For Me, Switzerland is This Grandfather: Hakob Arshakyan

The Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technology of Armenia, Hakob Arshakyan, posted a photograph of an elderly man sorting waste on his Facebook page, captioning it:

“For me, Switzerland is the grandfather depicted in this picture. Not the famous Swiss banks, handcrafted luxury watches, or the well-known Swiss army.

The grandfather in the picture is slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully sorting the waste he has accumulated into categories: paper, plastic, glass, food, and carefully placing each one in the appropriate bin.

This grandfather knows what it means to be a citizen; he understands where his state begins and acknowledges that he has human and civic responsibilities to his country and fellow citizens.

Without such citizens, it is impossible to have a powerful, economically stable, productive, wealthy, and healthy state.”