Epress.am News from Armenia
There are approximately 500 people left in the village of Sanahin, which 44 years ago became a part of the Alaverdi city administrative district, but till today is perceived by its residents as a separate area. Speaking to an Epress.am reporter, the women selling their handiwork in the area adjacent to the Sanahin Monastery described their problems, noting that some of the residents remaining in the village, “the factory owner’s relatives and acquaintances,” work at the Alaverdi copper plant, while the rest work in animal husbandry, though many have left the village and are in “the Russia’s.”
“Sanahin is emptying, the youth are leaving, there’s no work,” complained the women, who didn’t wish to give their names — “let that one thing remain a secret.”
The situation in Sanahin, according to the vendors, is catastrophic.
“There are so many doors that are closed [because no one lives there] and they’re constantly closing. This year alone 5 families left the country. With each passing year, more and more people leave. There are so many problems… we don’t have drinking water; after ’97 they shut off the water; those who live in the upper district don’t have [natural] gas, but why are they to blame that there’s no magistrate to get the system set up? The main streets have gas [there are pipes; the system is in place], but the [homes along the] periphery don’t. They’re constantly promising that they’ll resolve the issues, but where is it? They’re deceiving the people,” said one woman selling hand-woven socks.
The women were convinced that their issues would be temporarily resolved only ahead of any elections.
“They’ll come, they’ll deceive [us], they’ll bribe a few cents, and they’ll leave. They remember the people only before elections, but that’s not only in the village — it’s like this everywhere,” they said.