‘I managed to bring one precious thing with me from Martuni’ | Artsakh forced exodus #39

23-year-old Arman lost two homes in Artsakh. First, as a result of the 44-day war, his father’s house in Taghavard remained under the control of Azerbaijan. Then, he moved to the city of Martuni, and three years later, he was forced to leave his Artsakh. The graves of Arman’s father, uncle and grandmother were left there.

“After the 44-day war, I got a job at a gas station. During the blockade, I rode my bike 8 km every day to get to work. On September 19, the boss told me that I could come to work a little later. I went to the city center, where I met with the head of the military police department. Before we even had time to exchange two words, the shelling began. I called my mother and told her to take the documents with her and take shelter. The city was in chaos. I could not even imagine that after a 9-month blockade, we would have to leave Artsakh. I managed to take with me a bunch of newspapers, which were very dear to me. I wanted to publish a book about the boys who died in the 44-day war. I collected their biographies. I have already written about 191 Armenian sons. All of them were from the city of Martuni and nearby villages,” says Arman.

Initially, according to Arman, Martuni was not the enemy’s target, but late in the afternoon, the city was shelled.

“A shell fell right in front of the entrance to our basement. Fortunately, we were not injured,” says Arman.

After the ceasefire, various rumors circulated in the city. Arman heard that they would not be able to stay in Artsakh for more than a week, and according to other rumors, they would be able to stay there until January 1st. And it was precisely because of this uncertainty and panic that on September 26 the population of Martuni was evacuated to Stepanakert. According to Arman, they spent two days in one of the capital’s schools, and on the third day they were forced to leave Artsakh.

“I still can’t come to terms with this reality, and I’m in a lot of pain. I was very worried all the way and was thinking about how to get back. We reached Goris in one day. The Azerbaijanis behaved normally; I was even stunned. And when we crossed the Hakari Bridge, I ceased to be a complete person, because before that, we were still on the territory of our Artsakh. We were warmly greeted by the NSS border troops and treated to food, and we had a little hope that everything would be fine. Then we went to Goris and registered there. We were offered to go to Gyumri, on the way they said that they were taking us to a hotel, but they brought us to the Karkachan restaurant, located near the village of Beniamin, which lacked basic living conditions. I called my uncle and asked him to take us to Yerevan. So, we came here and rented a house that same day,” says Arman.

Arman is a philologist by profession and continues his 4th year of studies here at the State Pedagogical University of Armenia. He is also taking retraining courses at the 35th Nikolai Gogol Primary School in Yerevan. However, Arman intends to enter politics.

“I want us to liberate and return Artsakh,” says the 23-year-old with the hope that he will return to Armenian Artsakh․