Shirin Stepanyan, 58, is cutting firewood to heat his home. As he splits the dry logs, he asks his wife, Gyulnara, 52, to take some inside to warm the stove so the kids don’t feel the cold.
Having retired from the Artsakh army, Shirin and his family were forced to leave their home in 2023. Now settled in the village of Zorakan, Tavush province, he seeks to feel grounded in this new environment.
After a few quick swings of the axe, Shirin says, "Good wood warms you three times; once when you cut it, once when you stack it and finally when you burn it.” The firewood, along with humanitarian aid, is crucial for the Stepanyans, a family of 10 who lost everything after their forced displacement. They now live in a two-story house provided to them by the villagers, rent-free. Shirin’s sons occupy the second floor, while the grandparents stay on the first floor. But the house has its challenges: the windows are old, letting in the winter chill. "We cover them with plastic to keep the cold out," Gyulnara explains, as she places firewood on the stove, preparing the room before their youngest grandchild wakes.
"Heating the house is constant work," she continues. "We use three stoves. We also cook on them, because gas is too expensive. This support means everything to us. Without it, we would have faced a serious problem this winter."
The Stepanyans once lived in Nakhijevanik village, Askeran region, Artsakh. When the war began, they had to flee in a hurry, barely wearing slippers. "We had heard about the massacres in nearby Sarnaghbyur," Gyulnara recalls. "We packed our bags, ones we had prepared after the 2020 war, and boarded the bus—no warm clothes for the kids." Her sons, both soldiers in the Artsakh army, served until the very end of the war.
Since the war, Gyulnara’s older son, Garik, has suffered memory loss. His younger son, Shiraz, has withdrawn and become depressed. "They still live with their minds in Karabakh," says psychologist Meri Vardanyan, who has been working with the family. "It will take time for them, especially the older ones, to adjust to their new reality."
Back in Artsakh, the family once had a large herd: 45 pigs, 40 sheep, and over 50 cows, as well as five hectares of orchards. They had to leave it all behind.
"The only thing we brought with us is this cross," Garik says, pointing to a small crucifix hanging on the wall of the second-floor living room. "It reminds us of the hardest times, of how we made it through with God's help. And it gives us hope that we’ll make it through these tough days, too."
For the Stepanyans, returning to Artsakh remains their deepest wish. "If we go anywhere, it will be back home, to Artsakh," Garik says quietly.
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.