“Mom always walked past the Ghazanchetsots Church and always looked at this building. She said: “God, I would also like to live here. And that happened."

The story of Nvard Khachikyan's family is about victory, love, dreams, and war. Her father came to Armenia from Iran during the Artsakh movement, participated in the struggle for freedom, and won. He met his future wife from Artsakh and settled in Shushi.

A short time later, her family moved to Ghazanchetsots 72 apartment in front of the Ghazanchetsots church, where Nvard was born in 1996. She is also one of the "children of the church" who grew up right in the courtyard of the church, in free Shushi.

Nvard does not talk about Shushi in the past tense, for her the city is present, and her feelings are current. She tells how peaceful and quiet the city was, that the children could play in the yards until midnight and there would be no worries.

Nvard notes that life in Shushi has revived in recent years, people have begun to come to the city more. There were cultural institutions, five museums, etc.

"In Shushi, I attended the "Varanda" choir, the founder of which is the Lebanese-Armenian Zakar Keshishyan. The choir has three age groups, I have been in all three groups. My guitar teacher also opened a club of bard songs in Shushi, we learned the songs of Armenian bards there, and played the guitar," Nvard recalls.

Nvard Khachikyan describes that everything was fine. Then came "that ominous and bright morning." On that day, the residents of the building immediately went to the church, the only safe place, where they held liturgy.

“We thought that perhaps all this would be short, temporary, like the April war, but, alas, it was not so. We held a liturgy – a short one, but we did it anyway, we prayed about everything, but the war was not short.”

Here Nvard begins to speak with difficulty. A few days after the start of the war, they had to leave the city. She remembers the last moment when she was at home.

“I had to take something from home. Before leaving, I turned around again to look at our home, as if it were a hunch, maybe I felt that I would not see this house again.”

Nvard and her sister left with the intention of returning. They didn't take anything. Among other things, Nvard regrets that they did not take with them at least memories or photos. "You've lived 24 years and it feels like it never happened."

After leaving Shushi, Nvard with her sister took refuge in Ashtarak, in the house of relatives. And now Nvard goes to Ashtarak with difficulty. the city reminds her of the days of the war, especially October 5, when her father miraculously survived.

“When the building in front of the Ghazanchetsots Church was bombed, my father was at home before the bombing, and if he had not left 10 minutes earlier, it might have had dire consequences for us,” Nvard says, barely holding back tears.

Then she tells that in those days she saw in the media publications their home in a ruined state. She recognized it and learned about the incident.

After the war, the family united and moved to Yerevan, where they started life from scratch.

“Adapting here step by step, at the same time, as if there is another self in you, which cannot come to terms with the fact that Shushi is not ours anymore, it is still like a bad dream for me, I cannot accept the fact that it is no longer ours, and therefore I cannot talk about Shushi in the past tense.”

Like many others, Nvard also went to Artsakh after the war with a feeling of oppression.

Nvard Khachikyan's family now lives in Yerevan. They want to move at least to Stepanakert, but Nvard works in the financial sector, and moving is not an easy task either.

Nvard also feels sorry for their destroyed home as she lived there all her life. But, she says, even in destroyed condition, they would like to go to Shushi and rebuild it again.

Since 2013, Artsvik Sargsyan has been the head of the Shushi community. He also emphasizes that Shushi has become especially active in recent years. He begins the story with the liberation of the settlement, tells how the city was filled with people, how it became a favorite destination for tourists, and how the housing shortage arose. there was no apartment to rent or buy, and no hotel rooms in the summer.

Shushi Mayor Artsvik Sargsyan says that in the early days of the war, people thought the fighting would end in a few days, just like the April war. That is why they were in no hurry to leave. People started leaving the city when the fighting had already moved deep into Artsakh. Artsvik Sargsyan notes that at that time many people called him and said that they were going to Artsakh by car and could transport people. Thus, families who wanted to leave the city were evacuated.

According to the mayor, most families left with the idea of returning as soon as possible, so most residents did not take anything with them.

Sargsyan says that after the war, part of the inhabitants of Shushi, without waiting for the decision of the authorities, moved to live in other settlements of Artsakh.

The Mayor notes that apartments are being built for Artsakh residents who have lost their homes. Priorities are set, and the apartments are handed over in order.