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Photo exhibit documents poverty in Armenia
Grigor, 29, rummages through a garbage dump in search of metals, plastics, and glass to sell and shoes to burn for fuel. Grigor lives with his wife, three young children, and mother in a shack within walking distance from the garbage dump.
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Sara Anjargolian
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Narine Simonian, 40, with the accordion she once played as a young girl. Narine lives with her four children in Arinch, a town located just outside of Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.
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Sara Angargolian
)
12-year-old Ani with her father on the other side of the dilapidated wall in the family’s tiny home a two-room tin and wood shack. The lack of heat when temperatures dip below freezing, caused Ani to suffer a serious respiratory illness. She began coughing up blood and the illness soon spread to her heart. Her parents tried to find a doctor who would perform the surgery Ani needed, but were turned away repeatedly because they could not pay for the surgery. At one hospital, Ani was put under anesthesia in preparation for surgery, but when the doctor found out the family could not pay, she was sent home in a semi-conscious state. A non-profit organization intervened and arranged for Ani’s surgery. She is doing much better now. Geghard village, Armenia, 2009.
(
Sara Anjargolian
)
Listen
6:46
Photo exhibit documents poverty in Armenia
Photo exhibit documents poverty in Armenia
Poverty in Armenia has been on the rise in recent years. A report from the World Bank last year says 28 percent of the people in Armenia live below the poverty level.
Southland photographer Sara Anjargolian spent several weeks on the outskirts of the capital city Yerevan documenting the lives of those families living in the shadows and rarely seen. Her photos are compiled in her new book, “How We Live: Life on the Margins in Armenia.” The images are on display at Casitas Studios in Atwater Village.
(Audio: KPCC’s Shirley Jahad spoke with Anjargolian there about the stories of families in poverty in Armenia.)
One of the photos is of a man perched on a field of garbage. This is his place of work. He gets up at 6 o'clock each morning and stays out until 5 in the afternoon searching the hilly fields of trash for pieces of plastic or metal to sell for money to feed his family.
Another photo shows how a family of 10 lives in a 400-square-foot apartment, given to the father for his military service.
Anjargolian says some 400,000 Armenians live in the Southland. Many have strong ties to Armenia. Many make donations to charities back in their homeland. Some have bought houses or condos in Yerevan where tree-lined streets and European cafes are springing up.
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But few have seen or heard about these families in poverty. The exhibit of 5x7 foot photos is meant to bring the viewer face-to-face with situation. The display is up until April 18 at Casitas Studios – 3229 Casitas Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90039. Gallery hours Friday April 2: 7-10pm; Saturday April 10: 6-10pm; Sunday April 18: 6-9pm. Schools and community groups may email info@howwelive.org to make tour arrangements.
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