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UNDER THE ROCK: A VISIT TO KARABAKH'S QARIN TAK VILLAGE
http://www.armenianow.com/society/features/48068/qarin_tak_karabakh_war
FEATURES | 26.07.13 | 16:19
Photo: Gayane Lazarian/ArmeniaNow.com
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Soviet-production Volga-24 car moves with great difficulty against
the almost impassable ascent. After a while, the car pulls over and
our driver says if he continues a little farther he would be unable to
return. We pay him for the ride and cross the rest of the way on foot.
After walking down two winding turns, the village comes into our sight,
hidden under a massive cliff.
Enlarge Photo Marietta Asatryan and Nora Arushanyan
Enlarge Photo Shurik Gharakhanyan (left)
Enlarge Photo Mayor and Lena Sargsyans
Above shines the diamond of Artsakh (historic name for Nagorno
Karabakh) - Shushi, beneath is Qarin Tak. A mighty waterfall streamed
down from Shushi and formed Qarin Tak beneath a giant rock (the name
literally means 'under the rock'). It is due to the heroic resistance
of this settlement nested in the armpit of a magnificent huge rock
- Artsvabuyn (Eagle Nest), that Shushi was liberated at the time,
giving a major strategic advantage to the Armenian side, crucial for
the entire further course of the war (1992-1994) against the Azeris.
"Dear one, ... our village is a hero. If we had not defended this
village, the 'Turks' [people of Karabakh commonly refer to the Azeris
as 'Turks'] would have taken all of Karabakh... No way you have not
heard about us, this hero-village!" says 85-year-old Nora Arushanyan,
half-surprised, half-angry.
Women are all gathered at the village store. Men stand in a group a
little farther away. They notice us, strangers, as soon as we enter
the village. Seconds later they recognize that they are dealing with
reporters and invite to their places. The war has divided life in
Qarin Tak into 'old' and 'new'. The 'old' held almost no social issues,
but they lived on the verge of losing their identity, deprived of the
right to have ethnic values, the 'new' has plenty of social issues
and hardship, but they live on their own land with an owner's right.
"We live with constant fear in our hearts, we visit Shushi, but
again with fear. They used to tell us 'you are haram' ['illicit,
ill-gotten' in Turkish], 'Armenians are haram'. Before they would
not let us say 'Qarin Tak', we had to use the Turkish name Dashalti,"
says the village head's secretary Stella Babayan.
The slogan of Qarin Tak is one: "We have liberated ourselves from the
'Turks', so thank God, let it be a mouthful less, it's ok, we can
live with it. What matters most - no more war."
In Qarin Tak every resident is a hero and a chronicler.
Lena Sargsyan, 74, says: "We are Karabakh's gate. If we failed to keep
our village at the time, they would have seized all the surrounding
villages as well. Long live our village guys, they are good, good men".
The huge rock is locally referred to as "kerts" and every other word
is related to "kerts" one way or another. "Darling, right next to the
'kerts', under the 'kerts', or 'our kerts'."
"Right from the top of 'kerts' they rolled down burning wheels
and barrels onto the village, like rain shells would fall on our
heads... On January 26 of 1992 the Azeri carried out large-scale attack
with a few hundred soldiers, experienced officer personnel. They
blocked all roads to the village and tried to suffocate us
inside. Nobody left the village, we stayed and fought, young and old,
to survive. Eight hours later the Azeri left having incurred heavy
losses (150 dead)," tells Shurik Gharakhanyan, who knows firsthand
what it means to be at war.
Past is where the village's present should be, memories of it holding
the hopes for the future. What matters, they say, is that the village
does not have locked doors, people are not leaving, despite the
hardship. Men are engaged in construction in Shushi and Stepanakert,
also agriculture, animal breeding. There are 667 people living in
Qarin Tak, the school has 110 students, 23 minors attend kindergarten.
The village has natural gas supply.
