Nare’s story of happiness and loss: Witnesses of Artsakh exodus #3

Alpha News collects stories of forcibly displaced people from Artsakh—people who were forced to leave everything and choose the path of long and difficult deportation.

“My family and I were happy in Artsakh. If there are certain guarantees, then I will definitely return,” forcibly displaced Nare Nikoghosyan says in an interview with Alpha News.

The woman recalls how her family moved to Artsakh for permanent residence in 1994, when she was in the 9th grade.

She says that she has spent the best 25 years of her life there. She received an education, then married a Stepanakert man and gave birth to children.

Nare considers Artsakh her homeland and cannot imagine her life without Artsakh land. She has worked at Artsakh Public Television and taught at the university. She did not want to leave Stepanakert until the last day. But she gave in to mass panic, forcing her to take only extremely necessary things and leave Artsakh for the safety and future of her children.

“I would like the displaced migrants from Artsakh to integrate into Armenian society as painlessly as possible, and, if possible, without conflicts. I want everyone to understand that we have one Motherland—Armenia-Artsakh,” Nare says.

“To have Artsakh, we must simply learn to love our Motherland and appreciate what we have. We probably didn’t deserve Artsakh… along with all our common mistakes.” This is how Nare ends the story of her Artsakh memories, the page that she does not close…