Siranush Sargsyan is an Armenian journalist who lived through the horrors of the ethnic cleansing of her people, the sudden attack on her homeland, Artsakh, by neighbouring Azerbaijan and the ensuing flight of nearly the entire population of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh) in September 2023.

One of the nearly 120,000 people (including 30,000 children) who fled their beloved homeland and poured into Armenia after a harrowing journey, she exemplifies the plight of refugees who have survived a vicious campaign. 

While the world is still preoccupied with the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria (and its potential consequences for Syria’s Christians and other minorities), and riveted by the ceasefire in Gaza, the displaced people of Artsakh remain largely invisible in the international media and on the radar of political leaders. 

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The wounds bleed all over again during Christmas, New Year and other festive days, Sargsyan told The Catholic Register. 

“We are here in Armenia, where we are welcomed and supported, but we still feel uprooted,” she said, noting that Artsakh was historically part of Armenia, but had been a bone of contention between its Armenian population and Azerbaijan for decades.

“Even though we lived through the blockade and the war, we somehow felt more secure at home,” she added. “We can’t find that same sense of home here in Yerevan.” 

She was referring to a brutal nine-month blockade imposed by Azerbaijan, depriving the people of food, medicine and other necessities, followed by a military assault that easily defeated a starving and weakened population.

“All our churches in Artsakh are silent now, and we can’t get used to this reality,” Sargsyan said. “We (Sargsyan and her siblings) grew up worshipping in the Amaras Church, which was built in the fourth century.”

According to Armenian historians, this church was established by Gregory the Illuminator, the founder and first head of the Armenian Apostolic Church who converted his people to Christianity.

Amaras Monastery, where the church is located, was occupied by Azerbaijani forces during the military attack of September 2023. Its former parishioners live in fear that the whole monastery complex will be demolished by Azerbaijan as part of its ongoing campaign to erase all traces of Christian history in this territory.

In November 2023, the International Court of Justice ruled that Azerbaijan must allow refugees to return if they so desire. But Sargsyan and her friends are not hopeful that they would be welcomed back — with freedom to practice their religion and honour their own history and identity as Armenian Christians — any time soon.

Following the formal dissolution of Artsakh as a political entity on Jan. 1, 2024, a fact-finding mission led by Freedom House, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., captured satellite imagery showing the destruction of Armenian cemeteries, churches and other important markers of its millennia-old Christian history. Yet this remains largely ignored by the world

Like refugees everywhere who have lost everything, the displaced are struggling to rebuild their lives in a new setting, facing not only economic challenges but profound feelings of nostalgia and sorrow for the loss of their homeland and the destruction of their homes and churches where they and their ancestors had prayed, attended services and marked the milestones of their lives.

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But Sargsyan and her friends don’t spend all their days wallowing in regrets and nostalgia. She also found a way of “paying it forward” and expressing gratitude for her own relatively fortunate circumstances. 

“When I was a kid, people from abroad sent me gifts at Christmas,” she said. “I still remember those colourful gifts.”

As a journalist who became an eloquent voice for her people during the worst days of their ordeal, she is also grateful to the families who entrusted her with their stories over the last few years.

“I didn’t forget them,” she said. “It’s not easy to share painful family stories.”   

With these thoughts in mind, she and her friends prepared gifts over the Christmas season for more than 100 children who had been displaced. 

“They asked for warm winter clothes and shoes,” she said. “We were able to bring a little joy to these children from Artsakh, for which I am endlessly grateful.”

She pointed out that despite many acts of kindness from Armenians of the mainland, many of the displaced are struggling to find jobs and affordable housing.

“Rents in Yerevan are high, and though the Armenian government is providing some financial support, this will come to an end in April 2025,” she said, adding that Armenia is a small country with limited resources.

Asked about support from other countries, she said: “If they didn’t help us before, it’s time to help now. It’s in the Western world’s interests to have a strong Armenia.”

She said Canada is providing some development assistance, but it’s a very small amount compared to the allocation for other countries. 

She emphasized that women, many of whom are widows because their husbands were killed in the war, are in particular need of support. In the absence of employment opportunities, many are working hard to establish small businesses to support their families. 

“It would be helpful if Canada and other countries would help them,” she said.

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An example of such a program, run with support from The Netherlands, involves the baking and selling of different types of bread. A local organization called the Milagri Foundation helps a group of women to bake and sell different varieties of bread so they can stay at home and take care of their disabled children while earning an income.

“It would be helpful if Canada and other countries would help with similar programs,” Sargsyan said.