Manvel Safaryan was forcibly displaced from the village of Khnatsakh in the Askeran region of the occupied Republic of Artsakh. He shared his story as part of the documentary project “Artsakh: Armenian Genocide 2023. Stories of Survivors”․

“After 9 months of blockade, we endured that much, hungry and thirsty. There was no bread for the children to eat, ‘we were doomed.’”

Having left his home and heart in Artsakh, Manvel remembers that the days of the blockade were difficult, lacking even the minimum conditions necessary for survival: “The Turks were bombing, we traveled for 2 days with great difficulty, we came up to the Hakari bridge, they checked us. From Stepanakert to the Hakari bridge, there were cars full of refugees. We arrived hungry and thirsty, only after that did we begin to breathe freely on Armenian soil.

Now how can you live with your enemy, they are murderers.”

The displaced Artsakh resident painfully recounts the loss of his home and his land that was full of harvest and bounty.

For more details, see the video.