Liana Meljumyan is one of the parents whose son gave his life for the homeland. Her older son, Ishkhan Ara Manukyan, who was only 18 years old, died in the second Artsakh War.
His mother said that Ishkhan went to the 11th school named after Monte Melkonian. When he finished the ninth grade, he went to a medical-vocational school to become a dental technician. After studying for three years and being accepted to the Agrarian University, he was conscripted to the army. He had only been serving for three months when the war began.
“Everything was fine in the beginning. He was happy with where he was serving, as well as his commanders and friends, until the terrible war began. He didn’t call us for a few days after September 27th, and I was very worried. I couldn’t sleep. Then, he called on October 1st. He calmed us down and said that everything was fine. But what was fine… I know that they fought in Jabrayil, he was an artillery soldier… 18-year-old children who had only been serving for three months did not have vests. They said that artillery soldiers don’t get any. They said that the soldiers fought in Jabrayil, and then were taken to Hadrut. They fought in Hadrut’s villages. His friends in combat said that they were exhausted when Ishkhan noticed that there was movement in the grass. It was the Yashma regiment. He notified his commander. Then, they fought in Martuni. The children were in the trenches for 33 days. Ishkhan always said that he was fine, but we were able to hear the sounds of gunfire. He said that that wasn’t near him, it was south of him, and we were just hearing the echo. He didn’t want us to worry, so he didn’t tell us where he was. In the end, some of the soldiers died from a UAV explosion in Karmir Shuka, and others were wounded. Ishkhan was also heavily wounded and taken to the hospital. They operated on his stomach, pancreas, arm, and leg. Sixty percent of his body was burned. Then, they brought him to the Erebuni Hospital by helicopter. I got there in a state of panic. They said that if he is able to hold up, he will survive. His condition was stable but serious, and that’s how he remained for five days. When I went to his room, he wasn’t asleep yet. They didn’t give him a shot. He was happy when he saw me. I said, “Ishkhan, will you hold up?” He squeezed my fist and showed me that everything was fine. They couldn’t save Ishkhan on November 5th,” Liana said.
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His mother said that Ishkhan was a kind, cheerful person, and he did not like conflict. He liked to dress nicely and go out. Her son’s birthday is on February 19th. Ishkhan wanted to go to Russia to be near his father, where he would work in a clinic and perfect his professional skills. Ishkhan was Liana’s oldest son. He had a girlfriend, but the girl was not very open. Liana added that after Ishkhan died, one of the girls from his school wrote to her and said that she had a crush on Ishkhan for two years, but she never dared to tell him about it.
“She said that she couldn’t sleep for several nights after Ishkhan died. As soon as she would close her eyes, she would see Ishkhan in his uniform. That girl was studying to be a nurse at the medical-vocational school,” Liana said.
At the end of our interview, Liana Manukyan cried. “I was not able to enjoy my son’s presence. The war took him from me.”
Gohar Hakobyan
