Lyudmila Kostanyan is from the village of Hatsik, Armavir region of the Republic of Armenia. The 69-year-old woman had 4 children: three sons and a daugher, but now she has only a boy. In 2022, during the 44-Day War, her son, 37-year-old Aristakes, a contract soldier of the “Chemists Military Unit” of Echmiadzin, was considered missing.

“We have not heard from my soldier son to this day. That fateful month of October became crucial for me. On October 21, during the 44-Day War, we learned that Ares was missing and to this day we have no information. Exactly one year later, on the same day, at the same time, my daughter died. She was 34 years old, unmarried. She was my confidant and after Ares she always said, ‘Enough of your crying, you still have to take care of my children.’ However, as a result of stress, a tumor formed in my daughter’s brain, and it was discovered and spread rapidly, and she died suddenly. A few days after the anniversary of my daughter’s death, my other son, Hakob, was in a car accident and after 15 days of a life-and-death struggle in the St. Gregory the Illuminator hospital, he also died. And my eldest son was in Moscow, had a family, only after 14 years he returned to his native village and has been living with me for six months,” the grieving mother said with emotion.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross reached out to the retired woman during this difficult and cruel period of her life. With their help, Ms. Lyudmila received psychological and social support in that difficult, stressful situation, and thanks to regular contact with specialists, she was able to gather her strength and continue living for the sake of her grandchildren and relatives.

“The Red Cross Committee workers Nune, Liana, and Nara brought me out of that difficult state of mind. Their visit to our house changed the situation, and now I am waiting for my Ares to return. I haven’t lost hope; if I’m lucky, I will at least see my Ares return. The rest of the worries are normal: in a village house, there are all kinds of worries. We are pensioners, we have livestock, chickens, chicks, everything. We continue to work for the sake of the children left by our sons. My Hakob lived in Metsamor on rent. He has 2 children. His son is studying in college, his daughter is in 5th grade. And my Ares lived with me and had a 1.6-month-old baby when the war started. Their military unit was in Kapan. On October 20, they took him from the Kapan military unit to Kovsakan unprepared, even without a bulletproof vest,” the mother of the missing Aristakes said indignantly.

The criminal case named “Chemists’ Military Unit,” was opened in 2020. This is one of the cases related to the 44-Day War, within the framework of which the circumstances of the blockade of a 62-member group of servicemen of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Artsakh in the city of Kovsakan, the Republic of Artsakh, have become the subject of investigation. According to ajdm, on October 21, 2020, as a result of a battle with the enemy in Kovsakan, 5 servicemen of the “Chemists’ Military Unit” were captured, 12 were killed, the whereabouts of 23 servicemen and 1 driver are still unknown. Charges have been brought against the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Lieutenant General Andranik Makaryan, the commander of the Military Unit Arsen Abgaryan, the former chief of staff of the same military unit in 2020 Sargis Kulakchyan, and Captain Ellada Harutyunyan.

According to the mother of many hardships, the court process is currently ongoing.

“I don’t know if the guilty will be punished. It turns out that the leaders are to blame, because they, knowing that Kovsakan was occupied, sent the boys to supposedly retrieve the bodies of the victims or the dead on our side. The war of our boys lasted only 45 minutes, as a result of which 23 out of the 62-member group are still missing. We have no news. We have appealed to various instances, asked, but we have not received any positive response. At least we should know if they are alive or not. I have two precious children who have left me, but at least I know their whereabouts, I go and cry [on their graves], and my entire psyche is broken for Ares. And only the Red Cross workers saved me from this extremely difficult psychological state,” the grieving mother explained.

The International Committee of the Red Cross organized an event on the theme “I am waiting” and each missing family member shared their experiences. An exhibition was organized about the experiences of waiting for their sons and the actions that stem from it, where the mental state of a parent in such a situation was characterized through photographs.

In three years, Mrs. Lyuda underwent 5 operations in the abdominal area. She had a problem with the restoration of her teeth. With the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, it became possible to improve the health condition of the grieving mother. She is also upset that she is not receiving any attention from the personnel of her son’s military unit. Her grandson, Alen, has been constantly asking, for four years now, when will his father return from work?

“Ares took off his old military overcoat in the military unit and hung it over the car seat and drove to Kovsakan. We still haven’t taken my son’s overcoat off the car seat. We are waiting for his return. They presented a photo of our car at the exhibition. And we are waiting for our son with hope. On October 20, he called his father, brother, and sister and urged them not to tell me that they were taking me to Karabakh. But before that, he called every morning and said, ‘Mom, calm down, there’s nothing wrong, they won’t take us anywhere.’ However, on the night of October 20-21, in the dark and late hours, the boys were taken away. During the demonstration, witnesses reported that from afar it was visible that the Azerbaijani flag was hoisted above the Kovsakan school. But the truth is, they don’t tell us anything. October 21 became a day of mourning for many mothers like me. For four years now, we have been gathering with all the parents on that day and visiting the graves of those who died in that military unit. And when my grandson comes from kindergarten and asks, ‘Are you okay, Ludo?’, I think, ‘How can I not live?’ For their sake. I must help them as much as possible so that they can grow up and achieve their dreams. My fate is different from everyone else’s. My grief is different… my three children left me. I lost 3 children in just 2 years. I also consider Ares lost, because I can’t find him. I don’t know if I will find him. And I wait, I wait endlessly,” added the grieving mother.

The material was prepared within the framework of the ICRC Yerevan Delegation’s “Humanitarian Issues and Their Coverage: Missing Persons and Protection of Families” project.

Zara Mayilyan

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