23-year-old Mushegh Karapetyan voluntarily went to war on the very first day of the 44-day war of 2020. He was an artilleryman on the front line in Karvachar. On October 2 he received multiple shrapnel injuries and lost his right eye. Now the disabled young man in a serious social situation is ignored; he knocks on the doors of state bodies, but there is no response.
As a compensation for losing his eye, the state gave 500 thousand drams [about $1,000] to Mushegh, and thanked him for participating in the war with 400 thousand drams. And that’s it.
With the help of philanthropists and various foundations (“Viva” charity foundation), he underwent four eye surgeries, as a result of which now Mushegh can see fully in one eye, and an eye implant was installed in the other, for the care of which large financial resources are needed.
What does the state do for a young man who lost an eye in the war and suffered various injuries? Musegh has been recognized as a person with a 3rd degree disability and he gets a disability benefit of 67-70 thousand drams [about $150 by today’s rates] per month. The young man does not consider this attitude of the state to be fair.
“The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs tells me: go lose your eyesight, then we will give you a second class. Maybe they were waiting for me to die so that they would appoint new pensions and allowances,” says Mushegh.
Unemployment is another problem for the young man: doctors strictly forbade hard work, computer work.
“When I heard that a war had started, I didn’t even tell my mother, I immediately got up and went to war. My state, my country was in trouble at that moment, I went to help her, but now I feel the need for help: who will help me? I demand justice, they don’t threat us even as dogs now. I know many injured people who are in my situation, victims of injustice. The question is not the money, the question is not to consider me as a homeless dog, the question is indifference”, says Mushegh Karapetyan.
Hasmik Hambardzumyan