Thanks to Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia Firdus Zakaryan, I met woman freedom fighter Jemma (Heghine) Hovhannisyan, who is a resident of the Pokr Vedi village of Ararat Province. The employees of “Hayern Aysor” (Armenians Today) online newspaper, the 20-year-old students of Yerevan State University conducting their internships at the RA Ministry of Diaspora listened to the brave Armenian woman for hours with amazement and admiration as she talked about her military career. During our conversation, I felt that Jemma was willing to fight again. She is courageous and doesn’t give up. She couldn’t hide her sadness and cried when remembering her friends-in-combat whom she had lost.

Hayern Aysor: Mrs. Jemma, many years have passed since the first war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Most of our soldiers became heroes, but unfortunately, they died and were buried at Yerablur Military Pantheon. We also have many missing soldiers. Most soldiers stayed alive and became the living legends of our times. Today, we look at you as a living legend as we take a glance at your past. What do you think about the most?

Jemma Hovhannisyan: When Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement on May 12, 1994, I wasn’t demobilized. I was the commander of a company, but there was no order (the order was issued later). I was part of the 5^th brigade of Manvel Grigoryan. There was no commander. I lacked military education, but I was appointed a commander. After 15 years of fighting, I served and was later demobilized due to health problems. I have been wounded a couple of times and am a 2^nd degree disabled. To this day, I feel the pain of war because the fragment in my backbone constantly moves.

…I feel great pain and still can’t find my place. In some way, I also don’t forgive myself (people think I didn’t die, that’s why I don’t forgive myself). When we had liberated Talish, we came down from the peaks of Martakert, crossed the river, reached the Tap Karakolu village, but were sent back. When we were fighting in Yeraskhavan, the whole village had been emptied. We had to enter Nakhichevan and shouldn’t have stopped. I feel sorry that those dogs have the Shahumyan, Maraga, Seysulan and Leninavan villages. We suffered numerous casualties, but be rest assured that we could have moved forward and gained many positions. I regret that we didn’t. Today I am sorry for Talish. Talish was a village of heroes. When we liberated Talish, there was one church in which the Turks had filled their stolen animals. The church was littered with garbage. When we entered, I commanded the soldiers to clean it. I had them bring a lamb from the Gishi village of Martuni region (at the time, by Manvel Grigoryan’s order, I became the commander of the “Eagle-30” battalion), tied a tricolor string to the lamb’s neck, sacrificed the lamb and performed a baptism ceremony in that Armenian church where no candles had been lit and no masses had been served for 70 years. We called Father Koryun from Shushi so that he could consecrate the church, serve a Holy Mass and perform a baptism ceremony. We buried the victims of Talish under a long tombstone. I sent a letter to then chairman of the executive committee of Ararat Province Firdus Zakaryan and asked him to send 2-3 tons of cement to build tombs for my friends-in-combat. Zakaryan sent 7 tons of cement, and we built the tombs for our boys. Now, there is a nice complex with cross-stones.

Hayern Aysor: Did you participate in the liberation of Shushi?

J. H.: No, I didn’t directly participate in the fight for the liberation of Shushi, but I participated in the other battles. The members of the “Khorvirap” detachment of our village and I started participating in the battles in 1988 with hunters’ guns. The villagers and I joined the struggle. Some were fighting on the battlefield, while others were supporting each other from the rear. I think the end of the 20^th century should be referred to as the century of freedom fighters. We became a nation of freedom fighters, and that needs to be written in history in gold letters.

Hayern Aysor: It is May and it is spring again, but the outcome of the war that started in April and continues is unclear, and the solution to the issue remains unclear. However, there is consolidation, as well as the unity of will and spirit. Do you think this will end with our victory?

J. H.: I am certain that we will win because all the Armenians of Armenia and the Diaspora are untied as one, and consolidation is a strong force and the key to victory. We will definitely win because Armenian mothers are the best mothers in the world. Only Armenian mothers sing to their children in the cradle, and patriotic songs at that.

Hayern Aysor: Mrs. Jemma, if necessary, will you go to the battlefield again?

J. H.: One hundred percent. I am enlisted and will go (here village head of Pokr Vedi village Norik Martirosyan, who was attending the interview, interrupted and said Jemma was truly ready and would go to the positions, if she was allowed, but she already over 70), but I was told that people over 60 are not sent to the military positions.

Hayern Aysor: Are your ten sisters and only brother also as patriotic as you?

J. H.: My father was from the Moksi Tsapants village of the Van province of Western Armenia. When he was five years old, he and his sister Heghine (my real name in the passport is Heghine) barely managed to reach Armenia after escaping the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by passing through the deserts of Mosulov, Baghdadov and Deir Zor. The two orphans were saved. They only had one uncle, Uncle Martiros, who was Andranik’s soldier and was the one who took care of my father. My father was a laborer and later worked at a cement factory. To keep the generation going, my father thought of having a son (my parents’ first child was a boy, but he died) and constantly had children with the hope to have a son. Finally, after having 10 daughters, they finally had a son. My father always considered me his son because I would wear boys’ clothes and have been active and fearless since childhood. We are all patriots, and I can explain that with the fact that we are the descendants of Armenians who escaped the Armenian Genocide and lost our home. Patriotism is in our genes and runs in the blood that flows through our veins. My father lived his entire life looking at Mount Ararat, expressing pity and wishing to go to his native village, find his house and his mother’s tomb.

Hayern Aysor: Mrs. Jemma, were there other women who fought with you?

