The world failed us. 

People stood back and watched as Armenians were slaughtered. They supported and became the oppressors when they chose to remain silent. 

We took to the streets and protested. We begged others to sign petitions and donate supplies. We urged politicians to provide real aid. We sent every last dime to our friends and family in Armenia, and yet our voices were drowned just like they were over a century ago. 

No one cared about Armenia because Armenia didn’t have any economic advantages to provide to money-hungry leaders. Instead, they sided with war criminals who decapitated Armenian soldiers and flaunted their heads around like trophies. Who encouraged the killing of all Armenians, “No regret. No compassion.”

Thousands of lives were lost fighting to save our cultural lands only to lose them to a people that sought to kill every civilian living in it.

Theirs was a fight to destroy an ethnic group. Ours was a fight to protect our own.

They wanted to destroy our history again, and they will fail again.

This was never a war, it was an ethnic cleansing.

They attacked schools and hospitals and maternity clinics. They were determined to dry out our culture from the root.

We will no longer just teach our children about the genocide of 1915 but also the ethnic cleansing of 2020.

Historical Armenian cities will now hold Azeri names, foreign to the people living in them.

A country which has been known for its past survival and perseverance must continue to survive.

We will live to tell our story and share our traditions. We’ll continue to smile and we’ll continue to dance. 

Because even when the Earth is coming down in flames, Armenians stand united.