Welcome to The Desire To Live

I start this documentary series from Ariavan (Armenian: Արիավան), a new settlement in the Aghavno region of Kashatagh, Artsakh. It emerged as a new community of hope in Artsakh, built in 2014 for the locals, repatriated Armenians, large families, and newly married couples. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Artsakh, the Ariavan village has officially begun to become a viable community, which was now caught in war. 

Filmmaker Mariam Avetisyan from Artsakh with her DOP Tigran are making a no-commentary-style documentary series to show post-war life in Artsakh called #TheDesireToLive. These short series are going to show the effects of the war on the regular people of Artsakh and their livelihood. If you want to learn more about Artsakh and the people that live in it, subscribe to the channel!  And this is my first episode done from Ariavan (Aghavno), where villagers still live, in fear of the enemy, but determined to stay in their own homes. The village is located in the Lachin corridor.   I will release more episodes as we go, we’re filming every week and are a 2-person team.  You can also support me by subscribing to my YouTube Channel, turning on the notifications, liking, commenting & sharing the video help a lot as well!

We begin Season 2 with a visit to the village of Kert (Armenian: Քերթ) in Artsakh's Martuni region where we learned about a horrendous attack on an ambulance and trucks from an eye witness. More than 40 people died from this one drone strike by Azerbaijan; they burnt alive. Armed drones are a weapon of mass destruction and should be illegal.   Another villager working in the field with her aching legs recalls the horror of bombardment by Azerbaijan. She tells us that her son is still suffering from PTSD and is not himself. She wishes "to be reunited with Armenia, and not be snatched by Azerbaijan again". We met with a family of a missing soldier. They had no contact with their son Arthur for the past 6 months and the evidence indicates that he is in captivity, but they can't get confirmation— Azerbaijan won't release the full list of POWs (prisoners of war). His bride-to-be and entire family pray for his return and hope that he's being treated well.  Unfortunately, the recent @HumanRightsWatch report confirmes that Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan are subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. “The abuse, including torture of detained Armenian soldiers, is abhorrent and a war crime,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe & Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It is also deeply disturbing that a number of missing Armenian soldiers were last seen in Azerbaijan’s custody and it has failed to account for them.” Full report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/19/a... #FreeArmenianPOWs 

Khnatsakh (Armenian: Խնածախ) is a village in the Tegh Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia. Khnatsakh is known for being one of the ancient residences of the Kashatagh Meliks and contains the partially ruined palace of Melik Hakhnazar I․  After the agreement was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2020, the village of Khnatsakh became a border village. The Azerbaijani post is about 100 meters away, they monitor it every day. In this episode, we will show the destinies of two people. One of them is Gayane from Khnatsakh, who has always lived in Khnatsakh village and never remembers the Azerbaijanis being so close to their village. And another one is Voskehat, a refugee from Melikashen, who lost her house in one day and now lives in Khnatsakh while dreaming to return to Melikashen one day.