"There was a silk factory in the village during the Soviet times,
people were employed at Shushi's manufacturing entities, villagers
did little livestock breeding or farming, because the economic issues
could not be solved through those. Hence they are only now trying
to develop agriculture there. If an economic entity opened locally
it would ease the villagers' burden greatly," says Edward Abaghyan,
accountant at the village administration.
The two main issues of Qarin Tak are drinking water and the road to
the village.
This year the All-Armenia Hayastan Fund completed the first stage
of repairs of the village's water supply system, due to which the
village will have regular drinking water supply. However, having a
good road remains to be a dream yet.
Major Sargsyan, 77, and Lena, 74, have their days filled with memories
with days bygone and thoughts about their children living abroad. The
photographs of their three sons and grandchildren are placed in a
corner of a big mirror. Their sons left the village long before the
war. One of them settled in Khabarovsk, the other two in Ashkhabad.
"When my son was in the army in Germany, one of his best buddies
turned out to be Azeri. He told his father that his best friend's
parents lived in Qarin Tak, 'go see them', he said. It was during the
blockade. One day we saw the 'Turk' pulling over his car loaded with
food: what fruits, what goods!... but the 'cup of patience was full'
and there was no other way," recalls Lena.
Her husband, Major, sings about the heroes, then unshed tears contract
his throat making him stop, and his eyes pick up the song and carry
it on.
"As soon as the night fell I would put a sack of potatoes over my
shoulder and go to sow in rows. They stood on the top of the rock,
watching to shoot. In the morning I would see I had sowed the rows
crooked. It was some life we had, dear, but we had to survive, to
continue living..." tells Major.
Major responds to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev's recent war rhetoric
this way: "Once they ask a barking dog why it keeps barking. The dog
says 'I want to bite'. They ask the dog why it is wagging its tail
then. The dog says 'I am afraid, too'. They failed to break this
small village with hundreds of soldiers..."
He gives a definite answer to the question about the NKR's
international recognition: "One day the international community will
recognize, because there is a people in this world which fought for
its land, for life, for freedom, for independence."
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.armenianow.com/society/features/48068/qarin_tak_karabakh_war
FEATURES | 26.07.13 | 16:19
Photo: Gayane Lazarian/ArmeniaNow.com
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Soviet-production Volga-24 car moves with great difficulty against
the almost impassable ascent. After a while, the car pulls over and
our driver says if he continues a little farther he would be unable to
return. We pay him for the ride and cross the rest of the way on foot.
After walking down two winding turns, the village comes into our sight,
hidden under a massive cliff.
Enlarge Photo Marietta Asatryan and Nora Arushanyan
Enlarge Photo Shurik Gharakhanyan (left)
Enlarge Photo Mayor and Lena Sargsyans
Above shines the diamond of Artsakh (historic name for Nagorno
Karabakh) - Shushi, beneath is Qarin Tak. A mighty waterfall streamed
down from Shushi and formed Qarin Tak beneath a giant rock (the name
literally means 'under the rock'). It is due to the heroic resistance
of this settlement nested in the armpit of a magnificent huge rock
- Artsvabuyn (Eagle Nest), that Shushi was liberated at the time,
giving a major strategic advantage to the Armenian side, crucial for
the entire further course of the war (1992-1994) against the Azeris.
"Dear one, ... our village is a hero. If we had not defended this
village, the 'Turks' [people of Karabakh commonly refer to the Azeris
as 'Turks'] would have taken all of Karabakh... No way you have not
heard about us, this hero-village!" says 85-year-old Nora Arushanyan,
half-surprised, half-angry.
Women are all gathered at the village store. Men stand in a group a
little farther away. They notice us, strangers, as soon as we enter
the village. Seconds later they recognize that they are dealing with
reporters and invite to their places. The war has divided life in
Qarin Tak into 'old' and 'new'. The 'old' held almost no social issues,
but they lived on the verge of losing their identity, deprived of the
right to have ethnic values, the 'new' has plenty of social issues
and hardship, but they live on their own land with an owner's right.
