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Sunday morning worship service at the Evangelical Church of Armenia in Yerevan
(May 30).

ARTSAKH

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

The road leading to Artsakh reflected the bittersweet nature of this first post-war visit to Artsakh. The sight of Azeri checkpoints
on the dual roads leading to Shushi on the main Goris-Stepanakert highway countered the joy of the "Free and Sovereign Artsakh
Welcomes You" sign that met us upon entering the Artsakh Republic. A combination of pain suffered from the cognitive realization of
the consequences of the war interacted with the joy of watching an indigenous population return to a Homeland with a fervent spirit
of ownership and an indestructible will to stay put at home.
Stepanakert was a bustling city with a first time experience of a traffic jam. Not only the City had regained most of its population
but an influx of refugees from Shushi and Hatrut were accommodated in the City by the government. ‘Hayastan’ All Armenia Fund
and other NGO plans were in progress to build thousands of housing units for resettled refugees. AMAA had repaired and restored
over a dozen housing units in Stepanakert and was ready to embark on the reconstruction of many more housing units in Martuni and
Martakert, which were destroyed in the war.
Illusive or not there is a spirit of comfort and security in the presence of a heavy Russian military presence in Artsakh. That sense
of protection has given way to the local administration to focus on the social, economic, educational and other vital needs of the
people.
AMAA’s post-war advocacy and strategy of repopulating Artsakh and blazing preparation to welcome its children had worked. All
AMAA educational centers, including the Shushi based institutional services which had moved to Stepanakert, were up and active by
December 1, 2020.
I do not disparage the calamity nor minimize the pain. However, my outlook for the future is constructive and positive as I em-
brace the spirit of the Scripture quoted above. HOPE is in place in Artsakh.

At the AMAA Center in Stepanakert (May 26). At the Evangelical Church of Armenia in Stepanakert (May 26).

30 | AMAA NEWS, July-Aug-Sept 2021