Each year through this blog, I do my best to commemorate April 24th, a date too well known to Armenians worldwide when 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by the hands of the Turkish government, then referred to as the Ottoman Empire. This is a hard story to write each year, but nevertheless an important one and its the only time I allow myself to wander off the path of the theme of these blogs.

Often we use the phrase “if we are not careful, history will repeat itself”. For the Armenians, we know this phrase all too well.  Just close to two years ago, the Armenians once again suffered the fate of the hands of the Turkish government, this time from their cousins – Azerbaijan. Some have called it the Nagorno-Karabagh Conflict, but what it has been (since 1988) is Azerbaijan looking to take land historically under Armenia’s domain (for centuries) for their own. They used the same tactics used by their ancestral cousins deployed 100 years ago, however this time they had double the force with the aid of Turkey.

Innocent Armenians were killed and land was taken

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev to “take care of Christian shrines”. A joke as Aliyev destroyed those sacred buildings.

Fast forward, the attack on Armenians continues to this day. Yet, 107 years after our ancestors were murdered – we do not forget and can never begin to heal until Turkey acknowledges their hideous actions. Even today, their PR machine continues as they attempt to erase the past or cloud the internet with their falsehoods by claiming it was a “civil war” or “death occurred on both sides”.

Let there be no mistake – it happened. It continues to happen and sadly, history will repeat itself.

Now we see the poor people of Ukraine that have been killed and displaced like the Armenians once were. At least the USA has decided to aid and help these refugees. However, where were the allies when Armenian was being killed 107 years ago … and two years ago?

Genocide is just that – man’s inhumanity to man. We continue to allow history to repeat itself…over and over again.

To the millions of Armenians and Ukrainians that have perished due to government control, may their memories be eternal.