A remarkable wedding took place in Shushi, Karabakh, last Sunday as Oliver Rakejian from France and Christine Manian from Romania decided to tie their lives in marriage and live in the Karabakh town. Oliver, who is more known as Armen in Karabakh, had invited to the wedding party his friends that he has made during the five years of his life in this unrecognized Armenian republic.

The couple opted out of traditional wedding dresses – a white dress for the bride and a suit for the groom. At this wedding ceremony the bride and the groom were wearing traditional Armenian costumes. But that wasn’t the most remarkable about their wedding. What was remarkable is that two people from distant countries that do not even border on Karabakh or Armenia have found a home and their happiness there.

Armen, 32, met Christine via Facebook. Christine is an Armenian from Romania, and she very much wanted to go to Karabakh, and that’s what she did once and then decided to stay there. Now, together with Armen, she is trying to establish a small information center for tourists and potential investors in Shushi, a strategic town some ten kilometers to the south of capital Stepanakert.

“People in the Diaspora dream about living in Shushi. So now I live in a dream,” says Armen, a native of Marseilles, France. In 2000 he moved to Paris where he first learned about his roots and got engaged in the charity and cultural activities of the Armenian community. He attended the Institute of Oriental Peoples and Languages (INALCO), studying law.

He came to Shushi in 2004. First he opened a travel agency, which also combined a real estate agency. But business proved unsuccessful, partly because of the complex political situation in Karabakh where investment risks are high. And very few can manage to work according to usual market rules here – in the small Karabakh “business circle” everything has long been divided up, and it is difficult for newcomers to find their place.

But Armen does not lose heart. He has tried his luck in areas that have not yet been divided up. He’s created a website, www.shoushi.nk.am, which provides necessary information for visiting Karabakh. Today, Armen is engaged in the establishment of an organization called “Aghavni” (or “Dove”), which will be working in three directions: providing information to foreign investors, attracting charitable funds and establishing Karabakh’s cultural ties with the outside world. Armen also writes articles for Les Nouvelles d’Armenie Magazine in France.

Recently he organized in Karabakh an exhibition of paintings by French artist Dominique Landucci. Now he is busy arranging a photo exhibition featuring the images of ancient artifacts from the Azokh cave (located in the Hadrut district of Karabakh), which will be shown in one of the French museums.

But most importantly, he has created a family in Karabakh. This is the second “Diaspora” family to have found their happiness in the land of Karabakh. The “pioneers” were Armond Tahmuzian from Iran and Artemis Grigorian from Australia. Now they are raising two daughters and say that their children are growing up as Armenians. But Diaspora Armenians mainly prefer marrying Karabakh girls, whom they take abroad.

Not only the Shushi folks congratulated Armen and Christine on their wedding, but also all of their friends on social networks on the internet. Among them are many who, responding to Armen’s call, at least once visited Karabakh. Many of them lived in Armenia’s small apartment whose doors remain open to guests also after Christine’s arrival.