Many residents of Verin Artashat, a village in Ararat Marz, are having a tough time paying off their loans. Some put their houses up for collateral, others, their land. Most didn’t want to talk about their financial problems, but a few relented. They told me how they spent the money lent by banks and credit agencies. Some phoned on my way back to Yerevan and asked that I not publish what they had said. I tried to explain that my article wouldn’t pose any danger to them but the women on the phone began to weep in despair, arguing that they had kids and were fearful for their lives. Many blame one of their own – Hovik Abrahamyan During our conversations, the men in the village blamed their credit woes on the state government; especially focusing on Hovik Abrahamyan, President of the RoA National Assembly.  The women were particularly afraid of him. “If just one hair on my kid’s head is touched, it will be on your conscience. I implore you; don’t put my kids in danger. Erase the recording so that it doesn’t fall into their hands,” said a woman from the village on the phone. Her family was deep in debt and she blamed Hovik Abrahamyan for her husband being unemployed. I promised her that we wouldn’t publish their story. However, many others families called me up on the road back with the same request. What follows, is the story of one of these families. We’ve left out their names. Village residents had another reason to be afraid. They told me that a few days prior to my visit, one of their neighbors, a man called Never, had told a TV reporter about their problems and had named names. They said that a day later Nver was attacked and beaten by some unknown assailants. Naturally, a criminal case was never launched nor is one expected to be. We were able to speak to someone who openly told us that he had taken out a 1.8 million AMD loan from the Aregak Universal Credit Agency. He wanted to start up a 2,500 hectare vineyard. He had taken out a loan a few years earlier to establish a vineyard of the same size and presently wanted to expand his business. Business is bad and people forced to take loans “I had to get a loan because the equipment is expensive. In 2008, the business did all right. The Georgians came and purchased our harvest. We were able to make the payments. Come May, I have to pay off on a debt of more than 1 million AMD. I can’t even pay the land taxes. I don’t want to renege on the loan but I can’t pay it. We don’t leave the village out of shame that we might bump into the creditors. I’m not shedding any tears but if I am forced to pay the land taxes, there’ll be nothing left to provide the family with,” said the Verin Artashat resident. He said that because of the crunch, relations have soured between residents, on the one hand, and the mayor and tax collectors, on the other. “And I haven’t even included the tax for irrigation water, which is another big problem. There are making compromises in the municipality but the water utility is really an immoral organization. I only irrigate my field twice a year, but the utility wants me to pay a tax that amounts to 8 times as much. They argue that it doesn’t make any difference how many times I irrigate. Every week I get a notice in the mail from the court saying that the case will be reviewed by them. Who cares if I live or die? Isn’t it better that I go to court and make their top guy pay? Then we can both go off and drop dead. I mean, must I spend the rest of my life in shame because of my debts?” added the villager. We haven’t revealed his name given our promise to the man’s wife. Grapes not going to Georgia Another local resident we spoke with stated that, if it wasn’t for the villagers, people in Yerevan couldn’t survive for more than two weeks. He felt insulted that people in Yerevan weren’t supporting the villagers in defense of their rights. “Geez, there’s no one out there who stands with us villagers. We’re on our own. Is my function here on earth merely to grow food to fill the bellies of our deputies in parliament? Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister and Mr. Parliament Speaker; why don’t you assist us in order that we can free ourselves from this predicament we face?” he added. Many others were in the same boat as the people we talked to. Not able to export their grape crop to Georgia, the fruit is still being store in refrigerators. The hope is that the government will at least do something to help out with the frozen fruit. Parliament Speaker should raise issue with Georgians Resident of Verin Artashat had been impatiently waiting to see if the arrival of the Georgian Prime Minister, just days before, would lead to some agreement about the grape export issue. Nothing happened. “Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan could have raised the matter with the Georgian Prime Minister. All of Armenia is flooded with Georgian tangerines and crappy stuff. Why is it that Georgian items enter Armenia but our goods aren’t accepted there? We’ve always supported Hovik Abrahamyan. He should have done something so that Georgian fruit doesn’t enter Armenia. This is why I can’t leave the village here out of shame. I know what I’m talking about. OK, fine, the president and prime minister don’t give a hoot about us villagers; I can understand that. But one of our own?” stated the resident. The villagers are demanding that loan payments be deferred for a few months until the spring planting and tilling starts up. “Hey, I’m a man but I’m not embarrassed to put on my apron, pick greens in the field, and then take it all to sell in the market. We’ve not been left with any choice. They’re squeezing us like lemons. I know that you will erase all that was just said so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. But I said what needed to be said. I fell much better getting it off my chest,” said another.