How good it is that at present Victor Hambardzumyan, Gevorg Jahukyan, Hrant Matevosyan, Levon Nersisyan and Khoren Palyan are not alive. Otherwise it would be hard to imagine the level of their disappointment and depression to see the ones, who congratulate the school children on the first day of school, September 1. The people, who were speaking about education by looking constantly on the sleeps of paper they brought with them, are not scientists at all. Those were oligarchs, who turned into MPs from being neighborhood authorities. They showed up at the schools with extremely big gold rings, tasteless outfit and senseless texts. And the school principals with their lofty and pointy haircuts were perhaps pleased and proud to see those rich guys, who used to go to the same school and who came to their schools now to congratulate the first-graders. As most of the audience consisted of up to 16 year-old pupils, the biography of the oligarchs, who visited their school was not publicized aloud. So the children were supposed to make their own opinions based on the short speeches made by these people. “I also graduated from this school.” After the school the oligarchs don’t say we entered the technical university or Yerevan State University. Instead as they like to say, “I continued my education in the life school.” Till the 90s it was a tradition to invite to schools on September first such people as famous writers, dramatists, filmmakers, who would make intelligent and logical wishes to the young generation. We decided to speak about this topic with literature specialist, translator and dramatist, Edward Topchyan, who said the following about the visits of oligarchs to school on September of the current year, “To be honest, I wasn’t able to watch TV these days but I have noticed that some TV channel was showing Gagik Tsarukyan’s picture. While we was trying to figure out why they were showing his picture the news anchor started to read Tsarukyan’s message to school children. I suppose that he didn’t write it himself. Armenia is in the hands of oligarchs and we should be thankful that they let us live next to them. The country belongs to them and they want to make the society just like them. They all wish to see the young generation changed and looking just like them.” It’s interesting to know if Topchyan on September 1 was invited to any school or not. When we started to speak about this topic to dramatist, novelist, and comedian Zorayr Khalapyan, he only thanked us in a sad voice for remembering him. One of the intelligentsia representatives (he categorically refused to publicize his name) said, “Every time I see such nonsense I wish to change my nationality.” In the beginning of the 90s I had a neighbor, who after living in the US for a few months, had to throw herself down from the 8th floor of her apartment a few days after returning to Yerevan. The neighbors gave only one reason of the suicide, “couldn’t bear any more.” After the doctors made their expertise it turned out that the woman wasn’t able to continue her life in Armenia and after returning from the US she got into deep depression and decided to finish her life through suicide. At present most of the young people, who travel to the US to work or study, have a hard time when coming back. There are many reasons for that and it’s worth mentioning at least one of those.
In no café of the world’s greatest capitals will one find an oligarch sitting at a table sipping coffee, who would be surrounded by four or five bodyguards. The street is never blocked because of the escort cars of the oligarch. There has never been an occasion to ask our oligarchs if they had ever met any rich foreigner during their European or American trips, who would demonstrate his strength on plain passersby and be decorated with diamond or gold jewelry. Hardly! The person, who refused to mention his name but was willing to change his nationality, said that Armenia has become a hard place to live even for extreme patriots. The problem is that each of us feels his/her incapability not only to the government but the whole society. “Now we have presidential elections coming up. Is this society ready for a healthy election? The last parliamentary elections showed that it’s going to be a “no” answer. The society doesn’t expect anything from elections any more and the government doesn’t even need their support. All they need is participation. The rest is a technical issue. If I don’t change my nationality by then, it will men that there is still hope.”