People

Compulsory or inherited emmigration?

I don't know what other people do but when I see a famous Armenian overseas I have two feelings. I feel proud and pity. There is no need to say why I feel proud. I feel pity because it is a complex of a loser. I try to udnerstand what would happen if these talented children of the nation were gathered on the 30 thousand kilometers. Later I ask the same question: who is guilty of that? We or the others? I have only one answer to this question: we are partially guilty of emigration but our people are not. The stupid saying that “Armenians stay everywhere they find bread” is not true at all. In fact the Armenians have historically from the old times left their land under inner pressure, which was originated both by the Church and officials. They don’t have developed to the level of understanding that emigration, especially emigration of bright brains is equal to treason against the state.

It’s better to be far from the eyes looking at you

This carousel of ideas started working again when I met the person for whom I had crossed 600 kilometers from New York to get acquainted with. I went there to meet Samvel Badalyan. His name may not seem so famous and it is a pity that the Armenian society does not know him well. He is pretty famous in the international community and is a successful man, but before he would get to this he lived thousands of disappointments in his fatherland. Mr. Badalyan graduated from the Gynecology and Midwifery in Saint Petersburg and become the youngest candidate of this science at the age of thirteen in the Soviet Union. He had a good nose to his profession and doctors saw a good talent in him. Once Samvel told them he was going to Armenia. However, Yerevan received this good specialist with 9 years of study and experience with the worst traditions ever, and even with enmity. If the officials of the government had read the Holy Bible, they would at least understand that even fathers should accept their surrendered child. He was not a surrendered child but a professional doctor with excellent references from Saint Petersburg. It was hard to ignore these facts and eventually he was appointed the general gynecologist of the city shortly. “In Armenia everything was done to prevent my career, fail my work and trip me up. When all their efforts were failed they openly told me to leave the city,” he remembers from his life. Later one of his loyalists told him to be careful of a car accident. The solution was found unexpectedly. The US announced a program for three months training of doctors. The ministry of health of Armenia promptly nominated Samvel Badalyan to take a chance with the studies (you may guess why). It is an old tradition that if one wants to get rid of a man, he should make him go as far as possible, even if promoted.

Why does the US collect brains?

What immigrants fail to do or do during many years was done by Samvel in the university of Columbia in a short period of time. He passed all exams during three months and received a doctor’s certificate. The Americans understood that he was an exclusive person with exclusive merits and skills. America would not become as it is if ignored the bright brains and that is why they catch and attract bright brains into their country. It is the right policy in favor of their nation and the nationality does not matter here. The issue of citizenship of Samvel’s family was solved very fast. He was suggested to choose any place in the country where there was a demand to his profession. The center of Gynecology and Midwifery of Syracuse city of the US announced a competition for the deputy chief doctor. He applied for this vacancy and won. Later he became a shareholder of the clinic, and when the chief doctor was retired he became the owner. Now let’s understand who the “persona non grata” of those times is and what his status is now. To understand this you can open any official information source to read information about him. “Samvel Badalyan, professor. Director of the center for Gynecology and Midwifery of Syracuse city of New York. Surgeon with international recognition. Works on the entire territory of the US and whole world. Has a great experience in his profession. Professor of the Medical State University. Professor of the US college of Gynecology and Midwifery. Member of the US Midwifery council. Author of more than 45 scientific works. Co-author of books on Gynecology recognized internationally.” Recently Samvel Badalyan was elected as the head of the union of Gynecologists of New York State.

Pioneer of his profession

America is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is not good. Scientists have created unique robot to help injured people. It is good because it also opens prospects for robot treatment as well. The robot-surgeon stands near an injured soldier in Iraq, and the doctor controls from the US. He doesn’t see the face of the person who is being operated on and it seems it is a part of a fantastic movie. Professionals are afraid to operate such robot in a distance because they are afraid of losing the connection. For this purpose they want to operate new satellites. They assure that the connection will be built very soon. In a closer distance the robot can work already and the effect is fantastic. When a hospital in Syracuse city bought a robot in 2005 Samvel Badalyan proved that it was not by chance that he was considered to be a pioneer of his profession. For the first time he used the robot for hard gynecological operations. He worked so much and became so professional that now is considered to be the first specialist in robot surgery of women. A lot of people from all parts of the country come to be operated on by Badalyan.
 
Women are fans of not movie stars only

When you are walking with him it seems that you are walking with a national hero. It seems all people in the city with one million population know the “Doc”. They smile, say hello and make compliments. When you read the letters addressed to him you understand what made these people write such words. Most of them are women who have been cured by the doctor, and in many cases even saved from death. Some letters even write that the doctor made their families happy because at an older stage they could have a baby. In parallel with all this there is an issue of his three children. How fast will they be Americanized in an environment where eventually all immigrants become American? This idea made Samvel to keep the national traditions and living. He has the same logic in the community life as well. (There are 300 Armenians in Syracuse city. It is the third generation of Armenians who migrated. They don’t speak Armenia. All they are intelligentsia representatives. They don’t have a school either. There is a church under the Echmiadzin’s cover in this city). Samvel’s opinion concerning Armenia is not like the others when they cry or become happy when they hear about this country because there are facts that don’t let this happen; however he is a great man and he does not have vengeance either. Instead of it he is led by the ideas of humanism and philanthropy. He did the first benevolent present in 2000 and sent breast cancer facility to Stepanakert. Together with doctor John Bilizekyan they found some expensive medical facilities, took to Yerevan, organized a press-conference to prevent the illnesses. He also delivered a lecture to the Armenian gynecologists. He does not forget the Alma Mater clinic in Saint Petersburg either. He organized an international symposium there last year. “It is impressive to teach people who have taught you,” he says.

A new medical school to be established

There are doctors who are talented to be doctors. There are not many of them. They have missions to do in this life. Samvel Badalyan is one of those rare people. His credo is the following: “Prevent sicknesses, neutralize in the host.” This laconic principle needs scientific eye, risk, fantastic hard work. Samvel has these skills and merits. Despite his colleagues he has a privilege as well. He can successfully combine the Soviet and American experiences. The results are great. His methods are used very often and he is becoming a founder of a new school. He has still many years to live and he is 50. His ideas about the Armenian healthcare are interesting as well. He believes the Russian healthcare, despite the good traditions, is less developed than the American one by 20 years, and the Armenian healthcare is less developed by 20 years than the Russian one. “What should we do? Should we flip or die?” I asked him. “No need to die; you should reform the healthcare system, even it may be a revolution in the healthcare system,” he said. He believes the best system of development for our country is the American one as the parameters are good. “The first step to this goal is bringing American doctors to Armenia,” he said and mentioned that he did not mean American Armenians only because he believed if needed many American doctors would join him. “It would be helpful to establish an American hospital with an autonomous regime in Armenia. There are a lot of ideas. But there is a big, very big obstacle which prevents these plans to come true: this obstacle is the corruption and violation,” says Samvel.

After all these things again I come to the same question: whose fault is that? Again I get the same answer. We are the ones that are guilty. It is time to go out of this deadlock which is strictly against the statehood.

New York