To me, Artsakh is Armenia. Most Armenians would agree. Yet in recent years, that has been a controversial opinion.

The Republic of Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, is a small breakaway state that borders Armenia and Azerbaijan. 95 percent of the population is ethnic Armenian. Surviving many conquerors over the centuries, the country remained Armenian and had a semi-independent status. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, Artsakh declared itself an independent political unit.

This caused an uproar in Azerbaijan and as a result, they launched a military invasion of Artsakh. From 1918-1920, Azerbaijan carried out violence and massacres against the Armenian population, aided by military units from its closest ally, Turkey. In 1921, Artsakh was forced to submit to Azerbaijani administration when it became a part of the Soviet Union, leading to a century of destruction and horror for the Armenian people.

According to the Armenian National Committee of America, “During seven decades of Soviet Azerbaijani rule, the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh were subjected to discriminatory policies aimed at its destruction.” Even though Azerbaijan tried to destroy us, the Armenian community remained strong and united.

Armenians have always had to fight for their right to live. This is made clear by the war waged against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. You might be wondering: why is a war over 100 years old important? Because it wasn’t just a war. It was genocide. 

The term “genocide” is defined by the National Museum of American Diplomacy as “killing a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” Some estimates say over a million people were killed in the Armenian Genocide, and the rest were turned into slaves or people who no longer had a place to call home. The same is happening today, but this time the Azerbaijanis are trying to do it.

Again, you might be asking yourself, if it’s so important, why haven’t I heard about it on the news or on social media? Every Armenian asks the same question.

In 2021, for the first time in history, a U.S. president recognized the Armenian Genocide. “Armenian Americans are a vital part of the fabric of the United States… even as they continue to carry with them the tragic knowledge of what their ancestors endured. We recognize their pain and honor their story,” President Biden said. Then in 2023, he said, “Today, we pause to remember the lives lost during the Armenian genocide and renew our pledge to never forget.”

In response, Turkey’s dictator President Erdoğan was angered, saying it wasn’t a politician’s place to speak about history. The Turkish foreign minister dismissed Biden’s statement, claiming it was an “attempt by political charlatans to distort history.”

Just like that, people forgot that Biden ever mentioned us. Noting how little support there was for Armenians during the Armenian Genocide, even Hitler thought he could get away with exterminating an entire race. “Who after all is today speaking about the destruction of the Armenians?” asked the architect of the Jewish Holocaust. 

When asked what America is doing for Armenia and Artsakh, United States voices are silent. Yet the more recent wars in the Middle East have caused a massive uproar in the American community. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, escalating an ongoing conflict, the U.S. sent more than $75 billion to Ukraine. Last year, during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the State Department said that $121 million was sent to the UNRWA. But the U.S. has only given $28 million in aid to Artsakh over the last four years.

“Our wounds are still open” is a very common saying that Armenians have repeated over the years. It represents where we are from and tells the story of our ancestors. The phrase is accurate on a level that only Armenians can understand. Our great great grandparents were alive, yet we feel their pain; the anger, that our people and land are being destroyed and the sadness that we can not do anything about it. All of it still lives within us. 

Every year on April 24, American Armenians protest for recognition and to seek justice for the Armenian Genocide. They do this to attract media coverage. They partially achieve their goal, but the news only lasts for the day, if not for a couple hours. 

Armenians try hard to get the recognition they deserve but most of the world, especially America, seem to turn their backs on us. If they can’t recognize a genocide that happened over a century ago, how could we expect them to recognize something that is happening right now? 

The saying “history always repeats itself” is true for the Armenian community. Most Armenians would agree the eruption of violence in Artsakh was genocide. The L.A. Times mentioned a heartbreaking parallel between Armenians fleeing the most recent conflict and the Armenians fleeing the 1915 Genocide.

 “It echoes photography documenting death marches across the Syrian desert during the 1915 Armenian genocide, proof of forcible expulsion and ethnic cleansing,” the L.A. Times reporter wrote. My heart absolutely shattered reading that, yet its truth was undeniable.

Those who want to erase the Armenians always bring up the past. As Hitler seemed to idolize the Turks for the Armenian Genocide, the mayor of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, seems to idolize Hitler. In a meeting with a German delegation in 2005, the mayor stated Azerbaijan’s goal to “complete the elimination of the Armenians. You Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and 40s, right? You should be able to understand us.” A year earlier, the Azerbaijani defense minister said, “Within the next 25 years there will be no state of Armenia in the South Caucasus.” 

Armenians have been threatened with extinction for a long time, but to blatantly say that by 2030 Armenia will be gone is crazy. How are we supposed to ever be free if this threat forever looms over our heads? The more hatred these people have for us the more we will fight to survive. 

Artsakh is at war. The homes, the people, the culture, are being destroyed. Another piece of us, gone. In 2023, the president of Nagorno-Karabakh signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions. After three years of war, getting nowhere and sending young soldiers to their death because they wanted to protect their motherland, Artsakh had to surrender. We gave up because the world couldn’t help us. Now my people have to weep like our ancestors did.