By AmalyaMargaryan

I met 7-year-old Gor during a visit to Tandzatap, a village in Armenia’s southern Syunik Province.

“My mom has gone to Goris, but I stayed behind. I love my school and the teachers and the love me back,” says Gor who now lives with grandparents in the village with a population of just 69.

During our conversation, Vrezh, Gor’s friend, joins us. “We play together and go to school together,” Vrezh says.

Gor and Vrezh

Tandzatap, located along the Vorotan River gorge in the Syunik Mountains, is one of the smaller villages in Armenia. Only ten pupils attend the village school – six boys and four girls. Gor and Vrezh are in the second grade.

We decide to walk through the village, and the boys show me their houses, built alongside one another, the village chapel, and the newly renovated cultural center.

Gor tells me that he’s the eldest of five brothers and the only one to have moved to the village from Goris, where his parents and the rest of the family resides, to live with his grandparents.

“I help my grandparents. My grandfather and I are cleaning out the clubhouse,” Gor says.

Vrezh wants to become a football player and a karate champ. When I ask if he’s taking karate lessons, Vrezh says, “No, but I can fight. I can throw Hovhannes and Gor up into the air.” Gor chimes in, “Give me a break. I just have to pull your foot and you’ll fall.”

As we’re talking I hear a noise from behind. It’s Lernik, another village boy, riding his bike and showing off his moves. Gor tells me that his grandfather has promised to buy him a bicycle when he gets a bit older.

“It’s 20,000 drams, but I want two. One big and one small. This big…” he says showing me with his outstretched hands.

There’s a one story red-roof building off to the side of the road. Gor says it’s the school. “It’s Sunday, so it’s closed,” he says.

We return to the place where the boys like to hang out, playing cards or just shooting the breeze. It’s a small shack with tin walls.

“We play football outside but it’s too muddy now. We play in the summer when it’s dry,” Vrezh says.

Gor and Vrezh have diverging views regarding the village. Vrezh says he plans to leave for Kapan when he gets older to look for work. Gor has made a promise to himself never to leave Tandzatap.

“I will stay here. Later, my brother will join me. We’ll live here together and help my grandma and grandpa. We’ll work together,” says Gor.

(Amalya Margaryan is a fourth year journalism student at Yerevan State University)