The Difference a Year Makes Refugees in Armenia persevere by Gohar Abrahamyan
T
he struggle continues for ethnic Armenians forcibly displaced almost a year ago from Nagorno-Karabakh, despite ongoing efforts to integrate them into Armenian society. They long for their ancestral homeland, live without permanent residence and face physical, financial and psychological challenges. Nagorno-Karabakh, a region nestled in the South Caucasus mountains in present-day Azerbaijan, was for centuries predominantly ethnically Armenian. It was integrated into the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic as an autonomous region in 1923. With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ethnic Armenians living there claimed independence and renamed the territory Artsakh. They fought a six-year war against Azerbaijan for this cause, starting in 1988. Despite a 1994 ceasefire, armed conflict would erupt occasionally between the two parties in the decades that followed.
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In 2020, a second war broke, lasting 44 days, in which the ethnic Armenians lost most of the territory they had claimed 29 years earlier. Then, in September 2023, after a nine-month blockade, Azerbaijan launched a one-day military offensive, driving at least 102,000 ethnic Armenians from their homeland to the neighboring Republic of Armenia through a narrow lifeline, known as the Lachin corridor. Close to a third were under the age of 19. Yulia Sargsyan and her family were among those forcibly displaced. They settled in Artashat in the Ararat province of Armenia. Ararat, with a resident population of about 260,000, welcomed more than 14,650 ethnic Armenians last year — the third-largest community of displaced persons in the country. The 14-year-old reconnected with two close friends from her homeland, which helped her to adapt to her new environment.
Attending the local Little Prince Center, where she receives psychotherapy for her restless sleep and fear of loud noises and dark places — consequences of the trauma she experienced in NagornoKarabakh — has been helpful as well, she says. “Teachers help and they encourage us to communicate with local children,” says Yulia, who initially had difficulty understanding the local Armenian dialect. “I’ve made many friends here and learned new skills, like needlework, which helps me relax.” The center, run by Caritas Armenia, supports vulnerable children and their families. Psychologist Suzy Sargsyan works at the center with about 50 children from NagornoKarabakh and their parents. The children attend twice a week. They eat hot meals and participate in activities, such as painting, computer class, needlework, English lessons, sewing and sports.