Arusyak Abrahamyan has three sons. The eldest, Gegham, participated in the large-scale war unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020. She had no news from her son for about 30 days. She accidentally saw him on television and learned that he was alive. However, after the war ended, her son didn’t return home, instead staying to continue his service. He only returned when he heard the news about his brother’s death.
The middle son, Vazgen Zargaryan, served in Jermuk. He participated in the enemy’s aggression in 2022 and became immortalized.
“He never gave me reason to be ashamed. I went to his meetings with my head held high. I was proud of him. He had a very sharp sense of humor, but no one took offense – he was a unique miracle. He was different from my other sons. He was my middle child, but everyone considered his words, listened to his advice. For me, he wasn’t just a son, but a friend, an advisor – I was guided by his words. He could make everyone listen to him. During my eldest son’s time, I didn’t understand much. With Vazgen, I participated in everything. I was so proud that both my sons were soldiers, that I was a soldier’s mother,” Arusyak Abrahamyan tells Iravaban.net as part of the “Immortal Victims of the Artsakh War” series.
She notes that she raised her sons from childhood to clearly understand that they must serve: “I would say, I’m not better than anyone else’s mother, there are so many soldiers standing at the border while I sleep, now it’s your turn, you must go so that other mothers can sleep peacefully too. I raised them with this spirit, I don’t know, maybe I made a mistake, but they knew from childhood that they would become soldiers.”
Vazgen was drafted into the army with revenge in his heart. He went through very difficult days in 2020 when he had no news from his brother.
“They had sworn that if anything happened, either they would all return together with their friends or no one would return. Even if they had the opportunity to flee, they had to stay by each other’s side. That’s exactly what happened. No one came back from two positions, except for Ararat, who survived miraculously. At night, our godfather called saying they were bombing Jermuk, I knew Vazgen was in the positions. My husband went to Jermuk. For 26 days they didn’t tell me he was killed. I had dreams, my son was hinting to me that he was no longer there. During Gegham’s time, I felt everything, his anxieties, his fears, but during Vazgen’s time, there was complete emptiness. I said either my child is in such a good place that I can’t feel him, or he has cut off his connection with me. I couldn’t feel him. I spent 26 days in churches. I told God, ‘Just as you saved my Gegham, you will save my Vazgen too.’ Perhaps He thought it was too much, the miracle couldn’t happen twice for one person,” the mother recounts.
Later, she was informed that during guard duty, they noticed the “Yashma” unit, informed the position commander, but before they could prepare, the enemy opened fire. Ararat and Vazgen were standing in the trench. When Ararat was wounded, Vazgen urged him to leave while he continued to hold the positions.
Vazgen remained in the trenches he had dug, didn’t retreat a single centimeter, and pulled the grenade pin to avoid capture.
“His face was unrecognizable from the very close explosion, DNA confirmed it was my son. They had all sworn they would pull the grenade pin but wouldn’t be captured, and that’s what they did,” tells Arusyak Abrahamyan.
Details in the video.
Hasmik Sargsyan
