Moscow benefactor promises to help; has already sent $20,000 Alla Soghomonyan remembers what happened after they moved into their new home in Shushi. The family had been living in Shushi since 2001. The three room house was built for them by the NKR government, after Mr. and Mrs. Soghomonyan had their seventh child. The government wants to encourage large families. “We moved into the new house in October, 2003. Soon after, we noticed that the walls would get damp and the plaster crack,” she said.

Alla and her husband Armen were both refugees who had seen their share of trouble. Their two families hail from Baku but packed their bags and left after the disturbances in the Azeri capital. The families wound up in Armenia and in 1992 Alla and Armen got married. A year later the young couple moved to Karabakh village of Ghshlagh, where Armen’s grandfather lived. Later on the family, constantly growing in size, decided to move to Shushi. The parents now have their hands full raising nine boys and one girl in the three room house of which only one room is habitable. Family squeezes into the one good room “All us somehow squeeze into this room,” says Armen as he points to the largest of the three rooms, in which there is a bed, couch and two arm chairs. Glancing at the room, you’d say it’s fairly normal for the house. Sure, the walls get cold and damp but there’s a heater in the room. It’s a usable space. The Soghomonyan’s have gone so far as to contact NKR President Bako Sahakyan about their housing issue. Two years ago, a wealthy Armenian benefactor now residing in Moscow visited their neighborhood in Shushi. Tagging along were government officials from the state and local level. Armen Soghomonyan invited the visiting dignitaries into his apartment. “It was New Year’s. They were making the rounds, handing out gifts. I invited them in for a toast. Only Edward Ghoulyan accepted my invitation. We sat down and had a chat. He promised to help out with the house,” Armen recounts. Armen says that Mr. Ghoulyan, originally from Karabakh but now residing in Moscow, conferred with the government officials on hand and promised to send a sum of money with which to reconstruct a building located next to the house. Benefactor from Moscow is sending money Mr. Ghoulyan, according to Armen, has sent $20,000 so far and that the money has been handed over to the Department of Capital Construction. The government has handed the job to the “Artour” construction company. Armen says that they’ve replaced the roof but the new one already leaks, and that they’ve installed new windows and doors. No work has been done for several months. He says that someone from the construction company came by with a piece of paper for him to sign, but that he refused, He says that what was described on paper didn’t reflect the work that had been done. Armen says that man later told him that work would not continue. We tried to find out why construction had stopped and went to the Department of Capital Construction. Karen Shahramanyan, who heads the department told us that the overall value of the structure is 16.185 million AMD and that the benefactor, who was supposed to transfer 15.5 million AMD had only sent 8.088 million. Mr. Shahramanyan claimed that satisfactory work was carried out with the funds received to date. As to the complaints of the Soghomonyan family regarding the poor quality of their house, the department head said it was premature to even discuss the matter, since much work still had to be done. “If there are still complaints after the job is done, the contractor will take care of them as stipulated in the contract,” added Mr. Shahramanyan Mr. Ghoulyan, the Moscow-based benefactor, made the last funds transfer back in October, Mr. Shahramanyan assured us that the department had sent a letter to the benefactor, reminding him of the sums he had agreed to make available, but that they’ve received no response as yet. Mr. Shahramanyan said that the government would pick up the tab for the remaining construction work if the benefactor decided to back out of the agreement. He says that similar cases happened in the past as well. The Soghomonyan family hopes that the benefactor will make good on his promise and fund construction of the new abode till completely finished. Armen says that he periodically speaks to Mr. Ghoulyan by phone and that he’s promised to come through with the needed funds. “Despite the crisis, he sent a large sum last year,” says Armen. The family was recently pleasantly surprised to hear that the government would fund the renovation of the bathroom in their current apartment. Family survives on 160,000 AMD monthly income Housing isn’t the only pressing issue facing the family. The Soghomonyan’s must also find ways to generate more income, and fast. All twelve of them survive on a monthly income of 160,000 AMD (US $416). That breaks down to 13,333 AMD per individual. “We have a tough time making ends meet. I have to spend at least 10,000 every day just to put food on the table. I have to get things on credit from the local grocery. Our tab is already up to 450,000 AMD. God knows how we’ll pay it off,” says Armen. He works as a security guard at a military commissary and takes home 60,000. The rest of the family’s income comes from government subsidies for the children. “The government allocates 9,000 per child monthly. We try to stretch it out and feed them properly. But we don’t even buy bread. We have to buy flour and bake our own,” says Armen.