Your trusted source

“I am not afraid of anything. I know that our soldiers, fathers and grandfathers stand guard at our borders. We play quietly in our yard,” 9-year-old Davit told Panorama.am.

He is one of the guests invited to the Armenian president’s residence to participate in a New Year festive event. 

Davit’s father is a serviceman, a lieutenant colonel.  But Davit said he likes the job of his father’s friend who works as a lawyer in the military police.

Ashot, also from Artsakh, wants to be a soldier like his father.  “I want to become a soldier and defend my Fatherland. I also want to be a world champion”.

Gevorg Harutyunyan is a seventh grader from Hadrut. “My dad spends 14 days at army positions, and in the remaining time he is at home. When he goes to positions, we speak to him almost every day. He never tells us about the border, he says everything is ok. I am also ready to serve in the armed forces. I wish that next year there will be no poor families, there will peace at the border, and no shots will be heard on the line of contact”.   

Elen Hovhannisyan, 13, is proud of her soldier father, but she would like him to have a different job.

“He protects us all so that we could sleep peacefully. I am glad for him, but I am not happy that Azerbaijan may fire in our direction any time. Father goes to positions for 14 days. We have become used to that. We constantly want to speak to him, but he is either unavailable or does not pick up the phone,” she said.

Elen wished that in 2016 everyone lived under a peaceful sky, and all the children will be happy and careless. She also wished a good service to soldiers.

“We want our land Artsakh to be independent and free,” Elen said.

Traditional New Year festivities started in the Armenian president’s residence yesterday. Today the presidential residence hosted children and grandchildren of Armenian servicemen, members of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union, children from families of fallen soldiers or disabled war veterans, including those from Karabakh. Children of Armenian policemen and National Security Service employees are also invited. The participants in this year’s festivities include 1,000 kids aged between 6 and 12 from Yerevan, Armenian regions, and Artsakh. On December 24 the presidential residence will host children from Armenia’s border provinces (Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, Ararat, Tavush), kids from Syrian Armenian families that found refuge in Armenia, handicapped children, and prize winners of Olympiads.