Based on information reported by Aida Papoyan, a resident of the town of Ashtarak, and teachers of the town’s #1 Special Dormitory, staff at the Aragatzotn Regional Authority’s Children’s Rights Division uncovered the fact that Hakob Harutyunyan, along with two women and their two children, were living in an underground hut that belonged to Mr. Harutyunyan.

The two women and children are not related to Mr. Harutyunyan.

One of the women who have taken refuge in the underground shelter is named Armineh and the other, Anjela. Staff members of the Regional Authority (RA) visited the site.

Authorities claim they knew nothing about underground dwellers

It is hard to describe the scene we witnessed when we visited. Three adults and two children, one 16 months old and the other five, live in an area of two square meters. None of them have any valid identity papers. It is hard to believe that neither the Mayor of Ashtarak, local police nor local residents had any clue about these people for so many years. Now, ever since they have been discovered, all local and regional institutions are claiming ignorance of the fact and claim that had they known of their existence they surely would have done something to help. However, RA staffers have told us that the Gabriel Gyozazalyan, the former regional administrator knew about Hakob Harutyunyan and the social situation of his mother, but did nothing.

Hakob Harutyunyan didn’t wind up in the underground bunker overnight. He once owned a two-story house which he sold. He moved into a smaller house with his mother. He later sold this as well and then started to dig a hole in the corner of his land. He encircled the hole with stones and has been living in it for the past eight years. The “cave dwelling” is located at Number 51 Artsakh Street and falls within the administrative territory of the Ashtarak Municipality. It would be simple-minded to believe that Ashtarak Mayor Gagik Tamazyan had no inkling that five people were living in such conditions right under his nose. Hakob is a college graduate and worked as a teacher with his mother in one of the local Ashtarak schools. It would appear that he bowed under the pressures of daily life and has thus wound up in the pitiful situation he now finds himself in. In the spring of this year his mother, who had been living in the cave, passed away.

Mother dead for 3 days before anyone knew

“Hetq” was informed that Hakob’s mother, Khanoum Harutyunyan, was dead for three days before anybody found out. The only clue was the strong stench that permeated the site. Residents followed the smell to the cave and came upon the grisly scene.

 When they asked Hakob why he hadn’t told anyone about his mother’s death he replied that he didn’t have the money to bury her and that’s why he kept the matter under wraps. Neighbors located the woman’s relatives who live in another village. The relatives organized a burial for the woman there.

Hakob has no documents at all; any papers as to his identity and that of his mother were kept underground and eventually rotted away.

Families moved to local dormitory

The newly selected Aragatzotn Regional Administrator, Sargis Sahakyan, just recently learned about the “cave dwelling” family and immediately had them transferred to a room in the local dormitory as temporary shelter. “This incident brings shame to the community and to society. How can someone live for eight years in those conditions without the proper authorities knowing nothing about it?” the new administrator asked in a conversation with “Hetq” Soon afterwards a few organizations got together and allocated some furniture and clothes to Hakob and the women staying with him. Monies from the Regional Authority saw that the bare necessities were taken care of. A local soup kitchen run by the Armenian Relief Fund has promised to provide Hakob and the others with daily meals. The matter is to now get the proper paperwork for these people. The Regional Administrator has given his assurances that the electricity bills will be subsidized until Hakob gets work. Given that Aragatzotn Marz doesn’t have boarding or day centers for vulnerable children, Anjela’s daughter Armineh Karapetyan, born in 2004, has been sent to the “Children’s Assistance Center in Yerevan. There, the child receives social and psychological assistance, after which it will be possible to enroll the child in an appropriate school. Anjela has already moved into the dormitory room allocated by the RA with Hakob. We found the other woman, Armineh and her 16 month old child, still living in the underground hut, with the door locked from the outside. When we approached, Gayaneh Danielyan, who heads the Children’s Rights Division, called out, “Armineh, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” It turns out that several of the local drunkards have pestered the family and that the women were afraid of strangers. Hakob locked the door on Armineh and her child to protect them from these trouble-makers. We weren’t able to speak to Armineh since she wouldn’t talk. Mrs. Danielyan was able to converse with Armineh and she told us that the woman was afraid to leave the hut. Her fear had been reinforced by local residents who warned her that if she left the hut the land would be confiscated. Thus, Armineh never got a dormitory room. Seated comfortably in her new dorm setting, we asked Anjela how she wound up living in the underground hut. “My mother knows that I live with Hakob. I’m from Kirovakan; not a local. I have no passport or any other papers. I became acquainted with Hakob in the Yerevan “Gum” market. I had gone to our house but my mother sent me back and told me to go live with Hakob. She said he lived alone and had no one else. I came and stayed with him and will remain with him till the end, said 27 year-old Anjela. We couldn’t get Hakob to talk; he feared the tape recorder. After some coaxing he finally talked to us but didn’t wish to speak about himself. The other day, the Regional Administrator made a personal trip to the dormitory to see for himself that Hakob and the woman were comfortable and feeling OK. He promised to give the new residents a TV as a gift. Hakob also promised that he would convince Armineh to come to the dorm as well with her young child.