Zamira Hakobjanyan was displaced from her village, Sghnakh in the Askeran region, in 2020. After the 44-day war, the village came under Azerbaijani control. On September 19, 2023, the enemy launched another aggression, resulting in Zamira and her family being forcibly displaced from Stepanakert.
Despite living through 9 months of difficult and challenging times in the blockade, she never wanted to leave Artsakh. There was hope that everything would pass, and they would continue living in Artsakh.
“From 2020 to 2023, I lived as a displaced person in a rented apartment in Stepanakert. We were living in conditions I wouldn’t wish even on an enemy. We were allocated one loaf of black bread per day, and I wouldn’t eat that bread so my child could have it. We would take candy from Russians and tell the child, ‘Eat half now, half later.’ But we had adapted even to that, as long as we remained on our land,” says our interviewee.
Zamira worked at a military hospital. They were warned not to go out and to keep their shelters ready.
“I called my child and told him to go to his grandparents. He asked, ‘What happened?’ I said, ‘I can’t tell you, just go.’ Then I called our daughter-in-law who was at a birthday party and told them to leave quickly. Exactly one hour later, it began. Every minute they were bringing in casualties and wounded,” she recounts.
Zamira stayed at the hospital from September 19 to 24, as there were many wounded and casualties. Only on September 24 she left the hospital to visit her fallen brother’s grave. They left Artsakh on September 25. Like everyone else, she also went through a difficult journey.
“We only arrived on September 28. There was no bread, but we had flour. On the road, I kneaded dough, we tore off a signpost, and baked bread on it. When we reached Armenia, the children entered a store and were amazed that everything was available. At the checkpoint, they didn’t do anything to us—they checked the car, asked how many women and men were there, they didn’t torment us—but we know that many people were treated cruelly.”
Now they live in Mrgashat community, with three families sharing one rented house. Only she is working, her son is studying in Yerevan. She is upset, saying that if they lose the 40+10 support, many difficulties will arise.
She’s not rushing to take advantage of the housing provision program, emphasizing that 12 million drams is not enough to acquire a decent home. She urges the government to reconsider the program, as market housing prices are very high.
Details in the video.
