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Lena Sahakyan

Armen Ghazaryan

Artsakh 2023: Six-Year-Old Seyran Faces Serious Health Issues After Losing His Brothers In Azerbaijani Attack

"Did you have many friends in Artsakh?" we asked 6-year-old Seyran. He answered by naming his brothers, Nver and Mikayel.

Nver (10) and Mikayel (8) Ghazaryan were tragically killed by an Azerbaijani rocket explosion in Sarnaghbyur on September 19, 2023.

That day started like any other, with the brothers heading off to school, while their mother, Zarine, went to Askeran with fellow villagers to get food. Their father, Rudik, was on military duty.

At noon, when explosions echoed through the village, students were dismissed from school. “The village head told our neighbor Lusine to gather the children and lead them to a valley near his house, thinking it would be safe,” Zarine recalls.

But as they reached the valley and tried to hide, the bombardment began. A rocket exploded, killing five civilians: Nver and Mikayel Ghazaryan, 15-year-old Davit Aleksanyan, his grandfather Aleksandr Aleksanyan, and his grandmother Gohar Grigoryan. The rocket also injured fifteen others.

"The village mayor brought the injured to Askeran, and we were already waiting at the bridge. They were taken to Stepanakert Children's Hospital. It was there that I learned Mikayel had been killed, but they told me Nver was still alive," Zvart recalls.

Zaruhi's younger son, Seyran, was also injured in the explosion. Doctors fought for days to save his life.

"When Seyran was brought in, fragments of the rocket were lodged in his brain," his mother says. He underwent surgery in Stepanakert, but the doctors warned the family that saving him would be difficult.

"Seyran was on life support. When Stepanakert came under bombardment, everyone in the hospital rushed to the basement. I couldn’t leave him and switch off the machine. While all the doctors ran for shelter, the  hospital director Dr. Melkumyan stayed by my side. I told her, 'Please, I can't bear to lose another child.' She promised to stay with me until the very end," says Zarine.

Seyran Ghazaryan's life was saved, but the child continues to suffer from severe health issues. Due to the fragments in his head, his vision is deteriorating, and he experiences constant headaches. The family needs a significant amount of money for his full treatment, but they have neither received financial aid from the state nor secured disability status for him. Both Zarine and her husband also suffer from serious health problems, yet they continue to work. After relocating to Armenia, the family settled in Metsavan, a village in the country's Lori Province.

Nver and Mikayel were buried in the Masis town cemetery. Their bodies were recovered from Sarnaghbyur with the help of the Red Cross on September 23.

Two months ago, the family suffered yet another tragedy. In their home in Metsavan, the children's uncle, Harutyun Ghazaryan, aged 22, suddenly passed away. The family still does not know the cause of his death.

Photos by Hayk Makiyan

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