YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–There is no reliable information on the number of immigran’s from Armenia–which is said to fluctuate between 600,000 and 1,200,000 people. This information was announced during the presentation of the book entitled "Problems of Disorderly Migration of Women in Armenia". The presentation of the book took place in Yerevan Wednesday. The book was published by the "Business Woman" and "Zartonk-89" organizations within the framework of the "Problems of Women’s Movemen’s During Sporadic Immigration" with the financing of the International Migration Organization.
The book is based on sociological polls conducted among 300 women who left the republic for the purpose of finding jobs abroad but later returned to Armenia. 37 percent of the respondents attributed their desire to immigrate to financial hardship–25.7 percent to unemployment–15.9 percent to the unstable socio-economic situation and the rest advanced other reasons.
Only 15.5 percent of the respondents left the country with labor contracts on hand; 40.5 percent through travel agencies; 27 percent at individual invitations and the rest did it through other means. Those who left the country with the aid of tour agencies said that only in 27 percent of cases the jobs abroad promised by the agencies were actually provided; in 34.6 percent of cases the promises were not kept–and in 30.7 percent of cases the major provisions of contracts were breached. According to the surveys–most of women who leave the country range from ages 26 to 45–and 46.8 percent of those are underemployed.
Despite all the difficulties–51.7 percent of women who leave the country and return to Armenia view their trips as successful. Of the women who returned–23.5 percent of emigran’s have been observed to improve their welfare and 3.7 percent have been observed living in worse conditions. The members of the organizations that conducted the polls concluded that the disorderly migration of women in Armenia will be growing in the next five to 10 years.
Attending the presentation ceremony were Director of the Armenian Office of the International Migration Organization Nilim Barua–representatives of the Presidential Human Rights Commission–public organizations and travel agencies.