Eight years-old child Mariam, who lives in extreme poverty, says that she doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her. As usual, during our visit she was hungry and had not eaten anything all day. “When you see the president, don’t tell him that I don’t eat bread, tell him that like him I don’t like to eat at that time of the day,” said the little girl to our journalist. The smoke that is generated from the fireplace where they burn rubber makes it dark in Ruzan’s place in the dormitory of Vardashen. The stink and smoke in the room make one feel sorry and useless for the life. “Ruzan is not at home,” says a little girl with large eyes from the deep smoke of the room. “Where is she? We had an appointment, and she is not at home,” I asked angrily to the little girl, who was coughing because of the smoke. She took my hand and took me to an armchair to sit; I couldn’t distinguish the real color of the armchair because of the smoke. “You are very angry. Should my mom go to streets to find things to burn to heat our place up or wait for you? We would catch cold if she waited for you. My mom is not at home but I can speak instead of her. I am small and slim but I can speak like elder people,” says Mariam, who is in the third class of school. Mariam’s black eyes have lost the charm because of the black smoke and maybe she is the only one at school that has the color of black smoke on the face. There was another girl in the room, and Mariam says that her name is Rita, she is 24 and she is her sister. The young girl did not answer to my questions; she was holding her head down and feeling shame to answer to my questions. Rita was shame and she did not want to be noticed. “She doesn’t understand, ask me,” says Mariam and assures that the young girl has problems with hearing. Rita is a beautiful girl and she wants to leave a good impression on people with silence. The little girl says her sister is looking for a job but she is being refused everywhere. “I have visited three places with my sister to look for a dishwasher’s job. They promised to call her but they never did. She can’t hear but she is a nice girl and hardworking. She believes that the hearing disability will not be an obstacle for her to work as dishwasher,” says little Mariam. Little Mariam, who is too smart for her age and has grown up faster, goes to employers to look for a job for her sister. “Do you know how good girl she is? I love her so much. If she could work, we would have money for bread. I am a little bit sad because my mom asks her to work but nobody hires her,” Rita attentively looked at the lips of her sister and confirmed what she had said. She said stammering and hardly being able to connect her words, “I want to work very much; I want to wash dishes and bring money home.”
There is a small table in Ruzan’s place with half-broken plates. There is bread in their house. I asked Mariam if she had eaten anything that day “Yes, I have eaten,” said the girl angrily. “What have you eaten?” I asked her. The little girl jumped up of the bed and run to the other corner of the room. “Wait, what have you eaten today?” I asked her again. She sat down and said with negligence, “I have eaten everything.” Rita felt shame and turned her face to the window. Mariam was angry and she did not want me to stay there anymore; she wanted me to leave as soon as possible. “I have eaten whatever I wanted. We have bread and everything; we don’t need anything,” said she in anger, but later she confessed that even though the day would finish soon, she had not eaten anything. “Don’t feel sorry about me; if you do, I will not talk to you anymore,” she said. “No, why should I feel sorry about you? I have not eaten either; I don’t like eating at that time of the day,” I said to Mariam and felt that she was considering me a friend already. Rita confirmed that Mariam had been hungry from the morning. I told the little girl that her mom was being late and I couldn’t wait for her and she replied, “No, don’t go. I will speak instead of her. My mom is very sad, that is why she does not speak. When people come to my place I am the only one that can speak,” assured Mariam and made me sit in the sofa again. This little girl studies at third class with excellent marks. She eats rarely, has bath rarely, but she studies perfectly and she does her studies every day. “I want to become a doctor, but not one of those who prescribe medicines,” said Mariam. I asked her what kind of doctor she wanted to become and she said, “One of those that speak to people and make them feel good. One of those doctors that cure without medicines. I have felt that if you love people, they listen to you and are cured. I am a little girl but I can cure people, for example, I talk to my mom, sister, and they feel good. I also want to become a judge. I love everyone, but I don’t like the president of Armenia. If I become a judge, I will judge the president,” says the little girl who does not like the president and has kept the worst punishment and judgment for the president. I asked her why she did not like the president. “He has not done anything wrong to me. But when the TV set was in order I used to watch him praising this country, but I don’t know why nobody wants to hire my sister and why my mom is collecting old shoes from the streets to heat us up, and I lie that we have bread to eat. Don’t tell him that we don’t have bread to eat; tell him that I don’t like to eat at that time of the day like you. Yes, I will judge him,” says Mariam and presses the lips strongly. The little girl says that she has many friends but she stays at home much. I asked her if she was waiting for the New Year and she said, “Yes, but the new year is passing like all those days too. There is no Santa either; those who have presents they put the presents under the pillows and lie that it is from Santa,” said Mariam. I asked her what dreams she had. “I am dreaming that somebody may put a lot of fruit, candies and juices under the pillow of my mom and sister to make them happy,” says Mariam. I asked her what she was dreaming of to see under her pillow. “I don’t have a pillow. Besides that I want my mother and sister be happy. I am tired of making them happy all the time,” said Mariam and put her copybook on the chair to do her lessons. “Do you do you lessons on the chair all the time?” “Yes, we don’t have a table, besides that it is comfortable to do lessons on the chair. Are starting to feel sorry about me again?” said Mariam with wet eyes. “No, what are you saying? I know that it is comfortable like that,” I said to her. Mariam asked me to promise that I would visit them often, and she also promised me that she would not forget me when she became a doctor of judge.