To reach Arevshat village—in Hadrut Region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh)—by car is difficult, since the road leading there is made out of dirt and it is full of puddles. And living there is just heroism, with modern-day standards.

And those who ensure our safety, the military servicemen, live there with their families, under these conditions.

To our question as to why she gave birth to three children under such conditions, 25-year-old Astghik, wife of Senior Sergeant Gharib (Garik) Sahakyan—who had fallen during the four-day war which Azerbaijan had unleashed against Artsakh, in early April—responded: “My husband was with me; together, everything was bearable.”

Contract soldier Gharib Sahakyan and his wife, Astghik Poghosyan, had settled in Arevshat village in 2009, when her husband was stationed to the current military positions.

They were also given building material, as an incentive.

But since Gharib is fallen, there is no one to complete their house.

Three boys—7-year-old Angel, 4-year-old Aleks, and one-year-old Alen—are growing up under these conditions.

Astghik also told us that her husband had gone to his military service on March 31, and never returned home.