Page 35 - bnemagazine bne_December 2021_20211203.pdf

bne December 2021 Cover Story I 35
Narek Hayrapetyan never volunteers ranging from teenagers to along with first aid, much of the training
consists of fitness regimens.
“The course is quite effective in part because of the amount of physical and strength training incorporated into it,” Hayrapetyan says. “The programme includes marksmanship, physical exercise, alpinism, first aid training
intended to be a soldier or to
fight in any war. But given where he’s from, being prepared for that is something of a necessity.
At a schoolyard in the small city of Sisian, about four hours south of the capital Yerevan, Hayrapetyan leads a group of two dozen volunteers in nighttime training.
In two columns, the trainees advance forward at Hayrapetyan’s command – hunched over, their wooden practice rifles sweeping across the landscape.
“Spread out! If there was a Bayraktar, you’d all be dead!” he shouts, referring to the Turkish-made armed combat drones that wreaked such devastation on Armenian forces in last year’s war.
As the exercise continues, command is delegated to two participants in the exercise – the ones who will lead them in any real-life combat and the closest this group gets to officers.
“Follow Narek’s command!” Hayrapetyan intones at one of the columns. “In a real war, your lives will depend on him!”
The recruits duly oblige, and for the next 10 minutes the group runs a series of defensive tactical manoeuvres in the moonlight.
This is life in Syunik, Armenia’s southernmost province, which is sandwiched between two parts of Azerbaijan and has been the subject of multiple Azerbaijani incursions in recent months.
Hayrapetyan is a local instructor at a volunteer corps known as VOMA, an abbreviation of the group’s Armenian name that translates as “the art of staying alive”. The semi-official outfit gained fame for co-ordinating groups
of volunteers who wanted to aid the Armenian military in its 44-day fight against Azerbaijan in Karabakh last year. It has since opened offices in all major settlements of Armenia, organising
local military and first aid training for
septuagenarians.
For Hayrapetyan, 30, it was necessary to do his part.
“I joined VOMA in January, and received training to be an instructor,” he says. “We are a small country, and enemies
“Spread out! If there was a Bayraktar, you’d all be dead!”
are all around us. The mission of every Armenian should be to be a soldier,” he says.
Shortly thereafter, the group’s Sisian branch was opened, with Hayrapetyan as an instructor.
“When the branch here was opened, it had about 70 participants,” Hayrapetyan says. “But there was a big age difference between those interested, so we split
it into several groups. The main group, about 25 people, has now been training for about eight months. I can assure you that all of them are now well prepared,” he says.
Aside from military and tactical drills,
and other things. Even during a natural disaster, those who participated will now be able to help,” he adds.
New geopolitical realities
Sisian’s location, and the new geopolitical reality following last year’s war, has reinforced to locals the necessity of military preparations.
Forming a narrow wedge thrusting towards the Iranian border, Armenia’s southernmost province of Syunik is bordered by Azerbaijan on two sides: the exclave of Nakhchivan to the west, and the mainland to the east.
The latter was never a problem before – the First Karabakh War (1991-94)
VOMA volunteers training.
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