Valentina Gabrielyan was forcibly displaced from Khanabad village of Askeran region. She told in the framework of “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net that on 19 September, during the attack of Azerbaijan, her children were at school, she went after them, but they were already in the basement.
After finding the children, she together with other Artsakh citizens went to the airport of the Russian peacekeepers. “We stayed there for 4 days, on the first day many people came, there was no room. On the 2nd and 3rd days, the Russians told us to go and ask our government to give us asylum, there is no more place here, and we cannot provide accommodation to everyone here.”
Then they were informed that the road was open and they could go to Armenia. Valentina was able to return home and quickly grab a few things: documents and the photo of her husband who was killed during the 44-day war. “We hoped that we would be able to go back.”
After the 2020 war, only 2 hands of her deceased husband were found and buried.
They arrived in Armenia after spending 3 days on the road. “In the 1990s, we witnessed their horror. I lost my uncles at that time. They are vampires. I took the photos first so that they wouldn’t make fun of us. The child’s shoes were torn at the airport, I quickly took a pair of shoes, nothing else. A child said, “Mom, we lost papa for the second time.” We left the grave. At first I didn’t understand what he was saying, I asked him, he said, “We left papa again,” Valentina said.
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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]
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Details in the video.
Armenian Lawyers’ Association is the author of the idea “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net and is the owner of copyright of the materials created within the framework of the project. In case of using the materials produced within the framework of the project, it is necessary to obtain the written permission of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association.
