“Can you make an unbelievable lie?”
Anna is in her wheelchair, behind which the life stops existing for her. Life stopped for her during three days, when she could not move and feel anything.
The only thing she could feel was being moved from armchair to her bed, and from the bed to the armchair. Two days ago she took a medicine, which brought her back to life. Lack of medicine kills the living person inside Anna, and even though her body breathes, her mind does not know where her soul is. “The walk-in clinic had not received the medicines.
I really feel very sorry and shameful to say this, but we did not have money to buy medicines. She cannot live without the medicine, but believe me, we did not have money even for bread. She did not take the drugs…and her body started shaking, lost her consciousness and we were not able to bring her back. We kept her for two days without consciousness, after which we were able to buy the drugs and give to her. We were taking her from one place to another till we could get the drugs. I do not wish the same scene even for my enemy. That’s awful,” says Susanna, Anna’s mother, and adds that they had been told they would receive the medicines on Monday.
But elections are on Monday and she has to go to vote. She will not miss this election because she knows that failure to vote will slam her as strong and painful as following the last election. She says that before the parliamentary election some guys came to them, collected their signature and said they would asphalt their road if they voted for the RPA, “The issue of this way is vital for us because we cannot move the wheelchair through these stones and holes. My daughter is feeling bad because she is a human too and wants to go out, see the sun. We voted for the Republican Party of Armenia, but we were again cheated, as always.” Whatever it is, she will go to vote and even if she is cheated again, she will be cheated consciously this time. Last time Susanna Papoyan, who is a tenant at Fanarjyan 75 of Kanaker-Zeytun community of Yerevan, was in contact with me in 2007. At that time she contacted me with the same problems – disability, poverty and issue of life. Since 2007 the city has developed, the budget and economy have developed as well, there are more organizations protecting rights of the disabled, more documents have been signed to protect them, but the family of Susanna has become even poorer.
Susanna lives with her two disabled daughters – one has 3rd grade life disability and the second one has 1st grade disability. Anna could be better if her parents could continue the long-term treatment for her. “ She caught flu and because of that flu her brain membrane got inflammation. She was sent to Moscow, where she got long treatment, after which she had to be sent to Yevpatoria, Saki for continuation of the treatment, but the country’s economy sank and we were not able to continue the treatment. Year by year she was feeling worse. Do you understand me? She does not know any life out of these four walls. I want to take her somewhere but there is no car, and we cannot afford taxi.
Can they do any good for the disabled or we are convicted to die in poverty?” said Susanna. She has applied to organizations involved in rights of the disabled, but there has been no progress so far. I told her that there were rules of ethics in coverage about issues of the disabled and I asked her how I could write about it not to cause pity. Susanna was surprised to hear this and told me not to lie in favor of those rules. “You are in my place now. Can you follow any rules of ethics without lying? Now you can see my daughter. Can you write that she is disabled and she is OK with the way she is being treated? I am her mother and I am saying that we are not able to buy even bread. Can those rules of ethics come here and see how my daughter suffers, falls on the ground and shakes only because of not having the drugs to take? Do you want to lie that the disabled are feeling good in this country and their main problem is disability?
What’s the matter if the family of the disabled is not able to take care of her and even buy bread?” Susanna was speaking loudly in anger, whose daughter, Svetlana, had half of her hand since her childhood. Svetlana is a hardworking person and even with one hand she can clean areas and make her living, but often employers don’t entrust work to her because of her disability. She has knocked at many doors trying to find a stabile job, but employers saw that one of her hands was missing and did not hire her.
“Several days ago I went to a café to ask for a job to clean the area or wash dishes.
They immediately refused to hire me. I asked why, they said their clients would not come there if they saw me. Please tell me, if I don’t have a hand, do I have to stay at home and not go out?” said Susanna. It is several days that Svetlana works. She works at late hours; maybe at night people don’t turn away when they see her. She is selling flowers not far from cemeteries. “Let’s see how long they will keep her working there,” said Svetlana and added that due to her work they had been able to buy medicines, even though they worried about her working at night.
Still they are surviving with the last resources, which seem to be ending soon too. Anna is surviving due to efforts that seem to be impossible for a disabled too. Anna will not go to the polling station to vote on Monday and will not be “consciously cheated” because she is not able to pass the stony road with her wheelchair. Her mother and sister will go to vote, and they will vote for the platform, which has provisions about the disabled and says that after the election the disabled will receive financial support and will get treatment in social and rehabilitation centers, will have access to transportation and community life. In other words, these people want to live the type of life that is usually written on the paper before elections.
By Lusine Stepanyan
