Number of Suicides Has Sharply Increased in Armenia, Says Former Deputy Minister of Defense

The former Deputy Minister of Defense, Artak Zakaryan, posted:

“The number of suicides has sharply increased in Armenia. In just the last six months, according to reports, 30 citizens have died by suicide, while attempts by 11 citizens have been successfully prevented. What does this mean? This is a warning. These individuals live among us, they are part of our society, and they have taken extreme steps. Have we, as a society, become so indifferent? Have we lost our simple human care and turned into robots, oblivious to the worries, emotions, and inner worlds of those around us?

Do we have the right to be so blind and indifferent? Recently, while walking on the street, I try to catch the gaze of passersby and look into their eyes. I see sadness and sorrow, helplessness and despair. Sometimes I try to change people's moods in an instant with a simple smile. It often works, sometimes it doesn’t.

We must feel each other morally at least. Liberalism and wild capitalism have supposedly made our society human-centered, but in reality, it has turned us into egotistical and lonely beings. Young people do not notice their elders, and elders do not understand the young. Each one is glued to their phone, with headphones in, disconnected from the world. And if they do talk and communicate, they understand each other even less...

We live alone in this vast and ocean-sized society. Loneliness is the most unpredictable danger for a person. Family, organizations, collectives, villages, cities, regions, and states exist to ensure that a person does not remain alone with their worries and problems. Especially a society that bears the fresh and heavy wounds of war must feel the pulse, thoughts, and spirit of each other. It is no coincidence that it is said: one for all, all for one.”