June 1 marks International Children’s Day. It is also celebrated in Armenia. This year, a ten-day period from June 1-10 will be set aside for a variety of events in defense of children’s rights. Not all children will be in a festive mood. There are children who live in our midst who for a variety of objective reasons don’t feel that they are full members of society. From a legal aspect, the government has done all possible to see to it that laws are on the books in defense of children’s rights, but in practice the rights of adolescents are frequently violated. Sadly, the government doesn’t pay appropriate attention to the problem. Saro Ignatevosyan lives in the village of Sasunik in Aragatzotn Marz. He is 12 years-old and has been a cripple since birth. From the day he was born, he hasn’t walked and his hands are weak. He has no feeling in his legs. Lusineh, Saro’s mother, told “Hetq” that the boy cannot sleep peacefully at night. “He always calls out - ma, fix my legs, lay me on my side, on my back,” Lusineh says. Saro must always use a wheelchair. He receives a monthly disability pension from the government of 11,000 drams. The government feels the case is closed with the pension allotment. However, it barely covers the cost of Saro’s meals for two weeks. The twelve year-old already suffers psychologically from his impairment and is embarrassed to interact with kids his own age. Mrs. Lusineh says that when she takes Saro outside in his wheelchair he tells her to take him home when other kids approach. Saro reluctantly agreed to talk to us. Saro told us that he loves to study and since he isn’t able to go to school his teacher gives him lessons at home. “I just learned the letters. I love to study and would like to go to school. I like Russian and want to learn the language,” Saro said. Saro’s six year-old brother Mher is also disabled but can walk on his own and only uses a wheelchair infrequently. Mher was attending the first grade in the village public school but the other kids would ridicule and laugh at him and so now the child refuses to go to school. We asked Mher if he wouldn’t like to go to school, play with his friends, and learn things. “I have no friends and don’t want any. I don’t want to go to school because they laugh at me and treat me badly. I want the teacher to come to the house and teach me here,” Mher said emotionally. The boy’s mother confirmed that Mher had been the subject of ridicule at school and that he no longer attends classes. However, no home instruction has yet been set up. We should note that the government doesn’t grant additional allowances for home study. It is up to the school principal and many don’t agree with sending teachers to the homes of children. The five member Ignatevosyan family live in one small room and the grownups are forced to sleep on the floor so that the disabled kids can use the beds. The room is so small that there is literally no place to move around in when Saro is seated on his wheelchair. Guyana Danielyan, who heads the Children’s Right Division at the Aragatzotn  Regional Authority, confessed that there are numerous shortcomings and problems regarding the protection of children’s rights. A lack of adequate childcare centers “There are no child support and care centers in the Marz. When a child needs psychological counseling, they must be sent to Yerevan. Often the parents don’t agree since they can’t always make the round trip,” said Mrs. Danielyan. She pointed out several situations in Aragatzotn where children’s rights are violated. Children are used as pawns in divorced families since each parent wishes to retain custody of the kids. Each parent sets the kid against the other parent and this is a form of psychological pressure. Often times kids of the same age fight with each other to become group leaders and to gain confidence. Serious psychological work must be done in this regard so that adolescents refrain from such crimes. As for children of needy families, I believe that financial assistance is the primary concern that must be addresses,” noted Guyana Danielyan. We asked her if she was aware that Mher had encountered difficulties at school and that he no longer attends classes. “We have organized home study for twenty children in the Marz. However, there are 12-13 year-olds whose parents haven’t agreed to home study. We can’t force them to do otherwise. There are a relative large number of kids in this situation in Sasunik and we are studying the issue. I must confess that I’m not familiar with Mher’s case, but I’ll look into it. Hopefully, various civic groups will get involved in resolving these issues on the occasion of international children’s day,” added Mrs. Danielyan. Marineh Hovakimyan, who heads the Children’s Rights Division in Armavir Marz, refrained from noting the issues of children’s rights in her jurisdiction. On a scale of five, she described the problems at a level of four, pointing out that she put them at a level four out of a sense of modesty. Otherwise, she would have given them a rating of five. “There is also some optimism in my words, but I’ve evaluated the reality. In comparison with other regions, children’s rights are better defended in Armavir,” said Mrs. Hovakimyan. She told us that her department usually receives sixty applications per year. They are mostly requests or letters of inquiry from parents that ask for the personal mediation of the division head. She said that her division has yet to receive any complaints. “Basically, the right of children of needy families to attend elementary school is guaranteed. If the child is disabled, then according to the complexity of the illness and the list of prescribed illnesses by the government, then they either receive home study or attend sleep-away school,” added Mrs. Hovakimyan. We don’t understand why Mrs. Hovakimyan wished to conceal the issues that children face in her region. However, let’s give the example of one