Family of seven lives in abject conditions: Father covered walls with polyethylene to keep cold out (video)
The seven-member family of Karen, a resident of Gyumri city, lives in an unfinished building in Yerevan’s Malatia Sebastia district. The building does not even have electricity. “In the evenings, we light a candle,” says Karen’s wife, Margaret. Karen lost his parents during the 1988 earthquake. He was serving in the army and was not included in the housing waiting list. Losing his last hope to receive an apartment in Gyumri, Karen decided to settle in Yerevan with his family. Today Karen recalls the words of Vardan Ghukasyan, a former Mayor of Gyumri city. “Go and break the lock of any closed door and live there,” Mr Ghukasyan told him once. The temporary abode where the family lives in Yerevan was given to Karen by one of his friends. Karen tried to make the place fit for human habitation. “There is no plaster on the walls. I have covered the walls with with a layer of polyethylene to prevent cold winds from blowing into the home. Winds blows severely and do not let children sleep at night. I can also show you our bathroom and toilet. It is impossible to bathe children there,” says Karen, who is the father of four children.
