Young Armenian needs treatment in Turkey

Young Armenian needs treatment in Turkey
Sunday, April 4, 2010

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Under treatment in Istanbul for the deadly Moyamoya syndrome, 21-year-old Arthur Manukyan’s life hangs in the balance. He is an undocumented Armenian, among those Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to expel last month, and if Turkey does not grant Manuykan permission to stay and his treatment is cut in half, he could die.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review at the Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Hospital Foundation, Manukyan said he was only 14 when he learned he had the disease. Moyamoya, “puff of cigar smoke" in Japanese, is a hereditary illness in which arteries in the brain are constricted.

“At first, I wanted to kill myself, but then what the Bible says came to my mind,” he said. “My eyes cannot see anymore. I am losing my sight. But I want to live.”

Addressing the prime minister, the young Armenian requested permission to stay. “It is forbidden for me to travel. If I have to go, I will die. I know this,” Manukyan said.

The hospital’s neurology specialist, Armenag Mezaduryan, continues to administer Manukyan’s treatment with the help of Istanbul’s Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty. “This is a rare syndrome, and I am treating it for the first time,” Mezaduryan said. “We are striving to keep the flow of blood in the brain going. The veins in the brain need bypass treatment on a regular basis. If the treatment is cut in half it would be fatal. We cannot take that risk. We are doing our best with the help of fellow Turkish experts. If [Manukyan] travels, that would mean be end for him.”

“If we were in Armenia, my son would have already died,” said Hasmig Manukyan, Arthur Manukyan’s 45-year-old mother. “Fortunately, we came to Turkey, by illegal means or not.”

Reflecting on Erdoğan’s statement to the BBC on expelling undocumented Armenians, Hasmig Manukya said: “My world went dark when I heard what he said. I was so afraid for my son.” Hasmig Manukya used to work as a house cleaner to make ends meet, but these days she cannot work due to her son’s situation.

Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, also conveyed Arthur Manukyan’s illness to Erdoğan in a letter in November.

“I requested that Manukyan be granted permission to stay,” Ateşyan told the Daily News. “We have also talked about the issue with the prime minister.” Erdoğan is yet to respond, Ateşyan said.