Photos from Aghavno: Residents Bid Farewell and Leave the Village

In the photo, residents Avetis and Anahit swim in their native river.

Every time we travel to Artsakh via Berdzor, we undoubtedly notice the houses with red roofs in Aghavno. At some point, we have all envied those living in such beautiful and comfortable homes amidst the mountains and valleys. However, recent times have not been 'good' for the residents there, to say the least. August 25 is the last day; people must leave their homes and depart...

Photography is often referred to as a 'universal language' because the images obtained by controlling light through a camera sometimes convey more than can be expressed in words. Paradoxically, the visuals representing reality become mute yet eloquent narrators of their time.

With the aim of capturing the moment and telling the world about it through photography, we visited Aghavno—a secluded corner cut off from the outside world that has recently come under scrutiny.

The Russian peacekeepers have set up a checkpoint right at the entrance of the village, letting only residents and their relatives inside. They have not been very accommodating towards journalists and recording equipment, despite one of the main figures of the Azerbaijani propaganda machine, who presented himself as an international journalist, calmly filming the village and its inhabitants with their help.

During these days, Aghavno's residents are taciturn. Many are busy removing their last belongings from their homes and saying silent goodbyes to their native village. The heavy silence is occasionally broken by the sounds of children playing in the Aghavno river. The littlest ones may not even realize that in a few days, they will no longer hear the sound of their beloved river and will not be able to cool off in the chilly waters during the summer heat. The teenagers, who understand the events around them to some extent, try to engrave the warm moments of the moment in their memories...

You rise above the river, and there are again the houses with red roofs in Aghavno. Outside the houses, people are loading their belongings into trucks, for whom the most precious and important things can never fit into any vehicle...

The scenes are heart-wrenching: on one side, the emptying houses, and on the other, inscriptions on the walls proclaiming, 'We will return again and live in Aghavno.' You cannot take hope away from people...

While the residents of Aghavno are bringing their last belongings out of their homes, Avetis, as usual, is playing in his native village.

The women of Aghavno try to not forget anything as they leave their homes, even taking mirrors.

In recent days, Aghavno has also been deprived of constant electricity. Village chief Andranik Chavushyan connects the only alternative for electricity these days—the generator.

This family living in Aghavno is relocating among other belongings, also taking their house's piano.

This woman's message as she leaves Aghavno was simple: 'I want to live in peace.'

In these days, you can encounter trucks at every turn in Aghavno.

A small child, taking his first steps, tries to understand why their home’s belongings are burning.

The residents of Aghavno prefer to burn the items of their homes that they cannot take with them.

One resident was seen crying with his head in his hands under the house's wall.

A dog watches as its beloved human companions leave the village.

Aghavno school will not welcome Armenian children on September 1.

As they leave the village, the beautiful red roofs of Aghavno can be seen one last time.