The large Hakobjanyan family, with six minor children, were subjected to psychological violence during their forced displacement from Artsakh. The incident took place at the Hakari checkpoint. Armed Azerbaijanis hit the car and shouted curses. Susanna Hakobjanyan, the mother of the family, told us in a conversation with Forrights.am.
“My husband’s car broke down in the X-ray machine on Hakari bridge. They shouted at us: ‘Drive away, drive away,’ and cursed us. They opened the trunk, kicked it… The children were in the car: they were so scared. There were two of them, one of them was kicking the car. The children were crying, ‘Mommy, who are they, what are they doing?’ I said, ‘Don’t be afraid, it’s the Russians,” but they didn’t believe me, they understood [that they were Azerbaijanis], they said, “Mommy, it’s the Turks.’ My children were very scared,” says the mother and emphasizes that the fear accompanied the children even after moving to Armenia.
“Here they heard the sound of an airplane, they asked in fear, ‘Mom, can it start here too?'” said the 40-year-old woman from Artsakh.
The Hakobjanyans are from Stepanakert. There are eight people in the family: six minor children and the father and mother. The little ones spent cruel days in Artsakh: the long blockade and malnutrition and the war that started on September 19 terrified them.
“On September 19, my children fainted. Rita at school, Mavrik in front of the house. They understood that it was war. We had no place to go anymore, we stayed on the first floor of our house all night. The shooting was terrible. The shots passed over our house, shrapnels fell on the roof. I called the rescue service to come and help us go to the basement, they told me not to leave the house, there was a drone above,” said the mother.
Susanna recalls that before leaving Artsakh, the Azerbaijanis terrorized her too in Stepanakert.
“We stayed in Artsakh until September 29. The children were hungry, thirsty, there was no bread. On September 28, I learned that there is a bakery that bakes bread. I went to bring some home. I met Azerbaijanis and in a police car. I was with my brother’s 13-year-old child. T tought said they would take us away. They shouted in a terrible way I will never forget,” she recalled.
After a difficult psychological state, the family of eight continues to live in even more difficult social conditions. They have now settled in the city of Masis in Armenia.
“The main problem is my husband’s health condition. Doctors have prescribed medicines, but we cannot buy them. We did not receive part of the assistance since November, December of last year, and we did not receive it in April of this year. We borrowed the house rent, we received support in May, with which we paid the debt,” Susanna talks about theircurrent problems.
Her husband, 41-year-old Sasun Hakobjanyan, has 37 shrapnels in his leg: he is a participant in the 44-Day War. He served in the Armed Forces of Artsakh for 15 years. During the war he was in the Shurabad settlement near Aghdam. Now he does not need surgery, he moves with crutches, but with great difficulty.
During the forced displacement, the family could not take the necessary property with them, and now they need basic household items.
“We don’t have a table, chairs, a washing machine, there are two beds… the children sleep on the floor. We don’t have anything, we only brought the TV, and they gave us the refrigerator here,” said the mother of the family.
Mrs. Susanna’s little boy is one year old. He needs maternal care, but the other children and the situation of her disabled husband do not allow her to find a job. However, she has an idea that needs funding. She hopes that there will be support from somewhere.
“There is a room in the area where I would like to bake bread in tonir [an Armenian oven dug into the ground]. There is no tonir: to start the job, there should be a small amount. This is near our place; I can work there. I have worked in a bakery in Stepanakert. I can’t do it alone though, there must be a helping hand,” says the mother of many children.
Narek Kirakosyan