HISTORY MUSEUM OF ARMENIA

Travellers of the Eternal: Part III

Travellers of the Eternal: Part III

Travellers of the Eternal: Part III

MEMORY AND THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE

During and after the end of the 44-day war of 2020, the process of painting pictures of fallen servicemen on the walls of buildings of various importance began and became widespread. These pictures are known as patriotic graffiti. Despite the precedents, after the end of the war, the phenomenon of painting pictures of fallen servicemen acquired a number of features that were not typical of previous cases. If before the war heroes were painted by different individuals on their own initiative, after the war the depiction of fallen servicemen became commissioned. The customers are the relatives, parents or direct members of the community. This phenomenon has the significance of expressing pain, consolation, keeping the memory of the hero alive, making him recognizable and educating the younger generation by the example of his heroism.

The continuity of life

After the war, a very important positive tendency has been noted in society, especially in families who had lost a child, that´s the birth of a new child. Many parents, regardless of age, made a decision to have a child as a new rebirth, as a pledge of the continuation of life, as a new meaning of living. The birth of a child gave many parents a chance to find consolation to go on with life. The new generation came to fill the gap of the older generation for a new, bright future. In those families, the extinguished lamp was lit again, to carry out the unfulfilled dreams of their older brothers, to build their home and homeland.

Mariam Petrosyan

History Museum of Armenia, Researcher, mariam.petrosyan@ymail.com

Abstract- This article discusses the psychological situation caused by the 44-day war in 2020 in the Armenian society. The results of the war, the loss of the motherland, the enormous loss of lives caused deep trauma to people, which is called war trauma in professional references. War trauma affects not only the direct participants of military operations, but also civil society. Society spontaneously developed mechanisms for coping with trauma. This article discusses two of those mechanisms: the phenomenon of depicting portraits of fallen servicemen on the walls of various buildings, and giving birth to a child, especially among families who have suffered losses.

Mariam Petrosyan

History Museum of Armenia, Researcher, mariam.petrosyan@ymail.com

Abstract- This article discusses the psychological situation caused by the 44-day war in 2020 in the Armenian society. The results of the war, the loss of the motherland, the enormous loss of lives caused deep trauma to people, which is called war trauma in professional references. War trauma affects not only the direct participants of military operations, but also civil society. Society spontaneously developed mechanisms for coping with trauma. This article discusses two of those mechanisms: the phenomenon of depicting portraits of fallen servicemen on the walls of various buildings, and giving birth to a child, especially among families who have suffered losses.

Key words – war trauma, remembrance, stress, coping, giving birth to a child

The 44-Day War and War Trauma in Society

On September 2, 2020, the Artsakh-Azerbaijani war began, which ended on November 9 of the same year with a tripartite declaration (Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan). During the war and after its end, a number of phenomena appeared among the society, which were the symptoms of post-war stress and trauma. They were observed in people’s behavior, views and expression of actions. The participants of the war and the society had the mindset that this war was not like other wars, that this one was a supernatural war, etc.

The human-machine conflict came to replace the human-human conflict in the war of the new generation, therefore, meeting new phenomena and new manifestations of the course of war in this new struggle, people called it a technology war. The human-machine confrontation in this war was special, because a person could absolutely lose the sense of his own importance and subjectivity with the ability to influence situations during the confrontation with the enemy. [1]

Willingly or unwillingly, a number of psychological traumas arise in society in a war situation. However, in 2020, the Armenian society was shaken not only by the war, but by the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences. The pandemic also caused a lot of loss of lives and restrictions, which was also a huge stress for people. In the created situation, the Armenian society was faced with the loss of the sense of safety and security, in the face of both visible and invisible enemies.[2]

This communal effect exacerbated the trauma. Psychological trauma is a psychological state of a person, during which he has been subjected to a strong shock effect, when his life or the lives of his relatives are in real danger.[3] The post-war trauma was also deepened by the subjective reflection of the objective reality. The Armenian society, which had organized itself in the rear during the war to meet the needs of the war, when it was sure that it was winning, one day found itself in a parallel reality where there was defeat, a large number of human victims and the loss of the homeland.[4]։ In the post-war period, the thought that they lived, worked, fought and died for “nothing” became dominant in the society, which was the first vivid expression of the post-war depression and,  in case of overcoming the depression, it is transformed into the ideas of not giving up, moving forward.

