International refugee organizations keep them alive because Azerbaijan, a potentially oil-rich nation, is still too poor to care for them. This is where American policy, and Kathryn Porter, come in. Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh lie in the Caucasus, a mountainous region with a tangled history of ancient vendettas, blood feuds and warring nationalities that makes the Balkans look straightforward by comparison. Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of anti-Armenian pogroms, economic strangulation and ethnic atrocities. Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of anti-Azeri aggression, economic strangulation and ethnic atrocities.
Most outside experts think they're both right and gingerly avoid taking sides.
Not the United States. From the start, American policy has sided with the Armenian side and, specifically, with the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Kathryn Porter played a role in this. So did a surgeon, long dead, named Hampar Kelikian. And so, most notably, did the Armenian Assembly, one of the smoothest and most effective lobbies in Washington.