19-year-old Shant Ambardaryan is from Azatan village of Shirak region. He has been serving in the Mataghis military unit for 10 months, when the fighta started. The horrific episodes of the war were the last that Shant saw with his own eyes.

He proudly mentions that he drove one of the two newest cars of the military unit. He was a skilled driver, he has been driving since he was a child.

“The day before the war, on 26 September, was my birthday. One of the officers called and said that he would go to the Horatagh military unit from the mentioned point of the year, he wanted me to take him personally, and he said that we need one more person and told me to choose the one to go with us. I knew that way well, it is a 3-4 hour journey through the forests. So, my friend and I got out driving one after the other on two “Kamaz” vehicles,” Shant says.

When they reached Horatagh, it was already dark, the officers told them to rest, they would empty the cars the next day.

“The morning opened, it was 7:15, and the enemy started shooting. The military unit was alarmed, we did not know what to do, and there was no one to say anything. Then a man came and told us to take the cars to a safe place in the between the mountains, because the cars were loaded with shells and if we were hit it would be really bad,” Shant recalls.

The cars were emptied, they received a new order to return to the mentioned point and bring shells to Horatagh again. This is how Shant brought it twice, and the last time he was instructed to take the shells to Mataghis.

“They constantly bombed from above, we could not do anything, we were praying to God and driving drive,” he says.

During this time, Shant brought shells day and night, and delivered food to the soldiers. “They did not bring food to us, because it was impossible to come forward, there were no drivers, they refused to go. I grove because I knew I had to take food to the boys,” says Shant.

Once again he loaded the car with food when Kamikadze UAV blew up “Kamaz”. 4 out of 5 staff members were killed, only Shant survived. He says that somehow he jumped out of the car to the hole in the front and was not even injured.

15-20 minutes after this incident, Shant rose to positions. Three days later they received a retreat order.

“It was the 6th or 7th days of the war, the first retreat in Artsakh was just like that. It was already impossible to keep. We walked all night to get out, and during that time the enemy would constantly hit from above. The last ones did not manage to get out, they killed half of them, took half of them captive,” he says.

They were positioned on the mountains to prevent the enemy from coming in the direction of Martakert, Yeghnikner. At this time it was reported that there was no ambulance driver, and Shant took over to drive. “We got there, we took food wherever we managed, and if not it stayed there, and it has remained like that. I drove without stopping for 3 days. It was a regiment of 3,000 people, there was no car to transport the victims and the wounded. “I would have transported the victims and the wounded from that high position,” Shant recalls.

He also transported shells by ambulance, he says, he moved about 70 boxes 7 times.

“The last time we were coming back our car was hit and it turned over on that serpentine road. We were two in the car. The boy behind me got serious injuries and nothing happened to me․․․ I was again saved,” Shant says, barely audible.

After this incident, he rose to positions again, stayed there for more than 10 days.

On 26 October, the day of the second ceasefire, the enemy bombed and continued to attack from early morning. Our soldiers were positioned in small holes two by two. Shant was with his friend Arthur Mirzoyan in one of them.

“On the 8th it was about 10 o’clock, the shell fell on us, my friend died, fell on me and I did not see anything. The shards hit my eyes. I could not see anything, I could not move, my friend was on top of me. I wanted to connect with someone, I shouted, no one would come, the enemy was shooting incessantly, no one could come, I stayed like that for about 40-45 minutes. The radio was near me, but the frequency was mixed, the parts were broken, I turned it somehow with my fingernail, I got in touch, and they came and took us away,” he clenched his fists and experienced what had happened.

The loss of a friend has changed a lot in Shant’s life. The family members say that he does not say anything at home, does not tell anything, but Shant is not the same as before. Seeing nothing for 40 minutes under the harsh sounds of war, the lifeless body of a close friend stumbled on him and he waited ․․․ the brother, Hovhannes Ambardaryan, says that maybe he did not wait to be saved, but ․․․

Shant was taken to hospital, and from there to Yerevan. Shant does not see now, his right eye is completely injured, his left is seriously injured. The doctors are not saying anything definite at the moment. “The doctors here do everything they can, I am very satisfied, they are very caring, and we will wait for the second operation. They say the retina of the left eye is disconnected and there is blood. We have to wait for the blood to be cleaned so that they can operate so that there is hope to see,” he says.

Throughout the war, the family talked to Shant every day. The father, Sedrak Ambardaryan, says, “I would say, dear boy, if you do not call me during the day, I will die, call, sinply call let me here your voice and disconnect.” Shant did not call home only on 26 October. The next day they called home from the hospital ․ “I cannot forget that number 077307 ․․․,” – the father tells the number looking on one point. He does not remember how they got to Yerevan from Azatan. They were not told about and where their son was injured. They arrived and found out what had happened on the spot.

The father has built a chapel in the yard of their house. Construction started last year! He was hanging the door of that chapel, when he talked to Shant, the boy said that everything was fine, and calm, but his father heard the shots.

“Then I will know that he called his mother, told his brother Hovhannes to tell him to engrave his name on this chapel. I said, oh my gosh, has my child lost hope of coming home? I called him, he said I was joking, Sed,” the father, Sedrak Ambardaryan says, and adds that his sons call him by name, because they are friends with them.

He says that he heard from his fellow villagers from the fight what his son had seen and passed through, and he tells onlya small part of the path he passed. He is silent and stays alone with the last images left in his deep eyes.

According to him, most of all Shant believes that his eyesight will be restored, he has incredibly strong faith, and he knows that he will see again. The family is trying to find ways to take Shant abroad through benefactors and sponsors, if possible, to save his left eye.

“Only the cross of the chapel is not mounted yet. Shant will not let me put it, he will say, ‘I will see again, and then we shall mount it. And I will say let it be as you want my son,” the father said.

Lusine Hakobyan