War is the most terrible source of trauma. Soldiers returning from war often have various injuries, but what is really difficult to heal are the psychological experiences they have during war.[5] The same refers to civil society. There is a lot of data in the literature that during the Second World War, American troops alone lost more than 500 thousand people due to combat mental disorders.[6]

War and post-war trauma has complex and difficult consequences for both war participants and civil society. In this sense, military traumatism is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon. It is not the effect and manifestation of a single phenomenon, but a unique combination of factors for each individual.[7]։

Thus, trauma is a life experience that can penetrate into every sphere of a person’s and society’s life, negatively affecting his physical and psychological well-being. Since everyone has only his own “source” of trauma, treatment is also very subjective for each member of society. This is due to the fact that what is traumatic for one person may not be so for another.

Remembranceof the fallen soldiers as a form of expressing pain and overcoming trauma

In every stressful situation, society spontaneously develops mechanisms for expressing pain and overcoming stress. We can consider such a way for the Armenian society exposed to the war trauma to depict the portraits of fallen servicemen on buildings of various importance (schools, community hall, residential building). This phenomenon became more widespread in 2020 and spread to most of the settlements in Armenia (Yerevan, Gyumri, Dilijan, Ijevan, Sevan, Hrazdan, etc.). Unlike the previous cases, in 2020 the process became commissioned. The customars are mostly the soldier’s parents, close relatives, friends or members of the local community. Arsen Petrosyan, the author of the portraits of soldiers who died in Hrazdan city, answers the question, “Does he paint spontaneously or is he commissioned?”*« They apply, and of course I don’t refuse if I have to work in my city [8]»:

The phenomenon of depicting fallen soldiers on the walls of various buildings is a multi-layered process. It contains several functions:

  • by depicting their soldier, the relatives try to make him known, audible about his self-sacrifice. The function of making known became more important, especially in the background of the unpredictable results of the war, the enormous loss of lives. During this war, the idea of heroism was also changed. They began to call a hero to all participants in the war, prisoners of the war, and every individual connected with the war. Meanwhile, in the public imagination, a hero is an individual who consciously sacrificed himself for the sake of the motherland, showed personal courage and sacrificed his life for the sake of the motherland. In the troubled post-war period, everyone found a unique way to make their hero known.
  • the phenomenon of depicting the fallen servicemen on the walls of various buildings is a way of expressing pain and console for the relatives.
  • graffiti portraits of fallen soldiers also have a deep educational meaning, especially when depicted on the walls of schools and other educational institutions. Children hold classes and commemorative events near those portraits. To the question of why there was a need to paint the fallen soldiers on the wall of the school, the principal of Meghradzor secondary school, A. Malyan, replied, “I had ա goal to express my gratitude to our martyrs in some way and to make history come alive with their example.”[9]

Often, next to the portraits of the fallen servicemen, there are accompanying writings and images that show the identity of the soldier. Those writings are quotes from famous patriotic songs and works. There are also writings with personal works of the soldier. Frequently encountered expressions are today’s heroes, I have an honor, heroes do not kneel, death, anticipated, is immortality, I am a punch of your arm, I am your strength from heaven, my life is for your life, we prefered to die bravely for your life , even war, the death is the resurrection of the braves, death, or freedom, everything is in our hands and head, life from us, living with dignity from you, toast to you brother and other similar expressions. In other words, the portrait enters into a dialogue with the viewer. Looking at the portrait, we know who the soldier is, what type of weapon he used in the army or what his profession is.

Besides painting portraits of fallen servicemen on the walls of various buildings, the relatives make khachkars and other memorial monuments. The initiators of the construction of similar monuments are relatives, parents, the educational institution where the soldier studied, as well as the state. Monuments dedicated to the memory of the victims of the community are made in different communities on the initiative of the municipal governments, but this state approach does not limit the parents or individuals to build a monument commemorating the soldier. Of course, this step is also aimed at keeping the memory of the soldiers alive, educating the younger generation by the example of their courage, and for the society they are places of expression of pain and comfort, where parents, relatives or strangers often visit and bow flowers. Auditoriums named after soldiers are being opened in universities and schools, commemorative corners are being prepared. To the question of  why so many portraits of soldiers are painted or monuments made, the girl-cousin of fallen soldier Artak Rafayelyan answers, “When we learn that a soldier has died, we all want to do something for his memory. Perhaps for this reason, as well as to ensure that they are not forgotten, so that we remember our heroes every time we look at them.[10]:

