Struggling For a Better Way of Life - George Mkosyan


George Mkosyan (not real name), a father of five, watches television alone in his apartment until he is accompanied by one of his five children, usually by his one and only daughter. A well educated senior citizen at the age of 82, a man full of memories dating back to his early childhood and his shoemaking business in Tehran, Iran, which he held until retirement. We were simple people, he states, living a hard life. To make a decent living we had to work extremely hard day in and day out. He goes on to say, the majority of the working class entered the work force at a very young age. He was six years old when he was introduced to a life full of labor. George tells me he uses his life story to encourage young people to think positively about life; he also advises for people to see life as a blessing and a gift in which everyone should work enthusiastically towards achieving the best

I am currently at the age of 82, I am old and weak, but back in the time of my village I was young and strong. We were simple people living a hard life, we had to make our living, so we did all we could. Everybody was sick and tired of working, as they tried to live their lives and trying to move onward with their lives. Villagers would choose a job and that one person would do that job. People would sit down and decide what kind of crop they should plant for the year, and the years to come. It's like that. The way that we would get water from the Aroobian, and decide how much water should be given to the crops; somebody had a job for doing that as well. That's all we worried about; there was nothing else to worry about except life.

Each person would work for their family. There was also work within the family. The women or wives would weave rugs and watch over the children. The way that they would control the house. The way how the man and the wife were stuck to each other with love, they would work so that their children can stay comfortable, so that they can live relaxed, in riches, not fall into poverty, and not to be embarrassed in front of somebody because of what they didn't have. Kids in our village had to work. My mom would take me to work when I was six or seven years old. I would go to work on anything I could get my hands on. Especially when you're a boy you wouldn't stay home... you would go work. We were bored in the winter so people would go out and work for their families. We wouldn't stay bored. But only those people who were fit could work in the winter. When industries opened in Khavas Abadan workers were sent to work there. The factories helped us more; they made steel and sugar mills, and everyone worked.

Us boys would go to school, the girls didn't go. The girls would attend school sometimes but the girls would stay at home and learn housework such as knitting, they were taught to work how a housewife worked. In our village, people would go to school once a month and would have meetings for the well being of the schools. Money would be collected for the school. The way that they would say there were many people in the village that were old, educated, and understanding people, who would sit and have meetings to see what they should do, for example if there were enough resources, or what else can be done to improve the school. Or they would look at the kids who were needy or less fortunate to go to school. Observers would come from near Arak once a year, to see how these kids were living: If they were poor, and to see if they were less or more fortunate.

In our village we never went hungry, we didn't have the sea but what we did have, and have plenty of, was food. The food was cooked by the woman. The woman would cook the food by burning the fire wood and putting an oven on top of that fire. We surrounded the fire wood with mud so the fire would not spread. We had many animals in the village; we had cows, chickens, horses, and many many more. We would eat the sheep and use their wool, we would use the horses for work, and we would use the cows to get their milk.

Houses were made out of mud and some houses were made of brick. When it would rain the houses were backed up by brick so the houses didn't leak in water. When it would rain the animals were put into the barn. Also for the duration of the winter the animals were put into the barn. But when summer came the animals were roaming around in the field.

We believed in God and we had a church, we had a priest, and once a week the villagers would go to the church on Sundays. We never had fights for any reason. We had the utmost respect with each other; everyman had his own maturity and respect, and duty.

Every person was with his job, every person with his own house. We had other villages near ours. We were very close to the other neighboring villages and we would go visit them often. When kids weren't working they were free to play in the field, but when winter came around the children would play in the barn. I wasn't alone in my village; I had one brother and two sisters. I worked in Tehran as a shoemaker when I got older, and I also got my education in Tehran, Iran. I like it here in Glendale rather than in my village because this country helps everybody. My children all work and are by me. In my village I really didn't have anyone to take care of me but now, my children can take care of me. It is here in Glendale that my children are ok, they all work, and the city watches over them, and now I am old and the city watches over me also; I don't want anything else than the safety and the bond between my children.

Interviewed by Emin Mirzakhani