“We hear gunshots very often and closeby. You see how close the border is to us. They are already burning the grass. There is no pasture, there is nothing, and the children are scared. Although why only the children? We are also afraid,” Tamara Melkumyan, a resident of the border village of Kut in the Gegharkunik province, told Aravot Daily. The life of the people of Kut has turned into a nightmare since the war. The enemy positions are visible to the naked eye. The Azeris try to remind us of their presence in our sovereign territory in every way from shootings to fires.
Tamara Melkumyan said that during the shootings, they take refuge in their houses. “The last time they fired, the bullet passed by two villagers and hit the wall of the barn. The barn wall was punctured. If there was a child outside at that moment, it would have hit the children.” In response to the question of if they are targeted or accidental shots- whoever it strikes, it strikes, the Kut resident answered, “No, they are firing directly at the village. Residents are being shot at. If there is a shooting in that area, it is clear that there are animals, there is a house, and there are people living there.” The Kut resident said that they could not cultivate their lands freely or take the animals to the pasture. “There are homes right where they shoot. Cultivated lands are in those areas. Where else should we go, what should we do? ”
Tamara Melkumyan said that if this continues and the government does not do anything, they will leave the village. “We will leave. But we have nowhere to go. Let’s go to Sevan immediately and end it. They should look at the people. There is no man, the children are afraid. There is a disabled child, there are adults and there is no man in the house. They have no means to leave, there is no car. For example, some people have a car in the village, but they can hardly get out and leave. And the needy and old families stay. There aren’t too many of us, either. If you count, we might be ten families.”
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Although the authorities have received positive signals of peace from Turkey, the Kut resident is convinced that it is impossible to establish peace with the Turks. “At this moment, if the government deals with the people’s concerns, if they come to terms with each other in the National Assembly and unite, do something, we will still have hope. But the enemy takes advantage of the fact that they also fight each other in parliament.”
Tamara Melkumyan watches the National Assembly sessions from faraway Kut and has a very bad impression of the new parliament. “What is happening in our National Assembly at present is unacceptable. If adults in a family fight, for example, what will that child learn? The same goes for our National Assembly. What example do they set? The National Assembly is guilty, whether it’s the ruling party or the opposition doesn’t matter. If they come to an agreement… They are fighting each other there, but we are under fire here. Why are you fighting, are you fighting for power? Think for our people and settle this, return our lands, our soldiers, and our captives. The deputies are fighting with each other there, but 18-year-old children are standing in front of fire. Why are the children defending you- so you can fight for power? My brother’s 3 sons are at the border. They all have 3 children. They left their children behind and went to the border. Did they go to be fired upon for people to fight each other here? Let them stand by our children. Let them reconcile, correct everything, then continue. Please, go ahead and fight for your power.”
The Kut resident is convinced that the enemy is closely watching the domestic political processes in Armenia and sees that people are fighting for power. “The Turk says I will do my job and they do their job. If the National Assembly and our leadership come and stand at the border, the Turks will not do anything bad.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
