By Sarhad Melkonian
Editor’s Note: Sarhad Melkonian, a member of the AYF New Jersey “Arsen” Chapter, was one of six winners in the 2022 Junior Seminar Council AYF Camp Haiastan Campership Essay Competition. The winners were announced at Junior Seminar late last month. The winning authors received prize money and publication of their essays in the Armenian Weekly. Melkonian’s essay, which won first place in the middle group (ages 13 to 14), answered the following prompt: How has the recent Artsakh War affected the global Armenian nation? As AYF Juniors in the Diaspora, how can you help with the current state of Armenia?
Artsakh is an integral part of the Armenian nation. Artsakh is the heart and soul of our homeland. For my generation, we have only known a reality where we have had an independent Republic of Artsakh. However, today, we find ourselves in a new paradigm, a very dangerous new reality for the Armenian nation. The cataclysmic war in Artsakh in 2020 was devastating for all Armenians globally.
Our parents’ generation liberated Artsakh from the grip of oppression and near annihilation at the hands of Azerbaijan. That generation fought and proudly won a war where our nation faced huge disadvantages. Despite the disadvantages, they still triumphed and prospered. During the recent war, on the other hand, we did not face the major disadvantages that our parents’ generation faced, and still lost at the hands of the prime minister of Armenia.
Many in my generation have photos proudly posing in front of the sign that says “Free Artsakh Welcomes You.” Many of us, including myself, have friends, family in Artsakh, and some of us have even been christened in Artsakh. Sadly, today, this is not the reality; Artsakh is no longer free. Artsakh is no longer independent. All the efforts our parents’ generation had put into liberating Artsakh have gone to waste.
During the 44-day war, the government kept falsely reassuring us that everything is fine and that we will win this war, and we do not have many losses. It was only after the war when the truth was unveiled. The government of Armenia did not really fight this war to win. They fought this war to use as an excuse for why we lost land and why we lost young, innocent soldiers. Today we know the Pashinyan regime committed treason. Today, we suffer the consequences of the Pashinyan regime.
What did the Pashinyan regime do that set back the Armenian nation 30 years? We are in a worse state of affairs than we were 30 years ago. The regime ultimately dismantled the army, sold our indigenous lands and, still, after almost two years, hasn’t brought back our POWs. Over five thousand young, courageous Armenian soldiers died at the hands of this regime. Today the Armenian nation is devastated. We are lost, hurt, confused and stumped.
For the past year, the Armenian nation has been in a haze as the losses sustained from the war were so severe that we did not know how to continue. Now the Armenian nation is on the brink of a rebirth. We have organized our thoughts and pulled ourselves together. The way that we can help our nation is not by mourning, but by working on a solution.
Now what is the solution to this problem? First and foremost is education. Educate yourself, friends, family and peers. Participate in local protests. Volunteer for Hai Tahd by engaging with government officials and organizing events in your communities that educate everyone about what Pashinyan is doing. We need to help the AYF in Armenia to get rid of Pashinyan. The way to do that is to make sure the diaspora understands the treason that was committed by this regime. It is the only way the diaspora will join the “Zartnir Lao” movement in Armenia that is led mostly by our AYF ungers in Armenia.
One of the most important things we need to do is to help our brothers and sisters in Artsakh stay in Artsakh. We have to help however we can by raising money and awareness so we can help them survive and thrive. If the people living in Artsakh leave, there will be no hope in regaining the land. Through thick and thin, through Azeri oppression, the people in Artsakh fight for their land by living in their hometowns. We have to do everything in our power to help them stay in our homeland.
Now more than ever Artsakh and Armenia need our help, and the diaspora has to do everything in their power to help our homeland. We have to work harder than ever to rebuild our government and rebuild our churches in Artsakh that were demolished by Azeris after Artsakh got signed away.
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