Lilit and Tatev, two Armenian sisters from France who recently spent four days in Armenia and served as observers during the April 2 parliamentary election, talked to me about their experience and the message they needed to convey to the Armenian diaspora.

In a nutshell, the message is that it isn’t enough just being Armenian or sending money to Armenia. The sisters believe that on must, to the extent possible, participate in the political life of Armenia and make a difference.

Lilit and Tatev heeded the call of Citizen Observer to serve as election observers after hearing about the group in a post by Arsine Khanjian urging diaspora Armenians to do just that.

One of Tatev friends convinced her to become a proxy for the Yelk alliance. She gladly agreed.

Both came to Armenia with the hope that their participation would change the lives of residents a bit.

The sisters say they witnessed numerous voting violations. But, they confess, they were powerless to struggle against what the witnessed, given that citizens had made a choice, deciding to accept election bribes.

I met Tatev at the 7/19 polling station in Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia district. She had been introduced to the other observers and became suspicious of one of them. Tatev, an IT professional, decided to closely follow the movements of the observer.

Vahagn Mkrtchyan, serving as an observer with the Free Society Institute, advised her to keep her distance from him.

Lilit, a physician by profession, served as an observer in Yerevan’s Nor Nork district. She says her small group was able to correct several violations, but that there were things they couldn’t monitor.

What Lilit found particularly disappointing was that the Artsakh border fighting of last April and the losses suffered there didn’t serve as a wake-up call for the local election committee members or the voters, many of which were mothers themselves.

At first, she thanked the grandmothers for making it out of the house to vote, but then realized the elderly and the needy were being targeted by those seeking to impact the vote by handing out bribes.

“This election directly spat on the memory of those magnificent young people who were killed in the fighting,” she says. “What was more painful, was that most of the local election committee members were women, Armenian mothers. Despite knowing what violations were being committed by members of the political parties, right out in the open in many cases, they said nothing,” Lilit laments.“ The diaspora must understand that there is a great need for them to get involved in Armenia’s political life. It’s not enough just to be a diaspora Armenian, or an Armenian. We must realize that our children, who were born or are to be born in foreign countries, will only be Armenian with the help of Armenia. It’s this small piece of land that will keep them Armenian. I renewed my passport a few months ago. Sadly, I couldn’t register to vote. I will register and come to Armenia every five years. Five years from now, we won’t be two people but twenty, perhaps 200.”

Something Vahagn Mkrtchyan said really shook Tatev.

“I never expected to hear this in Armenia. He said, ‘Talat should have ended the Armenian race. We are dirt, we aren’t a nation.’ I listened to those words. My grandfather was a Genocide survivor,” Tatev said.

Tatev remembers that as she left the polling station at four in the morning, the local election committee president laughed and told her, “When you get home, send a telegram saying you’re still alive.”

Rather than leaving full of despair, without any thought of returning, the sisters say they are even more committed to the struggle to change the situation in Armenia.

“This was a historic day for me,” says Tatev. “I can’t return home and continue living as before.”

Top photo: Lilit and Tatev Khachikian, at a meeting organized by RepatArmenia