February 2024 Persecution Magazine

ND
WHAT
LIFE
LOOKS LIKE FOR
THOUSANDS OF
ETHNIC ARMENIAN
CHRISTIANS AFTER
BEING FORCED
TO LEAVE HOME
By ICC’s MENA Regional Team
Until October 2023, more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian
Christians lived in Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-
Karabakh, a breakaway enclave internationally
recognized as a part of Azerbaijan but populated by
ethnic Armenians.
Artsakh can be found in the southern Caucasus region and
lies between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the two nations
fighting three wars over the past three decades over the
enclave. The end of the Republic of Artsakh this year started
with a nine-month blockade by Azerbaijan on the enclave,
followed by an overwhelming lightning military operation
by Azerbaijan. In the days following Azerbaijan’s takeover of
the enclave, more than 100,000 Armenians, including over
40,000 children, fled Artsakh into Armenia. By October 1,
Artsakh was emptied of Armenians.
In the months following the war, the thousands of Armenian
refugees have been trying to set up new lives in Armenia.
Families have been settling in all parts of the country, living
wherever they can find affordable housing. The refugees
have to navigate a new system of schools for their children
and develop trust with their new neighbors.
Despite the coldness of winter fast approaching, many
were in such a hurry as they fled that they brought meager
belongings. Refugees struggled to stay warm and feed their
families. And work proved difficult to find in Armenia.
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