Aurora (Arshaluys) Mardiganyan was just 14 when the sky collapsed on her head. In 1915, as the Armenian Genocide began, her village was torn apart by turkish soldiers. She watched as her father, her brothers and all the men in her family were dragged away and murdered. The women and children, including Aurora, were spared only to be marched into the desert—a death sentence of a different kind.
The march was relentless. Day after day, Aurora trudged through the searing heat, surrounded by the dying and the dead. There was no food, no water—just the constant, gnawing hunger, thirst and sexual mutilation. Those who fell behind were shot or left to die under the unrelenting sun. Aurora witnessed countless mothers cradling their dying children, their bodies wasting away before her eyes. The air was thick with the stench of death, and the ground was littered with the bodies of her people, unburied, forgotten.
According to her story, the turkish soldiers decided to nail the 17 girls of her village in the group to crosses—in a grotesque parody of their Christian faith, but they miscounted and only constructed 16 crosses; Aurora was the lucky one who was not crucified.
She endured much, being sold into a harem as a teen, for 85 cents. She was beaten, assaulted and dehumanized in ways no child should ever endure. Aurora’s spirit was broken over and over again, yet somehow, she survived.
When she finally escaped, Aurora found her way to the United States, carrying the weight of what she had witnessed. She was alone, orphaned by genocide, but she was determined to tell the world what had happened. Her story, Ravished Armenia, recounted the horrors in graphic detail—images too painful for most to even imagine. But for Aurora, they were not just stories; they were the memories that haunted her every day.
She agreed to relive her trauma once more, acting in the film Auction of Souls, where she portrayed her own suffering and the atrocities she had witnessed. But even then, Aurora was exploited. The people behind the film saw her pain as a commodity, and she was never properly compensated. She gave everything—her story, her dignity, her voice—but received little in return.
In the early 1930s, both the book and the film faded from the public’s attention. The sudden and complete silencing of the film had two explanations: the growing U.S.-turkey alliances, and an agreement between Hollywood and Germany. Aurora had written about being raped by a roving gang of german soldiers in turkey before being sold into a harem
The film that was supposed to tell her story was lost, leaving behind only fragments, just like the memory of the millions of Armenians who were massacred.
Here you can find Aurora Mardiganyan's book, "RAVISHED ARMENIA".
Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836 – 1911)
art details of headpiece jewelry
In a world of Goewin. daughter of Artos, sister to her brothers. It follows the world beyond her written, personal scriptures, and explores a world for... another brother of her's. the world is cruel, and Athena is loud.
edit : by @to-lamb-to-slaughter. txt : by @to-lamb-to-slaughter / A Coalition of Lions by Elizabeth Wein or @/tooboredforthis / edit : by @to-lamb-to-slaughter. txt : by @to-lamb-to-slaughter / A Coalition of Lions by Elizabeth Wein or @/tooboredforthis / edit : by @to-lamb-to-slaughter . txt : by @to-lamb-to-slaughter / The Sunbird by Elizabeth Wein or @/tooboredforthis
Okay so. I actually wanted to say this from the start when I first made this account because it would've given a lot of context to my headcanons and stuff but.
Yes, I am a victim of CSA. I was around 9 at the time when it first started and yes it was a family member. I'm not obligated to tell anyone this but I'm comfortable enough now to talk about it.
The thing is that it's been happening for a long enough time that it's become normalized. I still live with said family member(though that may change in some time) but I hope this doesn't change too much between us.
None of my irl friends nor family know yet so it's just between us. Discussing twp without mentioning my pov has been uncomfortable so I'll be more open from now on
(via Cedar Tree after a storm in Central Kansas yesterday : pics)
Walking with the Wind, Abbas Kiarostami (translated by Michael Beard)
you know it's critical when even the self proclaimed freaks are normies
hello tumblr, can our next mass hyperfixation be welsh myths please 🥺