“This work was sacred to me”: Anna Astvatsaturian-Turcotte on continuing the Artsakh project in Syunik

Anna Astvatsaturian-Turcotte, a writer, educator, human rights advocate and member of the Westbrook City Council, spoke with Alpha News about the Ser Syunik initiative, modeled on the Ser Artsakh project that she had been running for many years in support of mothers of newborns in Artsakh.

“Starting June 1, we plan to launch the Ser Syunik project, modeled on Ser Artsakh, through which we provided every newborn in Artsakh with a gift package containing essential items for mothers and newborns, all purchased in Armenia,” she said, noting that assistance was provided to around 3,000 Artsakh families who had welcomed a new child.

According to Astvatsaturian-Turcotte, she is now carrying out the same project in Syunik, the region she herself is originally from.

She also told Alpha News about how it all began, how the idea came to her, and how she worked to bring the project to life.

“I am a refugee from Baku, so my motivation was my family and Artsakh, from which 350,000 people were displaced. The suffering of those people. Artsakh is historically Armenian land. Throughout our history, we have lost so much. And that was the first time we had reclaimed our lands. This work was sacred to me,” she said.