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Grisha Balasanyan

Who is to Blame? Eight Year-old Vardan Hasn’t Seen the Inside of a Classroom

17_08-samvelWhen we traveled to the Banavan neighborhood of Vardenis to visit the family of Samvel Poghosyan, the kids were fighting over a bottle of “matzoun” bought at the store. Grabbing the bottle, each was trying to empty its contents on the plate in front of them before the others. The parents and four children live in a building whose residents had complained to “Hetq” days earlier about how the government treats their concerns with disregard. (See: http://hetq.am/am/society/vardenis-6/)

“You can say that we are renters here. We petitioned Serzh Sargsyan and he said to go to the Regional Administration. I went there and they sent me to the Department of Social Services. They sent me somewhere else. My papers have been on file with the Regional Administration for three years and nobody takes responsibility,” Samvel complained to “Hetq”. Staffers at the Gegharkunik RA promised to get back to us soon with details of the case. Samvel has second-degree disabilities. In 1994, during the Artsakh War, he stepped on a mine and miraculously survived the blast. He receives a 50,000 AMD monthly disability pension. “I have four kids and haven’t received assistance from anyone. I’ve applied all over the place, the vets department, everywhere. They all have my name on file but don’t give a damn. They tell me to be patient, that things will work out fine. But how long can I wait; till when?” Samvel asked. 17_08-samvel-1Due to their dire financial straits, the parents won’t be sending their 8 year-old son to school this year as well. He should have enrolled last year but never did for the same reason; lack of money. The boy’s parents held out hope that this year would be different, that conditions would improve and that they’d be able to send Vardan to school. Sadly, things haven’t worked out the way they had hoped.

Vardan’s mother says they can’t afford school expenses

We asked Gohar Yeranosyan, Samvel’s wife, if it was possible to take a small amount of the 50,000 pension and the 24,000 in financial aid that they receive and put it towards the boy’s schooling. “I have four young kids and a husband who’s half a man due to his disabilities and can’t work. We have no home and no hope for the future; that our kids will grow up normal. We live on the pension and help from the Paros organization. Let me ask you something – could you survive with four kids on just what we get? I don’t think so. My girl goes to school and every month I have to pay for this or that. I’m forced to go to the neighbors for a loan. I could hang my head in shame. All I know is that my Vardan is now eight and he probably won’t be going to school until he’s ten. He should’ve gone last year but we put it off till this year. It’s impossible this year as well. What will become of us I can’t say. Kids his age are already in the second grade, but he hasn’t stepped foot into a classroom,” she answered. We talked with Vardan and he told us that he’d really like to go to school but that his parents don’t send him. “I want to go but father says there’s no money. He’s right. There’s no money, so how can I go?” Samvel told us that last year, when he sent his daughter to school, the state was obligated to make a one-time payment of 20,000 AMD to them as a family receiving government assistance. They never paid them the money. “They told me that I wasn’t registered as a town resident; that I was registered in the village of Akunk. But my kid goes to this school and I’ve been living here for a few years now. Now that we need some money they’ll find any excuse not to pay us. They don’t give me this problem when they want my vote at election time. They don’t care where I’m officially registered.”

Vardan begs on the street

Not going to school, Vardan has picked up a bad habit from being idle. He stands on the side of the road and asks people he knows for a handout. He did the same to us. When we got into the car, he ran up to us and demanded some money. When I asked him what he would buy with the money, he ran away. Mamikon Galoyan, who runs the Children’s Rights Division at the Gegharkunik Regional Administration, told “Hetq” that there were no school age children in the region not attending class. When we told him about Vardan, Mr. Galoyan said, “I am glad that you were able to come across a child not attending school. Let me tell you that the parents of that boy have never come to us for assistance. In the first place, it is the local charitable and municipal organizations that must look into the problem. If they cannot resolve the issue, only then must they forward the case to us. I should tell you that they haven’t done so.” Mr. Galoyan assured us that eight year-old Vardan would be going to school come September. “We will visit the boy’s home and evaluate the situation.  We see whether the family actually cannot afford to send the boy to school or are there other factors involved. If the reason is socio-economic and say the parents can’t afford to buy the boy decent clothes then we might be able to resolve the problem with the assistance of this or that international organization.” He stated that it was the boy’s parents that were mostly to blame since they have failed to inform the proper authorities about their problems. Vardenis Mayor Volodya Khloyan also wasn’t aware that there was a child in his community not attending school. “For pity sake, why didn’t they come see me? Tell them to come round and see me. I’ll take care of the matter.”

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