Nare Ghazaryan. “Today we are all a handful and we should be united as much as possible”

Nare Ghazaryan, the former administrative head of Shikahogh rural settlement on the border of Kapan community, now holds the position of deputy governor of Syunik. She does not consider the new position as an achievement in her career, she says that if we consider that any official is a servant of our country, then today only the volume of my service has increased…

“This new position is a lever for me, with the help of which I have wider opportunities to change the quality of people’s lives. From my previous work, I am familiar with the problems of villages and now I also coordinate the rural sector, I am responsible not only for one village, but also for the residents of 139 villages in 7 communities,” she says while talking about her new powers.

– What is the situation in the region today, taking into account the border problems, and what areas do you coordinate?

– In the created situation, the degree of responsibility of regional authorities in Syunik naturally increased. if in the past we thought about the development of communities, people’s daily life, being provided with work, today the number one problem among many problems is security, and in its context also the access to health services, especially in the border villages. We are trying to do our best so that the people living in the border villages do not feel alone and neglected, so that we can mitigate the impact of the changes that have taken place on their lives. At the same time, I can confidently say that the villagers in our border settlements are also quite strong-willed people, standing firmly on their land and will never leave their village. And that is the most important thing. We contribute to this with both material support programs and psychological support, including our frequent visits. When we go to villages, especially in a large group, people get excited, and we feel both that excitement and the importance of our visit for them. In short, today we we should be united as much as possible.

– You served in Shikahokh for 5 years, what are the achievements and memories of those years?

– There are many memories, and among the achievements I will single out one that I value very much: the establishment of the Shikahogh sewing workshop, which solved the issue of employment for most of the women in the village. The workshop is still functioning today, we will try to expand the scope and capabilities so that other surrounding villages can also join, and we have employees from there.

– If I’m not mistaken, you continue to live in Shikahogh and reach the governor’s office from there every day, ignoring the length and difficulty of the road and thus maintaining contact with the residents of the village, with whom you faced and experienced difficult days.

– Yes, there is no way I can separate myself from my village, my native hearth and native land, and I think that my daily coming and going also gives strength to my fellow villagers, that nothing has changed and we will face all difficulties together.

– You regularly go to Goris, visit the Artsakh residents who have taken refuge in Syunik. To what extent is it possible to reach out to people, especially in the context of recent events, after the closure of the Lachine Corridor?

– Since December 12, we have tried to do everything possible for the people of Artsakh who took refuge in Syunik, and in fact we succeeded. I say this with confidence, because I heard positive reactions from them, and people who, by God’s luck, were able to return to their homeland, call and thank us from there, and invite us to stay with them. Unfortunately, these nightmarish processes are not over yet, we continue to go through this stage and we still have students from Artsakh in schools. We do everything to be next to our brothers and sisters of Artsakh, and people feel that we always stand behind them.

Referring to the role of women in emergency situations, what changes do you see in the region, how would you assess the involvement of women in the region in the processes of overcoming the consequences of war and solving security problems?

– I see the role and influence of women in all stages of the conflict and, first of all, before the emergence of an emergency situation. Along with that, in my subjective opinion, it is time for an Armenian woman to also stand with her husband, parents and defend the borders of the motherland with a weapon in her hand. After all, the land does not recognize men and women, love for the motherland is not determined by gender, that debt is also given to us. If we can reach such a high level of consciousness in our country under war conditions, we will succeed, during the martial law, not only will there be no deserters from cities and villages, but also women will consciously stand next to the men of their families and protect their land and home with weapons.

– It is known that you took part in the self-defense of Shikahogh with a weapon in your hand. How did the fellow villagers and especially the men react?

– (Laughs) When we organized the self-defense of the village, I felt that my participation encouraged my fellow villagers and also the men, who felt more obliged to take up arms and defend their land.

– As a young but already seasoned and experienced woman leader in difficult situations, what do you wish for the women of our country and region?

– People around me will tell me whether I am a strong female leader or not. to be honest, I never thought about it myself. I lived my daily life and work, but I also went through quite a lot of difficulties, and due to the current situation, I think there will be more difficulties. I wish the women of my country strength and conscious determination, which will allow them to support their husbands, parents, and brothers, to be united for the sake of the country’s peace.

Full text in Armenian