I Left Artsakh with the Last Large Groups of People from Artsakh: Priest Nerses Asryan

Priest Nerses Gharib Asryan, the spiritual leader of Shoshkavank and surrounding villages, has left Artsakh with the last large groups of displaced Armenians.

“No matter how much I tried to postpone this very painful step, my insistence was starting to take a heavy toll on the mental and physical health of my children, aged 10 and 5. They were eating almost nothing; the elder constantly suffered from nausea, and the younger spent most of the day covering his ears with his hands to avoid hearing the gunshots and explosions. There were almost no people left in our neighborhood; when we saw a rare unfamiliar face through the window, we thought they might be Turks.”

“Even though I didn’t know what else I could do locally, practically there was no benefit from my presence, as it was becoming impossible to be away from the children for even a few minutes; they feared they wouldn’t see me again. I don’t want to elaborate on the entire situation; only those who have gone through this hell will fully understand it. On the other hand, it is also unfair to inflict painful reminders on people. In short, we took some clothes, a few necessary items, and a couple of books and left. We traversed our share of the torturous path and are now in the Republic of Armenia.”

“At this moment, I have no clarity regarding the future, and I cannot answer any questions; I don’t even know what I need. The only thing I can firmly say is that I will never come to terms with the loss of Artsakh, I will not lose hope for return, and I will do everything in my modest power to contribute, even in the slightest way, to turning that hope into reality,” Priest Nerses wrote on Facebook.