Hello, how are you? Welcome to this podcast, from the Canary Islands to the world,
This is a raw, unfiltered look at the darkest chapters in history. In each episode, I explore dictatorships, hate crimes, and regimes of terror that left indelible scars on humanity. Silenced voices, forgotten memories, and uncomfortable truths that need to be told.
In recent times, the word genocide has resonated strongly. But there is one that, although historically known to have occurred, continues to alienate its protagonists: the Armenian genocide.
The Armenian genocide was one of the most serious human tragedies of the 20th century. It occurred primarily between 1915 and 1923, during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
Christian Armenians formed a significant minority within the empire, concentrated in the eastern regions of Anatolia. For decades, they had suffered discrimination and violence, but the situation worsened with the outbreak of World War I. The Ottoman government, then led by the Committee of Union and Progress party, feared that the Armenians would collaborate with Russia, the empire's enemy in the conflict.
In April 1915, mass deportations began. Authorities arrested and executed Armenian intellectual and political leaders in Constantinople. Thousands of civilians were then expelled from their villages under the pretext of relocation. However, the marches were actually a death sentence: the deportees were forced to cross the Syrian desert without food or water, and many were killed by soldiers or other groups along the way.
It is estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians died as a result of murder, hunger, and disease. Numerous contemporary sources and testimonies describe the atrocities, considering the events a systematic attempt to eliminate the Armenian people from Ottoman territory.
After the war, some perpetrators were briefly tried, but many escaped unpunished. The new Turkish state officially denied that it was a genocide, and this denial has persisted for decades, generating diplomatic tensions with countries that formally recognize the Armenian genocide.
Today, the memory of the genocide remains central to Armenian identity, and April 24 is commemorated worldwide as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
And with that, I conclude today's episode. See you in the next one!
If you have any comments or suggestions for future episodes, please leave a comment.
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