By Talar Keoseyan
Shant and Marine Charshafjian are the power couple behind the wonderful Lorik Humanitarian Fund. The fund has succeeded in securing housing for Artsakh Armenians and promoting sustainable projects, cultural events and more. The amount of effort, dedication, time and heart that goes into this organization is monumental.
Shant and Marine met in Armenia right before the 44-Day War in Artsakh. Shant, a Los Angeles-born Armenian American, was on the first flight to Armenia once the pandemic restrictions were lifted. Marine, an Armenian-born and raised patriotic woman, caught Shant’s eye wearing a shirt featuring Karekin Njdeh. This led to a beautiful traditional Armenian wedding and now to two beautiful daughters, Maral and Houri, and a new bundle of joy on the way.
Their humanitarian work started on October 14, 2020, during the war in Artsakh, when Shant and Marine went to Aghavno to pass out toys to displaced children and teach dance. The couple decided to dedicate their time and efforts to help in any way that they could. They founded the Lorik Humanitarian Fund and moved to the Martuni region of Artsakh in March of 2021 to begin their work. Their reception by the locals was profound and filled with hospitality.
One of their first projects was the renovation of a statue of Monte Melkonian in Martuni. The statue renovation was a source of pride for the community. The fund then began to brainstorm how to ensure that humanitarian aid would be equitable and sustainable. In one project, the fund provided over 500 families across Artsakh with 12,675 chicks and 15,210 kilograms of feed, in collaboration with the Artsakh Support Body. They built greenhouses, found a driver to take children to the ARS Sosse Kindergarten in the neighboring village, held puppet shows, purchased wrestling equipment for schools and gyms and fundraised salaries for teachers and taxi drivers. Marine taught dance in Martakert and Martuni, and Shant played Santa Claus and passed out toys to children.
Shant also utilized social media to show the beauty of Artsakh and the people’s struggles. Any challenges the fund faced were solved with a simple phone call to the local authorities, who were open to new ideas and appreciated that the organization was so invested in Artsakh.
Martuni’s essence is one of love and family, the couple says. It’s a deeply rooted community that reflects the Armenian spirit. While traveling through Martuni and surrounding villages in their car delivering necessities, strangers would say hello and invite them in for tea. Within 15 minutes, there would be a full-on table spread, and everyone would sit together and talk about their experiences.
“The only time I felt like a free human was in Artsakh. I liked the view, and I would stop and enjoy it. Everyone was open to new experiences,” Shant told the Weekly.
In Martuni, their daughter Maral was born. The family of three was enjoying life in Artsakh when the blockade began. The blockade, with its grueling deprivation of basic human goods including food, gas and water, also showed the love and nurturing spirit of the Artsakh community.
“It was the third week of the blockade, and we celebrated Armenian Christmas with Mary Asatryan, Gev Iskajyan and Hagop from Cyprus. We didn’t think the blockade would linger as long as it did. During this time, Marine found out she was pregnant,” Shant said.
During the blockade, the Lorik Humanitarian Fund installed solar panels on houses. The projects became a form of resistance.
As Azerbaijan’s relentless assault on Artsakh continued in September 2023, Marine went into labor. “I was in the bunker of the hospital with other ladies about to deliver their babies as well as injured soldiers and the elderly. The unsung heroes were the medical staff. It was complete chaos. It was also horrible to hear the lies being fed to the country that the civilian population wasn’t in peril. We thought that the Armenian army would come to our aid, but that did not happen. It was very heartbreaking,” Marine said.
“The blockade was soul-crushing, but the last five days before the forced exodus were beyond measure. There was nothing…no light, no gas, no water, no food. The water in Stepanakert was muddy. I had gone to the market and asked the lady if they had water. I had just given birth and was nursing. She said they had found water from a spring and gave me a liter and a half of water. There were 10 people in their family. Yet, she made sure we had water and saved us,” Marine continued.
“We knew that life wasn’t going to be viable anymore in Artsakh. Electricity, water and gas were no longer available. There was zero chance of survival with the Azeris already there. We had no other choice but to leave. We couldn’t believe we had to leave our beautiful Artsakh,” Shant said.
“On the night of September 25, 2023, they brought gas for the people of Martuni to get to Stepanakert. We waited for one whole day for the gas. They barely gave enough for us to reach Stepanakert. When you are about to get to Stepanakert, you have to pass an Azeri checkpoint. They were acting diplomatic and civilized. They asked to see who was in the car, and when they saw it was a family with children, they said to put the windows up so the kids wouldn’t get cold. It was all staged. They wanted to show us that we could live in peace with them, which we all know is a complete lie. At this point, I realized just how much damage the Armenian government rhetoric had done,” Shant continued.
It took the family 38 hours to reach Goris in southern Armenia, a drive that would normally take only three hours.
“I was so scared for Shant, Hagop and Gev, because they spoke English and were very vocal. Everyone was in fear. So many people have deleted pictures from their phones. When we got to the Hakari bridge, Gev’s car was in front of us. Gev told Shant, if something happens to me, make sure Karnig Sarkissian writes a song for me. It was torture seeing the enemy as you hold your children tight. We were all tired and worried. We hadn’t slept for over a week at this point,” Marine said.
“We entered Armenia, and a bunch of our diasporan friends greeted us. We were a complete mess, but upon seeing them, we got some strength. We didn’t stop at Goris, but went straight to Yerevan, to Yerablur for the funeral of Martuni’s mayor, Aznavour. We were in Yerevan on September 29, 2023,” said Shant.
“We have over 100,000 Armenians who were forced to leave their indigenous land of Artsakh. We have repatriated Armenians who need to stay in Armenia. We must ensure that our Artsakh brothers and sisters feel welcome and stay in Armenia. The Artsakh identity needs to flourish in Armenia until we go back to Artsakh. We lost so much of our genes, and I don’t want the Artsakh genes to be lost. They have given us Aram Manoukian, Nigol Touman, Khanasori Vartan and many prominent Armenians. We need to keep the parpar (dialect), the stories from Artsakh, the fairytales and the culture and not let the enemy present their false narratives,” Shant said.
The Lorik Humanitarian Fund has several projects to support Artsakh Armenians and protect their history and culture. “One of our initiatives is the housing for Artsakhtsis in Armenia, especially for the families of the fallen Armenian heroes. Another initiative is the preservation of the language and the creation of a website with audio and video histories of Artsakh. We are starting with the elderly to document their testimonies of their life in Artsakh. It’s time for us to take back our power and document the truth,” Shant said.
The Lorik Humanitarian Fund has provided housing to ten families so far, two of them families of fallen soldiers. You can reach the Lorik Humanitarian Fund on Instagram and Facebook at LorikFund or at LorikHF21@gmail.com.
