CAPTAIN MELSIDA HARUTYUNYAN

Hundreds of Armenian women participated in the Artsakh war. Some died on the battlefield, some returned and live next to us. Their fight, stories and names, however, remain unknown to many.

“War and Armenian Woman” series, present the story of Captain Melsida Harutyunyan.

Melsida Harutyunyan was born in 1959
in Verin Vedi town of Ararat Marz. She graduated from the Yerevan Accounting Technical College, worked at the Yerevan Physics Research Institute as a senior accountant.

“It was October 1991. I went to the village of Shosh in Artsakh with the volunteer squad. It was below Shushi, we stayed for two months, there were many heavy battles. I was not only a nurse on the battlefield, but I also fought with a weapon in my hand, I shot very well. During those battles, we had many losses and wounded, as a result, the Turks managed to capture Shosh for a short time. Three days later, we took Shosh back.
In the summer of 1992, the situation in Martakert was very bad. We had many victims and wounded. There were 8 of us in the trench. The Turk was firing so intensely that we could not get our heads out of the trench. The commander of our squad was Grigor Mirzoyan from Martakert, whom we called Giro. He had come out of the ditch and was moving forward. He ordered a machine gun belt to be brought to him. I put the tape around my neck, took my weapon and went after him. I had a habit of crossing myself at the moment of danger and saying, “Lord! Crouching, I ran towards the commander. Raising my head a little, I saw 6 people on a Azer Turkish tank standing about 300 meters away from me. I was already a target for them. Tank was turning in my direction. Shooting, I ran until the tank’s shot reached me. I did not understand what happened, as if the wave of sound lifted me into the air. After opening my eyes, I saw everything in enormous dimensions. that was the contusion…
Years after the end of the battle, Giro told that 6 Azerbaijanis were killed by my shots, and he, seeing that the explosion of the enemy’s projectile threw me to the ground, thought that I was also killed.
There is no fear in battle.You forget everything and do the best you can. We did not let our victim or the remains of the victim remain with the Turks, we tried to save the wounded at all costs. My only thought was not to be captured by the Turk, and I was never afraid of being killed.
When the war ended, I came to Yerevan. I was injured twice and got three contusions, I had to undergo treatment, but here they told me that I have to pay for the treatment. It was offensive. I wasn’t paid to be half human.
My husband and mother-in-law called me to Donetsk, I went to them. I was working, being treated. I had surgeries, 20 fragments were removed from my body.
My husband was sick. Died. After the death of my husband in 1998, my brother told me to return to Armenia, where Vazgen Sargsyan and the Commandos were looking for me.
After returning, I went to work in one of the military units in Yerevan, then, from the beginning of the 2000s, I moved to Martakert and, until now, I live here. Now I work in N military unit as a librarian.
I participated in the April 2016 war. I haven’t come home for 20 days. I was shooting with a weapon in my hand, helping the wounded and taking them to the hospital. We saw terrible days, the past and the present mixed together. There was still no ceasefire agreement. I came out of the unit and saw the guys working towards the enemy’s “kamikaze” type drone. I took my weapon and fired a box of cartridges. The UAV fell from my shot. It was written about, high-ranking officials thanked me, but I’m not proud of it. The important thing is that we didn’t have more victims.
There are no men or women in war. I have always felt that the presence of a woman is a great and restraining force to act more organized. It is another matter how war changes a person’s life, both mentally and physically. In the case of a woman, this change is more obvious – you become rougher, drier and more independent.
If I had the chance to start my life over, I would take every step in the same order. It’s okay, I don’t have a house now and I live in an apartment provided by the military unit. All the same, I will never regret that I sold my house and invested to go to war. It was a sacred thing.
Before, I had no idea what the liberation of the native land was. My roots are from Western Armenia, I am a descendant of emigrants, but I never thought that our generation would also see war. It is the fate of Armenia – we must protect our land with war and at the cost of blood. If we make a fist, no one has the power of Armenians. Turks with their numbers and military equipment.
I was appreciated by my combat wounded friends who are now alive, their relatives who are grateful for saving the life of their blood relative.
What I want from the state when the military commissariat doesn’t even take into account the years participated in wars, they says “bring a document that you fought?”
I want a peaceful sky. Let our soldiers continue their service in peaceful conditions. A standing boy joins the army to pay his debt to the motherland, not his life. Let every parent receive his heir as he gave to the army. As a parent, I consider myself the parent of a giant. As much as I have strength and ability, I will be next to every soldier as a mother, sister or grandmother and a soldier. This is my life…”.