Talk about big Armenian families!

Well the Gevorgyan clan of Gyumri, 11 children in all, is a prime example of one Armenian family bucking the current trend towards a small nuclear unit.

Artyom and his wife Lusineh have been struggling to obtain adequate housing for the kids ranging in age from 17 to 3 years-old.

Lusineh, speaking in the local Gyumri dialect that contains elements of western Armenian, relates their quandary to me.

“I don’t understand this government. On one hand they implore the people to have large families but then, when we request a proper place to live, they chide us for having so many kids.”

The mother of eleven says she’s been given the run-around by the mayor and other top officials.

“Gyumri Mayor Ghoukasyan gave us a dilapidated apartment in one of those “Dos” buildings but we rejected it. You can’t call that place a house,” Lusineh says.

She says that after again petitioning the local municipality, the family was sent to a free charity restaurant instead.

“Sure, it’s a great to eat a meal for free but it doesn’t resolve our housing issue. We have our pride and won’t be going back to the municipality for help,” she says.

The family lived in a tomik (a temporary metal trailer) for 8 long years. They decided to look for a place to rent because the place was just too small for such a large family.

“Nobody wanted to rent us an apartment because of the kids. We finally found this place. The owner rented it to us because it really isn't in great shape. We had no other choice but to take it.”

Artyom, now 38, married Lusineh when he was just 19. His wife was two years his junior.

“Children are a gift from God and we have no right to gamble with their lives,” says Artyom whose brother, with just 6 kids, has a long way to catch up.

Artyom says that except for government assistance, the state affords no other help. He contrasts this to the Soviet era when large families were supported by housing and even an automobile.

“The government would even send families on vacation once a year. I’m not asking that our present government assume all the costs of caring for our kids, just the housing issue. We can deal with the rest,” Artyom says.

The apartment was to house Artyom’s family, which had 6 kids at the time, plus the family of his brother, his parents and their unmarried sister.

Artyom then decided to buy two 9 meter tomiks.

“All 12 of us couldn’t live in the one house. If we had stayed we’d now be 24 all together.”

Back in 2008, the parents sent a letter to Armenia’s president, asking that he personally intervene in their case. They received a reply from the Shirak Regional Authority arguing that they had been allocated a three room apartment that once belonged to Artyom’s parents and which had been damaged in the 1988 earthquake. The government reinforced the apartment and stated that it no longer had any obligation towards the family.

In essence they were told that apartments were only allocated to those leaving the child welfare and orphanage system.

“The day we received that reply we were shocked. They were telling us that we had to die before our kids could get housing,” says Lusineh.

The Gevorgyans get by on a monthly stipend of 95,000 AMD ($220) and the odd jobs that Artyom occasionally lands.

They buy 100 kilos of flour every month and bake their own bread. Last winter they had to purchase 800 kilos of potatoes on credit. Charitable organizations help out with clothing and the electricity bill from time to time.

On May 15, 2011, the Gevorgyans were awarded with a certificate of honor by then National Assembly President Hovik Abrahamyan on the occasion of Family Day.

“They gave us the award and 100,000 AMD. I knew this would be my only chance to talk to the parliament’s president so I grabbed him by the arm and told him about our housing problem,” says Lusineh.

She goes on to say that Abrahamyan told her that she was mistaken and that Gyumri Mayor Ghoukasyan had told him that all such problems had been resolved in the town.

“I was flabbergasted. These officials doubted the fact that we had no home,” says Lusineh.

At the time Lusineh was pregnant with twins. She mentioned this to Abrahamyan who promised that the twins would return to a home that wasn’t rented by the family but which belonged to them.

“Sadly one of the twins was stillborn and the other died ten days later. Hovik Abrahamyan is no longer at his position. His promise was never fulfilled,” the mother laments, adding that her only hope is to once again petition the president.

She doesn’t hold out much hope though.