‘It was clear that the war had started’: Artsakh exodus #12

On the morning of September 19, I felt as if someone was bothering me. My inner voice told me, ‘wait a little longer, then leave the house’. Martuni resident Gevorg Sargsyan tells Alpha News about his “last” morning in Artsakh.

When the shooting started, Gevorg, with his wife and child, was at his father-in-law’s place in Stepanakert.

Gevorg says that during the first blasts of the 44-day war, he spent several minutes convincing himself that this was not a war. But what happened on September 19 was much more powerful. It was clear that the war had started.

“Three minutes later, I realized that this was the ‘special operation’ that Azerbaijan warned about,” Gevorg says.

But the most horrible thing he saw was around the hospital after the blast of the fuel depot, and then inside the hospital itself.

Gevorg tried to help the injured citizens, who were left completely helpless in front of the hospital. After helping some of the injured, Gevorg felt bad and went home. When he arrived at the hospital the next morning, he realized that yesterday he helped those who were in “good” condition.

“It’s impossible to describe. People’s faces had completely changed; there were no faces at all. Their arms and legs were completely burned. The hospital did not have appropriate medical supplies,” recalls Gevorg.

Now Gevorg rents an apartment in Yerevan with his family. But he is constantly tormented by the question: How will he fall asleep tomorrow?

“When I was in Yerevan during my student years, I used to be restless a month after leaving Karabakh. I even talked in my sleep at night…”