A Modern Holodomor - Out of Sight, Out of Mind

“When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out "stop!"

When crimes begin to pile up, they become invisible.

When sufferings become unendurable, the cries are no longer heard.

The cries, too, fall like rain in summer.”

Bertolt Brecht

It is astounding, albeit in a morbid sense, to witness man’s inhumanity toward man being showcased in such barbaric acts of cruelty. It almost feels like looking at the nightmarish brushwork begotten from the demented imagination of some mad artist; a grotesque scenery that one hopes will fade away upon the light of day. But, alas, it does not fade. It lingers.

Over the period of 1932–1933, against the backdrop of the three-year long Soviet Famine, millions of Ukrainians would perish from malnutrition and starvation in what is now known as the Holodomor. This systematic strategy was the handiwork of the Soviet Union and is considered by many historians to be a premeditated genocide against the Ukrainian people.

Fast forward almost 100 years, and a similar situation is unfolding in Artsakh. More than 120,000 civilians continue to remain under blockade since December of 2022 as a result of an illegal checkpoint being set up on the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor by Azerbaijani forces, which, it so happens, is in direct violation of the trilateral ceasefire statement signed after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The consequences of the blockade are grim. The mortality rate in Artsakh has increased by more than 15%, along with rates of miscarriage in pregnant women. All public transportation has ceased as there is no access to fuel. Schools have shut down, depriving children of basic education rights. Gas, water, and electricity are regularly cut off. Any attempts at crossing the checkpoint are met with abduction, threat, and violence. And the most harrowing of all, starvation is beginning to creep in as food becomes scarce. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, International Association of Genocide Scholars, and Genocide Watch have all reached a general consensus: what is happening in Artsakh is a genocide. And this is a narrative that is all too familiar.

The very fact that we are facing such a humanitarian crisis in the 21st century is the direct result of our failure in prosecuting past genocides to the fullest extent of law. As the saying goes, “a genocide forgotten is a genocide repeated.” Beginning with the Hamidian massacres of 1894-1896, Armenians have been subjected to ethnic cleansing, the apex of which is the 1915 Armenian Genocide which had a death toll of 1.5 million Armenians, not to mention the massive territorial loss. The architects of these atrocities have never been prosecuted for their actions in the international court of law, albeit many countries accepting the events as genocide. Anti-Armenianism exhibited itself violently again during the Sumgait pogroms of 1988 and later in Baku in 1990, this time spearheaded by Azerbaijani authorities. Again, due to all of these events taking place during times of historical turmoil (the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Soviet Union respectively), the perpetrators have gotten away unscathed.

Overshadowed by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine which has grabbed the attention of all major news outlets, the blockade in Artsakh and the ensuing ethnic cleansing continues to remain virtually out of sight and out of mind. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that Azerbaijan has bribed its way into painting a completely different picture of what is currently happening, stating multiple times that it is willing to secure the well-being of Armenians in Artsakh (which Azerbaijan considers as its territory and the current Armenian government also perceives as such) if the government in Artsakh is completely dismantled.

All of these claims come at a time when the death toll in Artsakh is already on the rise and as Azeri forces continuously breach ceasefires, resulting in the death of Armenian soldiers, often on Armenia’s sovereign territory.

In the midst of such despair, where even the light at the end of the tunnel appears to have been switched off, one may ask oneself: “How do we do this? How do we cope with the genocide of our people which is happening right in front of our eyes? How do we respond to both local and global indifference toward this tragedy? Is there a way out?”

These are all valid questions, and perhaps there are no answers to any of them. However, one look at the will and strength of Artsakh Armenians may be the spark which we need to continue our struggle for justice. Keep in mind that this is not the first time that Artsakh has been forced to endure a blockade. They have, more or less, bitter experiences to learn from. The essential lifeline for them at this point, is their potential for solidarity in the face of bleak circumstances.

There are already reports of young children delivering what little bread is left to areas where transportation cannot reach, as well as doctors turning toward homemade traditional medicine as medical supplies are running out. Bloggers as young as 10 years old are busy creating “life inside a blockade” content which can cause some awareness about what is really happening there. It appears that the confined space they share has brought forth a collective bond which might be the key to their survival.

In the end, the locked-down enclave stands not only as a testament to the depths of human suffering but also as a tribute to the heights of human courage. It is a stark reminder that the potential for unity, compassion, and resilience resides within us all, waiting to be ignited by the trials of life. The hunger, the fear, and the adversity only serve to fan the flames of determination, casting a defiant glow that refuses to be extinguished. And as they stand together against the storm, these 120,000 souls illuminate the indomitable power of the human spirit. As for the rest of us who have unwillingly become spectators to this theater of absurdity, raising awareness in every possible way is the least we can do. From public sit-ins, to hunger strikes and demonstrations, every step counts. The more the Armenian population puts pressure on international bodies, the higher the chance of positive development and the reopening of the corrdior. Recently, the Republic of Armenia appealed to the UN Security Council, leading to an emergency meeting in which Azerbaijan also participated and, as it was expected, distorted the facts by stating that there is no starvation in Artsakh - showing images of cakes and weddings as evidence. This argument was made shortly after the first case of a person dying from starvation was reported from Artsakh.

The information war, as well as the psychological warfare that is being used rather aggressively by Azerbaijan is likely to continue for a long time. The struggle to liberate Artsakh from oppression is fierce, and demotivating at times. However, the lives of 120,000 innocent men, women, and children are at stake. There is no turning back now. To do so would mean to silently participate in the genocide of an entire people.