Since the phenomenon of depicting fallen servicemen on the walls of buildings had never been so widespread, it also received an ambiguous attitude from the public. Some people enthusiastically accept portraits, considering that they help to recognize today’s heroes and are an example of patriotism for the younger generation. The other part of the society, on the contrary, believes that these portraits are unnecessary, because they do not allow people, especially the relatives of servicemen, to overcome the pain, they are a constant reminder of the war and the losses. To the question of what is the reaction of the society, whether they are not accused of reminding the trauma of the war, the mother of Artsakh hero Alen Margaryan answers “I receive dozens of calls every day, both from the residents of the capital and from the neighbors of the building (Alen has been living in that building for many years) which say words of gratitude, especially for Allen’s portrait, because he looks from the wall of the building with a bright smile, a bright young man who spreads his light throughout the area, the residents say that from now on, their mornings start after greetings Allen and their daily routines take place kept Allen’s bright smile in their hearts[11]։

Births of new children (giving birth to a child) as a way to overcome pain and trauma

Giving birth to a child is one of the ways to overcome the loss of a loved one, pain and trauma, among the relatives of fallen soldiers, particularly their parents. The state also implemented specially designed programs in this direction, giving opportunity to the parents who have lost their children have a child again. This is a new hope and meaning of life for many parents. It is interesting that newborn children are often named after the dead serviceman, believing in his rebirth or trying to console themselves and overcome the pain of losing their son. Frequently the dead son announces the birth of a new child to the parents in their dream, or asks to call the child by this or that name.

As a result of the interviews conducted with a number of parents who have lost children, the answers given mainly prove one thing, “The meaning of living has been restored”. The mother of the brothers Gevorg and Karen Gevorgyans, who died in the 44-day war of 2020, Mrs. Arev, answers the question “The severe pain of the loss of two children that was given to us is unchangable, It’s just that Aren was born in the house and sparked the desire to live which stopped after the children and I have promised that the names of the children will live forever with Aren, we will remember and perpetuate the memory, because we had no other children, we had no heir. Aren has become my everything, my Gevorg, my Karen, my everything, the desire to live, our meaning.”[12]։

Another parent who has lost a son, Mrs. Ina, the mother of fallen serviceman Karen Nersesyan, answers: “Karen always said that I was his happiness, now Linas is my happiness.”[13]։

Conclusion

Thus, as a result of the 44-day war of 2020, the Armenian society was subjected to a long-term trauma, which was caused by great human losses, the loss of the homeland, the feeling of being deceived, etc. Society spontaneously developed methods to express pain, cope with stress and trauma in order not to deepen it. Among those means, we can single out the phenomenon of depicting the portraits of fallen servicemen on the walls of various buildings and giving birth to a child, especially among families who have suffered losses. The latter has a symbol of new hope, desire to live, to keep the house lamp lit. The Armenian society has not fully overcome the post-war trauma and the events taking place (loss of Artsakh, forced deportation, new victims) have added new traumas, new psychological problems, which also need to be overcome.

