Good morning, good afternoon and good evening readers,

Now that I have had a full night’s rest and processed the emotions from the previous day, I can describe to you the events that lead up to my stillness.

Yesterday started just as the ten days had prior to the 23^rd April. For those of you back in blighty, a prime minister was elected who had previously been the president for ten years. There is a lot more information about this, however the long and short of it is, he changed a rule, said he wouldn’t use that rule and has now used that rule to become prime minister. The Armenian population are not best pleased. So on this delightful morning of the 24^th April, we rummaged our way through a collage of barbed wire, buses full to the brim with police officers, hordes of passionate protesters, all set on the backdrop of the incessant beeping horns of cars. The party leader who was organising the protests had been detained on 22^nd April and therefore the protests had become even more animated than before. This animation included especially raucous horns and if you dare, play the below video to experience the mayhem.

Once we had gotten into the office we were in a calmer atmosphere, apart from the occasional beeping. I know you guys reading this probably think I’m banging on about the horn beeping, but honestly you just don’t understand. We then had our UTTERLY DELICIOUS lunch against the backdrop of a live stream of the protest.

Calmness, tea with jam in, googling how to safely approach a dog…

“The prime minister has resigned”.

Pardon me ma’am.

“The prime minister has resigned”.

GORDON BENNETT! They’ve done it! I have never experienced or heard of a protest where they have achieved what they set out to. There was sheer elation in the office, even tears at some point. The volunteers told us that never have they protested so strongly for something and it has come to fruition. The Armenian people had united together and overcome an obstacle with dignity and passion.

We made our way over to Republic Square for the celebrations and the atmosphere was electric. Even as I sit writing this blog now, there are fireworks being set off outside of our flat window. As soon as we exited the building, cars were driving down the road with passengers hanging out, flags raised and proud faces beaming. Armenian people were congratulating each other in the street and the delight on one another’s faces is something that honestly cannot be described with words alone. I was fortunate enough to capture some images from the day, but honestly these do not do the celebration of the Armenian people justice.

Whilst I am not informed enough to have an opinion on the political personality or story of Armenia and its people, I can comment on what I have witnessed over the last eleven days. The passion for a cause, love shown toward one another and the unbreakable sense of togetherness that this country has shown during these protests is something that I will never forget and may never experience again in my life. Despite all that has happened in their colourful history, they are still here fighting for what they believe in. I have also since learnt that after their celebration, Armenian people gathered in groups to clean the streets for their new Armenia. Oh man, that is some inspiring stuff. The kindness that I have experienced already so far, spans far greater into the love for their people and their nation. At not one point did they falter, and this protest is a living and breathing example in how deep, instinctive human connections put towards a greater good, can overcome anything. I feel privileged to have witnessed these precious events and as I sit here relaying my experience to you, I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, learning from the kindest and most passionate people that I have ever encountered.

In kindness and in gratitude always,
C x