Karabakh’s «Big, Fat» Wedding is one for the Record Books!
[November 10, 2008]
On October 16th, a mass wedding ceremony took place in the center of the NKR capital of Stepanakert. The actual marriage rites for the 700 newlyweds took place in the historic Armenian town of Shushi and at the newly renovated Monastery Complex of Gandzasar.
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 Edik Baghdasaryan
Exploding Landmines in Karabakh Continue to Maim
[October 27, 2008]
On October 18th, 11 year-old Arkady Khachatryan was taken from the village of Zaglik to the hospital at Martakert. Fragments from an exploding piece of ordinance had damaged the young boy’s abdomen, left hand and fingers.
We had a chance to talk to the boy before he was wheeled into the surgical unit. “I was poking around in some garbage when I found it. I didn’t know what it was. There was a small indentation on it but I couldn’t make it out. I went and got a hammer and holding the thing down with my left hand I struck it with my right. It blew up.” said Arkady, tears rolling down his cheeks. The doctors said that it was too early to say if any shrapnel had lodged on the boy’s stomach but given the visible wounds they assumed that there might be.
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 Alvard Grigoryan
Do the Women of Karabakh Really Require all that Much?
[November 03, 2008]
More than a year ago one of my girlfriends related a sad scene she had witnessed at the Stepanakert maternity ward. A small young girl, after giving birth, stood by the window for hours on end, waiting for the father of the child to appear. Who might have guessed on old this girl with the large eyes really was; but she appeared to be not much older than a child. And for whom was she waiting with such yearning? There was something familiar in the situation that this girl, whose name I later learnt was Silva, found herself in. It was something common to many Karabakh women in the post-war period; a pervading sensation of loneliness.
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Shushan Stepanyan
A Hadrut Mosaic
[October 13, 2008]
Valya moved to Hadrut from Moscow three years ago. It was in Moscow that she fell in love with Vova, an Armenian. They returned to Hadrut to start a family and put down roots. “It was difficult in the beginning. None of us had any work. The most important thing, however, was that Hadrut really appealed to me.”
Valya would bake pastries and try to sell her wares to various stores. She also helped Vova working in a vegetable store. Gradually things began to fall into place. Valya remembers that at the beginning she wasn’t that warmly received by the townsfolk. She was only on speaking terms with Vova’s father, Ruben.
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 Ararat Davtyan
“I’m Going to Marry a Village Girl and Head Off to Russia”
[September 29, 2008]
Igor Yesayan and lives in the Metz Shen village in the Martakert district of Artsakh. He isn’t able to recount a single interesting episode in his entire life. “What can I say, I didn’t have a childhood. A war was raging here.”
“I raise livestock or haul in wood from the thicket. Up till the time of the war some 727 people lived here. In 1992, along with most of Martakert, this village was captured as well. After being liberated a portion of the former residents never returned. Many also emigrated during the difficult years that followed. Today, there are only 333 residents left in Metz Shen.
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 Ararat Davtyan
We Won the War but Remain on the Fringes
[October 06, 2008]
Artsakh resident Karen Petrosyan is blind in his right eye; a reason he wasn’t drafted into the Soviet Army. However, he actively participated in the liberation of Karabakh. “ I was in the infantry and manned a mortar. I did whatever I could. Now, I’m not any good for anybody.” he laments.
Mr. Petrosyan hails from the Aknaghbyur village in the Hadrut district. He has four kids who he says have grown up eating macaroni.
