Allen is able to laugh and Narine to cry

The story of the two-year old Allen Harutyunyan taught us – the average citizens and statesmen, to renew our insights about the right and wrong.

This little child taught thousands of people to stand next to a person, who we were avoiding a week ago. We were ready to choke this woman, whose son was in poverty, starvation and abandoned. Allen taught us to help his mother and even now it is evident that the help should be addressed not to him but the mother.

The two-year-old is now a tidy, smiling and happy kid, who attends the Armenian Aid Foundation and is learning to socialize with other children and is adapting to the new environment. Specialists work with Allen, who are trying to revive human instincts in this child. Narine Harutyunyan is now a person who stubbornly and confidently forbids her former alcoholic friends to interfere with her life.

Every morning she takes Allen to the Center, then she goes to the hospital for checkups. After getting the necessary medical treatment she will start working for Coca Cola. Let’s remind that she received the opportunity of this work as a result of efforts of the Facebook group members, who were always next to Narine. Only four days ago this house was a lair for alcoholics and junkies.

Now it has become a real home and every member of the group feels like their own victory every time they go to their home. Now Allen calls some of the volunteers “daddy” and in the evenings cries after the young people who leave their home at night. Narine now has become so sincere to us that explains why she was involved in alcoholism and prostitution. Now she is able to cry instead of her cynical laughter of the few days back. When speaking of the past she sometimes uses the language that is most commonly used among alcoholics but then seeing the youth surrounding her she reformulates her thoughts. She says that her bone hurt very badly on the first day when she quit drinking but she swore to herself not to give up.

She was able to overcome the pain without medicine. She has the need to speak and socialize. In the evening when she goes to get Allen from the Center she would ask to take a bag of the brought candies to the other children of the Center. Yesterday the police officers escorted Narine to the head of the Yerevan police precinct Nerses Nazaryan. He personally had a long conversation with Narine and even joked by saying that if she decides to take the vodka bottle again she will remember his face. Rich people visit Narine’s home, state officials.

Narine receives calls from our compatriots from around the world. The Facebook group members take care of the family bills by raising this matter among various circles. By the way, several workers came to Narine’s house who are going to renovate her apartment. One of our citizens, gave her furniture, the other – a fridge and they keep asking what else little Allen needs for his well-being. Allen gets help from Armenians around the world. He gets donations from working and unemployed people.

When Narine takes her son to the Center she collects the minutes when she’s going to get him home in the evening. Narine now understands that she will do everything to be with the son. She is ready to do everything she can to get rid of the people who involved her in prostitution and alcoholism. We were afraid of Narine that we met three days ago but now the same person asks us to be next to her, she hugs and kisses us. The notion of changing Allen’s life makes us to be in their house till late night. Many of the volunteers of the Facebook group are jeopardizing their work.

They have put aside their day-to-day problems and functions and instead are helping Allen and his family. Today the custody board of Kanaker-Zeitun held a session on Narine’s matter. Let’s remember that after our article the board had given only three days to Narine to get back to taking care of the son, otherwise the child would be taken away from her. After the discussions and arguments of the session Narine was invited to go in and participate.

One of the volunteers Gor and I were feeling very proud. She was speaking confidently and proudly and wasn’t pretending to be a good mother. Over ten of the board members recorded positive changes.

Katrine, a pregnant woman from the Facebook group, gave a lift to Narine to come to the session of the board. Before she would go in Katrine said she would drive her home afterwards. Everyone was next to Narine. Gor, Hakob, Arusyak and thousands of people from Armenia and abroad were awaiting the results of the discussion of the custody board. And as many are impatiently waiting for the results let me say that I’d like to conclude this article and will write about the details of the discussion in the next edition.

By Lusine Stepanyan

P.S. During the one-hour session after hearing all the discussions and arguments I as a journalist and a citizen of Armenia have to say, “you dear statesmen have to learn a lot from the members of the Facebook group. You either have to change the functions of the custody board or the members must be toppled.” Our newspaper doesn’t need your gratitude letters and compliments. All we care about is for you to do your jobs properly and save lives. Whenever you staple any paper, please remember that you are dealing with human lives.