“EVERYTHING WILL BE GREAT…”

The heads of Chinari, Aygepar, Movses and Verin Karmiraghbyur villages, who suffered from the Azerbaijani attack, speak about the hostilities, their aftermath, rehabilitation works and the mood of the villagers.

SAMVEL YEGHOYAN

Head of Chinari village

To be honest, we were not particularly surprised by the next adventure of the Azerbaijanis. Our village has been under enemy fire for 30 years, we have seen a lot. Every Chinari resident is a soldier. Chinari is not an ordinary village, I call it a militarized community. As tensions at the border escalated, we realized that Azeris would soon start targeting civilians. This is almost always the case. When our servicemen suppress the enemy’s firing points, they direct their weapons against the civilian population. They take revenge on us when they lose to our army.

So far we have not had any victims. We are always ready to defend ourselves until the army retaliates. There are enough shelters in the village with appropriate furniture, bathroom, living conditions, medical supplies and water supply. We have used all possible resources to have safe hiding places. We sound the alarm at school several times a year to see if the children can get to the shelter quickly without trampling on each other.

..You cannot imagine how good the people of our village are. How patriotic they are, how firmly attached to their roots! What dignity and honor they have, how they love their village, home, family, fellow villagers, how they respect their sanctities, the graves of their ancestors. How brave and unbreakable they are! And the young people … They are heroic, bright, self-sacrificing, lion boys. A wonderful generation has risen, our pride.

We are part of the army. The enemy fired large-caliber machine guns and heavy artillery against the civilian population. There was no logic. Who hits the houses, the people working in their gardens with heavy artillery? It was crazy.

Our army silenced the enemy. Very harshly. They left scores of dead bodies, you may have seen the footage.

… July 15 was our hardest day. Two ‘kamikazes’ were thrown near the village. Then they hit the car of the rescuers rushing to the aid of the injured. But our soldiers, working accurately, like jewelers, hit the targets…

Some of the hit houses need renovation. One is completely damaged, a new one must be built. The owner has five minor children, we must quickly build that man’s house.,. But what matters in the end of the day is the victory we won.

Long live Chinari!

MKRTICH YAMUKYAN

Head of Aygepar village

First of all, let me say that we have no human losses. Only the death of a person is irreversible, you will not bring it back. As for material losses, don’t worry, we’ll restore everything. There is no depression. There are groups working in the village right now. They will look, register, determine the extent of the damage. I am full of hope that in a short time the houses will be repaired, people will return to normal life. Aygepar has a military biography. It is a village tormented by the flames of war, it is a fighter. We are proud to be gardeners. This is our birthplace, this is our home, the tombs of our ancestors, our shrines. We will overcome all difficulties and continue to live in our village. Everything will be great.

ARTAK PAPYAN

Movses village head

To the people of Moses, the sound of gunfire is like the rustle of a river. Movses has been a war-torn village since the 1990s. Hero village. So we are neither surprised nor scared. Moses did not suffer much from the last activity of the enemy. The gas pipeline was damaged, we repaired it quickly. It is a pity that in these days of harvest, when the people usually spent the day in the garden, now they cannot gather the harvest; People have been suffering for this crop all year round. Whatever we do, we do not choose the storms, and we must be ready to face any adventure in the face of such a humble and weak, cowardly and foolish storm. The important thing is that we are not lost. In any case, the people are strong, this will pass, have we overcome such things?

KAMO CHOBANYAN

Head of Verin Karmiraghbyur village

For the first time, the Azerbaijanis fired on the vineyards, lands and wheat fields of Verin Karmiraghbyur village, where more than 100 people were engaged in agricultural work. We are residents of a border village, our ears have long been accustomed to shooting, but this was obviously a serious attack. We have not been attacked so hard for a long time. Especially during the harvest, when people are in the gardens from early morning. I was at the entrance to the village hall when the first explosions were heard. Of course, it was difficult to find hiding in the open field, but there was no alternative. This is Azerbaijan’s dirty handwriting to shoot unarmed people engaged in cultivating. It seems to them that Armenians are as cowardly as Azeris, and even with the strongest fire, they can scare us. People were able to defend themselves. There were houses in the area, summer houses where people lived. The fire lasted for more than half an hour.

The next day, shells fell on the village and exploded in the gardens of the villagers. Only the dishonorable army of Azerbaijan will shell civilians, peasants. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We have no human or material losses. It is already calm. They started. They were beaten and became smart.

Of course, people are worried, like everyone in Armenia, but there is no panic, people are full of optimism, determination to defend their land.

By GAYANE POGHOSYAN