A new stone cross, displaying the names of ten local Armenians killed in last year’s Artsakh war was unveiled today in Aknalich, a community in the country’s Armavir Province.

Another stone cross, honoring the fifteen Aknalich residents who fell in the 1990s Artsakh war, already stood in the local churchyard.

The local high school commemorated those who died by opening a museum displaying their personal items and posthumous medals.

 

All ten were all buried in the churchyard, next to their fellow villagers who died in the first war.

Lusya Khlghatyan visited her son's grave early today. She wiped the dust off the tombstone, looked at her son's picture for a long time and straightened the flowers. It was as if he was talking to his son with his eyes.

Davit Khlghatyan, was 22 years old when the war broke out. He took part in the defensive battles on September 29 and died on October 25 in Varanda.

Davit was the youngest in the family. Immediately after receiving a notice from the military commissariat, he left for Artsakh, despite his mother’s reservations. She didn’t want Davit to go.  

"We gave our most precious thing, our children, and they gave their most precious thing, life. We are all in despair now. We feel longing, pain and most importantly, we cannot find a way out. We do not know what the future will bring," says Mrs. Khlghatyan.

The mothers who lost sons in the war begin to cry, breaking the silence in the churchyard.

Mrs. Khlghatyan says she’s confident that the Armenian nation will always fight for its existence. She pins her hope on the new generation, describing them as “amazing”.

"I have no doubt that in the event of danger, my son's next generation will do the same. Everyone loves their homeland. Everyone is fighting for their homeland," says the grieving mother.

The churchyard soon fills up. Parents, holding flowers, visit their sons’ grave. They speak with difficulty. They say that today is not a day to speak, that they must listen to the ones they have lost.

A military honor guard removed the white cloth covering the stone cross. Those in attendance silently watched.