“I will go with my shoes, I do not have money to buy new shoes, it’s true, they say it is so cold there, but I’m not afraid of cold, well, when I get there, I will work and buy warm shoes, now I can’t afford it, I can hardly buy cigarette for the guys to take with and a couple of things for me,” was discussing about 50-55 years old bus-driver the issue of his shoes in the presence of passengers, hardly suppressing his cough. Due to uninterrupted worrying cough, he could not finish the phone conversation, the driver passed the phone to his son sitting next to him to explain to the interlocutors why his father had called him. The son, who judging by the uniforms, was an ordinary policeman and feeling shy of having such conversation in the presence of strange people, said that his father will call later. Shortly after a few minutes, when the cough calmed down, the father urged his son to call again.
“Look, I need cash with interest, it does not matter what the interest is, just to have it. Even if it is 20-25%, I will take it, get it for me. When I get to the place, I will send it back to you. If I go, it will be good and I will take my family, too,” said the bus-driver continuing the topic of unfinished shoes, and getting choked with the cough and not being able to finish the conversation, passed the phone to his son. During the entire conversation, the policeman-son did not raise his head, only from time to time was looking back with a sense of shame to understand the attitude of the passengers to his father’s conversation of needing shoes and money. Filled with optimism to make money in Siberia and immersed into the thought, the driver, who did not even care about wearing autumn shoes in 50-60 degree cold, had not even noticed that he is driving the mini-bus along the Mashtots avenue too slowly and was not even stopping at the bus-stops. He was caring less about 100 drams.
It was clear from the conversation that another person, or more precisely, a family is leaving Armenia.
Lusine BUDAGHYAN
P.S. National Statistical Service has published the number of RA citizens leaving Armenia in 2013, according to which, about 34 thousand people fled the country.
