From A Quiet Town, To A Busy City

Silvard Davityan, sitting on the living room couch, looks at an old photo album as she remembers her childhood in Charentsavan, Armenia. Silvard, now 76, only has one thing on her mind, what to make for lunch. Her life in Glendale, California is not as demanding as her communist life in Charentsavan, but she is still a busy woman. She cooks the food, which is her favorite hobby, she watches T.V. and she relaxes as she remembers her past. Silvard now has five children of her own, sixteen grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. At 76 she is still quite active, she likes to walk everywhere she goes, she gets up early in the morning and does her early day walk around the apartment and she even lifts weights(two or three pounds) just to keep in shape, she says. Her mind has gotten older over the years but she still remembers her childhood like it happened yesterday. She said that Glendale is a very nice place, but she would like to be back in Charentsavan because it is my homeland.            

I did not know everyone in Charentsavan, when I was small I only knew my family and I spent time with my friends but when I grew up I knew about 100 people. There were no famous people from Charentsavan, no singers, no actors. We had to buy newspapers from outside they did not bring it we bought it from the markets. We listened to the news on the radio, there were about 3 or 4 radio stations in Charentsavan, there were no television broadcasts. There was very little gossip, everybody was nice we all respected each other and wanted the best for everyone. If someone did spread gossips around we made the person understand that it is bad to gossip.           

We bought our food from the store and I helped my mother make the food. For New Year celebrations and birthdays, we ate khorovats (barbeque), rice, we used to bake cakes and pastries and we invited all the relatives, we were all happy. On my free time I played with my friends, we used to gather to parks, we spent a lot of good times there, we played hide and seek, jump rope, we played with a ball. In Charentsavan we are all Christians, we went to church, we prayed every Sunday. There were jobs that woman had to do, my mom always prepared the food, cleaned the house, and I just played, but she did not work outside the house, when I was 30 years old I went to my job, and I helped clean the house. World War II did affect Charentsavan, everyone was sad, but the soldiers of Charentsavan did not go to war, the prices also had gone up, many people had a lot of troubles.           

In Charentsavan the summers were great, it was fun but in the winters it snowed about half a meter and I played with my friends, we had a lot of fun. The houses in Charentsavan were one story, made of big stones, and our house had two bedrooms, it was a very humble house, we were a very poor and simple family, we could not buy good furniture, our house was nice and comfortable. I had 5 brothers and sisters, of course it was hard, to live with five siblings in 2 bedrooms. The streets were not made of asphalt, it was dirt there were also a lot of overgrown plants.           

Our governor was Aram Avetisyan, and he respected everyone. The government was under the control of the Soviet Union, they used to bother the leaders, and they did not leave them alone. They would send government official and people to jail if they said bad things about the Soviets. There was no rich or poor, it was equal, the schools were equal, the factories were full of workers during the communist times. The Communists forced us to work a lot they gave low wages. The hospitals were free but you were forced to pay money in order for them to heal you. There were big stores that the government owned, they would bring food, they would sell everything for a cheap price, we would wait in line and we would buy things. The food from there was good and organic.            

Charentsavan had 10 factories construction, assembly lines, steel mills, I worked in a steel mill in the drying area it was heavy work, toxic waist. I worked there because I had to pull the weight of my family, and there was a good pay. The Soviets had a big effect on Armenian they ruled the government, and it was mandatory to learn Russian in schools, the movies were also in Russian, and there weren’t any Armenian films. There were theatrical shows for the summer and winter, my father always brought 10 tickets from his factory, and I went with my brothers and sisters. The shows were in a theatre, also in parks, and about a 1000 people gathered to watch. In Charentsavan it was very peaceful, we would play for a long time, bad thing never happened, no kidnappings, we always played until nine. If someone had a toy they would bring it and let everyone play with it. Charentsavan is a small place the schools and factories were all close so we walked there.           

If we wanted to go to Yerevan there were busses, small cars, train that went there. Yerevan was about one hour ride with a car or a train. We went to Yerevan, to go shopping, and wherever we wanted to go somewhere we had to go to Yerevan first than there were different busses that took you places. We needed to go to Yerevan once or twice a month, but the university students went everyday. In Charentsavan, 5% were Russians and they all spoke Armenian. The Armenians and Russians were all friends, and they respected others.        

The schools were from 1^st to 10^th grade, you were with the same class until 10^th grade, and they were like brothers and sisters, school was mandatory, but the universities were not, whoever had money went. In Charentsavan there were 13 classes throughout the week, there were hard and easy classes, there was astronomy, history, they were mixed classes. They taught us well, but it’s worse than here and they were very strict. The schools were not segregated everyone was equal. Until you gave the school presents, they would not move you to a higher grade.           

Glendale is very nice, clean, but I like to live in Charentsavan because it is my homeland, there are too many people in Glendale, there are a lot of cars, I like Charentsavan, the air is clean and it is my homeland. When I was 13 I played a lot with my friends I have a lot of good memories, my aunts, that live in Tehran, came to visit Charentsavan, I was very happy they brought me presents and we spent a lot of good time with each other, those are the best memories I have, when my aunt came, I had a great time, it was the first time I meet them. I remember the Charentsi (Name) House Museum, he was a great writer, his house museum was in Charentsavan, I used to go there with my friends, we had a good time there, we read books about his life, and had fun. When I got older life got harder, my attention was on my family, and I did not spend as much time with my friends. When I hear the word Charentsavan I remember my childhood I was very happy over there, very free, the water and air of Charentsavan was very good, I miss Charentsavan, if only I can go for two minutes and see it. I miss my town very much and I miss my neighbors, my relatives, my home.

Interviewed By Tade Mirzakhanyan