On 19 September, when Azerbaijan unleashed another aggression, it again targeted the civilian population of the occupied Artsakh Republic. Arevik Sahakyan was in one of the courtyards of her village when she was seriously wounded by a shell fired by the enemy. She told in the framework of “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net, that she was taken to Stepanakert hospital to save her life.
Arevik and her family were forcibly displaced from Vank village, Martakert region.
Remembering the difficult days spent in the siege, she said that there were families who even did not have bread to eat. “We met both ends met somehow.”
Our interlocutor said that they had to leave their house in 2020 as well.
“We endured for 44 days. We believed the war will be stopped as soon as possible, and we shall go home. We could not stay there long, we wanted to go home. We always wanted to stay in our village and not leave our house. Now, I think that we will return home home again. I have not givenup hope yet,” Mrs. Arevik said.
She said that she was at work on 19 September, when shelling of Artsakh started.
“I worked as a cook in the Tsori military unit. We prepared the meals, and we saw that the Azeries were shooting. I told my friend: let’s go out, because they will definitely hit us here. We got out, walked a long way, stopped between two houses, and saw that the thunder was getting louder. A bomb hit Ter Hovhannes’ yard, I was injured. I received a shrapnel injury, and now the shrapnel is in me, under my shoulder blade, my chest is torn, my 6th rib is broken. I was taken to the hospital in our village, where I was given a pain reliever. I saw that they were already bringing the wounded, and they sent me to Stepanakert with them. After the X-ray, it turned out that my condition was not good. I lay for a few days and received treatment. We were told that everyone should leave Artsakh. We stayed on the road for two days. I used painkillers, and the Russians gave me the last painkiller. I was sent sooner as as wounded. I spent very hard days, very hard. I was in the hospital when I learned that my father died. My husband returned to the village by a car, and buried my father in our yard while the Turks had already entered the village. He managed to do this somehow. It was a small relief for me to know that the Turks did not harm my father’s body,” she 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.
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Hasmik Sargsyan
