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IN THE LINE OF FIRE: LIFE IN ARMENIAN BORDER VILLAGE GOES ON DESPITE AZERI SHOOTINGS
http://armenianow.com/society/features/44504/armenia_tavush_village_nerkin_karmiraghbyur_border _azerbaijan_shooting
FEATURES | 15.03.13 | 15:55
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter and NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
The village of Nerkin Karmiraghbyur that has about 1,150 residents
about 200 kilometers to the northeast of capital Yerevan is only
about half a kilometer from the Armenian border with Azerbaijan.
Border shootings affecting life in this village are a usual occurrence
despite the formal ceasefire with Azerbaijan signed about two
decades ago.
Nerkin Karmiraghbyur residents say that they have gotten used to
living literally under fire and that their life gets back to "normalcy"
very quickly even after the fiercest of the attacks.
While housing and infrastructure in the village bear the traces of
shootings, the local mayor fears most for people's health, especially
children's psychological wellbeing.
"When the shooting begins my primary concern is about children
hearing it rather than housing being riddled with bullets," says
Manvel Kamendatyan.
The local leader adds that street lights in the village had been fully
renovated, but they avoid switching them on at night not to make the
place an even softer target for Azeri snipers.
With the coming of spring agricultural work resumed in this border
village, but 80 percent of its land suitable for cultivation is exposed
to Azeri snipers. Subsequently, local farmers avoid working the land
or using it for livestock grazing. Two of the villagers were wounded
while working in the fields in 2012 alone.
However, people in Nerkin Karmiraghbyur say they are strongly attached
to their village and their land and go about their daily business of
living despite the 'customary' shootings.
Levon Arakelyan, a 32-year-old villager, in January set up production
of detergents and other cleaning agents on the premises of what was
formerly a bathhouse in the village. His enterprise now employs three
people. Arakelyan says he expects to expand his production and provide
jobs to as many as 12 people in the future.
A new community center to include a library, a gym and other facilities
is being built in the village today, as the old one was completely
burned and destroyed during the years of war.
From: A. Papazian
http://armenianow.com/society/features/44504/armenia_tavush_village_nerkin_karmiraghbyur_border _azerbaijan_shooting
FEATURES | 15.03.13 | 15:55
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter and NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
The village of Nerkin Karmiraghbyur that has about 1,150 residents
about 200 kilometers to the northeast of capital Yerevan is only
about half a kilometer from the Armenian border with Azerbaijan.
Border shootings affecting life in this village are a usual occurrence
despite the formal ceasefire with Azerbaijan signed about two
decades ago.
Nerkin Karmiraghbyur residents say that they have gotten used to
living literally under fire and that their life gets back to "normalcy"
very quickly even after the fiercest of the attacks.
While housing and infrastructure in the village bear the traces of
shootings, the local mayor fears most for people's health, especially
children's psychological wellbeing.
"When the shooting begins my primary concern is about children
hearing it rather than housing being riddled with bullets," says
Manvel Kamendatyan.
The local leader adds that street lights in the village had been fully
renovated, but they avoid switching them on at night not to make the
place an even softer target for Azeri snipers.
With the coming of spring agricultural work resumed in this border
village, but 80 percent of its land suitable for cultivation is exposed
to Azeri snipers. Subsequently, local farmers avoid working the land
or using it for livestock grazing. Two of the villagers were wounded
while working in the fields in 2012 alone.
However, people in Nerkin Karmiraghbyur say they are strongly attached
to their village and their land and go about their daily business of
living despite the 'customary' shootings.
Levon Arakelyan, a 32-year-old villager, in January set up production
of detergents and other cleaning agents on the premises of what was
formerly a bathhouse in the village. His enterprise now employs three
people. Arakelyan says he expects to expand his production and provide
jobs to as many as 12 people in the future.
A new community center to include a library, a gym and other facilities
is being built in the village today, as the old one was completely
burned and destroyed during the years of war.
From: A. Papazian