Gyumri father says his parental rights were violated In September, 2009, the state took Seyran Haroutyunyan’s children away from him. The man could not afford proper living conditions for them. The children have been housed in two Gyumri boarding schools. I met up with Seyran at the Fridtjof Nansen Orphanage (formerly “Houys” orphanage) which is now under the administration of the RA’s Ministry of Social Welfare. He had come to see his boy Roman and his daughter Sousanna. The Ministry decided to relocate the children to the Gyumri "Trchounyan” Orphanage where another son, 4 year-old Haroutyun, is staying, on that very day. Seyran had gone to request that the kids not be united, arguing that it is easier for him to make the trip to Houys orphanage. Lousineh Ginosyan, who heads the Family, Women and Children’s Rights Department at the Shirak Regional Administration, says the father’s request is quite singular. “At first, he protested to the world that we had taken his kids by force and without his knowledge.  All the while, he and his wife were in the car when we took the kids to the orphanage. He was present when they were given a bath and a bed. The parents signed a release form, requesting that the children to be taken to the orphanage. Then he started to complain that we had separated the little one from the older ones. We told him it was only temporary. Now, when we want to unite all three kids at the Trchounyan Orphanage, the father says he’s against it because Houys is more convenient to get to.” Ms. Ginosyan says that another exceptional aspect of Seyran Haroutyunyan’s case is that her department decided to place the kids in an orphanage in the first place. She claims that in the department’s five year history, they’ve never taken children from their parents. On the contrary, 17 children have been returned to their biological parents and 13 kids have been adopted. In Shirak there are three orphanages;   two are run by the Ministry and one by a private charity. In all three, there are 264 children being provided for and 74 have been returned to their families. “We operate on the principle that an orphanage cannot replace the parents and the warmth of a home. In the case of the Haroutyunyan’s, however, we decided it was best to place the kids in an orphanage rather than being neglected and uncared for in that place they were living,” says Ms. Ginosyan. “Seyran declares that we have stripped him of his parental rights and that we forcibly took the children. But how could we have deprived him of his parental rights when he didn’t have any documents certifying he is the father? Anyone can come forth and claim to be the father. It is due to our efforts and those of Anahit Karapetyan, the director of the Nansen Orphanage, that all the children have been issued birth certificates and that the Haroutyunyan’s are receiving family benefits. And after all of this, the father is complaining that his rights have been abused?” During our conversation, Seyran Haroutyunyan confessed that his marriage had never been officially registered, that he had never accepted paternity of the kids and had never thought about taking care of the matter. Seyran didn’t deny that his wife had mental problems and that she couldn’t properly look after the children. He said he was never home himself due to work. “I’ve always made a decent salary. But it’s difficult because I don’t own a house. Then again, I don’t have a wife that can help out, so I can’t bring the children home,” Seyran explains. Turning to Director Karapetyan, the father of three exclaims, “If only there was a place like this orphanage where they could keep my wife. All would be well.” The Shirak Regional Administration has also gotten involved in getting medical treatment for Seyran’s wife, Anna. After the kids were placed in the orphanage, they gave Seyran a car so that he could drive his wife to the hospital. It turns out that Anna refused to go for treatment after one or two visits. “We understand that the matter is much more serious, but we can’t force her to do anything. Right now, we’re busy with transferring the two kids to Trchounyan. Once that’s done, we’ll arrange for a doctor to make the trip to their village of Kaps and examine the woman. When the exam results are in, we’ll assist Seyran in sending her for treatment.” I wanted to see Anna ad asked Seyran to take me to the place they were now staying – some 13 kilometers from Gyumri. When we got to the place, Seyran pointed to a building next to some barns in a dried out patch of field. Walking closer Seyran noted that he was thankful to his employer for paying him well and for providing this roof and four walls. “I guess it’s not suitable for the kids. But if it were up to me, I bring the youngest one here. They won’t let me,” said Seyran, who now claims to be their father. The house, if you can call it that, is a 9 square meter room that was cold and had traces of peeling wallpaper.  There were two beds covered with dirty and torn wool blankets. There was a makeshift wooden cabinet of planks nailed to the wall covered with tossed clothes. In the corner was a wooden bench. There were two aluminum pots on the table. One was full of tea, the other, some sort of gruel. I saw no utensils of any kind. The stove in the middle of the room was cold to the touch. It was as cold inside as outside. Anna was energetically sweeping the floor. She didn’t seem interested to know who I was or why I was taking pictures. She didn’t even ask about her kids. The 33 year-old women made it clear that her husband was the guilty party. She answered all my questions in a calm and composed manner. I had asked Seyran where the three kids slept if there were only two beds in the room. He answered, “With us, or who knows?” Ms. Ginosyan has no doubt the kids slept on the floor and says it’s absurd that Seyran wants the younger boy to return home. “Where will the kid sleep? Will he ever get a hot meal or a bath? Out there, alone in that field, who’s the boy going to play with or even talk to? Can the mother take care of him?” the Ministry official wonders. “These are questions that must be asked. Seyran has no answers but he has many demands. They can be summed up in a word – ‘Give me a house and my kids’. Anahit Karapetyan, the Nansen Orphanage Director says that the kids are getting used to their new surroundings - a clean bed, toys, playing with the others in the playground, regular meals. She says that Sousanna is doing quite well in her studies; not Roman. “The only downside is that the kids really don’t want to go back home, even for the weekend. When Roman hears the word “home”, he goes off and hides somewhere. Seyran isn’t a bad father. He always comes with gifts for the kids, candy or a toy. We’ve been working with the two kids here and they have really progressed. I’m sure that once all three are reunited, they’ll easily adapt to their new surrounding at Trchounyan.” P.S. On March 15, Seyran Haroutyunyan gave written permission for Roman and Sousanna to be transferred to the Trchounyan Home. Their mother, Anna, will undergo a medical exam at home and then be assigned appropriate treatment. Seyran, their father, has once again promised to consider improving the conditions at the house.