Diaspora harbours 'hardline attitude'

Dubai: Armen Kostanyan is an exception in the Armenian community. He's an "original" Armenian, as he calls it, and not from the diaspora that a majority of the world's Armenians constitute.

Speaking in a heavy Eastern European accent, Kostanyan tells of being an Armenian citizen among the many Armenians in the UAE who come from various countries.

He found noticeable differences among members of the Armenian diaspora he has met in the UAE.

"For one, they are much closer to the church," he said. Soviet rule in Armenia before independence in 1991 led society to become strictly secular.

While Armenians in their homeland were made to part with their church, those living as minorities outside Armenia used the church as a unifying factor.

The diaspora, however, is bringing diversity to the relatively new, independent Armenia, said Kostanyan. Armenians who are going to their ancestral homeland to invest and live are bringing with them a piece of their adopted homelands.

"We now see a number of shisha restaurants and American style homes that are being bought by diaspora Armenians. There's a construction boom in [the capital] Yerevan," he said.

Kostanyan also feels that the Armenian diaspora have a more "hardline" approach to Turkey than the average Armenian citizen.

"Some Armenian citizens even go to Turkey on holiday. The diasporic Armenians are the ones who suffered directly in the First World War, and that explains their attitude".