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On September 19, 2023, Nagorno-Karabakh, historically for centuries inhabited by Armenians, was brutally depopulated and ethnically cleansed in a matter of days, leaving a fresh wound that, after a year, continues to hurt.
The Armenian community had not yet overcome the consequences of the devastating 2020 war when, in December 2022, the Azerbaijani side imposed a nine-month severe blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh, followed by a military operation that forced more than 100,000 people to flee from their homes.
While preparing an article after a year of those tragic days, I met a 12-year-old girl who lived with her family in Artsakh, Armenia’s name for [the] small enclave. That day, she went to school early in the morning as usual and never had the chance to return home to see her room or to take any favorite belongings.
My article reveals her dramatic story. However, there are countless stories like hers. The military operations of September 19 started while children were still in school. Eleven-year-old Maria Jhangiryan from Stepanakert recalls that they were having a painting lesson. Her teacher took them to the basement for shelter, where they stayed for one night.
In the morning, they learned that they never, ever can [go] back home. Maria’s father, a soldier, was unavailable for several days. When they finally found him, they managed to flee from their homeland.
The trauma is really deep. These children have nightmares. After living under constant bombing and shelling and blockade, severe blockade, they are terrified of any loud noise, but even though, they want to go back: back [to] their homes, back [to] their small villages and forests.
I met these children at a Little Prince daycare center in Artashat, a project implemented by Armenian Caritas, where they receive psychological support that helps them cope. They also attend various training sessions at the center.
While preparing the article, I went to another place, temporarily allocated by the state to the displaced people, especially those who have serious health problems, and disability issues and are alone, elderly. Here the situation was much more difficult and oppressive. If young people can still overcome the trauma and move forward, rebuild their lives, these people left their entire lives in their homeland.
Their desperate gazes are filled with endless uncertainty. Now they survive by receiving support from the state and charitable organizations like Armenian Caritas. For those people, every bit of support from charitable organizations is crucial. And I can’t even imagine what these people [would] do if not [for] Armenian Caritas, if not [for] their support, both humanitarian and psychological.
Although forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh are surrounded with love and care in Armenia, in any case, they dream of going back home every day, every moment, back to their homeland where their ancestors lived for centuries. And then longing is just natural.