Fifteen-year-old Astghik was in her last Information Technology lesson on September 19, 2023, when the shelling began. That day marked the end of a chapter—the final moments in her classroom, her school, and her village in Artsakh. Over the following days, the streets she knew by heart became a painful memory. She had grown up there with her older sister, Eva, 21, and her brothers, Sergey, 20, and Harut, 17.
“When we were leaving Artsakh, I tried to memorize everything—the paths, the houses, the air—because I knew it was the last time I’d see them,” Astghik says, now focused on her dream of studying at the National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia.
Her father, Sasun Karakhanyan, 50, was the last to leave. Alongside other volunteer soldiers, he stayed behind until the final moments, protecting their village before fleeing through the forests. Now settled in the Noyemberyan region of Tavush, the Karakhanyans are trying to adjust. They’ve been provided with a three-room house—sparse and weatherworn. Winters bite hard; old floors and drafty windows make warmth fleeting. Sasun has managed to install hot water, but it’s far from enough to make the space feel like home.
This winter, the family received firewood and essential non-food supplies to ease the cold. Sasun has been busy chopping wood, while his mother, Arpenik, 74, reflects on her health. “I was never sick in Artsakh,” she says. “It’s the soil and water here—they’re just not the same.”
Back in Artsakh, Sasun and his wife, Anush, 42, worked tirelessly, cultivating fruit orchards on their 5,800-square-meter plot. “Our persimmons, pomegranates, figs—they were the best because we didn’t need pesticides. The soil and weather gave us everything,” Sasun says. Now, employment is scarce, and the uncertainty weighs heavily.
Yet, despite the heartbreak, the family remains determined. They’ve begun thinking about rebuilding their lives, even preparing Astghik’s dowry—a tradition they once pursued with joy.
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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