The birthday of Arevik Makyan, who has been forcibly displaced from the city of Martakert, Artsakh, is on 20 September. On 19 September, the day of Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh, the she was preparing to celebrate her birthday. She told in the framework of “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors” documentary project of Iravaban.net the birthday cake had already been baked when the bombing began.
“We went to the shelter in a robe and slippers. We were moved from the shelter to the city center. Then the mayor came, cars were provided, and we left to Stepanakert. We stayed in the capital for about 4 days, in a car, near the airport. No bread, no water. There was no bread at all. We had small children, we traveled for 2 days. The children were dying of thirst and hunger (the woman could not hold back her tears). We arrived in Goris, they registered us,” Mrs. Arevik says. They were sent to Syunik, but she says that they were scared and did not want to stay in Syunik region.
Now the family has taken refuge in one of the sanatoriums of Arzni. The woman says that wherever they go, they are treated well, “all share our pain”. Arevik Makyan has become a refugee for the 4th time. First, they managed to escape from the pogroms that started in Baku, they came to Yerevan, there was an earthquake, they went to Artsakh. In 1992, they had to flee again, and then they returned to their homeland. “I worked in the hospital for 30 years, I retired. Thank God, everything is fine now.”
She remembers that when they had to leave Baku, the Turkish neighbors helped them, but now the Turks are different. “These are not Turks, they are murderers. We will not be able to live with a Turk any longer. But if Karabakh is liberated, I will be the first to return home. I left everything in Artsakh. We built house for 4 times, and it was destroyed 4 times. We didn’t take anything from home.”
They met Azerbaijanis on the way. There were 9 men in the bus transporting them, the rest were children.
“They took them out, and made to stand in a row. As if we were in a concentration camp. I was so scared. We had heard many things about what they were doing. The Azerbaijanis forced us to say that we were leaving Karabakh of our own free will, no one forced us. If they didn’t force us, would we leave our homes? They forced us, they took us out. The Russians didn’t help us either,” Arevik Makyan says.
“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…
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Details in the video.