Օգտագործված գրականության ցանկ

  1. Աղասի Թադևոսյան, Պատերազմը մասնակիցների պատմություններում․ մարդաբանական հետազոտություն, էջ․ 69, Ե․
  2. Ամալյա Դիլանյան, Գրաֆիտին որպես անտիմիլիտարիզացիա․ փոխելով կոդ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOIc-WP6Bbs, 01.09.2023.
  3. Александр Стародумов, Боевой стресс и боевая психическая травма, Добро журнал, М. 2023, https://dobro.press/blogi/boevoi-stress-i-boevaya-psihicheskaya-travma, 01.11.2023.
  4. Bagas Bantara, Преодоление травмы войны, М. 2023.
  5. Есть ли у вас «травма войны»?, https://akhmetovfoundation.org/ru/test/est-ly-u-vas-travma-voyny, վերջին դիտում՝ 04․ 11․ 2023․
  6. ՀՀ կառավարություն, Թիկունքի կամավորները, https://www.facebook.com/armgovernment/videos/%D5%A9%D5%AB%D5%AF%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D6%84%D5%AB-%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%BE%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%B6%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A8/746667369513546/, վերջին դիտում՝ 05․ 11,2023։
  7. Երեխա ունենալ ցանկացող որդեկորույս ծնողներն այդ հնարավորությունը կստանան, https://epress.am/2021/02/25/%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A5%D5%AD%D5%A1-%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D5%A5%D5%B6%D5%A1%D5%AC-%D6%81%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%AF%D5%A1%D6%81%D5%B8%D5%B2-%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%A4%D5%A5%D5%AF%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B5%D5%BD-%D5%AE.html, 07․11․2023․
  8. Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց նկարիչ Արսեն Պետրոսյանի հետ, 2022թ․, Հրազդան։
  9. Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ,Հարցազրույց Մեղրաձորի միջն․ դպրոցի տնօրեն Ա․ Մալյանի հետ, 2022թ․, Մեղրաձոր։
  10. Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց զոհված զինծառայող Արտակ Ռաֆայելյանի զարմուհուէ Գոհար Ավետիսյանի հետ, 2023թ․, Հրազդան։
  11. Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց Արցախի հերոս Ալեն Մարգարյանի մոր՝ տիկին Նազելի Տերտերյանի հետ, Երևան, 2023 թ․։
  12. Ս․ Գալստյան, Ի․ Բադալյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց զոհված զինծառայողներ Գևորգ և Կարեն Գևորգյանների մոր՝ տիկին Արևի հետ, Երևան, 2023թ․։

 

 

[1] Աղասի Թադևոսյան, Պատերազմը մասնակիցների պատմություններում․ մարդաբանական հետազոտություն, էջ․ 69, Ե․ 2022.

[2] Ամալյա Դիլանյան, Գրաֆիտին որպես անտիմիլիտարիզացիա․ փոխելով կոդ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOIc-WP6Bbs, 01.09.2023.

[3] Есть ли у вас «травма войны»?, https://akhmetovfoundation.org/ru/test/est-ly-u-vas-travma-voyny, վերջին դիտում՝ 04․ 11․ 2023․

[4] ՀՀ կառավարություն, Թիկունքի կամավորները, https://www.facebook.com/armgovernment/videos/%D5%A9%D5%AB%D5%AF%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D6%84%D5%AB-%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%BE%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%B6%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A8/746667369513546/, վերջին դիտում՝ 05․ 11,2023։

[5]Bagas Bantara, Преодоление травмы войны, с.4., М. 2023.

[6] Александр Стародумов, Боевой стресс и боевая психическая травма, Добро журнал, М. 2023, https://dobro.press/blogi/boevoi-stress-i-boevaya-psihicheskaya-travma, 01.11.2023.

[7] Bagas Bantara, указ. соч. с. 14.

[8] Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց նկարիչ Արսեն Պետրոսյանի հետ, 2022թ․, Հրազդան․

* Արսեն Պետրոսյանը համաձայնվում է նկարել բացառապես Հրազդան քաղաքում և հարակից գյուղերում, քանի որ աշխատանքը բավականին էներգիա և ժամանակ է պահանջում և չի հանդիսանում իր հիմնական աշխատանքը։

[9] Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց Մեղրաձորի միջն․ դպրոցի տնօրեն Ա․ Մալյանի հետ, 2022թ․, Մեղրաձոր։

[10]  Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց զոհված զինծառայող Արտակ Ռաֆայելյանի զարմուհու՝ Գոհար Ավետիսյանի հետ, 2023թ․, Հրազդան։

[11] Մ․ Պետրոսյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց Արցախի հերոս Ալեն Մարգարյանի մոր՝ տիկին Նազելիի հետ, Երևան, 2023թ․։

[12] Ս․ Գալստյան, Ի․ Բադալյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց զոհված զինծառայողներ Գևորգ և Կարեն Գևորգյանների մոր՝ տիկին Արևի հետ, Երևան, 2023թ․։

* The quotation is made verbatim, without modification

[13] Ս․ Գալստյան, Ի․ Բադալյան, ԴԱՆ, Հարցազրույց զոհված զինծառայող Կարեն Ներսեսյանի ծնողների հետ, Երևան, 2023թ․։

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