Tatev Mkrtchyan, 32 years old
When there are children in the family, food runs out quickly. In our house, as in all Artsakh families, sweets were the first to run out. Then there was no more flour, and so gradually we found that everything in the house was gone.
We received a call from social services, saying that we were entitled to a little sugar because there were children in the family. Each child was entitled to half a kilo of sugar. I had a small jar at home. Hiding one kilogram of sugar in a house where there are hungry children? That's impossible. So I remembered that little jar: I filled it to the top and hid it. Even the children shouldn't know about it. Otherwise, they would ask for it so they could drink sweet tea. Meanwhile, the kilogram of sugar provided by social services ran out.
Then the 2023 war broke out. I took a first aid kit with me to the basement, which had that very jar of sugar in it. However, the bombing lasted one day, and we held out without opening the jar. I kept it in case someone felt dizzy or something, to put a little sugar on the tip of the tongue. They say it can bring people to their senses. And we, the people of Artsakh, were exhausted by hunger at that time; everyone's condition was bad. The first thing I did was pull out the first aid kit with the jar of sugar in it. For me, it was the most precious thing. I would say it was like gold to me.
At first, I thought the journey from Stepanakert to Yerevan would take 4-5 hours, as usual. I had no idea that the journey would stretch to 2.5 days, and that jar of sugar would save my children from hunger. Before setting off, I showed the jar of sugar to the children. Their joy and happiness knew no bounds. They said to me, "Hooray, Mom, sugar! Where did you get it? How did you manage to hide it from us?" I said to them, "Children, I'm giving you this jar, but I ask you," — we were still under Shushi, but already stuck in traffic, and I realized we would be waiting for a long time, — I asked my eldest, "When you eat the sugar, share it with your sister, but eat it sparingly, so that you don't pass out from hunger before we reach Yerevan."
After the blockade, we had nothing edible for the road, only a small loaf of bread. I brought that jar all the way to Yerevan, with even a little sugar left at the bottom. That is, my children ate the rest and did not faint from hunger on the road. I brought the jar to Yerevan, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. I tightly closed it with a lid and put it on the top shelf of the cabinet. I thought it would be a reminder of the days we lived through.
God willing, we will live better, get back on our feet, but I don't want the children to forget what we were ready to do and what we endured for our homeland and its independence. We survived the blockade and hunger just to live on our native land.
Tatev Mkrtchyan, 32 years old
When there are children in the family, food runs out quickly. In our house, as in all Artsakh families, sweets were the first to run out. Then there was no more flour, and so gradually we found that everything in the house was gone.
We received a call from social services, saying that we were entitled to a little sugar because there were children in the family. Each child was entitled to half a kilo of sugar. I had a small jar at home. Hiding one kilogram of sugar in a house where there are hungry children? That's impossible. So I remembered that little jar: I filled it to the top and hid it. Even the children shouldn't know about it. Otherwise, they would ask for it so they could drink sweet tea. Meanwhile, the kilogram of sugar provided by social services ran out.
Then the 2023 war broke out. I took a first aid kit with me to the basement, which had that very jar of sugar in it. However, the bombing lasted one day, and we held out without opening the jar. I kept it in case someone felt dizzy or something, to put a little sugar on the tip of the tongue. They say it can bring people to their senses. And we, the people of Artsakh, were exhausted by hunger at that time; everyone's condition was bad. The first thing I did was pull out the first aid kit with the jar of sugar in it. For me, it was the most precious thing. I would say it was like gold to me.
At first, I thought the journey from Stepanakert to Yerevan would take 4-5 hours, as usual. I had no idea that the journey would stretch to 2.5 days, and that jar of sugar would save my children from hunger. Before setting off, I showed the jar of sugar to the children. Their joy and happiness knew no bounds. They said to me, "Hooray, Mom, sugar! Where did you get it? How did you manage to hide it from us?" I said to them, "Children, I'm giving you this jar, but I ask you," — we were still under Shushi, but already stuck in traffic, and I realized we would be waiting for a long time, — I asked my eldest, "When you eat the sugar, share it with your sister, but eat it sparingly, so that you don't pass out from hunger before we reach Yerevan."
After the blockade, we had nothing edible for the road, only a small loaf of bread. I brought that jar all the way to Yerevan, with even a little sugar left at the bottom. That is, my children ate the rest and did not faint from hunger on the road. I brought the jar to Yerevan, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. I tightly closed it with a lid and put it on the top shelf of the cabinet. I thought it would be a reminder of the days we lived through.
God willing, we will live better, get back on our feet, but I don't want the children to forget what we were ready to do and what we endured for our homeland and its independence. We survived the blockade and hunger just to live on our native land.
