Escaping War, a Family Walks Their Livestock from Artsakh to Armenia
500 refugees from Artsakh continue to receive food daily thanks to your donations. Read one of their stories below.
Irina Gasparyan-Aghajanyan, a Mets Masrik local who has been actively mobilizing resources in her village to assist incoming refugees from Artsakh, received a call at three in the morning shortly after the end of the Second Artsakh War — there was an old bearded man standing outside, his cows in tow, with nowhere to go. She thought he looked like ancient Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi. Really, he was Gurgen Serobyan, an Artsakh resident turned refugee. He had just lost his home — the region of Karvajar.
Immediately following the end of the war last November, we partnered with Focus On Children Now (FCN) to secure the daily food needs of 500 displaced Artsakhtsis. Gurgen and his family are one of those families currently receiving food aid through May of this year thanks to donations you made to our organization during the war. Let’s meet them.
Meet the Serobyans
When Gurgen Serobyan appeared that night in Mets Masrik with his cows, he was looking for refuge for his family: his wife Luba and his daughter Roza. Like the Aghababyans— who we introduced you to last month — the Serobyans are from Artsakh’s Karvajar Province, which now lies under Azerbaijani control.
The Serobyans moved to Karvajar from Armenia after the first Artsakh War. With a plot of land and $500 given by the government, they went to work building a home for themselves. Luba says they lived well in Karvajar, where they ran a cafe with the food they produced themselves. They cultivated the land, and kept bees as well as animals. Before the second war struck, they had plans to plant fruit trees in the coming spring. “We’re working people,” Luba states. “We put everything into our home, all of our work. We built all of it from zero.”
When the war started in the fall of 2020, Luba and Roza had no other choice but to leave most of their belongings behind as they sought refuge with relatives in Dilijan, Armenia. Luba’s grandson was called to fight. Her husband, Gurgen, stayed in Karvajar until the very last day of the war to offer assistance. A volunteer unit of soldiers had been formed to help defend local communities. Though he was told that he was too old to fight and that he should go to Armenia, he refused, saying that as long as there were people left to protect, he would stay.
The Serobyans were given only five days at the end of the war to transfer their belongings to Armenia proper. Luba has a heart condition, and couldn’t make the trip back to Karvajar, leaving Roza with the daunting task of packing up an entire home and carrying it across the border. Without a car, she was forced to leave most of the family’s personal belongings behind.
However, with the help of passing strangers also evacuating Karvajar, they did manage to bring a prized medieval khachkar (cross-stone) to Armenia, which Gurgen and his son found while building on their property — more on that in our next blog update. Gurgen himself walked the family’s cows across the border and into Mets Masrik, the village where they would soon settle.
Of Luba’s four children, Roza is the youngest. The others live in Russia, where Luba was born and raised. Though her children in Russia urge her to come live with them, she refuses, saying “I won’t leave my Armenia.”
Roza is a physics teacher, while Luba receives a retiree pension. While the family is grateful for the house they’ve been given in Mets Masrik, adjusting has not been easy. Having lived in a warmer climate zone, they are not used to cultivating in the colder region. Furthermore, Luba’s heart condition makes physical work like field planting nearly impossible. Though the state of Artsakh has offered the family a new home in areas that remain under Armenian jurisdiction, Luba doesn’t feel safe returning to the region. Another option is Jermuk, Armenia, where her grandson now continues his military service. Roza’s company has even offered the family an apartment in Yerevan. But the Serobyans are not city folk, and wouldn’t be able to bring their livestock. And after moving so many times, Luba says that she’s tired. She wants to settle in a permanent home.
Though it may not quite feel like the home Luba longs for, Mets Masrik has been good to the Serobyans. Their neighbors are caring and helpful. “They’re amazing people,” Luba says. “They love us a lot, and we love them too. Most of the things you see here [in the home] are theirs. From the day we arrived, they have supported us.”
There is a sadness, the weight of which is difficult to fully express. “There are families who lost their sons,” Luba says. “When I watch the news I feel bad, so I’ve decided not to watch. Many sons of Karvajar fell in the war. Can a heart endure hearing all of that [on the news]?”
Still, “we don’t lose our courage.” And while the Serobyans certainly know what it is to struggle, they at least don’t have to worry about putting food on the table. Through May, 500 refugees — including Luba, Gurgen, and Roza — will continue to have their daily food needs met — all thanks to your support.
“It’s enough for us, thank God,” Luba says.
Check back in soon for more stories from Mets Masrik, plus a breakdown of exactly what food items your donations have provided displaced families! In the meantime, to learn more about this project and others, head to our projects page.