"We live with constant fear in our hearts, we visit Shushi, but
again with fear. They used to tell us 'you are haram' ['illicit,
ill-gotten' in Turkish], 'Armenians are haram'. Before they would
not let us say 'Qarin Tak', we had to use the Turkish name Dashalti,"
says the village head's secretary Stella Babayan.
The slogan of Qarin Tak is one: "We have liberated ourselves from the
'Turks', so thank God, let it be a mouthful less, it's ok, we can
live with it. What matters most - no more war."
In Qarin Tak every resident is a hero and a chronicler.
Lena Sargsyan, 74, says: "We are Karabakh's gate. If we failed to keep
our village at the time, they would have seized all the surrounding
villages as well. Long live our village guys, they are good, good men".
The huge rock is locally referred to as "kerts" and every other word
is related to "kerts" one way or another. "Darling, right next to the
'kerts', under the 'kerts', or 'our kerts'."
"Right from the top of 'kerts' they rolled down burning wheels
and barrels onto the village, like rain shells would fall on our
heads... On January 26 of 1992 the Azeri carried out large-scale attack
with a few hundred soldiers, experienced officer personnel. They
blocked all roads to the village and tried to suffocate us
inside. Nobody left the village, we stayed and fought, young and old,
to survive. Eight hours later the Azeri left having incurred heavy
losses (150 dead)," tells Shurik Gharakhanyan, who knows firsthand
what it means to be at war.
Past is where the village's present should be, memories of it holding
the hopes for the future. What matters, they say, is that the village
does not have locked doors, people are not leaving, despite the
hardship. Men are engaged in construction in Shushi and Stepanakert,
also agriculture, animal breeding. There are 667 people living in
Qarin Tak, the school has 110 students, 23 minors attend kindergarten.
The village has natural gas supply.
"There was a silk factory in the village during the Soviet times,
people were employed at Shushi's manufacturing entities, villagers
did little livestock breeding or farming, because the economic issues
could not be solved through those. Hence they are only now trying
to develop agriculture there. If an economic entity opened locally
it would ease the villagers' burden greatly," says Edward Abaghyan,
accountant at the village administration.
The two main issues of Qarin Tak are drinking water and the road to
the village.
This year the All-Armenia Hayastan Fund completed the first stage
of repairs of the village's water supply system, due to which the
village will have regular drinking water supply. However, having a
good road remains to be a dream yet.
Major Sargsyan, 77, and Lena, 74, have their days filled with memories
with days bygone and thoughts about their children living abroad. The
photographs of their three sons and grandchildren are placed in a
corner of a big mirror. Their sons left the village long before the
war. One of them settled in Khabarovsk, the other two in Ashkhabad.
"When my son was in the army in Germany, one of his best buddies
turned out to be Azeri. He told his father that his best friend's
parents lived in Qarin Tak, 'go see them', he said. It was during the
blockade. One day we saw the 'Turk' pulling over his car loaded with
food: what fruits, what goods!... but the 'cup of patience was full'
and there was no other way," recalls Lena.
Her husband, Major, sings about the heroes, then unshed tears contract
his throat making him stop, and his eyes pick up the song and carry
it on.
"As soon as the night fell I would put a sack of potatoes over my
shoulder and go to sow in rows. They stood on the top of the rock,
watching to shoot. In the morning I would see I had sowed the rows
crooked. It was some life we had, dear, but we had to survive, to
continue living..." tells Major.
Major responds to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev's recent war rhetoric
this way: "Once they ask a barking dog why it keeps barking. The dog
says 'I want to bite'. They ask the dog why it is wagging its tail
then. The dog says 'I am afraid, too'. They failed to break this
small village with hundreds of soldiers..."
He gives a definite answer to the question about the NKR's
international recognition: "One day the international community will
recognize, because there is a people in this world which fought for
its land, for life, for freedom, for independence."
From: Baghdasarian