Of Mice and Men
The following article appeared in The Washington Post today.
From Hosting Mice to People, With Help From Marriott
Monday, February 6, 2006; Page D02
In the cold, dark winter of 1993, checking into the Hotel Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia, was an exercise in fortitude. The country had barely any fuel, and word was that mice, seeking a source of heat in freezing hotel rooms, would snuggle up against the warm bodies of sleeping guests.
The squeamish contrived to share a room, figuring they had a 50-50 chance that the mice would head to the other bed. Bundled in their coats, guests found their beds by flashlight — the city had electricity only two hours a day. A daily splash of perfume took the place of a shower.
You may think this is yet another insensitive, stupid little article written by an ugly American… It’s actually a praise for the Hotel Armenia Marriott.
By 1997, the hulking Hotel Armenia was offered for sale, chock full of Soviet baggage — often resentful service, lumpy twin beds in every room, bathrooms with gaping and scary holes. (Where did they lead? What might they harbor?)
A group of Armenian Americans, called A&K Development Corp., stepped in, buying an 80 percent stake in the hotel from the government for $10 million and planning an ambitious transformation.
The Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. government agency, provided an $18 million loan. The International Finance Corp., an arm of the World Bank, invested $4.9 million. And Marriott International Inc. of Bethesda took over management, training employees and supervising the renovation, which began in 2001. The name Marriott only went on the hotel in 2004, when all was complete — and the mice had found new lodgings.
I did not understand the purpose of the article; it was not covering hospitality / tourism, US financial aid, Diaspora investment or Armenia in general.
Why was this short piece written?
Comment by Art — 2/7/2006 @ 11:32 am
It’s just a random article.
Comment by Hovakim — 2/8/2006 @ 5:07 am
If A&G Developement Corp. had the slightest patriotic
feeling towards Armenia and/or the humaniterian cause of our jobless youth in the counry, rather than investing their money on a hotel, they would’ve think of creating some training and productoin facilities in order to give some hope to the younger generation.
I am ashamed to say that almost 95 percent of the goods in Armenan markets are from Turkey, which a shame to our government and those who could really
afford to establish some factories in the fatherland.
“Don’t give them a fish, but teach them how to fish”
Comment by Mack Vahanian — 3/25/2006 @ 4:12 pm
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