Armenian Youth Federation — Boston’s speech: “Artsakh was a beacon of hope”
Note: Knar Krafian delivered this speech (prepared by Nairi Krafian) on behalf of the Armenian Youth Federation—Boston chapter at “Action for Artsakh” in front of the JFK Federal Building in Boston, Massachusetts on 18 November 2023.
As a student of the St. Stephen’s Elementary school, I visited Artsakh for the first time with my 5th grade class when the conditions there were still very poor from the First Artsakh War. When I returned as an adult and saw the wonderfully developed cities of Shushi and Stepanakert, I saw that Artsakh was a beacon of hope for all oppressed peoples, a shining example of the good that could come from decolonization and democratic values. As a member of the Armenian Youth Federation, I watched my peers in the Volunteer Corps program spend their summers contributing to the fabric of Artsakh; as a member of the Armenian Relief Society, I saw our Soseh kindergartens provide a warm, nurturing learning environment for the children of Artsakh.
In 2020, as a founder of a nonprofit in Armenia, I watched Azerbaijan hurl Armenia into existential crisis, having to navigate my employee’s deployment to protect Artsakh, and watching him return to work to truly never be the same person again. This year I watched as our ARS kindergartens transformed into bomb shelters crammed with community members who had nowhere else to hide. The beacon of light that was Artsakh was overcome by the darkness of Azerbaijani oppression and colonialism.
There is a humanitarian line that the majority of humans on earth, regardless of their background, agree should never be crossed, and the Aliyev-Aliyeva regime has crossed it. When such humanitarian atrocities occur, the expectation, internationally and domestically, is that the most powerful democracy in the world will not stand by. I hope that the U.S. will not only hold Azerbaijan accountable for their ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, but prevent a continued genocide against the Republic of Armenia, which Aliyev and Erdogan have openly expressed as their end goal with zero impunity thus far.