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 Anahit Danielyan
A Group Wedding Ceremony in Karabakh Attracts Hundreds of Couples
[August 11, 2008]
It has already been a few months that the notion of staging a mass wedding ceremony in Karabakh this fall has taken the populace by storm. The man who came up with the idea is the famous businessman and benefactor Levon Hayrapetyan. Everyone here is filled with great excitement preparing for unique event. It is unique not only because couples planning to marry will receive financial assistance from the sponsors but also from the government. Thus, they will not be burdened with the large expenses involved in the wedding ceremony.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Lavrent Shumanyan: A Man Molded by the Wounds of War
[June 16, 2008]
During the Artsakh War the tank he commanded was the first to plunge into battle, straight towards the enemy positions from which there was little chance of returning from in one piece. He was given these difficult missions because everyone knew that Lavrent wasn’t one to shirk the responsibilities assigned him and that he’d fulfill the mission objectives no matter what the cost and safely return. Anyone who knows the man will attest to these traits of his.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Invincible “Begor” from Artsakh
[June 30, 2008]
“If everyone, starting from the army private to the government minister, were to spare no effort in performing their job, all the tasks we undertake would be crowned with success…” These are the words once uttered by Begor, a legendary hero of the Artsakh War and Commander of the First Military Headquarters. For Begor, “patriotism is nothing more than conscientiously fulfilling the responsibilities assigned to you.”
This is the conviction with which Ashot Ghulyan, nicknamed Begor, conducted himself during the Artsakh War years. Everyone who knows at least one excerpt of the war is familiar with this man whose destiny it was to carry a heavy burden of responsibility and to fulfill it all in a short lifespan of 33 years. His widow, Nelly Ghulyan, states, “Ashot’s life was witness to many trials and tribulations. She remembers al the ups and downs during the seven years they spent as husband and wife.
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 Anahit Danielyan
When a 2 ½ Year-Old Daughter has a Premonition of her Father’s Death
[August 04, 2008]
Even though 14 year-old Satenik never saw her father, she knows every aspect of his life. She has learnt about him through stories told by her mother, relatives and friends of her dad. Satenik was born eight months after her father passed away.
Satenik’s mother, Nouneh, says that, “After Samvel’s funeral I found out that I was pregnant. Geghanoush, only two and one half years old at the time, actually foresaw the possibility of having a younger sister being born.
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 Anahit Danielyan
“We are really like a small child who can be made happy even by a simple little toy”
[June 09, 2008]
The wheelchair belonging to 43 year-old Vazgen Khachatryan is always parked at the entrance to the building in which he lives. This is where Vazgen, registered as a 1st degree disabled Artsakh war veteran, goes daily with the aid of crutches. Once settled in his wheelchair, Vazgen is off on his usual routine which consists of either playing backgammon with neighbors in the backyard or to the communal garage where he says he always finds something to do to pass the time of day.
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 Edik Baghdasaryan
Movses Hakobyan: “Our army is capable of maintaining the ceasefire in the conflict zone”
[May 12, 2008]
Q - Mr. Hakobyan, I’d first like to congratulate you on the anniversary of the liberation of Shushi and my first question relates to it. What was the significance of Shushi’s liberation for Karabakh?
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 Anahit Danielyan
Eight Children are Left Homeless
[May 19, 2008]
Mikayel Arushanyan, a 2nd degree invalid resulting from his participation in the Artsakh War, has eight children. His entire family has no home to call their own. All their efforts to somehow extricate themselves from the dire straits they’ve been living in for years have proved fruitless.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Shushi - The Time to Build is Now!
[May 26, 2008]
16 years after being liberated the town of Shushi remains basically in ruins and dilapidated despite the many pronouncements emanating from the highest levels noting the urgent need to reconstruct it. To that end a number of organizations and foundations have been created, but we are still left with what exists today. Furthermore, in the ensuing years a number of buildings with historic significance have been razed to the ground along with other structures.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Our Boys Fought and Died So That We Could Live Well
[May 05, 2008]
43 year-old Margarita still cannot come to grips with the fact that we lost so many good boys during the Artsakh War. “What a great bunch of guys they were - Davit, Ashot, Vitali...” she states as she counts off their names one by one. Margarita could go on telling stories about all of them: how they would try to maintain themselves correctly and at attention in the company of the girls or how the boys would delve into their pockets for some leftover sweets to give them. And the girls, in turn, would help out the boys whenever possible.
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 Anahit Danielyan
He Picked Up a Gun Instead of a Camera
[April 28, 2008]
“During the war it never crossed my mind that having disability papers would one day help me to purchase medicine or to get hospital treatment.” says Garik Harutyunyan, a Karabakh War veteran. He’s been receiving hospital care for three months now, but to no avail. His doctors say his condition is chronic.