J. H.: There were no women from Yeraskhavan. There was no woman with a gun in her hand. There were two women, Hrep and Arsho, who were at the headquarters, not the military positions.

Hayern Aysor: How many times have you been wounded?

J. H.: I have been wounded three times and have always thought of recovering and joining my friends to continue the battle. My first injury was a leg injury. At the time, we didn’t know about martial arts. We managed to fight, seize the enemy’s arms and weaponry and liberate several territories with our willpower, fighting spirit and persistence. I have participated in the battles for the liberation of several villages and regions, including the liberation of Getavan.

Hayern Aysor: I see medals and decorations on your military uniform. Which of those is the most precious for you?

J. H.: All of them are precious. Among them is the Medal for Courage that the Artsakh Committee gave me for helping bring the troops out of a blockade. I managed to save my compatriots and bring them out of a blockade by tricking the Turks and singing in Turkish and telling the Turks “don’t shoot at me, I am the daughter of a Turk” in Turkish. In November 2015, I joined the wives of deceased freedom fighters, went to Martakert and gave a speech in which I said the following: “I believe in you, Armenian soldiers because Armenian mothers brought you to life. On this heavenly land, there is no fountain from which I haven’t drunk water. In these mountains, there is no stone on which I haven’t placed my head. There is no forest that I haven’t entered…I believe in you, Armenian soldiers. I thank your mothers.” After my speech, a soldier approached me and gave me this decoration as a gift, and it is the most precious for me. I have many decorations, but I don’t show off. I didn’t fight for medals, but for the defense of Artsakh and the borders of my country. I don’t like to beg, no matter what kind of difficulty I may be in. I don’t cry or complain and never say what I fought for, or ask why I am not taken care of. I have four children, one of which, my beautiful 22-year-old daughter died in a car accident, but crying about it won’t change anything.

Hayern Aysor: Mrs. Jemma, what have you been doing during the years of peace?

J. H.: I have been farming. I have 1,200 meters of land. I have imported flowers and planted trees. It’s hard to cultivate land, but it fills my soul with peace. I have contacts with schools. Every year, I give a speech at our local school every September 1^st, and one of the classrooms of the school is named after me. I am also invited to speak at schools in Yerevan. The school of our village is named after my father, Margar Hovhannisyan, who was the head of the collective farm of Pokr Vedi for many years. Recently, the school hosted an event to name a classroom after officer Gor Ohanyan, who was killed a couple of months ago. I gave a speech at the event and said Armenian children must gain knowledge, be educated and have command of the latest technologies because they will need that knowledge during military service. I am very connected to that school in general.

Hayern Aysor: What advice would you give Armenian mothers?

J. H.: I can’t give advice because every Armenian mother is wise. I take pride in the Armenian mothers who raise their children with the spirit of patriotism. Armenian mothers and women make sacrifices in life and dedicate themselves to their families and children unconditionally. I love and respect all those who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the Homeland.

Hayern Aysor: Mrs. Jemma, do you agree that girls also need to serve in the army?

J. H.: I wouldn’t like to see girls on the frontline since there is a risk of being captured and being in a blockade. I have personally been in a blockade. I had, say, seven capsules, had to use six of them to shoot the Azerbaijanis, and I had one for me so that I wouldn’t be held in captivity, and it wasn’t only for me. Girls can simply learn and undergo training so that they can resist the enemy in case of need. After all, there is a lot of work to do during the war in the rear.

Hayern Aysor: Do you remember an unforgettable event or story?

J. H.: I came to the military positions in 1993. I even had lipstick in the pocket of my fireproof jacket (a woman must look after herself even during a war). I was fighting by singing. I have crossed the enemy’s positions and have even spent two days and nights protecting the military position alone. I was with six people near the military position in Yeraskhavan, and I can’t consider this memorable. I simply remembered it…There was a need for four people to transfer a wounded soldier in a stretcher. I stayed alone. I was running from one firing range to the other and shooting from all three firing ranges, making the enemy think there were a lot of soldiers at our positions. When we entered Mataghis in 1993 (and then came out), we saw that the Azerbaijanis had bombarded the local school, had burned most of the books and had shot at other books. I would gather the books and fill them in military boxes. When the boys would ask me what I was doing, I would tell them that schools would reopen their doors and would need these books after we liberate Mataghis. I believed that we were going to liberate it, and that’s what happened. When a new school was established, I would bring the books that I had been keeping at home. It is very important to believe that you are strong and a winner. It is also very important for us Armenians to stand with our army. Nobody has the right to play with the army’s reputation. If necessary, I will even sell my half-built house for the army.

Hayern Aysor: Let us end our interview with inspiring words, Mrs. Jemma.

J. H.: I am not a poet or professional. I just have a poem devoted to my father, and I will recite that:

I want to take the road my father took as a migrant

and go and reach Van,

see the Van my father missed

and take another road,

cross the Euphrates,

reach Mokats Mountains,

burn incense, kneeling before the tombs of

my forefathers with longing.

Let the smoke of the incense spread,

from Mush to Sasun, Alashkert,

let Ani wake up from its deep sleep,

with the longing for the Armenians,

I would speak in Armenian

and tell the stones-

I took my revenge

from these archenemy Turks.

Let me die in Armenian

on the land my father was born,

and let my sisters come and

burn incense for me in Armenian.

Hayern Aysor: Thank you for your devotion to the homeland, your prime, your unconditional patriotism, your unyielding fighting spirit and your willingness to fight for the Homeland again.

Karine Avagyan