Svetlana Isakhanyan and Lyudmila Petrosyan, nurses by profession, settled in Hartashen village of Goris area of the Syunik Region after being forcibly displaced from the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert. Svetlana and Lyudmila are sisters. Lyudmila gets emotional while telling the story of their forced deportation from Artsakh.
“My sister is taking it very hard,” says Svetlana. She notes that they did not think about leaving Artsakh, but when the Azerbaijanis already besieged Stepanakert, they had to leave their beloved city. Mrs. Svetlana says that she has three sons, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren; they all came to Armenia. The children are in Yerevan; good people gave them a place where they live. She and her sister settled in Hartashen, and the landlord, giving them a two-story private house, said: “If you want, you will pay; if you can’t, you won’t.” The sisters are delighted with the house owner; they say he helps them with food.
According to Svetlana, they left Stepanakert taking only clothes. “We arrived in Armenia well because we were on a bus with a convoy, but my children stayed on the road for three days. It was terrible with a small car; the children cried, and they were hungry and thirsty,” she says in an interview with “Aravot.”
“While passing through the Turkish checkpoint, my sister’s son, the driver, said: don’t be afraid, the Turk will ask how many women, how many children, how many people are there. They counted how many people there were, checked things to see if there were people, and then even mocked: “Is Arayik Harutstunyan there?” We have reached Kornidzor; we were respected and honored. The Turks also gave water and chocolate. We took the water they gave us on the road, but we threw it away. My sister’s son did not let us drink. They were playing philanthropy, but they came near the city, they attacked, they shot, there were wounded people in the city,” says Svetlana.
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When asked if they imagine living together with Azerbaijanis, the sisters unanimously answer no. “I am a woman of my age; I am close to death, but those children will go to school, they will live. He wants us to live together, but the Red Cross says how many dead bodies were taken out of the villages, and there are children in hospitals. The Turks both say peace and attack and slaughter; we had victims every day, and our television had reported victims and wounded every day. Our young people are a sin.
They say peace, but they make fun of us. Gradually encircled us, our people fled from all the villages and came to Stepanakert; they didn’t let people work in their fields,” says Svetlana. The sisters say that during the attack on September 19, the Azerbaijani armed forces mainly targeted the civil infrastructures and settlements of Artsakh. They created an atmosphere of fear among the people of Artsakh so that people leave their homes. “My son was taking people to the post office with his Gazelle, and he was attacked on the way to Stepanakert in his car; the boy left his car and ran away. We lived with them before, but they were cats, and now they are in an aggressive position. Either Erdogan should die so that Aliyev becomes a little weak, or Pashinyan should leave, another person should sit there so that Aliyev understands that the other person is smart,” says Mrs. Lyudmila.
The sisters say that on the days of the attack, they were left wondering why the Defense Army was disarmed. “They disarmed the army briefly; we don’t know what happened. We resisted, but they attacked, and their victims were many, but that gasoline explosion took away our children. War is a bad thing; those who are lucky survive. We did not imagine the war would reach Stepanakert, but in the last months, the people were uncertain; they said: either it will stay with the Turks or it will stay with us,” Lyudmila Petrosyan adds.
According to them, during the months of the blockade, the situation in Artsakh was horrible. The Russians brought food, but they sold it at a very high price. Then, they add that if the Russian wanted, he would have stopped the depopulation of Artsakh. “But this man, Nikol Pashinyan, behaved wrongly. You will answer to the whole nation: did you allow the war to happen? The ship sinks, and the captain shoots himself. Aren’t you good enough for a captain? What was in Arayik’s hand? He also obeyed Pashinyan. Arayik is Pashinyan’s tail,” they say. The sisters say that they have no idea when they will be able to return to Artsakh. According to them, as long as Artsakh is under the control of Azerbaijan, the people of Artsakh will not return. “Do you know how many mothers have lost? It’s terrible, it’s impossible to live with a Turk,” they add.
Rosa HOVHANNISYAN
