Armenia: Women weave tapestries in memory of their missing husbands

Nine women from Ararat region of Armenia learned tapestry weaving with support of the ICRC, the Armenian Red Cross and local partners. They are wives of people who went missing in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1992-1994.

Since December 2015, these women put together their best tapestries and started exhibiting them across Armenia. Through art and creativity, they share with other relatives of the missing and the public their way of coping with enduring anguish at the loss of their loved ones. It is also their way of shedding light on what it means for someone to live in uncertainty for so many years.

In daily lives, many such families face different economic, social or legal problems. However, most of all they struggle to keep alive the memory of their missing relative. They continue to search for answers, fight for recognition, and talk about their missing relative, not letting him or her disappear completely in ambiguity and silence.
In connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, there are nearly 4,500 missing people registered by the ICRC in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. We provide support to the sides of the conflict in their efforts to clarify the fate of the missing and to address the needs of their families