"We really went through hard times. The planes would constantly bomb us. We fled to Stepanakert. We lived in the schoolhouse along with two young kids. Later on, when Mandel’s detachment chased the Turks out we returned. Everything was in ruins however. There wasn’t a chair to sit on or a mattress to sleep on. We gathered items from here and there.” explains Seta Bayunts.

She continues, “At first they provided assistance, handing out clothes and such. That help doesn’t exist now. My five sisters live in Armenia and say ‘Hey sister, why torture yourself so. Come and join us here.’ But how can I go. My father-in-law is in his seventies and has heart trouble and his sister has had a heart attack and has been bedridden for the past twelve years.”

Seta Bents is from the neighboring village. She came to Metz Shen 24 years ago as a new bride. Twelve years ago her husband Vovan suddenly passed away. Her two sons are aged 23 and 24 but Seta isn’t preparing to get them married and bring a new bride to her home. “Right now it’s out of the question. You need to be making a living but they’re not working and there’s no money. The houses are dilapidated and the floor is decayed and peeling off. We’ve petitioned for help but no one comes to repair the place. What can I do?” asks Sveta.Bayunts.

The Mayor of Metz Shen, Vyacheslav Khurshudyan, explains that, “Today, many families live in the abandoned houses of neighbors since their own are in ruins. In the past few years we’ve built homes for the families of two fallen freedom fighters. The government assists others with construction materials like cement, for instance. There are many programs out there but the government isn’t able to fulfill them all. Which ones should be implemented first? It’s not right to dump all of this on the government at once. The people must help wherever possible and build their own homes.”

Residents of Metz Shen primarily engage in animal husbandry and agriculture. The village is home to about 300 large-horned animals. Cheese is the number one product made by the residents and it’s sold in Martakert and Stepanakert.

Mayor Khurshudyan says, “Every family owns about 6,000 meters of land on which wheat is mostly grown. The harvest yields aren’t that high given the lack of adequate irrigation water. The crop is either purchased from people coming from Armenia or from Karabakh. Unlike past years, a real effort was made to sow larger areas of land. But the winds blew away much of the seed put down in these areas.”

“Yeah, we have land but you need money too, no? I mean to buy seed, to till and sow. The even bring tomatoes and peppers from Armenia but we can’t buy it. We plant in the plots next to our homes but it’s no use, there’s no water.” says Mrs. Seta.

Most fruits grow in Metz Shen. Villagers claim that even figs have started to grow after the 1990\\\’s due to the warming of the climate. “We have everything but in conditions where there’s no water. Every two days we pump in water from the spring. People use this water for irrigation as well. But we can’t solve our water problems this way.” says the Mayor.

This year the All-Armenia Fund will put into operation a new water distribution pipeline in the village but the water will only flow into the holding reservoir for seven hours per day.

“I think the problem is that there are several diameters of pipe rising to the village. The Administration Head is aware of the problem and telephoned Yerevan on several occasions to send specialist to the area to resolve the issue. To date there has been no response.” states the Mayor who is convinced that life in the village will pick up once the water issue is tackled.

“Right now it’s not really all that bad. Not only has the exodus out of the village ended but people are trickling back. Every year there’s a new family returning to the village, mostly coming from Russia.” certifies the Mayor.

All the while the dream of 23 year-old Igor is to leave the village. “This is no place to stay. I’ll take a wife here and then go my uncle in Russia. I’d leave right now but I don’t have the cash.”