The war in Artsakh has left its disastrous stamp on the health of Aram Kostanyan. The former freedom fighter now shows up at the psychiatric clinic.

The ease he expressed at the beginning of our conversation would prove that he wasn’t a very talkative person. He only said that he participated in the liberation of various areas of Karabakh, including the Lachin corridor.

39 year-old Aram started coming to the clinic when his successive nervous attacks began to worsen. His doctor says Aram suffers from schizophrenia. 

There are other former war vets who also visit the clinic. Dr. Ernest Grigoryan, the clinic’s chief physician, states that they do not possess statistics that show how many of the clinic’s 2,000 patients are former vets.

The parents of Aram, Aryusak and Rafael Kostanyan, recount that during one battle Aram was wounded in the feet and that ammo fragments are still embedded there. They say that later on a shell exploded close to his position that threw him several meters back.

Shaking with emotion Aram’s mother recounted that, “My boy was wounded in the head and received a concussion and recurring psychological disorders.” She continued that Aram started to work at one of the army bases but that one day a fellow worker brought him home since his nervous spasms had really gotten bad.

Aram’s father remembers well the day he went to bring his son back from the city of Chita in Russia. He was serving in the Soviet army. Raffik recounts that, “In 1990, I went looking for him. At the time Aram was a NCO in the army. They needed officers here so I went to bring him back to Armenia. Aram also expressed the wish t go to Karabakh since military operations had already begun.”

They returned to Stepanakert. Aram continued to serve in the Soviet army base there but soon joined up with other freedom fighters of his own age. “At the time, the far-sighted people were sending their boys out of Karabakh while I brought him there and, as a result...” the father breaks off his trembling words.

“It was in 1995 when they brought Aram to the house from work after a series of nervous attacks. Afterwards they took him to the Nork psychiatric center in Armenia where he was treated for one month. His condition again worsened after returning home and we were forced to admit him to the psychiatric clinic in Stepanakert as an out-patient” says Aram’s father. Rafael has two other sons besides Aram who are also musicians.

“My Aram also loved music very much. He graduated from a music institute and would play the clarinet at various celebrations before joining the army. He was a very happy and out-going boy. Who would have thought my Aram would suffer from this incurable disorder?” Mrs. Aryusak says wiping tears from her eyes.  Every two days she brings home cooked meals to Aram at the clinic. The mother says, “They serve meals there as well, but my boy prefers my cooking.”

The parents say that Aram becomes physically aggressive during his seizures, breaking household items and even assaults them. His father says, “That’s why we’ve applied for a separate apartment for him. With two other boys and their families as well in the house, conditions aren’t that safe.” Rafael, who still hasn’t come to terms with Aram’s disorder, does all he can to guarantee that his two other sons and grandkids lead normal lives.

Contrary to Aram, another clinic patient, Nver Gasparyan, was more agitated during our talk. After staring at me for a while he asked his first question, “Can you help me get out of this place?”

Nver was born in 1974 and participated in the war. He fought in the village of Karmiravan and participated in military operations in the Jilut area. Nver, who also suffers from schizophrenia, speaks incoherently, “I received a concussion during the war. I’ve been here for ten years. Everything is normal now and I want to go home.”

Another 39 year-old male patient, who didn’t wish to give his name, “inherited” the same disorder from the war. He only stated that he lives in then Askeran area and that he frequently comes to the clinic to get his drug prescriptions. “In 1992 I tripped a landmine under foot in the Fizuli region. I was laid up unconsciousness for a day. Afterwards, they found that I had received a concussion,” trying to avert his bloodstained gaze.

He says his seizures are triggered by a variety of reasons - the cold, drinking, even half a glass, noise and anger. “What happens when an attack occurs, I couldn’t say. You’d have to ask my wife. She sees it all but never tells me.” The 39 year-old has been a patient at the clinic for 4 years already. He confesses that, “If it weren’t for the drugs he takes, things would be much worse.”

I wasn’t able to find out from the patients whether psychologists treat them or not. They appeared amazed by the question. All they said was that there’s a separate room at the clinic where they can go to read, paint, etc.

The Chief Physician at the clinic informed me that a psychologist did work with the patients in a separate room. “ But only if the patients request such treatment, he continued. “ The patient must express such a desire, we can’t force the patient to see the psychologist.” He concluded by noting that specialists used to visit the clinic but that no such people have seen the patients for several years.