Hovhannes: “Entrepreneurship is much more difficult than it seems” 

“I came to Belgium in 2005 because I couldn’t make ends meet on my salary at the canning factory back home. I was often paid in tins and juices, which I then had to sell. For 14 years, I had all kinds of jobs in Belgium. In 2009, Alla joined me; her mother took care of the children in Armenia. Initially, we wanted to stay, but we missed our family. We returned in 2020, hoping that life in our home country got better. But not really. In that same year, our sons had to fight in the war for Artsakh. Thank God, they survived.” 

Magnum photographer Carl De Keyzer travelled on assignment for Fedasil to Armenia, among other places, where he captured how returnees such as Hovhannes start over once they are back home. Texts by Catherine Vuylsteke.

Discover all the photos from the exhibition Re\𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 until November 23 at the Winter Circus in Ghent.