Heart-Wrenching Messages Given to Artsakh Children: Hakobyan on the Artsakh Children's Protest

On December 25, 2020, Armenian media outlets were flooded with headlines reading: "Scandal in Stepanakert. Tents and Christmas trees set up by Anna Hakobyan's foundation are being dismantled at the request of Artsakh residents." This was shared on the Facebook page of Anna Hakobyan, the wife of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, along with accompanying photos.

Indeed, the Christmas tree and the booths for children's events were dismantled, and the event was canceled. The harsh realities of war prevented children, who are barely managing to cope with the trauma in their small hearts, from being able to disperse for three days, providing a temporary escape from the heavy reality. It seemed that the adults had no heart in this situation. However, they were not even asked for anything. This event was not for the adults; they should not have gone there to make clay houses, conduct chemical experiments, or tell fairy tales. They were simply required to drop their children off and leave them at the booths with entertainers, who would occupy them for a few hours. I must emphasize that no concert or song-and-dance program was planned, and it was easy to verify this.

In summary, the behavior of the adults towards the children seemed so egotistical that it was hard to imagine. But it was only an illusion.

Now, these same adults are having these same children hold heart-wrenching messages, stopping them in front of Christmas trees and taking photos. They teach the children tear-jerking texts and organize various actions involving them, spreading this around the world in order to evoke pity and have the tents dismantled. Fathers and mothers force their 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children to recite texts like: "Open the path of life, I want to live," "I miss my carefree Artsakh," "We only want to live here," "Artsakh exists and will always exist," "Artsakh is my soul and heart," "I don’t want anything from Santa Claus, just peace," "There is strength in will in Artsakh," and so on.

Children do not grasp regional issues, and naturally, questions will arise for them. They will not understand at all how it was that their fathers and uncles easily resolved issues concerning the tents set up for them in the center of Stepanakert, trampling down both the Christmas tree and the tents, yet when it comes to getting rid of the tents on the road, it is their own children who are