Victims of family (video)
Marianna grew up ahead of time. She started facing difficulties, when the children of her age were playing with dolls. Now the 16-year-old girl speaks with a past tense about everything, which must have been her future today. “When I was 14, I wanted to graduate and enter musical college to become a singer,” says Marianna. 
At the age of 14 she was forced to marry and was sent to Moscow. Before that Marianna hadn’t known her future husband. It turned out that the man has several wives at the same time. Now she doesn’t want to recall her short married life and continuing use of violence, which were not only in her husband’s family, but also continued in paternal house, when she came back. “My uncle swore at me, then he pulled my hair and pushed. I fell on the ground. Then he started hitting me. I asked for help. I told my brother to help me, to save me from that murderer. They helped me, freed me. I ran away.” Marianna went to the police department by public transport. By listening to her, the police officers offered her to move to Children’s Support Center and the girl agreed. FAR Children's Center Director Mira Antonyan says, “The parents aren’t happy that she returned, what’s more, attempts by the child to communicate with the children of the same age were met with hostility. Every such attempt ends with use of violence, bruises and insults.” 
Marianna says when she is sad, she sings, when she is happy, she again sings. But after two years of difficulties, she doesn’t want her song to be heard. The girl, who grew up very early, doesn’t want to hear of returning to the family. “I don’t want to hear about them, I don’t want to know about their existence.” “I cannot tell my story, as touching upon it once again, you have to live through it again. I don’t want to live through it again. I am trying to forget the shades of past,” says 14-year-old Artyom. In the past, about which Artyom doesn’t want to speak, was his mother engaged in strange activities, endless fights and beatings of the underage boy in the streets, work at car wash places in cold weather, for which he sometimes wasn’t even paid. Police officers took Artyom to the Center. “Sand can reveal much, without realizing you participate in sand therapy and then it turns out that the scenarios, which you depict, reveal your goals, are connected either with your future or past. And it turns out that yours is the main role.” The room of the psychologist is now the favorite place of Artyom. He confesses that when he first came to the Center, he didn’t hope that it would be possible to take him out of that condition. 
During the first years homeless and beggar children were moved to this Center, which has been operating for 17 years. Starting from 2005, the Center hosts the children, who have problems in their families. Annually about 200 children receive support in this Center. “When adults aren’t able to solve their problems, whether it is unemployment or relations with a spouse, or, in general, finding the meaning of life, children are affected. Adults quarrel, as a result those quarrels children want to leave their houses, and one day we ask ourselves how it happened,” says Mira Antonyan. None of these incidents is a case of trafficking. They are simply from unfavorable families. The latest case of involving an underage child into trafficking in Armenia was registered in 2015, which was a case of involving an underage child into beggary. That criminal case is now underway. Artyom Poghosyan, Head of the RA Police Department of Fight against Trafficking, highlights when the whole sum is taken, it is considered to be abuse. “But when because of social conditions they are engaged in beggary in order to earn daily bread, it is beggary and has nothing to do with trafficking.” 
Abuse of underage children or trafficking are among especially grave crimes and imply up to 12 years of imprisonment. “Mainly those, who carry out trafficking, are the parents or stepparents, they are from unfavorable families, who abuse child’s work.” Ida Khachatryan, Head of Family, Women and Children's rights protection department of Yerevan Municipality, highlights that the parents partially explain that the beggary is conditioned by social condition, and the children try to solve those problems by working, “But I, as a person responsible, want to highlight that it is not the main problem, there is also lack of parental skills, family conflicts, misperception of the surroundings.” 
At present there are 37 beggar and homeless children in Armenia, 21 of them are in Yerevan. Still a year ago there were 11 homeless and beggar children in Yerevan. The fact that their number has increased twice in a year is explained by the Municipality by the closure of the boarding school. Ida Khachatryan highlights that before closing them, institutions carrying out relevant services should have been established. “In Yerevan we are the only one to face that problem. In case of urgent issues, we have problems with hosting those children.” The employees of Yerevan Municipality and administrative districts from time to time pay lump sums, provide food and clothing, carry out consultations with homeless children and their parents. Nevertheless, they say that there are no results, as those children again and again appear at the center of attention of the police. “Most of these children aren’t mainly engaged in beggary, but sell napkins and candles, illegally work in parking places. We have a child, who helps his mother to prepare parcels for his stepfather, who is in prison.” 
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,” says Mira Antonyan. Three- and four-year-old girls do not speak; they have speech development problems. Their relatives simply exploited them. Their relatives made them beg. The Municipality is aware of the issue of Karen and his sisters. They say that there is only one solution- mother must be deprived of parental rights. Such cases aren’t frequent; in 3 years there have been 4 such cases. They take such a step in extreme cases. “Explanatory activities with the mother will not give any results, if the mother doesn’t deal with the upbringing of her children, speaking is useless. Those children must undergo medical examination in order to understand what health problems they have, as they have eaten and have lived how they could,” noted Ida Khachatryan. 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.
