Roland Sahakyan, a soldier who was injured during last year’s April fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and subsequently acquired a first-degree disability, has not been receiving any support from Armenia’s ministry of defense.

“I’ve been in hospital for 11 months now. Ministry officials have given me many promises, but they have kept none of them. I just want to understand how much longer I am going to be treated this way,” Sahakyan said in an interview with Aravot.am. The soldier added that he needs medical treatment abroad, “but no one cares about it.”

Sahakyan has already undergone 12 surgeries on his spine, and he hopes that a treatment abroad would at least help him to be able to walk again. When asked by Aravot.am’s reporter why he thought he was being neglected by authorities, Sahakyan said; “They don’t show any interest in me; they have never visited me to see how I am. I’ve been bedridden for 11 months, but the state has been neglecting me; they have shown me no support. When I ended up in hospital after getting injured in April, [former defense minister] Seyran Ohanyan visited me and said that I wouldn’t need anything, that everything would be taken care of. But so far they have done nothing to help.”

The soldier’s father, Qajik, gets an AMD 90 000 pension from the state; “How can I provide for a disabled child with that amount of money? We are parents; we’ve been by our son’s side all this time and had no chance to work. I’ve been taking debts to be able to pay for the hospital… I feel humiliated; we’ve been forgotten by everyone. […] Is that how you treat a soldier? Why don’t you visit him, say, ‘good on you for protecting your country [at the expense of your own health]; we’re proud of you.’”

The family say they need no official acknowledgement through awards or medals; they just need their son to be able to walk again. “Our son has been in a wheelchair for 11 months; he has even developed pressure ulcers,” the father said.

“I want no medals; let them keep those to themselves. I only have one wish: for them to help me to get on my feet. I’m asking nicely today, but next time I am going to demand,” Roland added.