“I always get headaches but when the seizures start up that can’t be stopped. The doctors claim that it’s a result of the concussion I received. I have problems associated with blood circulation to the brain since the arteries get constricted.” says the 58 year-old Garik.

Before the war Garik was a photographer. He fought in the war on many fronts and participated in the liberation of Krkzhani, Malibeklu, Shushi, Lachin, Hadrut, Jebrayil and other areas.

“It was the beginning of March, 1993 after the liberation of the Alashan village in the Martakert district. We spent the night resting there but when we awoke the next day fresh fighting had broken out. We were heading towards the bridge at Metz Shen and Maghavuz when I was wounded from incoming mortar fire. At first I was laid up in the Alashan field hospital and later transferred to the hospital in Stepanakert. After a recuperation of twenty days I was reunited with my friends at the front.” Garik remembers all the battles. The fiercest fighting, he says, took place at Gyulijan where many of his buddies lost their lives. He intimately recounts the battles fought in the village of Gyulatagh in the Martakert district where his unit spent one night totally cut off by encircling enemy troops.

“I had my fill of hard times during the war but I still carry the scars of that last encounter in 1993. In August of that year we headed off for Jebrayil from the direction of Hadrut. After the liberation of Jebrayil some of our guys went to the top of a hill where they stated to sing in celebration of the victory. Off in the distance I spotted an enemy tank and I tried to warn our boys of the impending danger. Since II couldn’t make them understand what was around the bend, I started off in their general direction. That’s when the tank opened fire, the shell exploding in front of me. The blast threw me for some twenty meters and I immediately blacked out.” recounts the vet with amazing composure. Garik served as a squadron leader and later a company commander.

When I finally opened my eyes I was in a partial body cast. I was forced to lie like that for one week since the surgical relied team never showed up. After about a week, when I regained most of my strength, I started off.” Garik continues.

In 1994, a month after the ceasefire was declared, his position in the army as a Political Affairs Deputy to the Commander was cut. Two years later he was back in uniform but in 1998, after a series of debilitating headaches, he was forced to leave the army for good.

Today, the former photographer and war veteran works as a laborer in one of the public schools in Stepanakert and receives a monthly salary of 23,000 drams (approximately $75).

His wife Arega says, “That amount doesn’t even cover the cost of his medications.” Garik then picks up the conversation and confesses that had he realized the benefits of having disability papers back then he would have insisted that the doctor grant him such documentation.

“Without those disability papers I can’t retire with a pension. Had I been able to officially register as a pensioner I could get treatment at state hospitals and use part of the pension to buy medications with.” Garik notes.

His wife, who is registered as a 3rd class disabled person, is forced to work to provide for the household and to purchase the necessary prescriptions.

Garik has three children and two grandchildren. The two girls are married while their son Igor lives with his parents at home. Igor works in a furniture factory in Stepanakert and earns a monthly salary of 40,000 drams.

Calm and taciturn by nature, Garik Harutyunyan laments the fact that he and his wartime buddies no longer get together as frequently as before. “They’re all caught up in their own personal work,” sighs Garik who has been awarded the Shushi Liberation and Valor Medal.