Photos by Karl Mancini, Gianmarco Maraviglia
In light of the recent aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan, Newsweelk presents the life of young people in Nagorno Karabakhâs capital Stepanakert. Excerpts from the article are provided below:
Many of Karabakhâs residents are given frequent reminders of a war they are too young to recall. Yet despite the harsh and fickle realities of the nearby frontline, they continue to dream and find ways to have fun.
There are not many signs of nightlife in Karabakh for teens and 20-somethings even in the capital of Stepanakert, by far the most populous and developed settlement in the aspiring republic. To those looking for a night out, Stendhal Club is the only disco opened until late in the city. Others prefer to meet at home or in restaurants.
Parts of Stepanakert, which stands around 20 kilometers from the contact line with Azerbaijan, have been rebuilt since the war. âThe situation and city is quite dark,â Gianmarco Maraviglia, one of the two photographers behind our gallery says. âThe frontline is very close and the people know it.â Other towns around such as Shushi, where little to no rebuilding has happened, bear the scars of war even more heavily.
Lika Zaqaryan is a political science major at Stepanakertâs Artsakh State University, where she is also prima ballerina in the ballet troupe. She knows opportunities lead abroad but she says she will always return to Karabakh.
âI want to go to another country to improve my education but when I do that I donât want to stay there,â Zaqaryan says. âI want to come back and live here in Nagorno Karabakh. I hope it will be a peaceful Republic of Nagorno Karabakh or maybe a part of the Republic of Armenia.â
She says everyone worries about their brothers, fathers or grandfathers in the military but hopes the âproblems with Azerbaijan on the borderâ can be resolved.
Grigor Khagramanyan, 13, has his sights on traveling the world. âIâd like to go to Iran. Iâd like to see their carpets,â he says, looking on from his school window. âAnd Singapore, to see their many high buildings. Maybe South Africa will be good,â he says. âI have one friend, his father is working in the army, heâs a general. He wants to be like his father, I know.â Grigor himself says he has heard a lot about the army from his friend. He says it is âinteresting.â
Knar Babayan, a photographer and journalist, is old enough to remember the violence of the late 1980s and so proud that she has had the chance to leave Karabakh and returned. âI studied here, then moved to Yerevan and I also had a chance to study in Georgia. I was also abroad to participate in workshops,â she says. âEvery time I come back my friends ask me âReally you donât want to leave Karabakh?ââ
âI found that I could not live more than 10 days away from home,â she laughs. âOne of my lecturers told me I am lucky because at my age I understand that I have a home.â
Wealthy benefactors from the Armenian diaspora have helped finance a handful of venues in Karabakh to help better the lives of the young and their career prospects. A small new soccer field has been built in central Stepanakert, where children can play. For those whose minds are more tech-geared, Stepanakert has also opened the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies.
The center is modeled after projects in Armenia, and it allows children develop skills in art and computer science, with a well stocked inventory of digital resources. The center is open free of charge to any under-18s and its sister-centers in Armenia have already established three startups.
Gohar Aushar, an aspiring filmmaker at the Tumo center in Stepanakert, says she would like to hone her craft abroad, but her inspiration will âalways be Karabakh and Stepanakert.â
âI think a documentary would be a good idea,â she says. âOur country has a lot of history and I think other countries should know about it. I would like to film a story about our historical memorials and shoot Tigranakert.â
âI think there is no difference between Armenians and Karabakhis because we are one nation,â she says.