Commission Says: If You Can Walk and Move Your Arm, You Can Work. 20-Year War Veteran Denied Pension

A resident of Mastara village in the Aragatsotn province, 20-year-old Zhora Manukyan, a participant in the 44-day war, has been denied a third-degree disability status by the Ministry of Social Security, resulting in the loss of his pension.

In an interview with NEWS.am, Zhora recounted that he sustained shrapnel wounds during the war, was in a coma for several days, and still has a 4cm piece of shrapnel lodged in his head that has not yet been removed.

“I had three pieces of shrapnel in my head; two have been removed, and one is still there. I couldn’t feel my left side—my leg, my arm—at all. After completing a rehabilitation course, I started walking and moving my arm. After that, the commission told me that since I can walk and move my arm, I am not eligible for a disability status and can work. Before that, I had a third-degree disability. In other words, according to them, I can work, but I still suffer from unbearable pain. I can’t carry anything with my left arm at all, and I can’t work. Besides that, I was spending my pension on medications, and I also take psychotropic drugs, which I pay for as well. I have also developed psychological issues after the war,” he said.

20-year-old Zhora mentioned that he participated in the battles in the Mataghis direction and sustained injuries on October 6, emerging from his coma on October 12, after which he has continued to receive rehabilitation treatments.