thebakuproject.
thedream.Armenians began arriving to the capital city of Baku, in Azerbaijan, a little over one hundred years ago. They hoped to take advantage of Azerbaijan's main resource, oil, and began laying a pipeline to extract it. Eventually, Armenians created their lives here, opting to work and raise their families in the capital. Many of them were successful, holding the positions of medical doctors, engineers, artists, and musicians. Those Armenians who were part of the working and industrial class mostly lived outside of the capital in nearby cities, including Sumgait and Ganja. Naturally, the majority of people in Azerbaijan were Azeris, Muslims by birth that originated from Turkish tribes. As a part of the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), the Armenians and Azeris lived in relative peace, something that was historically unprecedented. Under Soviet control, Azerbaijan was forced to be a country equal for all, but this was not always the case for the minority population in Baku, the Armenians. Because people could not openly criticize the government, and refused to do so as to not create a disturbance, they would often go through a relative and use a connection to be accepted or hired. Soon, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union was quickly crumbling apart. The introduction of perestroika and glasnost did not sit well with the Soviet people, and the system broke apart, creating ripple effects throughout the land. The fight for Nagorno-Karabagh, a small Azeri territory with a disproportionately large population of Armenians, began between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Trapped in their own city, Armenians in Baku felt the hatred, Regina Papiyants, a former resident of Baku, says. "We were absolutely innocent hostages in Azerbaijan, not even thinking about [the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict]. And all of a sudden, they started pogroms in Sumgait where a lot of Armenians were just working class and with less than a year after that, they started pogroms and they made half million Armenians just flee the country. It was impossible to survive there physically and we had to ask for the status of refugee from the American embassy and flee the country."
The events of 1988-1991 became known as the Armenian pogroms, and were written about widely in the Western media. The New York Times titled their article "Nationalism At Its Nastiest" and condemned the violence and persecution against Armenians. Still, little help was sent to the struggling minority in Baku, and mobs of Azeris attacked and killed Armenians both on the streets and in their homes. The lack of concern from authorities allowed for the situation to escalate. The underlying feelings of hate that Armenians always felt from some Azeris came out into the open, and now, no one could stop them. Living in Baku, or in any other city in Azerbaijan, was no longer realistic for minorities. The country was in ruins economically, socially, and politically. Anyone who had Armenian physical characteristics was subject to being stopped on the street by an Azeri, and could be forced to show his or her passport to prove identity. "Item #5", a small space indicating nationality in Soviet passports, could either save a person's life, or for Armenians, cause serious problems. Most Armenians fled to either Moscow, Russia or Yerevan, Armenia because coming to the United States from Azerbaijan was not immediately possible. Many of the refugees relied on their Azeri friends to save their lives and lead them out of the country safely. Just like the refugees of 1915, Armenians, including Papiyants, grabbed what was not taken from them, ran, and never looked back. Some were not as lucky, however. The crimes committed against Armenians in Baku and Sumgait were done in a sophisticated and cruel manner, and included ransacking apartments, beating and seriously injuring innocent and unsuspecting men, women, and children, and in the worst case, murdering them. Although the death toll released by the Azeri government shows a small loss of life, most believe otherwise. Since the faithful days of these pogroms, the Armenian victims and their families have been scattered around the globe. Especially during the years of 1991-1995, immigration to the United States by this minority was steady, and many Baku Armenians have created lives for themselves. Many of them can be found in Los Angeles and San Diego, California, Seattle, Washington, Lincoln, Nebraska, Fargo, North Dakota, Providence, Rhode Island, Cleveland, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, only to name a few. Like all refugees, they have had several hardships come their way, but with the help of the United States government, local Armenian churches, and fellow Baku refugees , they have successfully made the States their new home, and have sponsored their extended families in joining them here.
To pay tribute to this most recent oppression of Armenians, St. John Armenian Church of Greater Detroit has recently announced plans to erect a monument on its grounds, not far from a monument dedicated to those who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1924. The church has created a small planning committee that is in charge of ordering the monument, fundraising, and planning its construction. By doing so, St. John hopes that generation of Armenians, both from Baku and not, and non-Armenians will come to know about this modern day genocide and the tremendous effects it still causes up until today. The Baku-Sumgait memorial will also serve as an expression of love for those who perished and as a testament to those that survived. This will be the first monument created in memoriam of the Armenian pogroms, and it will bring light to these events that occurred more than twenty years ago. This website is designed to help spread the word about the Baku-Sumgait memorial project, as fundraising is crucial in helping to make this dream a much needed reality. By providing information on this project, videos, pictures from fundraising events, plans for future events, a blog, and contact information, we hope to inform people from all over the United States about St. John's fundraising efforts. The site has been set up to provide information in a quick and effortless manner, and the tabs above should help guide you. We welcome you to browse and enjoy it, and hope you too will serve as a messenger to get the word out about this unique and very important project. Until then, we thank you for reading and learning about the Baku-Sumgait Memorial, also known as thebakuproject blog and informational website.