In my mind and in my heart, I am always in Avetaranots

Stock farmers Garik and Lilia Hayrapetyan walk 6 km from Askeran twice a day and return with containers full of milk. Tired, sun-drenched, but at the same time happy that they can supply milk to people in trouble, and provide income for their family.

As a result of the 44-day Artsakh war, the Hayrapetyans were displaced from Avetaranots village of Askeran region. They left everything there, including their dreams and goals.

They had just started a family when they began rearing cattle. For 20 years, the number of livestock increased, doubling the strength and energy of the hardworking couple. They needed to raise three daughters and fulfill the goals. They used to rely only on their own strength.

The war of 2020 turned everything upside down. The displaced family settled in Askeran and was provided with an apartment by the state.

Even today, the Hayrapetyans continue to work hard, relying on themselves. The family’s only source of income is the income from cattle breeding.

“I love my land very much and I don’t want to live anywhere else. I don’t lose faith that one day I will return to my village. In my mind and my heart, I am always in Avetaranots. Every corner of it is in front of my eyes, there are the graves of our relatives. However, my heart is comforted by the fact that I continue to live in the land of Artsakh, not in a foreign place.

Today we are facing many difficulties, the blockade has affected all of us, but all difficulties are bearable, the important thing is to get out of this uncertainty, so that we can live under the Artsakh sky,” Garik Hayrapetyan said.

He is convinced that the people of Artsakh are definitely strong and resilient.

He does not talk about the fact that he has had serious health problems for several years. Instead, he is proud: his back is strong, his wife is patient, and daughters are kind and complaisant.

In 2019, they finished the renovation of their house in Avetaranots, furnished it and had to enjoy what they had created with so much difficulty.

“We create again, we continue to work, we never lose our hope and faith. It is true that we suffer a lot, but our land forces us to do even impossible things.”

For the Hayrapetyans, as well as for all Artsakh residents, the complete lack of fuel is an insurmountable obstacle today, which hinders a number of agricultural works. The Hayrapetyans are not able to fully sell dairy and meat products. The demand is great, but the opportunities are scarce. They manage to satisfy only a small part of the population with milk, and provide it to a family engaged in the ice-cream production in Askeran.