At age seventy-nine
Armgh Parsakhian sat with a cup of water trembling in her hand as she glanced at
an old picture on the wall. With a twinkle in her eye and hands in motion in the
air, she eagerly discussed the events that took place during her childhood when
she was twelve. Her movements are incredibly gentle and she sits quietly at
peace but speaks with great excitement when talking about her past which she
claims she has never before been asked to recollect. She recalled how her life changed completely in Daras, Black
Valley in North Western Iran near the Soviet Union border. I have seen with my
own eyes the pain and suffering my townspeople went through so I could live and
share my memories. As glad as I am to live the life I do today, there was those
days and times in Daras that I will always treasure.
Reza
Shah came in 1941 then there were a lot of our Armenians in jail after that when
he left to France or Persian and Arabian countries. A lot of the Armenians left
the country. In October the king returned. On the Soviet Union border, since the
Germans invaded Russia, Russia brought its army to Persia, so Germans won’t
attack them. The Russian army was still in Persia in mid 1945, 1946 spring. The
Russians with guns killed my brother in 1941.
In the town, since the country was in war many athletes and
singers came from Armenia. Then there were many soldiers that came, Russian
soldiers. They walked around, visited houses and went on stage to sing and
dance.
They killed 15 soldiers and threw them in the water Arras
River. Only one of them was survived. My neighbor that was going to buy a
cigarette from the store they kidnap him and after one month they find his body
in the church. His wife and children went to see him (Kachatur). The conditions
were very bad. In my town the Russian army killed a man who was looking at them
by hitting his head. The army stayed in our relative’s house. After two days
and when everything was mixed they left the house and went to their country.
When my aunt was taking my sister and me to run away to the mountains, we came
out and saw soldiers all around the graveyard with guns in their hands. So we
run away and went to our farm. We went home and saw a few of our relatives all
sitting nicely in our house eating. Then we notice from above somebody fell down
in our house. It was Sarkis. If the soldiers found him they would kill him.
They killed a lot of people, when they tied my father’s
hands my uncle wanted to run away the other way however the Russians shot him.
My father ran away with his hands tied he ran away towards the mountain side and
saw our farmer coming. He asked Levon (Armgh’s father) where he was going and
he told him not to ask and to open his hands. He told him to get his sheep and
go high in the mountains because the soldiers were there. They sent a Persian
boy at night to get water and bread for them so they can come down from the
mountain and take the food up there and eat it a few days. And my aunt she
didn’t let me go with her, where they told her, she took them bread and water
for about ten days. And ten days later they slowly returned. The news came from
the Russian people. The country was peaceful nothing was happening. My father,
my aunt, and a few people took me to Tabrez. And after that the town news
didn’t come to me.
That time the Armenian schools were closed. The king
didn’t allow there to be Armenian schools only Persian schools. Gala, the
school in the church was also closed. There were teachers at home that would
teach. The adults would go to them a day for one or two hours and would teach
them Armenian lessons for money. Then the king’s son came he slowly started
allowing it, the Reza Shah’s son. He helped the people. They all knew that the
Russians came but they (the townspeople) didn’t bother any one. When they came
against the army, the army only ran away.
I went to Julfa, because Anahit’s dad (her husband) has a
store there. We had cows there. We sold the milk. Instead of money the Persians
gave us gold and Russian money. We took the Russian money to Tabrez to sell and
buy supplies there. My husband kept the Russian money thought that it was more
expensive than gold, and now its nothing. Persian drivers would bring supplies
to Julfa by trucks and boats. And from Julfa the Russian women dressed in army
outfits put supplies in the cars drove and went. Because the men were in the
army fighting, the world was in war. The tall girls would come from morning to
night, even though at night they weren’t allowed to work. The car had a lot of
supplies. They had weapons, clothing, and food. Americans would bring supplies
twenty-four hours. Ever since I went to Julfa in 1944 in October, November those
two to three years we lived in peace. And after that we saw that the soldiers,
post workers and people began to take food from stores and didn’t pay. They
promised to give the money at the end of the month, but they didn’t. My
husband got supplies and didn’t give it back. He stayed in jail for three
months. I suffered so much trying to get him out of jail.
When the violence passed and there was peace the people were living ordinary lives. Since the country came to peace we lived well. Every person was after there work. The children grew up. Now our lives are good not bad.
Interviewed by Lucine Agazaryan