ArmInfo. In her article, Elinar Vardanyan, a member of the opposition parliamentary faction Armenia, puts the following question: "Who needs Armenia without Armenians?"
She emphasized that in 2023 alone, 36,512 citizens with Armenian passports left and did not return. "This is not just a number, it means that people are leaving the country. The number of those who left with an Armenian passport and did not return over 10 years amounted to 291,327 people.
In 2020 alone, arrivals outnumbered departures by 42,786 due to global restrictions caused by the COVID epidemic. It is noteworthy that almost half of over 291 thousand people left Armenia and did not return over the past three years: 73,521 citizens in 2021, 27,941 citizens in 2022 and 36,512 citizens in 2023," the MP emphasized.
She added that in the last three years alone, 138,024 citizens of the Republic of Armenia have not returned to their homeland.
"Hundreds of thousands of our citizens dream of a green card. The statistics of applicants for it for 2019- 2021 are summarized in officially published US statistics. 602,359 applications for permanent residence in the United States were submitted to the embassy. In 2021, for a residence permit in the United States 160,965 people applied. In such an atmosphere, one can only guess what the number of applicants will be over the past two years," noted Ms Vardanyan.
"The widespread desire of the younger generation to leave is frightening. I don't blame or justify anyone. I don't have the right to do this. I'm simply stating the danger. Leaving your children in Armenia is an extremely difficult decision in the context of the risky and unpromising policy of the current government. The choice is either/or. Either change the reality in and around the country, or adapt to the depopulation of Armenia, which is facing serious security problems. Finding solutions is now the responsibility of each of us. Who needs Armenia if it is without Armenians?" Ms Vardanyan states.