family in Etchmiadzin as a case in point. Mariam Barseghyan attends the eighth grade in Etchmiadzin’s High School #9. There are eight children in the Barseghyan family that is practically destitute and often cannot afford to but the kids notebooks. Mariam was aware that June 1 is International Children’s Day but believes that her rights are undefended. “Most of my problems are in school when I have no books or notebooks. For example, I didn’t have a textbook for a month and didn’t have the money to buy one. The teachers gave me failing grades. My algebra teacher failed me for not having a notebook. She treats the other kids fine but is very rude with me. Maybe it’s because I’m poor,” Mariam told “Hetq”. When we approached the algebra teacher, Shushanik Zeynalyan, with Mariam’s story she was upset. She told us that she would never abuse Mariam for not having a notebook. “She has a homework book but doesn’t bring it to school. I merely reprimanded her, nothing more. Several times I have even paid for her notebooks. I know that her family is poor but would never verbally abuse her for that,” said Shushanik Zeynalyan. Parents rush to teacher’s defense It turns out that the parents of Mariam’s classmates heard about the story and about thirty of them showed up at the school the next day to defend the algebra teacher against the charges expressed by Mariam. The parents tried to convince us that Mariam suffers from a psychological problem since the girl doesn’t even interact with her other classmates. My discussion with the parents lasted for two hours during which Shushanik Zeynalyan entered the room. In the presence of the parents she confessed that she had never verbally abused Mariam and she left the room in tears. We were also convinced that the teacher had never abused Mariam when we went back to the Barseghyan house and talked to Mariam. She expressed visible aggression towards those around her. She also felt insulted and constantly stressed that she was poor  and that this was the reason that no one respected her. We spoke to psychologist Karineh Nalchajyan about the problems faced by children and this incident in particular. “This is a multi-faceted problem. Naturally, the government has its work cut out. Observing the problems of the poor and the psychological issues of the disabled let me point out that there are subtle differences. When society regards itself as the “world of the healthy”, it is not too attentive to the disabled and members of society view interacting with the disabled as something less than desirable. This is also an index of society’s morality. The role of the family is also very important to see that the psychological world of the child is completely satisfactory. If the disabled see themselves as incomplete due to their physical disability, then children living in poverty see themselves as flawed from a social perspective. In many cases a sort of psychological self-defense helps. In other words, if I am poor and don’t possess everything that kids my age possess, but I have this advantage that others do not,” said Karen Nalchajyan. Poverty must be eradicated We asked the psychologist to interpret the attitude of Mariam and why she regarded the reprimand of her teacher as a personal insult. “Here, we are dealing with a sense of injustice that has taken hold of the child. Specifically, in this case, Mariam feels subjected to complications since she lives poorly. Society must pay attention to these people and create possibilities for development so that they can realize some achievements in life, even small ones. They must be afforded the chance to succeed, rather than be pitied. As to the government’s role, in a wider context, poverty must be eradicated in the country. If there are vulnerable segments in society then the government must of necessity play a role. However, the government should not always be handing out rice or flour since this gives birth to a segment of “wanters”. I believe that psychologists must be included in programs directed to assist families in need. The government can play a positive role for such families but such assistance can often be oppressive and have negative outcomes. Here, the role of the psychologist is great,” added Mrs. Nalchajyan. I would not have touched on my conversation with the parents of Mariam’s classmates if it had not been for the incident involving Mariam’s five year-old sister Arousyak, who attends the fifth grade. In Article 36 of the RoA Constitution, it specifically states that parents have the right and obligation to care for the education, health and harmonious development of their children. However, for a variety of reasons, not all parents are capable of taking care of their children. This family is in such a state of affairs. The parents aren’t capable of caring for their kids. In the words of Chinar, Arousyak’s mother, the child fell seriously ill in 2000 and spent four days in hospital. The doctors diagnosed a case of intestinal diarrhea. After this, the child’s growth rate stopped and now the twelve year-old has a pallid complexion. “I took the girl to a doctor in Etchmiadzin but he told us to take her to Yerevan. We cannot even afford to eat. How can I pay the medical bills? They want a barrel full of money,” Chinar said with an air of indifference. Since Arousyak is sickly, she doesn’t attend class regularly. Home study courses haven’t been planned for her. When it comes to Mariam’s plight, the parents of her classmates, who organized a two-hour discussion in defense of her algebra teacher, express near total indifference. The parents of Arousyak’s classmates and her teacher have never seen fit to inquire why the children are absent from school so much. We hope that after reading this article the parents of Arousyak’s classmates might organize a discussion of the issue and that they might take it upon themselves to help in some way if the government adopts a position of indifference.