Apr 21 2007
Armenians of Iran
Talking to an Armenian friend, who has relatives in the UK, Canada and the US, he mentioned that many Armenians are emigrating from Iran. I assumed, naturally, that they would immigrate to Armenia, a country that many Iranian Armenians love and appreciate. But I was wrong, most of them immigrate to Canada and the United States. While I had assumed that they would chose to leave on grounds of religious harassment, I was again mistaken. They feel protected in Iran and I was told that in times of unrest in Azerbaijan, provoked by Turkists from Turkey and the other Azerbaijan, the government forces had cared to protect them against the pan-Turkish activists. No, they leave over economical and educational concerns, just like so many other Iranians. So it occurred to me to ask how big the Armenian community is in Iran. According to him, some 30 years ago there were around 150,000 Armenians in Iran, mostly in Azerbaijan and around Isfahan. Their number has declined to below 20,000 and villages that used to be inhabited mainly by Armenians are vacated and left behind. He estimates that there are only 80 Armenians left in Tabriz. It is sad to see how the religious diversity of Iran is declining due to the economic and educational mismanagement of the country.