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New Projects Envisaged For Kashatagh
[April 07, 2008]
An international conference devoted to the development of the Kashatagh region of the NKR took place from March 28 - 30 in the town of Berdzor, Kashatagh’s regional center. The Tufenkian Foundation organized the conference. Mr. Antranig Kasparian, the Foundation’s Director in Armenia, asked that “Hetq” publish the following summary of the conference’s results.
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 Edik Baghdasaryan
A New Page In Kashatagh's History?
[March 31, 2008]
An international conference devoted to the development of Kashatagh took place from March 28th - 30th in Berdzor, the regional hub of the Kashatagh region of the NKR. The conference was organized by the Tufenkian Fund, under the auspices of the government of the NKR. The aim of the conference was to get Armenians to once again focus their attention on the problems facing the region and to rally resources needed to implement a variety of projects.
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 Anahit Danielyan
“My Only Wish Is That Armenians Return To Live Here”
[March 31, 2008]
“What lands are they talking about giving back? Who thinks it’s possible to return even a tiny bit? We won’t give back anything”, so says Karineh Danielyan who fought in the Karabakh War.
It was in 1992 that Karineh, now 45 years old, first participated in the war. She can speak for hours about the various battles all over Karabakh that she was in.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Storm Damage Is Being Cleaned-Up In Karabakh
[March 25, 2008]
The fierce winds that struck Karabakh on March 22nd, lasting as they did for several hours, caused extensive property damage and injured ten people.
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 Anahit Danielyan
The Traces of War
[March 21, 2008]
Leonid Soghomonyan, a 42 year-old resident of the Berdashen village in the Martuni region of the NKR, still carries around the wounds he received while fighting in the Artsakh war. His doctors have recommended spinal surgery but he’s refused since they will not guarantee that he’ll regain any pelvic function.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Kashatagh - Attempts to Correct the Situation
[March 06, 2008]
During the past few months the NKR Government has been paying comparably more attention to the region of Kashatagh. This is born out by the recent visit of NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan to the region.
During his meeting with community leaders and representatives of educational, health and other institutions, it was noted that government financed work to supply gas, improve the water distribution system and repairs to specific roads in the regional center of Berdzor would be completed this year.
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 Anahit Danielyan
They Returned from the War “Inheriting” Incurable Maladies
[February 25, 2008]
The war in Artsakh has left its disastrous stamp on the health of Aram Kostanyan. The former freedom fighter now shows up at the psychiatric clinic.
The ease he expressed at the beginning of our conversation would prove that he wasn’t a very talkative person. He only said that he participated in the liberation of various areas of Karabakh, including the Lachin corridor.
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 Nayira Hayrumyan
A French-Armenian Entrepreneur Petitions the President for Help
[January 07, 2008]
Dear Mr. President,
“I came to Karabakh from France with the best of intentions and to pursue a number of patriotic objectives.
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A New Initiative to Assist the People of Kashatagh
[January 07, 2008]
Dear Friends of Kashatagh:
We are writing to thank you for signing the petition brought to the President of Artsakh, Arkady Ghoukasian, regarding the dire conditions in Karabagh.
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 Anahit Danielyan
Diaspora Armenians in Artsakh
[January 21, 2008]
Jirayr Shahichanyan considers himself to be a successful businessman in Karabakh although he confesses his earnings aren’t that great. Jirayr, a 34 year-old Armenian from the Iranian city of Isphahan, first set foot in Karabakh in 1996 after completing his compulsory military service.
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Edik Baghdasaryan
I Want to Make My Contribution in the Liberated Lands
[November 05, 2007]
“ I’m not interested in any promises, I’m going of my own free will. I know conditions are rough there “, observes Shahen Baliozian, a Syrian-Armenian who left for Kashatagh with three other doctors on the morning of November 1st.
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Edik Baghdasaryan
New Verin Shen
[July 30, 2007]
For eight years Iskhan Hovannisyan has been the village mayor of Verin Shen in the region of Nor Shahumyan.
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