Nairi Refused to Surrender, Transferred His Phone to a Friend and Said: 'Forgive Me, Mom, I Couldn’t Return'

A post was made on the Facebook page of the Goris Municipality regarding 19-year-old Nairi Ghukasyan, who fell victim in the Artsakh war: '19-year-old Nairi Ghukasyan has been canonized... his remains returned five months later and found their resting place in the pantheon of his hometown today. In just one day, the city embraced the remains of three immortal heroes. Completely a boy, but I was struck by Nairi's remarkable behavior before his death. Nairi was wounded while a group of 250-300 people was trapped and bombarded by the enemy in the Fizuli region. When the enemy squad began to capture the 40-50 surviving soldiers, Nairi, who was lightly wounded, could still have been saved; he refused to surrender, managed to transfer his phone to a friend who was heading into captivity, and said: 'If you return alive, give my mom a message: forgive me, mom, I couldn't return...'

Nairi was a child, raised in orphanhood... The enemy soldiers shot Nairi and the other wounded on the spot, and then, before the eyes of the captives, poured gasoline on 200 corpses and set them on fire. The remains were wrapped in plastic and hidden in the ground. For months, relatives searched for Nairi among the surviving captives, waiting for his return... the friends taken into captivity had no way to tell about the fallen squad...

Days ago, one of those who received Nairi's phone returned. He told the story... They began to search for Nairi and the others among the victims... and they found them... During the burial today, people noticed a large box and were surprised that it was also to be placed next to Nairi. It turned out that his mother had prepared it on September 26 to send to her son serving in the army: it contained sweets, chocolate bars, and dried fruits. On the 27th, she called her son and asked what address to send it to. Nairi told his mother: 'A war has started, mom, don’t send it, I don’t know where they will take us...'

His mother had carefully kept the box, intending to send it on his 20th birthday in January... She sent it. How do you say, rest in peace? The earth shakes and burns with thirst for revenge... Eternal glory, hero...'