AYF Youth Corps participants in Martuni in 2014
BY DICKRAN KHODANIAN
From The Armenian Weekly
Earlier this month, I received an unexpected phone call from my good friend Arthur from Martuni, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh/NKR) who is currently serving his mandatory two years in the NKR Armed Forces.
After not being able to see him during my six months in Armenia and generally not being in contact since he started his military service, Arthur explained that he had gotten a new phone and happened to be in Stepanakert for a day of rest. In Stepanakert, he had access to WiFi, which led to his call.
To provide some backstory, Arthur is a member of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) of Artsakh Martuni chapter. Martuni is about an hour east of Stepanakert. It is the region where Monte Melkonian was the regional commander during the Artsakh War. I found this out during my time there when literally everyone, regardless of age, knew who Monte was and what he had done for the people of Martuni. That and the fact that there was a statue of Monte in the town center.
From left Vladimir Narinyan and Yuri Pharamazyan
I first visited Martuni in July 2014 with the AYF Youth Corps program—a program, which started in 1994 following the NKR ceasefire, which sent diasporan youth to Artsakh to help rebuild various villages. In 2008, the program began to operate as a summer day camp for underprivileged youth in Armenia and Artsakh. AYF Youth Corps provides the opportunity for young diasporans to become counselors at day camps, in an effort to establish and strengthen ties with the homeland.
In the summer of 2014, the AYF Western United States was holding a day camp in Martuni for the first time. Other AYF regions, specifically Lebanon, had held camps there in the past.
Arthur was one of the first people I met from Martuni. He was a short, skinny, 17-year-old kid, who was assigned to help my Youth Corps group with whatever we needed during our time in Martuni.
Unger Arthur receiving the Battle Cross Order of Artsakh
In addition to developing bonds with the children from camp, I developed a genuine friendship with Arthur. He spent almost every second with our group and made sure that we received everything we needed. To some, he may have seemed like an annoying pest of a little brother, but it soon became clear to all that he was simply trying to fulfill his responsibilities as an AYF member.
During those two weeks, Arthur openly discussed his thoughts about leaving for his mandatory conscription. He would tell me that he was actually quite nervous, but felt it was an honor to serve his country.
Arthur has grown up hearing about constant ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan; casualties at the border were an ongoing occurrence. However, as he was getting closer to begin his service, everything began to hit home.
Regardless of his apprehension, Arthur put up a brave front. He knew that serving his homeland was just part of his patriotic duty.
After our two-week program completed, we said our goodbyes, and I was confident that I would still keep in contact with the locals of Martuni, especially Arthur. I figured we would keep in touch through Facebook.
Up to the point Arthur turned 18, we kept in touch through Facebook, Skype, and Viber. Although he was an AYF member from Martuni, a sense of camaraderie (ungerutiun) that was very much present, brought us even closer as friends. We would talk about the work of our regions: the differences, the similarities, and relations of the diaspora with the AYF in Armenia and Artsakh. Arthur would describe his experience with helping out the AYF Juniors in Martuni and was honest enough to explain some of the hardships he came across there.
Eventually, he became my little brother from Artsakh.
When Arthur turned 18 and began his military service, contact with him came to an abrupt halt. I didn’t expect him to have a cellphone or the necessary connection to communicate during his military service. From time to time, I would ask other friends from Martuni if they had heard anything from Arthur and they would always assure me that he was fine. However, at other times, I wouldn’t hear a thing.
When the Four-Day War began in April, I was genuinely worried that I might read his name in the news. I tried reaching out to friends in Martuni, but to no avail. I was worried for every one of our brave soldiers protecting our frontlines, but the feeling of having a little brother out there really hit hard.
A couple of weeks after, an Armenian military website titled “RazmInfoâ€
