A personal history of trauma

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This series explores societal trauma through the stories of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, how it manifests, and how it contributes to the conflict. </span></i>

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A personal history of trauma

A personal history of trauma: thirty years of depression

by Larissa Sotieva

•5 min read

This series explores the phenomenon of societal trauma through the personal stories of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, how this trauma manifests, and how it contributes to ongoing conflict dynamics. In the final chapter, a woman displaced by the First Nagorno-Karabakh War tries to come to terms with the personal, emotional scars left by that conflict, and what return to a long-lost home might mean. The woman speaking to me is a teacher. She says she has never followed politics, but in spite of th

An ethnic Armenian soldier smokes by drying sleeping bags on a motorway in Nagorno-Karabakh. Photo: Jack Losh.

A personal history of trauma

A personal history of trauma: The soldier with no photographs

by Larissa Sotieva

•5 min read

This series explores the phenomenon of societal trauma through the personal stories of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, how this trauma manifests, and how it contributes to ongoing conflict dynamics. In this instalment, one veteran laments how selfies, social media, and propaganda have twisted the horror of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. My grandmother used to say that wherever blood has been spilt, happiness will not soon return. As a child, I never understood this, and only years later did life

A personal history of trauma

A personal history of trauma: a woman of war

by Larissa Sotieva

•5 min read

This series explores the phenomenon of societal trauma through the personal stories of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, how this trauma manifests, and how it contributes to ongoing conflict dynamics. This is the story of one woman and her family. Every time war comes, they are forced to leave their home, and every time, they hope it will only be for a short while. In September 2020, when the intense shelling of Nagorno-Karabakh began, she was determined that her grandson would not be subjected to s

A personal history of trauma

A personal history of trauma: a grandmother’s keys

by Larissa Sotieva

•5 min read

This series explores the phenomenon of societal trauma through the personal stories of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, how this trauma manifests, and how it contributes to ongoing conflict dynamics. In this story, a grandmother displaced decades ago, her children, and their children recall how the conflict has shaped their family. At 94, she always carries around a handbag with her blood pressure monitor, essential belongings, and the keys to the house in Nagorno-Karabakh which she left thirty yea