An Armenian's Dream for Peace!

PEACE, I strongly believe you WILL COME!!!

Contributed By: Arevik Hayrapetyan





Having been living for 18 years in a forgotten conflict zone, I have always had a dream. A dream to contribute somehow to the peace building process in the South-Caucasus region, which will be a place for mutual understanding and respect, love and tolerance, cooperation and prosperity for all, where young people will look at the map to plan their traveling, where youth synergy projects will bloom and people will enjoy their lives. Now that I am an adult I go back to 1990s and recall the sweet and pure memories of my childhood. Meanwhile I remember people whose eyes were full of pain, fear and sorrow. That time I was a child for whom it was inexplicable why people had to suffer, why instead of smile they had unhappiness on their faces. That time I was not able to understand the meaning of very frequently used words, like “war” or “violence” . I was only able to realize that the outcomes of these words made people suffer, children –become orphans. Years passed, I grew up and got to know the history of my country and become more and more proud of it. I also got acquainted with the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. A conflict which made many people from both conflict sides suffer, and their lives distorted.

And now, as a 18 year old Armenian girl, I want to say how much I long for peace, peace and again peace. Just imagine, how many good things can be done, how many innocent lives can be saved if we just put an end to the meaningless stereotypes and prejudices, and start the dialogue( a real dialogue, not a formal one). Dialogue which will break the ice and will bring people of Armenian and Azerbaijani societies close to each other. Yes, each of these two societies has its own way of interpreting the historical facts, each has its point of view and its demands. But this should not be an obstacle for us, for young people to start the dialogue, try to find all possible ways that will bring peace to our region. For me, as an Armenian very much concerned about this topic, it would be a great opportunity to discuss these issues with my counterparts from Azerbaijan, share my thoughts with them and listen to their ideas, as I believe that young people , who are open –minded, tolerant and initiative, can stand out of all kind of stereotypes and change things for the better first in their communities, afterwards in their regions and then in the entire world. I strongly believe that today’s young people should seize every single opportunity to create much better conditions for the next generations to come and live in love, peace and harmony.

First Published on www.forgottendiaries.org

Quick Facts - Armania

• Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe
• Bordered By Turkey, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Azerbaijan and Iran.
• Currency: Dram
• Yerevan's Vernisage (arts and crafts market), close to Republic Square, bustles with hundreds of vendors selling a variety of crafts on weekends and Wednesdays (though the selection is much reduced mid-week). The market offers woodcarving, antiques, fine lace, and the hand-knotted wool carpets and kilims that are a Caucasus specialty