Thursday, March 6, 2008

A Limited Update

Hi Everyone,
( I just sat about 2 minutes trying to figure what direction to take this, so much I could say...)

First of all,
thank you to those who emailed me sending me their thoughts, prayers and concerns. And also to those who didn't email, but who are thinking about Armenia, its people and myself. It's nice to not feel alone.

So here it was I can offer now.
After I wrote my blog, I had some people say that I exaggerated the situation. The fact of the matter is that I, even though I did not know it at the time, happened to be right in the epicenter of the violence. So from my perspective, what seemed like a war was going on and I assumed that other parts of Yerevan were experiencing the same thing.

It turns out that only two streets were experiencing the horrific, escalated events (I am referring to the ones that I described that happened at night) and I happened to live on that same street. Therefore, most people did not hear or see anything of the things I described to you because they were too far away. It was an isolated situation.

Now to correct things that I learned in the last couple days. Armenia is not under curfew like I thought we were, even though Yerevan is officially under a state of emergency for a 20 day period. This means that we are not allowed to gather in groups and forbidden to provide information to the public (like what I am doing right now). For example, this morning utube is blocked for us to put clips on what has happened. Amazing.

Also, what I experienced as rockets, I was told were not actually rockets, even though it looked and sounded like it. They were tracer bullets that is a technique of the military. So I was explained.

So now the situation looks like this:
Absolutely no more demonstrations. The military and police have completely taken over and occupied many public places. This means there are military tanks and the army all over the city. I am purposefully not going to talk about what is being shown on the tv, represented by the media--- represented by the government...

Things are stable here. There are lots of discussions going on about what is the truth, who is to blame. Facts are many stores were absolutely destroyed. Cars were blown up, flipped over, MANY injured, people have died. We still do not know the numbers. To be honest, I doubt we ever will.

I want to give my opinion, but cant right now. I hope that in months down the line, I can really express what I am seeing.

So, please erase the images of war-torn land out of your mind now.It is not that any longer. Although, I sense a huge tension in the air. I am not the only person that thinks the physical danger and destruction is not over. We will see what will happen after this 20 day state of emergency. I think shit is going to go down, I don't know what, but something.

I don't know if this puts you more at ease or the opposite. I hope at ease.
I feel safe right now.

Peace to you all,
Viktoria

P.S. I wrote about how I felt that night I went to sleep with bombs going off and screams ringing in my ears. One day soon, I will share with you.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

My darling Viktoria:
I know what war is.. and rebellions and uprisings. Please, please stay safe... and don't push the envelope.
Have you in my prayers and thoughts... and the whole nation.

Love you,
Ida

Onnik Krikorian said...

I don't think it's fair to say that there are soldiers all over the city. In fact, yesterday I went downtown from Komitas and didn't see one.

Sure, I didn't go to Liberty or Republic Square, but that's the point. Apart from at the two main potential flash points, you don't see solders lurking on every corner.

Indeed, what struck me about yesterday was how many Armenians were out on the street, laughing, shopping, walking, talking. Of course, I didn't also see the soldiers who patrol my area yesterday, but basically, things are very calm and very peaceful.

Sure, will that change? As this confrontation is now a matter of life and death for the opposition and government over and above the desire to come to power through the ballot box, it might well do.



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