SUCH PEOPLE, SUCH A SOCIETY…

On March 2, 1943 Ashot S.Karyan joined the army to fight in the war. He was not even 17. After the driving courses in 1944 he participates in the fights for the liberation of Right-bank Ukraine. Afterwards he was shifted to the East, regiment № 46. After the victory over Japan with regiment № 92 with peaceful mission he went to Mongolia, and was demobilized only on May 18, 1948. During 5,5 years of service he was awarded with medals.

This essay was written by distinguished journalist Lida Karyan, Ashot Karyan’s daughter. However she was forced to take up the journalist’s pen not to speak about his father’s military valour but because of pain and deep mortification. The thing is that her father after almost 70 years after the victory does not have the veteran’s status. Why? The military registration office has lost Karyan’s documents.

Grey-headed soldier turned to the RF military archives and got all his documents, however when he came to the social support department of Alaverdi for his distinguished pension of the war-veteran he was told: “You are not a war participant since you don’t have the appropriate card”.

GEVORG ASATRYAN

P.S. – In my student years I had a friend with the name of Harout. They migrated to Armenia in 1946 from Lebanon. Once I heard that his father was invited to Moscow, Embassy of France. There they told him: “During the war you transported ammunition for the French army. Where have you been? We are looking for you for over 40 years!” Harout’s father even didn’t think to apply to the French and maybe forgot about his services. But France didn’t forget him. His war-veteran’s pension was collected all those years and handed over to him.

But this is not the matter…