Tens of thousands of Armenians living in Georgia's Javakh province say their economic problems are being ignored by the country’s government. They warn that bringing about change could be difficult, as many have stopped speaking out, fearing recrimination.

100,000 Armenians are living in the southern Georgian province, where jobs are scarce and poverty rates are high.

“Most Armenians living there do not speak Georgian. They are Georgian citizens, they live on the Georgian territory. This is the first obstacle to integration in Georgia,” explains Suren Manukyan from the Museum of the Armenian Genocide in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

But during Soviet times and in the years that followed, the problem of language did not exist. Many people worked at the Russian military base on the outskirts of …