And slowly we started to grow up. Bits and pieces, from hither and tither, we used to get our hands on books, which we read in secret, without our mother knowing about it. When she used to find out, she would scold us saying, "You will bring trouble upon your heads".
Whenever I used to get my hands on a Turkish book or newspaper, or anything else, I used to search for the word "Armenian", or anything related to Armenians. I used to find about Armenians, or something written against the Armenians. As about the Turks, "they are born free. Armenians have never had a homeland, while the Turks have always been rulers. Civilization was brought to Europe from the Ottoman Empire."
You have a fight with a Turkish boy, you go to the police, they ask your name, even if you are the innocent and in the right, you are declared guilty.
You go to ask for a permission to renovate a school building, a Church or Church building, they tell you, "Oulan Artk, bou memlekette kilisi milisi yapl@maz, bosh yere oughrashma." (Fool, in this country churches smurches cannot be built anymore, don't endeavor in vain).
Badanegan Doun and Camp Armen, Hrant Guzelian
*Translation by R. Chil.
Whenever I used to get my hands on a Turkish book or newspaper, or anything else, I used to search for the word "Armenian", or anything related to Armenians. I used to find about Armenians, or something written against the Armenians. As about the Turks, "they are born free. Armenians have never had a homeland, while the Turks have always been rulers. Civilization was brought to Europe from the Ottoman Empire."
You have a fight with a Turkish boy, you go to the police, they ask your name, even if you are the innocent and in the right, you are declared guilty.
You go to ask for a permission to renovate a school building, a Church or Church building, they tell you, "Oulan Artk, bou memlekette kilisi milisi yapl@maz, bosh yere oughrashma." (Fool, in this country churches smurches cannot be built anymore, don't endeavor in vain).
Badanegan Doun and Camp Armen, Hrant Guzelian
*Translation by R. Chil.