“Children lived like Mowgli” (video)
One and a half years ago 6-year-old Karen and his sisters, Elen and Lilith, could think neither about toys, nor even about warm dishes and bed. “Those children lived like animals; puppies would be treated like that. For domestic animals at least some conditions are created, they are fed, but these children were deprived of any care. These children lived like Mowgli,” says Mira Antonyan, Director of “Child Support Center” of Fund for Armenian Relief. Three- and four-year-old girls do not speak; they have speech development problems. Their relatives simply exploited them. Their grandfather and grandmother made them beg. The family lived in the territory near Yerevan TPP in a semi-built building. “The children lived under conditions of culture of poverty, not in poverty, but under the conditions of culture of poverty, when there is no one living nearby. They are poor not only economically, but in communications, there is no school, no kindergarten,” says Mira Antonyan. During the first years child beggars and homeless kids were moved to the center, which has been operating for already 17 years. Since 2005 the Center has been accepting children, who have problems in the families. Annually about 200 children receive aid in the center. A part of them are brought to the Center by police officers. “In such risky situations, when a child spends more time outside than at home, and gradually contact with relatives is weakening, the risk is high that in the end street will swallow them. Not right atmosphere will attract and take those children. It is the reason that we can see teenage girls, who dance in the clubs.” When a child appears in the Center, the next step is finding their relatives. In general, after receiving aid, the child is returned to the relatives. But annually fate of about 40 children remains unclear, as return to the relatives is not reliable. The Center considers the return of Karen, Elen and Lilith to their relatives to be dangerous. They hope to find a foster family for the children.
