Residents of Kapan on their issues
There is an unusually dark blue lake in Kapan province which only looks like a lake at first sight and is Armenia's largest warehouse.
The metal wastes of Kajaran's copper-molybdenum factory are dumped in this warehouse. This site and Kapan province are in environmentalists' center of attention. According to environmentalist Inga Jarafyan, Syunik is the largest radioactive zone in Armenia.
This is one of the reasons why many residents want to leave the province. "When studies on uranium resources begin, I will do everything to leave with my family and close ones to be far from here, especially since many children and youth get sick," said economist Lilit Petrosyan, 27, told "A1+".
Former nurse Susanna Gevorgyan's 7-year old son has problems with breathing. The young mother believes the reason for that is the polluted air. "We are not enough to fight against the government. We are worried about our generation, but what can we do?"
We weren't able to find out anything from Kapan's polyclinics regarding the residents' health problems. None of the doctors took responsibility and tried to avoid answering.
In addition to nature protection issues, social issues and unemployment are still the primary issues of concern in the province. The only company providing employment is the factory in Kajaran, although the employers set requirements.
"They don't accept workers over 40 anymore and they even don't consider 35-year olds very often," says resident of Kapan Gagik Tsatryan who has been living on pension since the age of 54. Youth face huge difficulties with employment after receiving their university degrees. As Susanna Sahakyan told us, her daughter was promised employment at the polyclinic for a year, but there is no news to this day.
As for Susanna, according to her, she was recently fired for no reason.
