Tweet
KAPUYT: A BORDER VILLAGE WHERE THE WOLVES OUTNUMBER RESIDENTS
Marine Martirosyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/29971/kapuyt-a-border-village-where-the-wolves-outnumber-residents.html
17:32, October 11, 2013
Passengers on the bumpy bus ride through the Vayots Dzor hinterlands
were dozing on and off when their eyes pricked up at the sight on
the road sign pointing to the villages of Kapuyt and Sers.
The bus stopped and my fellow travelers took photos of the sign as
if it were a portend of something good to come.
Heading down a narrow road to Kapuyt, a vista of wheat tinted fields
spread out before us on the left with blue mountains etching out a
contour in the horizon.
Our bus stopped at the spring in the village and a few people got off,
looking in vain for someone to tell them where the local khachkars
(stone crosses) were located.
Luckily, Gevorg arrived on the scene. At first, the village resident
was somewhat taken aback at seeing the visitors. Kapuyt really lies
off the beaten track. People from the outside only come, Gevorg said,
to see the 13th century stone crosses. Gevorg and his son took us to
the spot, and we started to talk.
"It's an atmosphere of indifference. No one comes to find out if anyone
actually lives here. They say the government assists border villages,
but we haven't seen any such help. Our village borders Nakhijevan
but they don't help with anything. We live hand to mouth," said Gevorg.
The young man said that only three families reside in Kapuyt during
the winter. During the summer others come to spend their vacations
or for herding livestock.
"We have no gas, water, school or store. There isn't even a medical
clinic. In a word, nothing," said Gevorg, who was getting the words
out with difficulty due to a bad toothache.
Gevorg said he had to get to the Vayk, the nearest town to see a
dentist, but that there's no transportation to get there and, if he
did, he doesn't have the money to pay.
"I don't expect anything from the government. I've been living here
for the past twenty years and things are getting worse. So many people
have left. Only three remain and they might leave as well. That would
be the end for the village. People saw that no assistance was coming
so they packed up and moved to Russia," said Gevorg, adding that the
last time any official showed up was before the elections with a list
of promises.
During the Soviet era, the village was inhabited by Azeris but Gevorg
says that it was historically an Armenian community.
There are three children in the village, two of which are Gevorg's.
The kids attend classes in the nearby community of Gomk, which
administratively encompasses Kapuyt. It's about three kilometers away.
There's a car that takes the children to school. Last winter,
though, the roads were too hazardous and the kids stayed home the
entire season.
When the spring freezes over in the winter, residents must melt snow
for water.
Gevorg also told me about the wolves who come down into the village
once night falls.
"It's just too dangerous to walk outside after dusk because of the
wolves. It's more like a zoo than a village," Gevorg explained. All the
while, his son Hayk was standing to one side, listening attentively.
We then walked to Gevorg's house where his wife Rouzanna was preparing
a meal over an open fire in the yard.
The kids were playing there as well. "We dream of leaving the village.
There's nothing interesting to do. There are only three kids here,"
they said.
When I asked Gevorg if he just might move away, he mulled it over for
a moment and said, "If things continue like this, it's possible. But
who'd watch over the village, the border..."
The sun was slowly setting when we said our goodbyes.
A bluish haze descended over Kapuyt. And in the distance you could
hear the wolves preparing for their nightly jaunt.
Marine Martirosyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/29971/kapuyt-a-border-village-where-the-wolves-outnumber-residents.html
17:32, October 11, 2013
Passengers on the bumpy bus ride through the Vayots Dzor hinterlands
were dozing on and off when their eyes pricked up at the sight on
the road sign pointing to the villages of Kapuyt and Sers.
The bus stopped and my fellow travelers took photos of the sign as
if it were a portend of something good to come.
Heading down a narrow road to Kapuyt, a vista of wheat tinted fields
spread out before us on the left with blue mountains etching out a
contour in the horizon.
Our bus stopped at the spring in the village and a few people got off,
looking in vain for someone to tell them where the local khachkars
(stone crosses) were located.
Luckily, Gevorg arrived on the scene. At first, the village resident
was somewhat taken aback at seeing the visitors. Kapuyt really lies
off the beaten track. People from the outside only come, Gevorg said,
to see the 13th century stone crosses. Gevorg and his son took us to
the spot, and we started to talk.
"It's an atmosphere of indifference. No one comes to find out if anyone
actually lives here. They say the government assists border villages,
but we haven't seen any such help. Our village borders Nakhijevan
but they don't help with anything. We live hand to mouth," said Gevorg.
The young man said that only three families reside in Kapuyt during
the winter. During the summer others come to spend their vacations
or for herding livestock.
"We have no gas, water, school or store. There isn't even a medical
clinic. In a word, nothing," said Gevorg, who was getting the words
out with difficulty due to a bad toothache.
Gevorg said he had to get to the Vayk, the nearest town to see a
dentist, but that there's no transportation to get there and, if he
did, he doesn't have the money to pay.
"I don't expect anything from the government. I've been living here
for the past twenty years and things are getting worse. So many people
have left. Only three remain and they might leave as well. That would
be the end for the village. People saw that no assistance was coming
so they packed up and moved to Russia," said Gevorg, adding that the
last time any official showed up was before the elections with a list
of promises.
During the Soviet era, the village was inhabited by Azeris but Gevorg
says that it was historically an Armenian community.
There are three children in the village, two of which are Gevorg's.
The kids attend classes in the nearby community of Gomk, which
administratively encompasses Kapuyt. It's about three kilometers away.
There's a car that takes the children to school. Last winter,
though, the roads were too hazardous and the kids stayed home the
entire season.
When the spring freezes over in the winter, residents must melt snow
for water.
Gevorg also told me about the wolves who come down into the village
once night falls.
"It's just too dangerous to walk outside after dusk because of the
wolves. It's more like a zoo than a village," Gevorg explained. All the
while, his son Hayk was standing to one side, listening attentively.
We then walked to Gevorg's house where his wife Rouzanna was preparing
a meal over an open fire in the yard.
The kids were playing there as well. "We dream of leaving the village.
There's nothing interesting to do. There are only three kids here,"
they said.
When I asked Gevorg if he just might move away, he mulled it over for
a moment and said, "If things continue like this, it's possible. But
who'd watch over the village, the border..."
The sun was slowly setting when we said our goodbyes.
A bluish haze descended over Kapuyt. And in the distance you could
hear the wolves preparing for their nightly jaunt.