Maria at the Library

I first met Maria last year at the regional library in Gyumri. Of eighty employees, she is one of two who speak English, so I leaned on her heavily over the following months to gather information and complete reports. Maria has a real glint in her eyes, a matter of fact attitude, and she is living a typical Armenian life.

Maria was married at seventeen to a young man five years older. As is customary, they lived with his parents. They quickly had a baby, Christina, who is now fourteen. Maria did not work and neither did her husband while they were together. They were divorced after seven years. She and Christina then moved in with her parents where they continue to live today. In Armenia this situation can be unusual. Often families do not welcome divorced children home. Divorcees bring ”shame“ on the families involved and very often parents will counsel their daughters to continue in a loveless relationship, even where abuse is involved. Maria is very grateful to her mother for her financial and emotional support, and for pushing her to get more education. Her ex-husband currently lives and works in Russia. She has never received any support from him. (It is very common for Armenian men to avoid paying child support by either moving out of the country or by working “off the books.”) In 2004, at 26 years, Maria started working at the library.

Maria’s mother is an actress, active on the stage in Yerevan. She has been in two movies and has traveled to the US as a performer. Her father is a musician and as a young man he performed with a group called Precious Stone. His partner was referred to as “Jag” after Mick. Now her 28-year-old brother plays guitar with a group, Bambir, which also includes Jag’s son. Christina wants to study performing arts at the university level.

Maria says that she was too young to be married, but at the time she could not be talked out of it. I asked her about re-marrying, and she told me that it is impossible. It is very rare for a divorced woman to ever remarry in Armenia. As she is 33, I asked her what is in her future. Her main concern is helping to pay for her daughter’s university education in three years. She also said that she feels exhausted just thinking about the future, as she really has no options. Her salary, which is 34,000 drams ($93 per month), leaves her dependent on her parents for a place to live and with no money for extras. Finding a “better” job is not really an option in this town, which has a 60% unemployment rate. When I asked her how she feels about the library, she said that originally she found it boring, but currently she finds it interesting and is realizing that there is a lot to learn.

I had talked to Maria about going to graduate school in library science. The first program ever offered in Armenia is two years old. But as is usual, just having a job brings security, and in Armenia most “workers” earn the same wages regardless of their education (a practice left over from the socialist Soviets), so the incentive to improve your knowledge to increase your wages does not exist. I suspect that Maria will be at this library for many more years.
Christina and her mother, Maria. Note Christina's T-shirt which is typical of those worn by Armenian girls. Christina does not speak English, and so she does not know what it says. But it is colorful, and in English, so it is "cool."