"WE DO NOT WANT ANYTHING GRATIS"

A1+
[03:00 pm] 22 October, 2007

Over 35 families of Abovian town live in a hostel subject to a
demolition. The municipality employees don’t rule out an irretrievable
disaster as they are well-aware of the building state.

"We are completely hopeless. We can do nothing but hope for
authorities’ mercy and support. We jump for fear at each bang and
rattle. It seems as if the whole building will fall to ruins,"
45-year-old Arus, a hostel inhabitant, told A1+.

A few months ago Ms. Arus moved to a rented flat with her children. But
she couldn’t afford the rent with her modest salary. "I can hardly
afford our bare necessities. Besides, the rent was too high.

Therefore, I returned to the hostel," she says.

The hostel was last repaired in 1980. The inhabitants don’t have
normal public convenience. "All pipes became rusty. Slops drip on
our heads in lavatories," the residents complained to A1+.

They don’t even have clean drinking water. The owner of the neighboring
building damaged water pipes during the construction.

The residents have applied to Mayor Karo Israyelian many times. The
latter has promised to allot new premises to them but so far he
hasn’t kept his promise. Three months ago the residents issued a
written letter to the mayor. "We urge you to see to the matter as
soon as possible. The fundament of the building is decomposed. You
had better construct a new building than repair the old one. We
shall pawn everything to help you with construction. Our spouses are
constructors. We don’t want anything free of charge."

Three months have passed since but the letter has received no feedback.