{"id":29975,"date":"2024-04-15T21:45:17","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T20:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/standard.asl.org\/?p=29975"},"modified":"2024-04-15T21:45:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T20:45:17","slug":"the-forgotten-war-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-remains-overlooked-insufficiently-acknowledged-by-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/standard.asl.org\/29975\/opinions\/the-forgotten-war-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-remains-overlooked-insufficiently-acknowledged-by-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The forgotten war: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains overlooked, insufficiently acknowledged by world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note: Azeri and Azerbaijani are used interchangeably in this article to refer to the people of Azerbaijan.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am a descendant of an Armenian genocide survivor. My ancestors fled the Armenian village of Ani in 1915, which is now under Turkish occupation, to seek refuge in modern-day France.<\/p>\n

Like many of my fellow Armenians scattered around the world, I have never been to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. I have never taken the six-hour drive in a marshrutka (minivan) to its capital, Stepanakert, from Armenia\u2019s capital of Yerevan \u2013 a trip that would be a 35-minute flight if not for the risk of Azerbaijan shooting down passenger planes in that airspace.<\/p>\n

I have never toured the medieval geometric monasteries nestled in its lush mountainsides, nor come face-to-face with the massive volcanic rock faces of Tatik yev Papik (grandma and grandpa). The Soviet-era stone monument stands complete with authentic bushy Armenian eyebrows.<\/p>\n

I am one of the lucky diaspora Armenians who has never been forced to flee the country I call home.<\/p>\n

According to The Guardian, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against the ethnic Armenian population of Nargorno-Karabakh Sept. 19, 2023. As a result, 100,000 of the region\u2019s 120,000 inhabitants had to leave the place they called \u201chome.\u201d<\/p>\n