A Large Stone Came Through the Open Window and Fell Directly on My Sleeping Son in His Cradle. They Were Turkish Bandits,” Says Karin Tonoyan

Karin Tonoyan, the founder and director of the "Armenian Knight" Educational and Charitable Foundation, whose son Menua Hovhannisyan was killed in the recent Artsakh war, wrote on her Facebook page: "Let me share an episode from my life with those who have no homeland or are short-sighted consumers:

  May 1988 - we were traveling from Yerevan to Meghri along the Nakhichevan railway, heading to my husband's friend's parental home. Holding my 2-year-old son Menua and 2-month-old Argishti, we sat by the train window, enjoying the magnificent views of our historical homeland and whispering about the possibilities of its return...

Suddenly, a large stone flew in through the open window and hit my sleeping son in his cradle. Before we could recover, more stones began hitting the wagon's walls with a loud bang, causing immense chaos among some of the passengers. The men quickly closed the windows and tried to calm the anxious women. Throughout this, I was deeply shaken, looking at the groups of 10-14-year-old Turkish bandits lining the side of the road, throwing stones they had stuffed in their skirts with shameless laughter and shouting at the train that was not speeding by very quickly... and the malice and hatred in their eyes was something to witness. After all, we, the Soviet youths, were not accustomed to such hatred. I was crying from humiliation, but I didn't know who I was mourning for – the deceived Soviet citizen, the heir of a displaced person, or simply a human being...

It was still the Soviet Union, with its earth-shattering internationalism and the "brotherhood" propaganda that had filled our ears... Now the Turkish puppets occupying H1 are again serving the same "brotherhood" nonsense to those who wish for an easy life, and they are mentally enjoying the five-hour reduction in the six-hour journey from Yerevan to Meghri... Wake up, people... Autumn will come, so don’t rejoice and laugh too much... "Even the stone contains blood", do you remember?"