Life in Armenia’s Baghanis border village under constant gunfire by Azerbaijan
Baghanis village, located in Noyemberyan region in the northeastern Tavush Province of Armenia, 175 km away from capital city Yerevan, runs its daily routine under the constant gunfire by the Azerbaijani military.
The adversity’s shootings are part of the daily routine of the village residents, with all the houses in the village bearing traces of the Azeri shelling. Living in constant fear, the villagers do not lose hope and believe peace will be established one day.
The house of 76-year-old Erzhik Sargsyan is located on the way to Baghanis, regularly targeted by the adversary. The old woman lives alone for many years already. Her sister, the only relative she has, pays regular visits to the woman from capital city Yerevan to be by her side.
The old woman’s fellow villager, Larisa, guides us to her house, telling about the problems and hardships the border village is facing on our way to the house. “Life is not easy here. But what can we do? This is our life, we are already used to it,” Mrs Larisa says.
Finally we reach the house of grandma Erzhik. Working at the garden, the old woman raises her head and invites us in without asking any questions.
The old woman, with a small body and sad eyes, who lives in constant fear, has already forgotten when was the last time she put her head on the pillow and slept peacefully.
The house even bears traces of the 1990 war, which are refreshed regularly. “My house is under constant shooting. I can work neither in the garden nor at home. One month ago, when I was preparing canned food with my sister, they stroke so hard that we fled to the house out of fear,” she says.
Her sister adds that they do not switch on the light when it gets dark. “I do not turn on lights at all so as they [the Azerbaijani forces] do not shoot. And during the shooting, I curl up in a corner on the floor. What can I do? This is my home: I have been living amid such circumstances for 25 years already,” the old woman says, adding that the villagers continue their daily struggles despite the constant shooting.
“There are people who leave the village. But the ones who stay are not few. The village continues living: people send their children to school and kindergarten. We only want peace, anything else is possible to overcome,” the sad-eyed woman said.