Diana Arushanyan, a 21-year-old journalism student in Yerevan, has strong ties to Nagorno-Karabakh through her family, as her grandparents resided there until recently. She actively volunteers for Ethos, an organization dedicated to supporting Armenian and Ukrainian refugees, and she uses her social media to raise awareness. In her recent interview with Caucasus Watch, she offered valuable insights into the political landscape in Yerevan and the challenges volunteers meet providing aid to refugees.

Would you like to briefly introduce yourself? 

My name is Diana Arushanyan, I just turned 21 years old. I study journalism at the Russian Armenian University in Yerevan, I am graduating this year. I am Armenian from Artsakh (Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh). I don’t live in Artsakh, and I didn't grow up there, but my entire family is from there, and my grandparents used to live there. I used to visit Artsakh every summer and for all the festivities, so I would say that I grew up in two cities, Yerevan and Stepanakert. I am also volunteering and trying to help people as much as I can. I don’t want to position myself as a writer, but I write and publish my pieces on Instagram and social media. 

Where are you volunteering? 

I am volunteering at Ethos, a foundation that helps refugees from Ukraine and Artsakh.

How is the atmosphere in Yerevan? 

If I share my honest opinion, it is very difficult for me to describe what is happening in Yerevan, since the situation has been very difficult for a long time, since first war that started in September 2020. Yerevan is living in a completely different world and the atmosphere is also different depending on where you go. I can see that people are helping other people, especially refugees. It is nice to see that many activities, like restaurants or clubs, are collecting aid for refugees. 

There are also protests that usually take place in the city center, I have been participating in them. Overall, people don't understand how to react to the situation, and I understand that, because the last war in 2020 and the post-war period that followed made them feel very uncomfortable and now, they are forced to go through that again. People feel completely lost, they don't know what is going to happen with the country next year, or within the next five years, and this is making people very depressed.

What are the main aims of the protests? 

I was participating in protests before I went to volunteer in Goris, a city in Syunik province where refugees were arriving. Before I went to Goris, the main aim was opening a humanitarian corridor for refugees, but currently it is also about our current government. People who are protesting - including me - are against our current government, since we don't accept the way the situation with Artsakh was handled and we are unsatisfied with the position the Republic of Armenia has had in the last three years. I want to specify that I am talking specifically about politics and about our government's position, not about Armenians’ positions. 

The main issue is that we are absolutely sure, considering statements coming from Azerbaijan and Turkey, that the war will start again. It is just a matter of time, and next time it will be on the borders of the Republic of Armenia. From the moment we as a country are showing that Artsakh is not our problem right now, we are making it clear that Azerbaijan can start a war against the Republic of Armenia. We just want to make sure that people in the government understand this, and that they at least prepare for the worst, without trying to ignore the seriousness of the situation. People just want to be safe and, especially, new arrived refugees deserve to live in a safe and peaceful place.

Is Zangezur Corridor the main concern for the territorial integrity of Armenia? 

Of course, because Azerbaijan is constantly speaking about this so-called Zangezur Corridor. They are saying that Yerevan is also Azerbaijan, that all the territory which is recognized as the Republic of Armenia is also Azerbaijan and that they will take it back. This is very concerning, especially in the reality that we live, and especially for Armenians, who saw no help and no support from the UN and from the organizations that are supposed to protect. This is why we are constantly thinking about a new war, and we expect Azerbaijan to start another war.

Do you think the protests might cause the resignation of the government or of the prime minister? 

Actually, we are expecting that for sure. Pashinyan is the Prime Minister of Armenia since 2018, and we have already lost two wars. We are very anxious because our current government stayed in power after losing the war in 2020, and now we have lost Artsakh. Of course, we don't want this to happen again, and we are expecting its resignation.

And what has been so far the reaction from the government and from the police? Has there been a strong repression?

The reaction has been absolutely negative. There is a lot of police. The way police are handling those protests in not correct at all, I saw it with my eyes and there are a lot of videos bringing evidence of this. Our current government has been stating for five years that they were training the police on how to handle stressful situations, especially protests. Still, now we assist to a completely different way of acting. The policemen are hitting people, putting them on the floor and beating them. There are a lot of videos showing it, and it is very scary to see how aggressive they are, but I don't think that this is something that will deter people from protesting right now. In this situation we can’t just go back.

