My Heart Aches for This Boy, There are Little Ones at Home with Serious Health Issues: Lala Manoukian

Facebook user Lala Manoukian posted:

“My heart aches for this boy. I have often been to their home in Kourtan; they are hardworking people – they cultivate the land, and the mother collects poplar from the forest. I always buy from them, regardless of the quality. The men in the family are both working in the fields and maintaining the garden. They have little ones at home with serious health issues who were born in shacks and will likely grow up there too.

I was upset by the Prime Minister's thoughtless and rude response. Dear Prime Minister, what do you know about the biography of the person in front of you, about the burden they carry on their shoulders, and the serious problems they have in their family, especially regarding health? Are you oblivious? Are you out of touch? You look at them and make a diagnosis – a healthy man, right? Maybe both of his legs are prosthetic, or he had some other issue that isn’t visible. Thankfully, that isn't the case.

Okay, he’s healthy, but where is the man living in Kourtan supposed to work to afford a home with a mortgage? Who will give him a mortgage when they know his salary is only 80-100 thousand dram, what watchmen and electricians make in the villages? Did no one remind you that people came to take refuge in Kourtan after the earthquake to cultivate gardens and land to sustain their families? You should have instructed that his case be thoroughly examined and reported to you. Only then could you draw conclusions without arrogance.

Furthermore, if someone has a child with health issues at home, they will be at the doors of hospitals begging for help, to the point where they start to, as you might say, ‘lose their dignity’ just to afford bread, or they may even not have the means to lie in a hospital, simply sitting idly and watching their family member suffer from illness.

I kindly ask you, I plead, do not shame a person in front of your large audience until you have carefully listened to their story and assessed their needs. It is also very bad that you cannot imagine how a villager is supposed to buy a house. Do you know how? They have to leave the village for big cities, sometimes even leave the country. Please don’t do this, just don’t. You are the Prime Minister of the country; you are responsible for every citizen.

Just as a healthy man would tell another healthy man... I cannot believe my ears. I have been your supporter, and every time you make a wrong move, I blame myself. That boy deserves an apology; I can’t imagine how his family sleeps tonight.

P.S. There was a joke where a doctor asks a patient why he looks so emaciated. The patient replies that he hasn’t eaten for days, and the doctor says, ‘Well you need to force yourself to do it...’”