Ute Deseniss-Gros: Memoir of Dr. Mikayel Alexanyan and UNICEF's Early Days in Armenia

Credit: Gianni Murzi

Dr. Mikayel Alexsanyan

Memoir by Ute Deseniss-Gros

In the second half of September 1994 I arrived on a Tuesday morning for a mission for UNICEF HQ in Yerevan/Armenian. At that time I was a team member in the Program Support Communication Section (PSC) under Tony Hewett. The Section was part of the Inter-sectoral Cluster under the Leadership of Mrs. Ramaswamy Padmini.

The objective of the mission was to train Armenian Government Officials in “Participatory Communication methods”.

I had left NY Sunday night. The flight connection was via Paris, where I continued the next evening in a Russian plane, which was totally overbooked since people were also sitting on stairs downwards to the cargo department. In the middle of the plane a gas cooker did heat up during the whole flight water for tea and coffee and the soup. Nearly everybody smoked. But we arrived safely around by 4 a clock in the morning. Outside it was entirely dark, hardly any light, you could barely see where to walk. An UNICEF person picked me up, it was the education officer, who brought me to a Hotel, in which in a lower floor was also the UNICEF Office.

After a good sleep, I went down to the UNICEF Office, which was actually half a floor of that hotel with rooms serving as storage, offices, meeting rooms and toilets. I met first the National Officer, Dr. Mikayel Alexsanyan, very nice , calm and fairly English speaking. He briefed me comprehensively about the envisaged program and the expected outcomes of my mission. After a while the Representative returned from the UN coordinating meeting and the three of us went down in the cellar, where an elderly lady had organized something like a self made café place. On a charcoal oven she had coffee, tea and could also fry eggs and bacon. She had also bred, and it was warm. That is where I took many meals during my stay in Yerevan! Johani Alanco, a Finnish national, was the first UNICEF Rep. in Armenia, he spoke some Russian. The office did not operate since long time, they were trying to get settled but where still understaffed and under-financed. In cooperation with the other UN agency it was agreed to deliver first aid support with vaccines and medical supply for mother and children, but to develop in parallel a more comprehensive development program , specially inn health, education and social welfare. Both, Johani and Dr. Alexander, as I called him, had to struggle with the newly established national ministries which apparently did still function as before. Each ministry had listed their needs and expected the UN Agencies to deliver.

Thus the idea was to train government employees working in health, education and social welfare in methods which would support more cooperation, consultation, inter-sectorial exchange and joint ventures between the ministries. According to Dr. Alexanian I should meet with the officials in the three ministries in the first week, also visit schools, kindergartens, hospitals etc. to get an idea how they function and to start the training after the weekend in a training center outside of Yerevan with 18 to 20 people.

Thus, I started my visits in the designated ministries right away in the afternoon and gave every evening a feedback to both the Rep. and Dr. Alexanian. They were very interested in my observations and ideas and I liked the collegial way in which they operated. Other colleagues were also present and it was a very interesting exchange each day which helped me also to understand the constraints the new Armenia was going through.

Three days later, Thursday, while attending a school class in the morning with the delegate from the Ministry and the UNICEF education officer, Dr. Alexanian interrupted us and asked me to join him for a visit in the main clinic. What had happened?

Richard Reid

In the night before Richard Reid, the new UNICEF Regional Director, had arrived from Moscow and had been directly admitted to the hospital since he fell very ill. Indeed, when seeing Richard Reid in the poorly equipped multi bedroom place, he looked extremely miserable, feverish and sick. He tried to smile and to speak. Apparently, he had not felt well while leaving NY, but did not want to cancel in the last minute the official mission through some of the newly Independent States. He managed somehow the Moscow meetings, but it was probably too much, since he had lost even consciousness when arriving at night in Yerevan, because he did not remember what had happened and how he came in the hospital.

We spoke a while, I wished him well and while accompanying me out , Dr. Alexanian told me that Richard had a severe pneumonia and that it will be very critical to treat him since there are no medicines around and that the hospital was in very poor condition for such a serious case.

I continued my mission and when returning after the training back to Yerevan I learned that Richard Reid had been stable enough to return for further medical treatment back to NY. Johani told me that Dr. Alexanian had gone really out of his way to find antibiotics, etc. and had taken care of Richard, so to speak, day and night. The office had managed to get for Richard medical evacuation flight conditions, so that his return via Moscow was more bearable, faster and saver.

The Armenian people went during those years really through extremely difficult circumstances. The country gave the impression of being extremely underdeveloped. Specially in the capital life was harsh, due to lack of all supplies, energy cuts, and political unrest.

In the rural area, where the training workshop took place, it seemed less dramatic. People were used to be self-reliant, we enjoyed nice meals, it was warm, the participants behaved more relaxed, became more confident and opened gradually up.

The colleagues in the Office regretted that UNICEF HQ was so far away and that they could not get more support and assistance from there, as the complex nation building process was an additional challenge in building up of a comprehensive child development and care program.

I was deeply impressed by the nice and warm human relation between me and the office colleagues, but also the trainees in the workshop.

By the way., my return flight with Armenian Airlines ended unexpectedly in Sofia, as there was not enough fuel on board. We were picked up later by a plane from Austria and ended thus in Vienna!!!

When I saw Richard Reid a couple of weeks later in UNICEF HQ, he came straight to me, hugged me, looked at me and said: I know, if Dr. Alexanian would not have taken so good care of me, I would not be here any more.

May Dr. Alexanian rest in eternal peace.