Depressing anniversary.

15 years ago today the Shahumian region of Nagorno-Karabagh Republic, together with the village of Getashen, was invaded by the Azerbaijan Army and the Armenian civilian population was forcibly removed. Quite of few of them were murdered and the lucky ones were able to escape to the areas controlled by the Karabagh self-defense volunteer guards. It was a shocking event and these territories were never returned back. Needless to say, the refugees were never able to return to their homes either.

A couple of months after the loss of Shahumian I was in a hospital, and there was an elderly lady from Shahumian region as well. She was telling the story of them being removed from their homes. She had recently redecorated her home and had placed new curtains on the windows. Every now and then she would mention these new beautiful curtains that she had just installed.

I was a young man at the time and just couldn't understand why she would tell anyone passing nearby about these new curtains. She had lost her home, her land, all earthly possessions and she was focused on the loss of the curtains.

I think now I understand her.