Can you identify a generational dynamic? What is the main age group participating in the protests? 

Well, I would not say that there is a specific age group. But on the second and third day, protests started from university students, who skipped classes and joined the demonstrations. In those days protests were initiated mainly by students from Artsakh, who are studying here at the universities in Yerevan. They are young people who were in a very bad mental situation because they lost their homes. But there are a lot of different ages, I even saw a lot of kids coming with their parents. It is just a huge fight of the entire nation that is tired.

Do you have any idea about the number of people joining the protests? 

I don’t know because different media were mentioning completely different numbers. 

So, right now there are no protests, because in Yerevan people are very busy handling refugees and a lot of young people left for Goris to help refugees, as I did myself.  So, around 25^th September protests stopped but, before, there were thousands of people. 

And what are the main challenges in helping refugees? What are like the main humanitarian concerns?

I am studying journalism and since 2020 I have been writing researches about refugees from Artsakh, as we already had a lot of refugees from cities in Nagorno Karabakh that were seized by Azerbaijan in 2020. I was analyzing the way our media presented the situation. Back then, I already used to volunteer helping refugees, I saw the way the situation was handled, and I was already writing that the assistance provided by the state was not sufficient, because people received some financial help for three or four months and then they were fully left by themselves to handle life, find a job, find a place to live. Three years later, I expected my government to be prepared for another wave of refugees, since the situation in Nagorno Karabakh was very difficult and news reported that the war was imminent. Still, our government didn't really prepare. 

I could see the lack of preparedness by my eyes, on the first day of volunteering in Goris. Until that moment, as I know, the government had been stating that everything was ready, including having accommodations available for people in Syunik, the region where Goris is located. 

While volunteering, I spoke with many people who didn't know where to stay because the government instructed them to go to Goris without providing further clarification. There are a lot of refugees who have to find places by themselves, because there are not enough accommodations. We didn’t have a place for them to stay, there was nothing like a roof or a place to sleep. Our government was absolutely not prepared. People in Goris and from other parts of Armenia just started helping refugees by themselves. This is very good, of course, because people are kind. But meanwhile, I just don't understand: what is the way to handle the situation with refugees that our government is showing?

How did you manage to help them like finding accommodation? Were you looking for accommodations in Yerevan, for example?

With the foundation I'm working at (Ethos), we were just distributing humanitarian aid and registering them, so that we will be able to stay in touch with them. However, it was extremely difficult for them to find accommodation, because on the first day Goris was already full. While the first two or three thousand people were coming, there were already no hotels left, no houses left, nothing. Hence, most of the refugees went to stay at their relatives’ places or rented places for money. This is not acceptable for me, because the government’s assistance was so scarce that there were thousands of people who needed to find accommodation by themselves.

Is it more challenging now than in 2020? With the war in Ukraine and people arriving from Russia and Ukraine to Yerevan, perhaps prices and rents have increased?

Yes, I would definitely say that the prices increased a lot. In 2020, it was very difficult for refugees to find a place, but now it is even worse. The rents are five or ten times more than they were in 2020, and I'm not even talking about Yerevan, I'm talking about Armenia overall, in different cities. It is very complicated for them because they have been under blockade for nine months and a lot of people couldn’t work during that time. Now, they arrived with lack of money, and it is very complicated for them to rent a place, especially in Yerevan.

Are there people that ended up homeless because of the situation?

All the people who arrived are homeless officially because they had houses in Artsakh and now, they don't. Moreover, the places that government is providing are temporary, not permanent. For now, there are no programs for providing apartments for refugees, or a permanent place. All the places where refugees are staying are temporary. It is for some months and then you need to find a place by yourself.

In terms of humanitarian aid, what were the things people needed the most when they arrived in Goris? 

When we went to Goris, we brought humanitarian aid - like food and noodles - something that you can keep for a long time. However, when we arrived, we realized that mostly people just didn’t have any place to sleep, which made cooking impossible. The most needed thing was blankets, because they were struggling with the cold, and they didn't know where to go. Even if they were given a temporary accommodation, they didn't have blankets there. We were providing blankets and we also started cooking noodles on-site. Giving them food was crucial because they were starving in a blockade for nine months, they needed to eat something. Right now, most of the refugees found places to stay by themselves, so the most needed thing is food that you can keep for a long time, hygiene, and blankets.

