Azniv Baghramyan, who was forcibly displaced from the occupied Republic of Artsakh, told in the framework of “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net  they spent the nine months of the blockade with great difficulty.

“We gave ourselves hope that if we overcome those difficulties, maybe later, the will have a good end. The situation worsened from day to day. The people were starving. It was already a struggle for existence, one might say. Daily bread fight and so on. It was very difficult with children in general, beginnig with hygiene items, and baby food. Having endured all those difficulties, we came up to the worst day,” she said.

She said that as a result of the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020, they were forced to be displaced as well.

“My daughter was three months old, my husband took us to Armenia. We stayed in Armenia for two months. On 16 November, when my daughter was already five months old, we returned to Artsakh again. There was fear in us, but the homeland was calling. Now the homeland attracts as well. I hope that maybe one day we will go back again. For three years, we lived in fear, stress, we jumped up from our seats at every little sound. However, as they say, the will of an Artsakh citizen is strong, and my second child was born right during the siege, on 28 January, the Army Day. Another hope arose. However, living with all that was of course very difficult when the enemy was at the height of Shushi, and we were in Stepanakert. We were under fire. It can be said that we always expected that something should happen, and that it would happen like this and we would finally leave Artsakh, we did not imagine this,” Azniv said.

She also told about the next aggression started by Azerbaijan on 19 September, noting that they were living their usual routine when the enemy began shooting.

“In the afternoon, we just jumped from the thunder. My husband told me to take the children and go down to the basement. We went to the basement, but there we were thinking that it was the end, we were all together and let happen what should happen. I did not even imagine that it would be possible to get out of there alive. In 2020, we knew that we should return. But now when we knew that the enemy was already on the outskirts of Stepanakert, I said: either a shell will hit here and we will all die together, or maybe the enemy will enter, because they located not far from our house,” she said.

Our interlocutor said that they left Stepanakert on 25 September.

“We stayed two days in Ivanyan, with the Russians. We thought that if the Russians were there, maybe… We were looking for a safe haven. On 24 September, evacuation began. On the 25th we left Stepanakert, somehow and with great fear. Crossing Hakari Bridge was another stress when you wonder if you will be able to cross or not. We were going to death, or we would be saved, or that was all, everything would end there. We spent 22 hours on the way, with stops, with the children crying. When we crossed the Hakari Bridge, it seemed that we were born again. We felt saved, but on the other hand, the loss of our homeland was suffocating us,” Azniv said.

She also referred to the “reintegration” proposed by the Azerbaijani side, noting that she was not going to return to Artsakh under those conditions.

“It is not possible with Azerbaijan. If we had considered that option, we would not be here today. Our only option was to join with Armenia and, if not that, then we would be independent, but not with Azerbaijan. How can you live with someone who can slaughter your child and perform a number of other atrocities! It is excluded, that option is not possible,” our interlocutor emphasized.

Azniv said that she took from Artsakh memories that would accompany her throughout her life. She also said that those memories haunt her.

“I left my “I” in Artsakh and will probably never find it again. I left everything in Artsakh, beginning from my mother’s grave, ending with the house, the place, and I left my entire childhood in Artsakh. I left everything in Artsakh that I will not find here. I left my homeland in Artsakh,” she said.

According to her, just as they are orphans without Artsakh, so Artsakh is orphaned without them.

“When I came here, I thought: if I am not in Artsakh, I do not care where I shall be, because Artsakh was a paradise. It is true that we always lived under the enemy’s fire and provocation. We have lived in fear for 30 years, and from 2020 until now we were living under stress, but Artsakh was a paradise for us. I have no plans at the moment. I would like to stay here so that I shall preserve my Armenian heritage, and for my children to learn Armenian. I also hope that one day, by some miracle, we will be able to return to Artsakh,” our interlocutor said.

According to Azniv, what happened in Artsakh was genocide.

She said that she had had expectations from the international community when she was still in Artsakh.

“During the blockade, I cherished the hope that if we stay under the blockade and overcome it, then maybe we will also attract the attention of the international community. Probably beginning from the UN and other international organizations.

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“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/en/become-a-supporter

Details in the video.

Hasmik Sargsyan