My son Nver’s body was completely burned, his hand was missing, Mikayelis’s throat was cut.” forcibly displaced Artsakh father
On September 19, when Azerbaijan started a war against the Republic of Artsakh, which has been under siege for about 10 months, they killed more than a dozen civilians, including children.
Only in the region of Askeran, representatives of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan killed 5 children: two of them were brothers: 8-year-old Nver and 10-year-old Mikayel. The parents had brought the bodies of both of them to Armenia while being displaced, to be buried on September 30 in Masis cemetery.
The father of the massacred boys, Radik Ghazaryan, their younger brothers, Karen and Seyran, took part in the baptism of 140 forcibly displaced Artsakh citizens on November 14 in St. Tadevos Church in Masis, with the blessing of Bishop Ter Gevorg Saroyan, Leader of Masyatsotni Diocese.
After the loss of Mikayel and Nver, their mother, Mrs. Zarine, has become less talkative, she does not want to give many interviews, she says that Azerbaijan takes those interviews, spreads them in the Azerbaijani domain and makes fun of the children, and is proud of the crime they committed.
Radik Ghazaryan does not outwardly show his emotional state, he says that his wife and two small children are looking at him, he must be strong.
“What happened in Artsakh was genocide. If Azerbaijan says it did not commit genocide against Armenians, let them bring my children and give them back to me. If you have children, bring them up and adore them, one day it will be like that, so what was it that wasn’t genocide?
Starting from 2020, there are always victims and victims, it is not permissible to attack the civilian population during war. But Azerbaijan committed all kinds of crimes,” Radik Ghazaryan told 168.am.
On September 19, when Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh, Radik Ghazaryan was on the frontline, he learned the news of his sons’ killing three days later, when he had already left the positions.
“Our village could be seen from the enemy’s positions, but standing at the positions, how could we know what was happening in the village?” What can I say, we kept it and kept it, in the end they said that it has been handed over, we had to leave them and come dome down.
If they were handing over land, why did we sacrifice so many people: my brothers and children would be by my side now,” said our interlocutor.
In the 44-day war, 2020, Radik Ghazaryan lost his brother, in the war of 2023, his other brother and two children. He says that there aren’t even words to talk about those losses, but if necessary, he will take up his guns again and stand up.
During the September 19 attack, one of the Ghazaryans’ sons, 6-year-old Seyran, was wounded by an enemy bullet.
“The war ended, we stayed in positions under the Azerbaijani blockade for about 3 days, and then the Russian peacekeepers came and took us down to the village. That’s when I found out that my two sons are gone. Our village is very close to the positions of Azerbaijan, approximately 1 km by air.
My son Nverwas injured in a bad way, the body was completely burned, the hand was missing, and there were wounds on the head. Michael’s throat was cut, the child immediately fell into the enemy.
The son of our village mayor, Davit, also died.
The children thought that it would be safe under the mountain, they climbed there, well, it was not safe. I have served in the army for many years, I know what happened, which is which…” said our interlocutor.
After the loss of his homeland, home, and sons, Radik Ghazaryan’s other two sons, 6-year-old Seyran and 1-year-old Karen, give him strength to live. He says that at first he could not see anything, but after being forcibly displaced, when he settled in the city of Masis, he started communicating with people, and now he has regained consciousness to some extent.
People always told me that you have two children, you should live for them, I live for my children, and otherwise I have nothing left to lose.
I don’t need money or possessions, I have lost all that, my homeland is behind me, now I have only two children.
Even now, if there is a war, I will participate, but it is not possible for me to go and live in Artsakh in this situation. Now if I say I don’t need Artsakh, others say the same, then who needs our homeland?
Tomorrow they may say: we don’t need Armenia either, let the Turks come and sit here, and we, as a nation, will disappear, right? This is a wrong way of thinking, one thing: the one who runs away runs away, the rest stays, he emphasized.
Radik Ghazaryan is sure, and everyone knows that, when Azerbaijan talks about integration, they are lying, because the integration they say means direct genocide.
“Several people remained in Artsakh, what they saw, they turn to the Red Cross to get them out of there. Under no circumstances can you live with a Turk.
If any of us had imagined what would happen, believe me, we would not have reached this law. In 2020, when we were displaced again, we returned to the village after the war, we saw what happened.
Artsakh was sold and eaten by several people. Starting with Nikol, they were sold and eaten fresh. When we talk here, they say, “Oh, no, Nikol is our guardian.”
Putin says that I will protect my homeland with a sword, Nikol says, do we need this mountain? Anyway, I don’t feel safe in Armenia either, now if Azerbaijan wants the 8 villages and says if you don’t give them, I will take them by force, are we safe? Having seen so much, can you be one of them, can you trust, or not?” concluded our interlocutor.
Today, Radik Ghazaryan lives in the city of Masis with his wife, two children, and his mother. He says that one of the residents gave his house so that they could live without paying rent for a while, until it becomes clear how their future life will be arranged.
