Looking through old photos of Artsakh, Armen struggles to hold back tears. He tries to hide them from his children, who have been through so much since 2020. His youngest, 7-year-old Arame, remembers their last Christmas in the Askeran region of Artsakh, just as the blockade was beginning in 2022. The blockade lasted until September 2023, when they were forced to leave everything behind: their home, their belongings, and the life they had known.
“I believe God helped us survive and find the strength to live again,” says Armen Petrosyan, 38, who has been serving in the Artsakh army since 2005. "I don’t know how we would have made it through if not for God’s mercy." Armen’s father, a soldier in Hadrut, passed away while Armen was working in Russia. That loss led him to settle in Hadrut, to continue his father’s work, where he met Anahit, 35, and together they raised five children.
Despite the social and financial struggles in Hadrut-where they rented a house without electricity or gas-Anahit holds on to fond memories. While Armen was on the frontline, she took care of animals and managed a small farm.
In 2020, their world changed again. The family was forced to leave Hadrut and resettle in Askeran, where Armen bought a house for 6 million drams, not knowing they would be forced to leave it just two years later. "It was a spacious two-story house, big enough for everyone to have their own room," Armen recalls. "During the blockade, I even renovated the basement, despite my prosthetic leg. It was hard, but I did it. My neighbors couldn’t understand why, but I never imagined I would have to leave again."
The family has recently received humanitarian aid through the "Comprehensive Assistance to Refugees from Nagorno Karabakh and Vulnerable Host Communities" project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) and implemented by FAR and Sign of Hope (SoH), supports 400 refugee families in Berd, Ijevan, and Noyemberyan. The project provides mental health and psychosocial support, protection services, and assistance with shelter, non-food items, and winterization.
They also received 13 cubic meters of firewood to keep their family of eight warm through the winter. Armen’s children—Arame, 7; Armenuhi, 9; Astghik, 13; Arus, 14; and Arman, 15—love to gather around the stove, looking at photos from their life in Artsakh. "Sometimes we make ‘pletch’—sliced potatoes cooked on the stove. It reminds us of our days back in Artsakh," says Anahit, who continues animal husbandry in their new rented house in Sevkar, Tavush province.
After the displacement, which took the family three days to reach Goris and then Vanadzor, Armen drove around Armenia searching for a place that resembled Artsakh. "Sevkar is the closest I’ve found. The weather, the nature, even the people remind me of Artsakh," he says. "It’s important to help someone who has fallen into the river. It can make a world of difference. A lot has changed for me, especially in how I communicate and relate to others. It’s been hard. Life feels like an uphill battle, and when your children aren’t getting along, it’s easy to feel like you’ve lost everything. But your support means everything to us. It gives us hope, and that’s something we’re holding on to. Thank you for helping us and all the other families still facing so many challenges.”
The "Comprehensive Assistance to Refugees from Nagorno Karabakh and Vulnerable Host Communities" project was made possible due to a generous grant provided to FAR and Sign of Hope (SoH) by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), as a contribution to our continuous support to refugee families settled across Armenia. Thanks to their generosity, we have been able to reach out to 400 refugee families in Berd, Ijevan, and Noyemberyan providing mental health and psychosocial support, protection services, and assistance with shelter, non-food items, and winterization.
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