In its April 13, 2009 edition, “Hetq” wrote about the five member family of Artsakh war veteran Levon Gabrielyan. The family resides in the village of Margara in Armavir Marz. (See: The Gabrielyans – A Family in Dire Straits on the Armenian-Turkish Border). Let’s remind readers that the parents and three children live in an earthen house that can collapse at any minute.

Due to an unpaid electric bill of 229,725 drams, the utility company went to the Armavir Regional Court and requested that the 1,500 square meter parcel of land owned by Mr. Gabrielyan be seized in lieu of payment. On March 3, the court agreed to the seizure of the plot. While many readers were moved by the plight of the family, government authorities remained indifferent at first. Later, “Hetq” sent a letter to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, requesting that his office assist in getting the family’s paperwork in order so that they could receive state assistance. This prompted the Armavir Regional Authority and the Margara community mayor to finally take action. The article also caught the attention of Margarit Hovhannesyan, Director of the Tufenkian Foundation’s Yerevan office. We paid a visit to the Gabrielyans on May 15. When we got to the village, Levon and his wife Silva were planting tomatoes in the family plot. Silva immediately recognized us and let out a big smile. We asked her what had happened in the month since we last saw her to elicit such jubilance. “We’re happy because everyone knows about our plight due to your article. People now realize that folks like us, down on their luck, actually exist. Otherwise, not much has changed for us. No one has expressed a desire to help us out. At least the community mayor has helped us out with our documents so that we can receive some assistance. My husband’s papers proving that he fought in the war and was seriously wounded are gone. Let’s see what’ll happen. We haven’t received anything from the government for all these years. If our papers are put in order we might get at least something,” she said. Levon added, “At the regional office, they told us to get the paperwork in order and that they’d facilitate getting us some assistance. The community mayor is now helping us out with the paperwork.” Mrs. Silva was still hopeful that the government might allocate them with a normal house, albeit small, given her husband’s war record. Silva told us that she had sent a letter to Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and that he had responded asking them to come to the ministry with whatever documentation they had. Neighbours vexed that Gabrielyans talked to reporters “They’re already calling me a fraudster behind my back in the village. People that don’t have a clue as to what’s going on are spreading rumours. The mayor doesn’t say a word in response, so the big mouths jabber on. We feel terrible that people see us as a family of tricksters. But I say to myself – what have I done wrong? I just sent a letter to some officials. I told the tongue-waggers that I said nothing against the mayor. They also didn’t like the fact that I spoke to you reporters. I told them what harm was there in talking describing our situation to you,” Silva said with a whiff of sadness. She never mentioned the names of the local back-stabbers. “Whoever read your article and received the letters, they spread the news,” she said. We also visited the village mayor to get news about the Gabrielyans’ plight. Mayor Khachik Asatryan was at the regional office on business and talked to us by phone. He said the regional office was hard at work to resolve the family’s issues. “They personally called me to the regional office and directed me to get Levon’s papers in order. I paid Levon’s travel expenses out of my pocket so that he could get his papers readied. Could it be that the family is cross with me?” he asked in curiosity. When he told him that the family wasn’t angry with him, the mayor continued. “You probably know that there land has been seized. I personally talked to the bailiffs and asked that they go easy on the family until the matter is sorted out. I’m glad that you’ve shown an interest in this family but rest assured we’ll do all in our power to help them,” said Mayor Asatryan. The eldest daughter finishes school this year and hopes to go on to college. “I either want to study programming or child education. I’ve been a good student and study on my own at home. I don’t have the money for private lessons. My sister is now in the ninth grade and wants to be a dentist,” Irina told us. Margarit Hovhannesyan, from the Tufenkian Foundation, promised the family that she’d help out with getting their papers in order and with Levon’s medical check-up if the defense ministry takes the initiative. Due to the wounds Levon Gabrielyan suffered on the battlefield in Artsakh he now faces a host of medical problems; he walks with difficulty. He has blood clot of the foot. Not having the money to see a doctor, Levon used a homemade remedy. This poses a constant life-threatening situation. “When the clot gets really bad I puncture the foot and let out a small amount of blood. It eases the pain,” explains Levon, expressing a degree of disinterest regarding his situation. Armavir Deputy Regional Governor Larisa Mouradyan told “Hetq” by telephone that she doesn’t believe that Levon’s home cure really eases the discomfort. The poor have only themselves to blame “He says that’s what he does. But have you seen him draw blood that way. I’m a doctor and I’m telling you that if he punctured his foot the blood flow would be near impossible to stop. He’s never come to us asking for medical assistance. If he does so we’d get him on the government waiting list for care. As regards his socio-economic situation, I should tell you that we’ve invited Levon and the Margara mayor to the regional office and have discussed the issue. I should tell you that the widowed wife of Levon’s brother lives in the same courtyard cultivates the land and lives well. If a villager with some land cannot make ends meet, well that’s their problem. No one lives poorly in Margara. Only the lazy ones go hungry,” said Larisa Mouradyan. Mrs. Mouradyan failed to mention that Levon’s sister-in-law is a teacher at the village school and makes a good salary. As to the rosy picture she painted regarding Margara residents, we suggest that she actually steps foot in the village at least once and see with her own eyes the conditions faced by the villagers and why the community cannot get on its feet. Sadly, we’re convinced that even after such a visit Mrs. Mouradyan would still claim that the residents of Margara are well-off. We asked Mrs. Mouradyan if the Armavir Regional Authority was contemplating offering financial assistance to the Gabrielyan family. “It’s the community municipality that offers financial help. The regional office doesn’t have the budget to provide assistance.

Editor – There are numerous socially vulnerable families in Armavir Marz that have been deprived of aid and pensions due to incomplete paperwork. It appears that no one at the regional office has ever thought about assisting these families living within its borders. Nor has the Margara mayor. It has never crossed the mayor’s mind that he can get their papers in order in order that residents of his community would not feel so despondent and dejected. It took a decree from on high to take an interest; an interest not in the people, but in holding on to his position. What is the cost of such “forced” interest? There are other families like the Gabrielyans living in Margara. It seems that the only way to improve their lot is for reporters to visit each family in need, write an article about them, and then send a request to the minister. If this is the case, then what is the rationale for the tax-paying public to support all these government institutions and get back nothing in return?