78-year-old Robert Grigoryan was forcibly displaced from Askeran region. He told in the framework of “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net that he was at work during the attack of Azerbaijan.
When the evacuation started, he did not want to leave his house. “My son is buried there, my wife and my mother as well. I did not want to leave. My grandchildren were crying, that is why I came.”
He was the last to leave the village. His friend and grandchildren convinced him to come with them. He says that he did not want to leave Artsakh because his homeland is there. “Why do I need to go out? My grandfathers and great-grandfathers lived there. How could I leave everything and go out? I want to go back, but not under their (Azerbaijani-ed.) flag. Has Artsakh been subject to Azerbaijan in the course of history? Azerbaijan has just came into existence. “It is Lenin’s preasent (Artsakh-ed.)”.
Robert Grigoryan reminds: Not a single Armenian lives in Nakhijan now. “Nakhijevan was given “autonomy” because it was part of Armenia. But there is not a single Armenian in Nakhichevan. Now it’s the same in Artsakh.”
The road was quite difficult, the children were very scared. “Children’s hearts are broken, not scared. One of them fell seriously ill.”
Robert Grigoryan left everything in Artsakh. “I left the houses; I also left the properties in them. I also left the car because there was no fuel. I brought this with me (shows his clothes-ed.).”
The children of his dead son convinced the Artsakh citizen to come. He no longer believes in any international organization, they knew that 150 thousand people cannot stand against 9 million. But nobody did anything. “Azerbaijan has bought Europe with its oil and gas.”
He states that it is very difficult to imagine his future life in Armenia. “Wherever I shall be, but it is very difficult without Artsakh. That is not life, it is hell. I am really Sorry, yet even though I am in Armenia, it is a hell for me as well.”
“Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net is aimed at collecting the memories and testimonies of citizens forcibly displaced from Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan, about the genocide of the Armenians of Artsakh committed by Azerbaijan, atrocities, the days of war, the path of deportation, etc.
Iravaban.net seeks help from citizens who will voluntarily agree to translate materials into different languages: Russian, English, French, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Georgian, Chinese…
You can write to our e-mail address at: [email protected]
To donate for realization of the project: https://iravaban.net/become-a-supporter
Details in the video.
