Nune Kocharyan was born, lived and worked in Stepanakert. She was the head of the service department of the Hovh. Tumanyan Children’s Library. Her husband, Ashot Tsatryan, is a native of Shushi, a twice displaced person. During the Artsakh Movement, she moved and married in Stepanakert. She is one of the musicians of the “We Are Our Mountains” ethnographic ensemble. Nune and Ashot are the parents of two daughters. They all worked in Stepanakert and never imagined that one day their normal lives would be disrupted and they would be forced to leave their native land.
“On September 19, 2023, I was at the doctor’s office with my daughter at the Republican Medical Center in Stepanakert when the explosions and shelling began. None of us thought that we would find ourselves in such a situation and I involuntarily asked the doctor, ‘Is this what I am thinking it is? and the doctor confirmed: yes, war had started again. The chaos that occurred minutes later is something I will probably never forget in my life. The entire staff and visitors of the clinic immediately went down to the basement. Everyone was confused and trying to call their relatives. There was almost no communication. The mothers of young children, out of helplessness and uncertainty, did not know how to get to school or kindergarten. My grandson also was in the kindergarten for the first time that day. We could not call each other. That day we waited in the basement of the clinic for more than three hours. The shelling did not stop. We ran with my daughter to our house, which was located in the upper district of the capital. My mother-in-law was alone at home and very scared. She had gone down to the first floor to take shelter. My husband came in the evening and said that staying at home was dangerous because our neighborhood was close to the positions, so we gathered and went to the basement of the Palace of Culture,” recalled N. Kocharyan.
Gradually, rumors began to spread that people should leave the town and that the Turks [Azerbaijanis] were in the city. The citizens did not know where it was safe to hide. Nune’s brother worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross and stayed at work. During that time, her mother was left alone at home and, not knowing what to do, went to the airport with a neighbor and came back again. There was no contact. In recent days, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross had been walking through the neighborhoods and announcing through loudspeakers that lonely and bedridden people should respond so that they could be helped to evacuate. Nune’s family did not have a car, but they had to prepare to leave. “I always say that it’s good that there are many kind people in the world. My husband’s friend, Levon, offered to help and offered to get into their cars and get out. Levon’s wife, Gayane, drove the car that transported us, where my 77-year-old mother (a victim’s wife) and my 84-year-old mother-in-law (a victim’s mother) were also accommodated. It was September 25. We were slowly leaving the city by car. The convoy of cars had been standing still for hours. It was raining, lightning, and suddenly we heard a loud explosion. After some time, commotion began. People were running here and there, shouting that there had been an explosion in the fuel depot. Ambulances were rushing to the scene. They were already talking about many wounded and dead. It was chaos. We saw people in torn clothes, screaming… We decided to turn around and go back home so as not to disturb the ambulances,” our interlocutor said indignantly.
According to the woman, they left only after staying in Stepanakert for two days. The last time she had made dough to bake bread, but she had left the bread in the oven and had to get out: the sounds of machine gun fire had become very loud and the Turks were close. The road was terrible, especially for older women. They had taken food with them, but they were afraid to eat it because it was impossible to get out of the cars on the road and take care of their needs.
“The journey was terrible. We were very tense. My mother’s condition was very serious: she had a stroke, she walked with a cane, she has leg problems. My mother-in-law was also in a bad condition. We were neither eating nor giving them anything. With great difficulty we reached Goris, where we were welcomed very warmly, and then we reached Yerevan. At first, we were in shock; we didn’t know how to live… åfter a while, I started baking and selling pies. Then I realized that I should try to work professionally. I am very grateful to the director of the Khnko-Aper National Children’s Library in Yerevan, who, taking into account my status and many years of work experience, did not reject my request and invited me to work,” the now chief librarian of the library’s bibliography department informed.
The housing assistance program provided by the Armenian government to the people of Artsakh will be suspended from April next year. The people of Artsakh consider this decision unacceptable, because they have neither acquired an apartment nor have a high salary. And most of the people of Artsakh still have employment problems.
“I can’t imagine how we are supposed to live with our meager salaries and pensions. Moreover, we buy medicine for half of our parents’ pensions. Medicines are expensive and we have not received any support in this regard. Our parents, who lost their relatives in the Artsakh struggle for survival, cannot come to terms with the current reality, the loss of Artsakh. They lived separately and comfortably in Stepanakert. Now we live together and pay a rent of 200 thousand drams. After the deportation, their health condition has deteriorated and they need constant care. My mother constantly asks when we will return. We do not lose hope of returning,” added Nune.
Zara Mayilyan