“When silence is louder than bombs.”

Let’s set the scene, darling:
It’s September 1922. The world’s still recovering from World War I. The Ottoman Empire is collapsing like a drunk uncle at Christmas, and power-hungry players are crawling over the wreckage with matches in hand.

Enter: Smyrna - a vibrant port city in modern-day Turkey, home to a huge population of Greek and Armenian Christians, thriving communities that had the audacity to exist while not being Turkish Muslims. Oops.

The Turkish army rolls in. And baby, they aren’t bringing flowers.

🔥 Welcome to Hell: Smyrna Edition

The Turkish Nationalist forces, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, took the city with the subtlety of a wrecking ball on meth.

What followed was a week-long orgy of murder, rape, looting, and fire. Entire neighbourhoods - mostly Armenian and Greek - were set ablaze. Refugees packed the waterfront, watching their homes and families go up in smoke, some clutching babies, others just trying to not vomit from the smell of burning flesh.

Bodies lined the docks. The sea turned red.

And the international response?

Crickets.

🚢 The Floating Hypocrisy Parade

Now, here’s where it gets extra disgusting:

The American, British, French, and Italian navies were literally in the harbour - close enough to see, hear, and smell the atrocities.

They had ships.
They had resources.
They had the power to at least evacuate women and children.

Instead?
They threw a f*cking party. Cocktails, cards, cigars.
Some officers even used binoculars to “observe the flames.”
A few survivors reported hearing jazz music drifting from the boats while their families were being incinerated. I wish I were kidding.

💀 The Death Toll: Unconfirmed and Uncared For

It’s estimated up to 100,000 people died - many burned alive or drowned trying to escape. Thousands more were enslaved, raped, or deported. Mass graves. Starved orphans. Families erased like chalk.

And what does the official historical record say?
Basically: “Meh, confusing time, everyone was fighting.”
Cue the gaslighting.

🕯️ Why This Still Burns

Because silence isn’t neutral - it’s complicity.
Because you don’t need bombs to destroy lives - you just need to look away.
And because this kind of historical erasure is still happening. Different places. Different names. Same hellfire.

The Great Fire of Smyrna isn’t just a forgotten footnote - it’s a flaming indictment of the world’s tendency to only care when it’s convenient.

So light your candles. Say their names. And never mistake “not my problem” for innocence.