24-year-old Ani Babasyan is the wife of Norayr Nahapetyan, who was declared missing in action during the 44-Day War in 2020. She is from the Artsvaberd community of the Tavush region of Armenia by birth. She and her husband met online, then met in Yerevan, fell in love, got married, and settled in Hatsik village of Armavir region, Armenia, Norayr’s birthplace. Their love gave birth to a daughter, Alvard, but the young couple’s happiness was shattered by the 44-Day War.
Norayr was a contract soldier in the Hoktemberyan military unit, and when he went to war, Ani was in her second month of pregnancy. Alvard was two years old when his father went to war, and the boy was born months after the father was declared missing. The family still has no information about Norayr.
“The last phone call I received from my husband was on October 19 and we still have no news from him. But we are waiting with hope that one day he will come. It is very difficult without Norayr, we are with him in mind and heart every day. My daughter and son have already grown up and ask about their father every day. My six-year-old daughter goes to school, my three-year-old son is in a development center. I don’t want to show my children that I am upset and think a lot about this uncertain situation,” the young woman said.
Ani lives with her children and with her husband’s mother and other relatives. She does not work; she is engaged in taking care of the children. The uncertainty of her husband’s whereabouts has broken the young woman and, in this state of uncertainty and hopelessness, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have extended a helping hand to her.
“The Red Cross is always by our side; it has organized meetings, events, and individual psychological work with the relatives of missing persons. We are very grateful that the representatives of the Committee are always interested in us, trying to support and be by our side,” the wife of the missing person informed.
Our interlocutor does not lose hope and continues to wait for her husband. She is sure that one day the light will shine and Norayr will eventually return.
“From the very beginning, I didn’t believe that my husband was gone. My mother-in-law and I didn’t even know that he had gone to war, because he didn’t inform us. Only my brother-in-law knew that he had voluntarily left for Mekhakavan (Jebrayil). The soldiers say that during the military operations, Norayr was wounded, but the site of the injury was not visible. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and had severe pain in his abdomen from some blow, as a result of which he fainted. The incident was near the road and the soldiers, thinking that he had died, left him to continue their fight, hoping to come back after Norayr later. After some time, they returned after my husband, but they didn’t find him there. It was in the Kubatlu-Khndzoresk section. We assume that the Azerbaijanis took him prisoner. The search efforts yielded no results. We also conducted a DNA-based search and nothing was confirmed. I hope that he is alive and I am even sure that he is a prisoner of war and will come back one day. And I am still waiting,” Ani clarified.
Ani remembers her husband very fondly. According to her, her cheerful and joking husband was liked by everyone.
“We fell in love at an early age and got married soon after. I was 18 when my daughter was born. Alvard always remembers her father and constantly asks when he will return and cries from time to time, but we assure her that one day he will come home. We don’t even know what to tell the child. My son has never seen his father, but he says such things about his father that we are surprised. He is very similar to his father in both appearance and character. And Norayr didn’t even know that he was going to have a son,” the young wife of the missing person said tearfully.
P.S. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supports the families of persons who have gone missing as a result of the escalation of the conflict. Within the framework of the Support Program launched in November 2022, psychological, social, health and other activities were carried out. 61 families applied to the ICRC to clarify the fates of their missing relatives. 380 people are still missing as a result of wars of 2020-2023 and escalation of the conflict. The ICRC continues to work with relevant structures to facilitate the search and identification process and provide answers to families.
The material was prepared within the framework of the project “Humanitarian Issues and Their Coverage: Protection of Missing Persons and Families” of the ICRC Yerevan Delegation.
Zara Mayilyan