“Maybe they need it more than I do, let them take it.” Tension at Tigran Mets Avenue

Today, on March 10, a conflict occurred between street vendors, police, and city hall employees on Tigran Mets Avenue in Yerevan. According to the vendors, a scuffle took place, during which their goods were thrown on the ground, and the rest was seized. This was reported by News.am.

Let us remind that just a few months ago, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed street trading, stating that this phenomenon should be urgently halted.

One vendor shared with the media: “They broke my goods and took them away like thieves. This is how I support my family; people like them come and take my products to eat. Maybe they need it more than I do, let them take it. Sitting in their armchairs, they tell us to go and collect our goods from the curbs, not considering that a person is so desperate to stand here with a few pieces of product to earn some change. Now all my goods are on the ground; whatever they could take, they have already taken. Apples, oranges, other fruits, anything I had, they took. Nikol says to go and pave sidewalks. Let him and his kids go pave the sidewalks. Who is he to dictate the law to us? I’m from the former Ministry of Defense building; we were thrown out into the streets. I have no place to live, and now I’m here trying to earn a living; they came and collected my goods too. Where should I go now?”

Another woman continued: “I am pleading with the police and city hall workers, saying that my child is having surgery next week, and I just came from the hospital. I’m asking them to lower my goods; I will take them to another place, but they say there’s no such thing, they are not interested. I told them my child works today to undergo surgery next week; they replied ‘What can I do?’ May God have your family experience this, may God let Nikol’s children go through all of this.” I’m also a resident of the former Ministry of Defense building; we were also thrown out from there.”