Lia Gasparyan, forcibly displaced from the occupied Republic of Artsakh, told in the framework of “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project that she was a participant in the first Artsakh war.
“From the first day I was in the tank battalion stationed in Askeran, as a cook. Every day I shared my piece of dry, black bread with the soldiers. We had many victims, they are in front of my eyes, I cannot forget anyone. I cannot forget what I saw, what I experienced,” the 79-year-old woman says.
On 19 September, 2023, when the enemy unleashed another aggression against Artsakh, was the birthday of Ms. Liya’s daughter.
“My daughter lives in Russia, we talked on the phone. She asked, “Mom, is it normal there? They tell us different things here.” I said no, everything is normal. I put the phone down and the “Grad” started hitting. I received my pension a day ago, I put it in a cup, but I didn’t manage to take it,” our interlocutor said.
She mentions that she could not bring anything with her, only a robe.
Mrs. Lia says that they reached Armenia with great difficulty.
“After the 44-Day War, they signed a contract with the Russians for 5 years, so why didn’t they help and keep us? Well…everything is understandable,” she said.
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Details in the video.
Hasmik Sargsyan
