Friends, RIGHT NOW, my homeland Armenia is being attacked with illegal bombs that are killing my innocent Armenian brothers and sisters. It has been more than 7 days now, and we have yet to hear news stations report on the Armenia-Azerbaijan war. We have yet to see our non-Armenian friends show us solidarity by simply standing up for Armenians and posting at least one informational post about Armenia being attacked by Azerbaijan with the help of Turkey.
I want to educate anyone who doesn’t know what’s going on in that region and explain why it’s happening, and how you can help, instead of staying silent. Because the Armenian people are fighting to simply survive at this point, and we need your help. Let’s not wait until this topic becomes some type of trend on Instagram in order to shed some light on it. Let’s not wait until a whole ethnicity is wiped out by another genocide, because you chose to stay silent.
Last summer, I visited my beautiful homeland, Armenia and even visited Artsakh, which is the region that is currently under attack.
Q: What is Artsakh? And what is Kharabagh? I keep hearing both names and am confused.
A: This land was originally named Artsakh by Armenians, as early as the 13th century. During Soviet ruling, Russia randomly decided to give Armenia’s land to Azerbaijan, which is why they call it Nagorno-Kharabagh.
What is happening?
On the morning of Sunday, September 27th, 2020, we woke up to the news that “the war has started.” Not only is Azerbaijan bombing Artsakhs border, but they are now intentionally bombing where most civilians live, aiming to destroy Armenian lives. Turkey has been aiding them with weaponary and has funded and brought Syrian terrorists to fight on the frontlines for it’s own benefits of taking over our beloved country, Armenia. They have continuously broken laws regarding the type of weaponary they can use and where they are allowed to fight. They have refused to stop their aggression towards Armenians, and the world is not doing one, single, thing.
Why you should care
To my non-Armenian friends, each and every Armenian you know may be physically present, but mentally, we are not here. In the Diaspora, we continue to go to work, aim to finish our to-do lists, join in on online meetings, and lately, have been peacefully protesting. We are trying to continue our life as if everything is normal, but secretly, we are praying that our teenage brothers fighting on the frontlines are surviving. We are thinking of all of the homes and lives of innocent civilians that are currently being lost due to Azerbaijan’s bombings in Artsakh. We are thinking of ways we can help, even though we are not physically by them. We are wondering why the world is staying so silent, while another possible genocide takes place. We are wondering why there is barely any media coverage about the Armenia-Azerbaijan war.
Why does this matter? Because there might very well not be an Armenia, if we continue to stay silent.
Q: What was the point of shutting down freeways in Los Angeles?
A: After 7 days of continuously asking our non-Armenian friends and the media to cover what is happening in Armenia currently, there was silence. After doing peaceful protests in different cities, there was silence. Armenians finally decided to shut down the 101 and 170 freeways in Los Angeles – all done peacefully, in order to get media coverage on the current attackings in Armenia, which is slowly starting to work.
HISTORY
I simply exist because my Armenian ancestors were fighters and survivors from the 1915 genocide where Turkey starved, raped, and massacred 1.5 million Armenians. The goal of the Armenian Genocide was to completely wipe out our race and take over our territory. But here we are. Still fighting. Still thriving.
Historical Armenia looked something like this.
During WWI, Turkey used this time to try to eliminate the Armenian people in 1915 and committed a genocide, that’s why you see a drastically smaller Armenia.
This area, known as Artsakh, is currently under attack by Azerbaijan even though it has origianlly been a part of Armenia. It’s inhabitants are 95% Armenian and speak Armenian. You can clearly see why Turkey is so involved in aiding Azerbaijan to annihilate the Armenian people. Ergodon, Turkeys leader, wants full control over that territory, as he stated in July 2020 that he wants to finish what his ancestors started, which is a SECOND genocide.
Even though Armenians are dispersed among the world, our parents made sure that we continue to speak Armenian at home, to pack us smelly Armenian food to take to school for lunch, to forcefully sign us up for afterschool Armenian language and singing lessons, and have told us countless stories of what our grandparents and generations before us went through, to get us where we are today.
Why did our parents do all of this? Because they knew how close to extinction we have always been. Currently, a lot of sources are saying that this is a conflict of territory. But do not be fooled. Azerbaijan is the agressor, fighting to occupy land and kill innocent civilians with the help of Turkey. Armenia is merely fighting to survive as a race. If Armenia stops fighting, THERE WILL BE NO ARMENIA.
This is not a war at this point.
This is not a “clash.”
This is not a “conflict.”
This is not occupied territory.
This is not Armenian aggression.
This is an attempt to commit genocide.
This is a crime against humanity.
This is ethnic cleansing.
This should not be happening in 2020.
Arsakh is Armenia and Armenians are under threat of another genocide. We need your help to spread awareness to prevent another genocide, not just for Armenians, but for every ethnic race in this world.
Friends, I ask you all to take a stand with the Armenians of the world. I know so many of you that love our welcoming families, our food, and our culture. I urge you to join the fight against this aggression from Azerbaijan. If you don’t do anything else, simply speak up and post about it.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Currently, people around the world have raised money in the low millions to donate to Armenia. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, is in the billions. Armenia needs donations to aid with medical supplies mostly and to help those families who have lost their son, daughter, husband, or wife while fighting on the frontlines to save our homeland. Arin and I have donated to each organization I have listed below for donations and encourage you to do so too, even if it’s just $5.00 (think of it as your morning coffee).
Let’s even the odds together by:
1. Continue raising awareness about Azerbaijan’s aggression towards Armenia. Azerbaijan and Turkey are deliberately misinforming their people and have kept all media out of their borders. We need to spread the truth, which is why Armenia has opened its borders to all media. Share at least one post using hashtags #IStandWithArmenia #ArtsakhStrong #ArmeniaStrong #StopErdogan #SstopAliyev #StopAzeriAggression #DefendArmenia
2. Donate to Armenia Fund
3. Donate to Armenia Support Fund
4. Donate to Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund
5. Call on your Congress members to condemn the attacks, stop military aid, and sanction Azerbaijan and Turkey.
6. Call media/news outlets or tag them on your posts to accurately cover the Turkish-Azerbaijani attack on Artsakh and Armenia.
7. Urge Congress to Stop Azerbaijan’s Attack Against Artsakh – sign this petition
8. Urge Congress to Speak Out Against Azerbaijani Attacks Against Armenia – sign this petition
9. Send A Letter To Secretary Of State Condemning Azerbaijan -sign this petition
10. Shop these brands if you’re looking to do Christmas shopping early, they will be donating all proceeds to Armenia.
9. Follow @zartonkmedia @amplifyarmenia to continue to learn about the latest updates in Armenia.
10. Netflix is matching donations for their employees. If you know someone who works for them, contact them and ask them to contribue as well.
11. Boycott Turkish products & anything labeled “Made in Turkey.” Let’s hit them in their businesses since they are funding and aiding Azerbaijan with weaponary.
Armenia is one of the most beautiful and welcoming countries, and has THE LOWEST crime rate. I pray that our soldiers and our Armenia stay strong, that way you can visit for yourself one day and see why we are so proud to be Armenian.
Please speak up for me and show up for my people. Your voice means more than you know.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions regarding this matter. I’ll be happy to discuss anything.
