3x4cm and weighing 19g. Armenians say that thousands of rare manuscripts were destroyed due to foreigninvasions suffered in different eras by historical Armenia, of which present-day Armenia comprises only one-tenth. All the same, the art of translation thrived in Armenia, motivating the country to fete translators and the authors of the best-translated books every year. According to Minister Poghosyan, in modern Armenia, Translators' Day is celebrated with literary seminars attended by foreign specialists as well. "The celebrations include an event called the ‘Literary Noah's Ark', in which writers from different countries are invited to stay in Armenia for a fortnight, to get to know the country at first hand, an experience that influences their creativity," she explains. In fact, Translators' Day has evolved into a field day for culture in a country, which boasts a vibrant and inspiring civilisation, illustriously reflected in its people, statue-centred boulevards and rich museums.
