THEY RETURNED FROM THE WAR "INHERITING" INCURABLE MALADIES
Anahit Danielyan

KarabakhOpen
26-02-2008 10:15:23

The war in Artsakh has left its disastrous stamp on the health
of Aram Kostanyan. The former freedom fighter now shows up at the
psychiatric clinic.

The ease he expressed at the beginning of our conversation would
prove that he wasn’t a very talkative person. He only said that
he participated in the liberation of various areas of Karabakh,
including the Lachin corridor.

39 year-old Aram started coming to the clinic when his successive
nervous attacks began to worsen. His doctor says Aram suffers from
schizophrenia.

There are other former war vets who also visit the clinic. Dr. Ernest
Grigoryan, the clinic’s chief physician, states that they do not
possess statistics that show how many of the clinic’s 2,000 patients
are former vets.

The parents of Aram, Arusyak and Rafael Kostanyan, recount that during
one battle Aram was wounded in the feet and that ammo fragments are
still embedded there. They say that later on a shell exploded close
to his position that threw him several meters back.

Shaking with emotion Aram’s mother recounted that, "My boy was wounded
in the head and received a concussion and recurring psychological
disorders." She continued that Aram started to work at one of the
army bases but that one day a fellow worker brought him home since
his nervous spasms had really gotten bad.

Aram’s father remembers well the day he went to bring his son back from
the city of Chita in Russia. He was serving in the Soviet army. Raffik
recounts that, "In 1990, I went looking for him. At the time Aram
was a NCO in the army. They needed officers here so I went to bring
him back to Armenia. Aram also expressed the wish t go to Karabakh
since military operations had already begun."

They returned to Stepanakert. Aram continued to serve in the Soviet
army base there but soon joined up with other freedom fighters of
his own age.

"At the time, the far-sighted people were sending their boys out of
Karabakh while I brought him there and, as a result…" the father
breaks off his trembling words.

"It was in 1995 when they brought Aram to the house from work after
a series of nervous attacks. Afterwards they took him to the Nork
psychiatric center in Armenia where he was treated for one month. His
condition again worsened after returning home and we were forced to
admit him to the psychiatric clinic in Stepanakert as an out-patient"
says Aram’s father. Rafael has two other sons besides Aram who are
also musicians.

"My Aram also loved music very much. He graduated from a music
institute and would play the clarinet at various celebrations before
joining the army.

He was a very happy and out-going boy. Who would have thought my Aram
would suffer from this incurable disorder?" Mrs. Arusyak says wiping
tears from her eyes. Every two days she brings home cooked meals to
Aram at the clinic. The mother says, "They serve meals there as well,
but my boy prefers my cooking."

The parents say that Aram becomes physically aggressive during
his seizures, breaking household items and even assaults them. His
father says, "That’s why we’ve applied for a separate apartment for
him. With two other boys and their families as well in the house,
conditions aren’t that safe." Rafael, who still hasn’t come to terms
with Aram’s disorder, does all he can to guarantee that his two other
sons and grandkids lead normal lives.

Contrary to Aram, another clinic patient, Nver Gasparyan, was more
agitated during our talk. After staring at me for a while he asked
his first question, "Can you help me get out of this place?"

Nver was born in 1974 and participated in the war. He fought in the
village of Karmiravan and participated in military operations in the
Jilut area.

Nver, who also suffers from schizophrenia, speaks incoherently,
"I received a concussion during the war. I’ve been here for ten years.

Everything is normal now and I want to go home."

Another 39 year-old male patient, who didn’t wish to give his name,
"inherited" the same disorder from the war. He only stated that
he lives in then Askeran area and that he frequently comes to the
clinic to get his drug prescriptions. "In 1992 I tripped a landmine
under foot in the Fizuli region. I was laid up unconsciousness for
a day. Afterwards, they found that I had received a concussion,"
trying to avert his bloodstained gaze.

He says his seizures are triggered by a variety of reasons – the cold,
drinking, even half a glass, noise and anger. "What happens when an
attack occurs, I couldn’t say. You’d have to ask my wife. She sees
it all but never tells me." The 39 year-old has been a patient at
the clinic for 4 years already. He confesses that, "If it weren’t
for the drugs he takes, things would be much worse."

I wasn’t able to find out from the patients whether psychologists
treat them or not. They appeared amazed by the question. All they
said was that there’s a separate room at the clinic where they can
go to read, paint, etc.

The Chief Physician at the clinic informed me that a psychologist did
work with the patients in a separate room. " But only if the patients
request such treatment, he continued. " The patient must express such
a desire, we can’t force the patient to see the psychologist." He
concluded by noting that specialists used to visit the clinic but
that no such people have seen the patients for several years.