Where do you think they will mostly relocate, in Yerevan or in other towns?

Just a couple of hours ago, I was checking the Armenian map to see where refugees are mostly going to. It's mostly Yerevan and Kotaik, its neighboring region. Mostly people will come to Yerevan because they were under attack for a long time. They were blockaded, they didn't have access to things everyone should have access to. It is understandable that they want to come to Yerevan because they have children and students needing to go to school and to university, and Yerevan is the best place to do that. But I think that mostly the refugees will eventually emigrate from Armenia, reconnecting to their relatives who live for example in other post-Soviet countries.

So, do you expect a wave of migration to Russia? 

I think yes. 

How do you think the current situation will affect relations among Armenia and Russia? How did the Russian community living in Yerevan react to current events? 

I will start from the people who relocated to Armenia from Russia. While I was volunteering, there were a lot of volunteers who relocated from Russia, and they were helping a lot. If we are talking about people who live in Armenia, the Russian community here is helping a lot. I see them at the office in Yerevan and there were also a lot of Russians in Goris, trying to help refugees. So, regarding the Russian community here, I really cannot say anything in a bad way because they helped a lot. 

If we speak about the relationship between the Republic of Armenia and Russia, I am kind of confused. There are the people of Artsakh, who went back to Artsakh in 2020 under the guarantees of Russian peacekeepers to be in peace and safe at least until 2025. They feel very disappointed because nobody – and, especially, Russian peacekeepers - really protected them from the aggression of Azerbaijan. So, people of Artsakh are very mad at everyone. Of course, it is because of their mental state being bombed and starved for nine months, it is very understandable to be angry. Right now, they just feel like Russian peacekeepers promised to be peacekeepers but were not. 

About Republic of Armenia and Russia, they have very complicated relationships. So far, I really don't know what is going to happen with that. I also really don't know how Russia will be handling this situation and how it will be influencing Armenia.

And since you are studying journalism. If you had to describe the media environment in this moment in Armenia, how would you do it? How would you say different media are describing current events? 

Different media have completely different visions depending on their political views and on the source of their finances. I can see that, according to some media, the government would be fully assisting refugees with everything they need, but it's not true. I read a lot of articles which make me very mad as a student of journalism. The way many media are describing the situation with refugees is also completely negative, as it makes people very anxious about the future and about the war that might happen in the Republic of Armenia. Some media even adopt a negative rhetoric about refugees, making differences between Armenians from Artsakh and Armenians from the Republic of Armenia, which is also absurd. I really wish that someday these media will give clarifications, recognize that these are refugees and call for the government to deal with them.

Why do you think they are making a distinction among Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenians? 

This is fully my political opinion. Since 2020, our government has been trying to pass the message that people of Artsakh are some other people, that the war is their problem, and they should deal with it by themselves. I also spoke to people of Armenia, who were not anyhow supporting the government because Artsakh is Armenia for us, and how is it even possible to say that Artsakh people should deal with their problems by themselves? Our government has been giving this picture for three years, passing the message that to solve Armenia’s problems it is just necessary to give Artsakh to Azerbaijan, so that the war can be over. However, Azerbaijan is constantly shooting to Syunik and Gegharkunik which are both part of the recognized territory of Republic of Armenia. This rhetoric is absurd for people of Armenia. People now are going to protest because Artsakh is not just a territory that we can renounce to and stop the war. This is a huge conflict, and we just don't want our borders to be so unsafe.

Is this mainly at the government’s level? Does it represent only a minority in the public opinion? 

I might be having this perspective because I speak mostly with people who are not supporting the government. There are people supporting the government, but they have been in a difficult situation since 2020 and I really understand the way our government manipulates this idea. We are constantly at war and if the government presents renouncing to Artsakh as the solution to the war, people might just trust and accept, hoping to stop the war. However, this is not the way it works, the war hasn’t stopped, a couple of days ago Azerbaijan was shooting at Syunik again and they will still do that. 

Journalism student of Russian Armenian University Diana Arushanyan interviewed by Eugenia Fabbri, young professional in EU, Caucasian and Central Asian affairs