Twenty-year-old Mariam Avetisyan, who came from Hadrut, has moved to Armenia with her family due to the war, to the Kotayk Province. To help her family, Mariam sews kitchen towels and linens.
“At first I was sewing towels to take care of my family’s needs, but over time I came to love my work. I decided to post photos of the towels I sewed on Facebook, and after that the orders were more than I expected,” Mariam said in an interview with NEWS.am.
Mariam lost her hearing at a young age. She studied at the Nork Marash special school, then at the Hadrut secondary school.
“When Mariam was eight months old she had a high fever, and the doctor prescribed her the wrong antibiotic, which caused Mariam to lose 88% of her hearing. In the lower grades Mariam studied at the Nork Marash special school so that she could communicate, after which she studied at the Hadrut secondary school. At the Hadrut children’s and youth club Mariam learned to dance, carpet weaving (wall rug), and painting,” said Mariam’s mother, Erna Mirzakhanyan.
Mariam’s mother is a military professional; her father volunteered to participate in the war. Mariam has a 9-year-old brother and a 14-year-old sister.
“When I start sewing, my sister brings me tea. My father is a tailor by profession; he cuts and shapes the fabrics. I record the orders, and my mother handles the rest of the matters, because I have difficulty speaking,” Mariam Avetisyan explained.
When she was little, Mariam dreamed of becoming a model. Now her dream is a little different.
“I am now studying clothing modeling. In the future I hope to have a large workshop and sew dresses. Now I dream that one day models will display the dresses I have sewn,” Mariam said.
Mariam remembers everything connected to Hadrut with longing. Above all, she misses her friends, her conversations with them, and their pastimes.
“Mariam dreams very much of one day returning to Hadrut,” added Mariam’s mother.
