Amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the exodus of ethnic Armenians from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh is getting little media attention – to the chagrin of Armenians, who feel betrayed by the international community, for the third time.
"I'm the third generation of Armenian genocide survivors," says Aline Kamakian, a chef and owner of a string of restaurants in Armenia and Lebanon, who volunteers to help refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Kamakian, who is part of the vast global Armenian diaspora, is referring to the massive campaign of ethnic cleansing launched by the Ottoman Empire in 1915, which murdered up to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians.
The mass killings and death marches saw entire villages destroyed, and prompted the remaining population to flee on a massive scale.
"I always thought that because there was no TV or internet at the time, that's why the genocide arrived. Because if someone would know what's going on, no way that any country would let that happen," Kamakian told RFI in an interview at the offices of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (Agbu) in Paris.
The world did pay some attention to the genocide at the time. There were books and even a Hollywood movie based on the story of an Armenian girl, Aurora Mardiganian, who managed to escape while her relatives were killed.
The Armenian diaspora, however, jumped into action.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/armenians-warn-ethnic-cleansing-risks-154413870.html