“I am waiting for handouts; who am I now?” (video)
Search for money leads most of Talin residents to banks, the others- abroad. Smile has become a rare phenomenon in Talin, as well as the money. “People are sad, they face many difficulties; everybody has left abroad for seasonal work, there are no people in Talin, it’s hard to live, as people don’t have any income, they have nothing. People are in very miserable condition; if they receive money from Russia, they will live on it, if not, they will go to ruin, everybody is poor,” says Talin resident Gohar Baghdasaryan. Mrs Gohar lives on the money sent by her son, who is in the service in Omar mountain pass. One of the best dressmakers in the city during the Soviet era is jobless now. The only income must have been farming, “But there is no profit from it.” 74-year-old Anushavan Ghazaryan also lives on daily bread. Welfare remained in the past, “I have no livelihood, I am waiting for handouts.” Anushavan, who lives on AMD 29 000 pension, lives alone; his only son together with his grandchildren and daughter-in-law are in Russia. This year his son hasn’t been able to send money to his father. The elderly man, whose life isn’t easy, is proud of his life during the Soviet era, “At that time the city was called city, there were humanity, respect and honor, irrespective of who I am, who you are, who he is.” Unemployment and poverty have had their impact also on the turnover of this shop. Even the blue charm hanging from the ceiling didn’t help so that the people paid for the products they buy. Saleswoman Narine Bodoyan tells, “People buy on credit, then we cannot collect the debts, neither we nor the people are to blame. People don’t have money; they live only on pension or benefits…” Mrs Varduhi having entered the store for buying bread and pasta has also turned up without money; though, her husband has left abroad for seasonal work for already 4 months, “I only take the most essential things, I don’t take sausage, only the most important, and my debt already stands at AMD 100 000-200 000 only in this store.” 58-year-old accountant Stella Karapetyan has also come to the shop with empty pockets, “We buy bread in cash, but we have to buy the other products on credit, which is very unpleasant.” Hairdresser Taron Zatikyan considers this period of his work to be the worst in the recent 5 years. Formerly he had 10 customers daily, now- twice less. “If people don’t have money, how can they have their hair cut? We just survive, we are also in debt,” says the hairdresser. Unemployment is not the only problem in Talin, which has a population of 5000 according to the census of 2015. The issues of street lighting, gas, drinking and irrigation water pipelines must also be resolved.
