The Armenians, an abandoned people?

Keen to understand what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh? Want to get to grips with what Armenians are experiencing, after a 44-day war in this territory where they are in the majority, which they consider as theirs, but which is disputed by Azerbaijan? The war ended on 9 November with a ceasefire in which Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, is the clear winner. The Armenians are the big losers. As always?

We invite you to hear an emotion-filled voice shed light on the experience of the Armenians. Photographer Antoine Agoudjian spent three months in Nagorno-Karabakh and came back with some astounding pictures – one might think paintings – that he will comment on for us in conversation with journalist Paul Germain.

Antoine Agoudjian is a French citizen of Armenian origin, the grandson of survivors of the 1915 genocide. He has returned many times to the historical sites of his people, and five years ago published the very beautiful book Le Cri du Silence (Flammarion) dedicated to the Armenian memory marked by the genocide of 1915. His very recent stay in Artsakh – the Armenian name of Nagorno-Karabakh since Antiquity – provided the input for several reports in Figaro Magazine. But Antoine Agoudjian is not interested just in Armenians. In recent years, he has sought to photograph other peoples whose struggles and sufferings we forget. These include the Kurds, whom he describes as ‘the Armenians of today’ because, for him they risk suffering the same fate as the Armenians in 1915.

Paul Germain, now a correspondent for TV5MONDE in Brussels, is a former TV newscaster at Belgian’s French language broadcaster RTBF and presenter of discussion programmes like Ecran Témoin.

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With Antoine Agoudjian

Online lecture ◇ 24 February 2021