Life Is a Struggle for Families Divided by Blockade in Karabakh

Zhora left Stepanakert for the Armenian town of Goris, the nearest city to Artsakh’s border, with his wife and five children after an incident on December 3, 2022, when the Lachin Corridor was blocked for several hours. His brother and father stayed behind. Zhora has not seen them since.

During this period, Zhora’s wife gave birth to their sixth child, but the other family members have not been able to meet the newborn.

On the other side of the blockade zone, the rest of the family is waiting for a new baby: Zhora’s brother’s wife, Nune is six months pregnant․ Pregnancy under blockade has become perilous as the lack of supplies and medical care have resulted in a higher risk of miscarriage.

Fuel shortages have made it difficult for Nune to reach the hospital for prenatal examinations, while the hospital operations are impacted by electricity cuts.

“I have been asking Nune to look after herself but she has been telling me that it is impossible to eat properly, as the stores are empty and on some days, they do not even manage to get bread after standing in lines for several hours. We miss them and worry about them a lot,” Zhora’s wife, Nelly, said.

As stated by the executive director of Stepanakert’s Mother and Child Health Care Center, in the last months, the rate of reproductive losses has increased almost three times.

Sergey Ghazaryan, the minister of foreign affairs of the Artsakh Republic, told reporters in a recent briefing that there are many separated families in the wake of the blockade living not only in Goris, but also in other towns of Armenia waiting for their opportunity to go back to Artsakh.

Zhora Baghdasaryan is also willing to move again to Artsakh in case things get back to normal.

“For the moment it is impossible to go back even with the Red Cross. After several incidents of Azerbaijani border guards capturing Artsakh’s citizens when passing the illegal checkpoint, it is becoming extremely dangerous. Who knows? If I go to Azerbaijan’s checkpoint, they might accuse me of the deeds I have not done and imprison me as it was in the case of Vagif Khachatryan,” said Zhora.

On September 7, the Azerbaijani side returned three students of Artsakh kidnapped on August 28 and illegally deprived of their freedom while being transported from Artsakh to Armenia accompanied by the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Meanwhile, two other imprisoned civilians, the aforementioned Vagif Khachatryan and Rashid Beglaryan, continue to be held in Azerbaijan․

In this regard, the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh stated: “The abduction and arbitrary imprisonment of civilians, as well as Azerbaijan’s request for false and fabricated criminal cases indicate that the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint located at the Hakari Bridge is a direct and irrefutable threat to the physical existence and protection of the fundamental rights of the civilian population of Artsakh.”

On September 9, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell once again stated that the Lachin corridor must be re-opened. “Other roads, such as Aghdam, can be opened as part of the solution, but not an alternative.”

Meanwhile, the humanitarian catastrophe in Artsakh is taking lives, and families like the Baghdasaryans are left in limbo.

“I just do not understand, does not the international community see all this? How can they not be able to punish Azerbaijan and find a solution?” Zhora said. “The negotiation phase takes time, but at least they should press for humanitarian aid to reach Artsakh as children there are suffering.”