73-year-old Suren Shaboyan was the village head of Drmbon in the Martakert region of Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh] for about 36 years. His two sons and grandson participated in the Artsakh wars. His grandson, Suren, who is a student in Yerevan, wrote a book about the war. Suren Shaboyan entered the RA Polytechnic Institute at the age of 16 and during his student years joined the youth movement fighting for the restoration of historical justice in Western Armenia, organized with the participation of Hovh. Shiraz. As a result, he was expelled from the institute and graduated from the land construction department of the Hydromelioration Technical School and started working as a geodesist at the Sarsang Hydrostructure. He also worked in the road construction sector of the city of Mirbashir.
“In 1982, at the request of the Drmbon society and the secretary of the district party committee, I was appointed chairman of the village council executive committee. Staying away from bribery, I have strived to maintain justice and express my point of view to the district leadership. After the Four-Day War in 2016, at the district council session, I proposed to reduce construction funds and direct them to civil defense so that we would not lose in future wars. We have all made mistakes and we should not blame other nations for our mistakes,” the former village headman recalled indignantly.
Since March 1, 2019, Suren Shaboyan ceded his place as village head to the young man Ashot Hakobyan. Recalling his years in Artsakh, he is convinced that the struggle must continue as a nation and that sooner or later there will be a return.
“Today we are in a hopeless situation. The Turks are constantly talking about their territories, and the Armenians do not say a word about our prisoners of Artsakh in Baku. What is happening? We have left values, at this moment our churches and sanctuaries, our history and culture are being destroyed. My grandfather lived for 100 years. He served in Andranik’s army and, with the people of Artsakh, made his unique contribution in the Battle of Sardarapat. And today they tell me you are a newcomer. What are you talking about? They say integrate: in that case, why don’t you consider Artsakh people with with code 070 in their passports [the code that NK passports had] as citizens of Armenia with one decree? They are creating artificial obstacles. I couldn’t even get my documents, house certificates from the village. I didn’t believe that we would have to leave. All I managed to grasp was a handful of earth,” our interlocutor said in a huff.
On September 19, 2023, Drmbon also came under shelling. One of the shells fell near Artsakhbank, where S. Shaboyan’s daughter-in-law worked. Panic began.
“Schoolchildren were running home crying. We somehow calmed our neighbor’s child and took him down to the basement. They were shelling constantly. And news came that the population needed to be evacuated. My son called and said, ‘Grandpa, get my sister and four children out as soon as possible’. My son-in-law was in the positions. During the blockade, I reassured people that everything would be fine and shared what I had with the villagers, regretting that I could not help the people in the town. We had no idea that we would have to be evacuated on the same day of the war. My grandson was in the positions of Srkhavend. We had information from all the boys in positions, but no news from him. We were very worried and did not sleep that night. We were supposed to leave the village in the morning. Our sons were also in positions and were fighting until the end. And today they are telling us you have surrendered Artsakh, when, in reality, it was the leadership of Armenia that surrendered,” said the Artsakh native who has lived in Drmbon all his life, sadly.
According to him, on September 20, at the request of the village head of Drmbon, his son, Sasun, returned and put the disabled people remaining in the village in his “Sprinter” to evacuate, and at that moment they reported that the Turks were standing at the crossroads below. Somehow, he evacuated the disabled people in a shell-damaged car by other roads.
“That same day, my grandson finally reported that he was in positions, but he and his friends swore that they would hold their position until the end. However, later they were also forced to leave and finally they left the Khachen Gorge. We stayed at School No. 6 in Stepanakert for a few days, and then rumors spread that the road was being closed and we had to leave. My son gave a seat in one of his cars to a family from Stepanakert and saved them,” our interlocutor told their story of displacement.
Suren Shaboyan also helped families displaced from Haterk during the deportation. On the way to the deportation, his wife baked bread and shared what she had with others. She made wooden spoons and distributed honey to people. On September 26, they reached Goris, then Martuni, then Sevan, and now he lives with his wife in Yerevan, at his sister’s house. His sister died of COVID-19, and her husband fell ill and needed care. The former village head moved to his sister’s house at the urging of his relatives and took care of the sick man with his wife for six months. The sister’s husband also died a month ago after an incurable serious illness.
“Today, our heroes are being belittled, and the taxpayer is made into a hero [means the Prime Minister who on several occasions repeated things like that]. Meanwhile, paying taxes is a citizen’s duty. And every person has a right and a duty. Being a coward, he scares us, leading the Armenian nation to destruction. He must leave. I must also say that multi-party politics is the cornerstone of the country’s disintegration. I am waiting with great hope for the return, because it is our right and no one has the right to take it away. We must go back. How can an Armenian be so humiliated? I am ashamed to say that I am Armenian. The world has changed, people have become very angry, but the Artsakh people have remained the same in spirit from birth. A person who has lived in Artsakh does not adapt anywhere else. Whoever serves his nation flawlessly, the entire nation serves before him. I bow before all our martyrs and their relatives. We must unite. The Artsakh people have never been subject to anyone except their own will, and today, willingly or unwillingly, through war or peace, we must restore our rights,” added the former village head of Drmbon.
Zara Mayilyan