Kristine from Haterk village of Martakert region recently baptized her five children. The woman says that after what happened to her family, she now feels more protected than ever.
Christine Sahakyan’s youngest son was born on September 22, in Stepanakert hospital. And the woman talks about what happened before and after that with great emotion.
“On the 19th of the month, I was in Martakert hospital. Since there was no fuel, it was impossible to get to the hospital from the village, and it were the days of my delivery. My doctor decided that I should go and stay in Martakert hospital for a couple of days until I have the baby. It was a terrible situation, we didn’t know if what would we do when the time comes, how would I be tsken to the hospital. When the war started, I was in the hospital, my husband was at home with the children. On the 20th of the month, the doctor takes me to Stepanakert with his car, and my husband goes from home to Stepanakert with the children,” says Christine.
According to her, upon reaching Stepanakert, she refused to go to the hospital, she first wanted to find her husband and four children. “When I reached Stepanakert, near the Russian base, I still had no news from my husband and children. I waited for several hours until they arrived. I asked everyone who came from the village about them. Bad things were going through my mind, I was feeling very bad. The doctor talked to the Russians to take me to the hospital in an ambulance, but I did not agree: I said that I will not move until I find my children. Then I find out that they change four cars on their way. When we met, the children were completely rusty, muddy, in a terrible condition. That way, my husband was able to get the children out. My husband says that at that time they distributed gasoline and fuel, but it did not reach us; they gave it to their friends and acquaintances.
Christine says that after meeting her husband and children, they all took shelter in the basement of the University, where, after staying for two days, they took her to the city hospital to give birth.
“After having the child, I went back to the basement. For several days, they told us that they would come and take us by bus, but none of them came ever. On the 24th of the month, they opened the doors and invited everyone out, because we were all afraid of what could happen at any moment. That’s how we left; no document was given to anyone. We got the child’s birth certificate here [in Armenia]. Everything was written based on my words because we were not able to bring any form or paper from there. Everything we had remained in our house in Martakert,” says the woman.
Christine says that the nine months of pregnancy during the blockade were the hardest months of her life. “Nine months there was no normal food, there were no medicines… People were telling me, what kind of child will be born with almost nothing you ate?…”.
Little David is now one and a half months old: he feels good and the most important thing is that he is healthy.
As we reported earlier, on November 14, with the blessing of Bishop Ter Gevorg Saroyan, leader of the Diocese of Masyatsotn, a baptism ceremony was held for more than 140 people forcibly displaced from Artsakh in the churches of the Masis community. Christina’s five children were among them.
Ani Gevorgyan
Ani Gevorgyan is a journalist, photographer, and the winner of the Freedom of Speech Award. She has participated in photo exhibitions at the UN headquarters (New York) and the Geneva office, the Palace of Europe (Strasbourg), Paris, Rome, Berlin, Vienna and elsewhere.