"... I am teaching children patriotism, how I can leave my place, and that would defeat the very purpose of working as a teacher. I should be near these children. I will be here, even if two pupils stay here. And there are many people who think like that...."
We met Armenuhi Sonyan at the Verishen community school of Syunik region.
“I was born in Vayots Dzor but got married and moved to my mother’s hometown -Verishen. And when I received the opportunity to choose among the 3 settlements of work, I chose the village where my mother was born and, through my job, I tried to express my gratitude to this place for giving me such a great mother.,” mentions Armenuhi and shares some memories from September 13.
"The shooting broke out at night on September 12, and the next day in the morning we didn't go to school. Of course, the entire school process was disturbed, we could not even arrange the online classes, because the children were generally in the shelters in the shelters and were not emotionally ready to be involved in the studying process," says Mrs. Sonyan, "Never before had we experienced such a high level of uncertainty and hardship. It is already unbearable when children are looking at you and you can't help them with anything. When a tire blows out, the whole class (i.e. 20-25 children) gets under the table, and you understand that it is such a stressful occasion that it takes weeks, maybe more, to recover..."
Mrs. Armenuhi mentioned that they work hard to help the children to overcome the stress: “When a plane is passing, they are questioning, whether it is an Armenian plane or the opponent’s one… eventually, everything will be resolved, but the psychological traumas of these children will remain.”
Mrs. Sonyan shares another episode; when her daughter requested her to move to Yerevan, where it is safer and she responded, “... I am teaching children patriotism, how I can leave my place, and that would defeat the very purpose of working as a teacher. I should be near these children. I will be here, even if two pupils stay here, and there are many people who think like that...."
Around 330 pupils are studying at Verishen secondary school. The school is famous for its traditions, and most of the graduates continue their studies in higher education institutions.
"An Armenian villager is a creator, we only need peace in our land. We had five victims in the 2020 war. I wouldn't want anyone to see the pictures of their killed students, hanging on school walls ... It's the generation that went through the war of the 90s, and now their children are facing the same reality. Four wars in a short life; isn't it a lot..."
