Are all those who legally move to Armenia Repatriates? Հայրենագա՞ղթ թէ Հայաստաբնակ

Vahe H. Apelian

Needless to say, repatriation has been a core value justifying perpetuating the post genocide Armenian Diaspora. It made the dream or the great vision that one day Armenians will gather in Armenia at the foot of the Mount Ararat. In the words of the prophet from Payajuk, Raffi:

Will a day come, or a time,

To see a flag atop Massis

And emigre' Armenians from everywhere

Head toward their beautiful fatherland?

But what I am going to attempt to expand is not the issue of repatriation but on its proper terminology in Armenian in this increasingly complex and complicated world.

I imagine that most know that Armenians have a birthright to legally move to Armenia.

I quote from the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs “Procedure of acquiring Armenian citizenship is simplified for ethnic Armenians, for spouses of Armenian citizens, for children of former Armenian citizens ……….: “

 I also imagine most know that the Republic of Armenia offers different statuses for legally moving to Armenia. One of the more popular is the special passport. I quote Wikipedia: “The special residency passport of Armenia is a document granted by the Prime Minister of the Republic. It has a validity of 10 years and can be extended continuously, by 10-year increments. The special passport is not a regular passport and its holders are not granted citizenship of Armenia” 

Armenia also offers permanent residency. I quote from the same source: “Permanent Resident Card is issued to a foreign citizen when  the applicant is wife/husband or relative (brother, sister, grandparent, grandchildren) of an Armenian citizen or of a foreign citizen holding a Special Passport of Armenia……” The details may be read in Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The holders of special passport or permanent residency are privileged to exercise most of the rights of the citizens of Armenia but are exempted from compulsory military service. Naturally, those who are not within the compulsory conscription age, would have been exempted anyways. Also, the holders of special passport or permanent residency do not vote.

It is no secret that many who move to Armenia prefer that special passport, much like I do. Naturally, those who moved to Armenia with that special visa retain the citizenship of the country of their origin.

The Armenian lexicon has not caught up to make that distinction. It utilizes the same terminology of Hayrenatarts - Հայրենարձ, when referencing those who have legally moved to Armenia as immigrants or to those who have chosen live in Armenia as holders of the Special Armenian passport or are permanent residents per the dictates of the law. 

We should bear in mind that the term Hayrenatars - Հայրենարձ has a distinct sentimental connotation implying to live up to the national hymn – “Mer Hairenik”. Nairi dictionary translates  hayrenatarts  - Հայրենադարձ, as “repatriation, act of repatriating, resettler; repatriate.”

Merriam Webster dictionary defines a repatriate as follows: “to restore or return to the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship”. None of these qualifications apply to the permanent residents of Armenia simply because they retain the citizenship of the countries of their origin and hence do not legally restore or return to their country of origin. They also are not citizens of Armenia, and they do not have the same allegiances towards Armenia its citizens have in way of doing their compulsory military service and in voting to elect the government that will govern them by their consent, the hallmark of democracy. 

To explain myself let me say that it would wrong to refer to the permanent residents of the United States, those who hold the “Green Card” of my days, which I also held, and address them as citizens of the United States, until they take their oath of citizenship, as I did.

It would be also wrong to address those who legally reside in Armenia not as a citizen, but as permanent resident, as repatriates, Hairenatarts - Հայրենադարձ. They may be referred to as Hayastapnag – Հայաստաբնակ, as residents of Armenia. Or, we should clarify Hairenatarts - Հայրենադարձ, as immigrant - գաղթական կամ Հայրենագաղթ, or as legal resident Հայաստաբնակ։

It is fair and right that we make the distinction among those who legally moved to Armenia as immigrants, as Lucy Deukmejian did (see Keghart.com), and those who chose to live in Armenia as permanent residents.