Marine Atabekyan from Martakert, NK went under Azerbaijani fire to find her children aged 6, 8, 14, 15, 17. The mother of five children was at home when the Azerbaijani armed forces attacked the peaceful residents of the Republic of Artsakh on September 19, 2023.
“As soon as the shooting started, I screamed: the children were not at home. I went out to find them. The eldest called crying, saying, ‘Mom, go and take care of the children.’ I went to pick up two of them from school, one from kindergarten. We came to the basement and we stayed there for about three hours. I couldn’t go and get the other two because of the shooting. When I saw that it wouldn’t stop, I went ouot under the shootings. By the time I gathered myself, I was half a person. I was walking around crying. I found them in the school basement and brought them to the others. We were in the basement when Martakert was hit by bombardment, the children were very scared, they were in shock, we heard the rumble in the basement,” the mother of many children tells Forrights.am.
After finding the children, Mrs. Marine tried to find out information about her husband who was in the positions.
“They said that there was no one alive at my husband’s post; everyone was killed. We were very worried. I called the head of the administration to come and tell what happened, but he didn’t come. He came later and said that everything was fine, but seven out of 10 people were killed, three barely managed to get out. One was wounded in the head. The three saved were my husband, my sister’s husband and one other person. They were in a very bad condition. He only came at three in the morning and found us,” she said.
Mrs. Marine spent the night in the basement with her children. The next morning, she witnessed how the basement was emptied, then Martakert, and a few days later Artsakh in general.
“We managed to make it through, and in the morning, there was no one left in the basement, everyone was running to Stepanakert. I started crying: what should I do with my children? I didn’t take anything with me… I was crying, saying, ‘Just save my children.’ There was a Ford, there were no windows in the back, several families crowded into that car. We got in. We arrived in Stepanakert, went to the airport. The Russians said, ‘We can’t help you with anything.’” In Stepanakert, they lived for several days under the direct threat of enemy troops.
“When we arrived, we stayed in Stepanakert for a few days. We went to the bread queue to at least have some bread. Azerbaijanis would drive by in their cars, speaking into microphones in their language. The children were scared. I encouraged the children, told them not to be afraid. Every evening, when we went to the bread queue, the children would be terrifiet, thinking they would harm us,” she said.
“The children remained hungry on the road for days. We had some pork with us, my aunt said, ‘Why are you sitting here? Light a fire, cook the meat, let the children eat.’ My brother lit a fire on the road. Imagine: we were going a little, taking the pot and going, then litting a fire somewhere else to continue to roast the meat. The children were scared on the road. An Azerbaijani had put his head inside the car and was counting how many of us there were. They were terribly scared, but thank God, we were saved from those monsters.”
Mrs. Marine currently lives with her family in the city of Artik, Shirak region of Armenia. They only receive some utility payments compensation from the Armenian government, as they do not have a housing problem. However, taking into account the harsh winters in Shirak region, this amount is not enough for the family. They are currently in a difficult social situation.
“They only give 10 thousand for utility bills: we cannot pay all the utilities with this. We have been buried in debt all winter. Now I have just started working, I receive a salary of 80 thousand drams, but I do not make ends meet. I work in a greenhouse in Artik. I have five children, this amount is not enough, and my husband does not have a job; he is looking for one,” she said.
Narek Kirakosyan
Narek Kirakosyan
Narek Kirakosyan is a journalist, works on the principle of "a person is an absolute value".