This dump is located in between the city of Abovyan and the village of Jraber. It's bad enough that the dump is so close to the city, to say nothing of the overall environmental situation in the region, but these days, nothing goes to waste, and this garbage dump supports 40 families. Here's what one man who lives off the dump told us, without changes or comments.

Every day we walk to this dump. There are holes here where there used to be Sirius spare parts, made for the military at the Abovyan Sirius plant, that were thrown out. There is copper and aluminum in the parts. We salvage them, and barely manage to put food on the table. I make some 1,200-1,300 drams (about $2.30) a day, barely enough for bread, pasta and margarine. I can't pay for communal services. I don't get any allowance, not even a pension. I used to work at the Sirius plant. I have three sons - one is in Russia, the other two are with me, they don't have work. From time to time they do odd jobs, and we make ends meet.

People who come here are generally intelligent and educated, but they are out of work. For example, one of them is a former KGB officer. Some are from Abovyan, or Bureghavan. We all know each other. We come here and share our worries and misery. It's the 21 st century-the entire world is living and flourishing, but people like us are coming to this dump. Our president should be in such a situation.

- Do you argue over territory?

No, why should we? Every one collects one thing, one person iron, another glass, the third copper, radio components. We work very properly, though it's true, garbage is garbage. I've come to see if there are any spare parts from Sirius, to sift out what I need. I used to work in the energy department at the Sirius plant; we supplied all the other departments and the region as well with nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen. I was an operator and had a decent salary, but our supervisors are unemployed today, too.

- Would you introduce yourself?

There is no need to tell you my name, everybody in Abovyan knows me. I have been digging in this dump for ten years now, I am 50 years old, I haven't even reached pension age. There are so many poisonous substances here and we inhale all of them. Some 40 people come here. Every man should create, struggle, live his own life, but they're living in a dream-they make millions, but they leave without understanding anything, without doing anything.