The novelty lives only 1-2 days. It shocked our society when the Azerbaijanis closed the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia on December 12. People mostly talked and wrote about it, expecting the blockade to be lifted in a few days. But after that, many events occurred: Lavrov, Arsenyan, Ohanyan, and the earthquake in Turkey. Facebook “chewed” all that for a day or two, and then it was forgotten or will be forgotten. But “in-between,” the main topic is lost: 120,000 of our compatriots have been under siege for two months and are deprived of the primary conditions of life, not to mention they are under severe psychological stress. Armenians in Armenia and the Diaspora seem to have “forgotten” about it. Or, more precisely, they remember in some “corner” of the brain, but this fact is not in the “heart” of people.
In addition to the fact that the sad news, when it is, so to speak, “continuous,” loses its sharpness over time, there is another psychological defense mechanism of ours. If there is a “convincing” explanation for the disaster, especially when that explanation is outside of you, it kind of “calms” people down. “If the problem is not under my control,” they say, “then one may not even think about it.”
According to that logic, it is enough to get the answer to the question (right or wrong), and the problem is solved. For example, such a question; why did we lose the 44-day war? Answer: because the former were looting. Since that answer is perfectly acceptable to the majority of society, it seems to “relieve” that same majority of the heavy burden of thinking about the problem.
The same, Berdzor Corridor. Why is it closed? Answer: these are the games of the Russians. That answer, no matter how true it is, plays the role of a “tranquilizer” for tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. Take the pill, relax, and go about your daily routine, or to Facebook’s everyday topics.
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With some reservations, it can be called “distracted attention syndrome,” which is not only the problem of Armenians. But some states are making targeted efforts to overcome the syndrome. And in that regard, an example should be taken from Azerbaijan, which for 26 years was able to focus the attention of both its society and the international community on its national problems.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
