Events in 1946 on the Urmi Plain

ana hamzumevan bazet shitet arpi eshta gu-matet Hassar Baba-changa. etten matet Hassarila gu Sere, ay la, ina Hassar Baba-changa b-aralleghghet matvate khinela, Chamakiyya, Ada, Mushava, Karajalu, anne kulle tamela b-e-dukta.

I am speaking about the year forty-six in the village of +Hassar +Baba-čanɟa. There is a village that is (called) +Hassar in the area of Serə, not that one, but +Hassar +Baba-čanɟa is in the area of other villages, Čamaciyya, +ʾAda, +Mušava, K̭arajaluy, all of these (villages) are there in that place.

ita ana ivan echcha shenne etvali u tilun nashe meshshelmane u-yuvvellun tuppange ka-mata. men-bar kha-esri yumane tilun tuppange shkilelun, akht ana betkharen kam-aynila. u-babi leva bedda kat-tuppange jammuyena. akhchi mtilun b-rishu u-tuppangu shkilalun. tuppangu shkilalun u tapancha etvale surta tapancha. shkilalun ayda mennu. u-puletlun vaddar lubellun gu-de matet Baba-changa, sabab men-kam-dana babi ka-bne Baba-changa meshshelmane khumyeva. leva shvika kurdaye … zullum odiva, zlumya odiva shakliva mendiyye. bekhshaveva khuyravatuna.

Now, I was nine years old. Muslims came and gave guns to the village. After twenty days they came back and took the weapons, I remember as if it is before my eyes. My father did not know that they were gathering up the guns, but they came upon him and took his gun. They took his gun. He had a pistol, a small pistol, they also took that from him. They took him out, they took him away to the village of +Babačanɟa, because my father had previously looked after the inhabitants of +Babačanɟa. He had not allowed the Kurds to oppress them, oppress them and rob them. He thought they were his friends.

ina har b-de dana meshshelmane khayen pletlun allu. lubellun u-kulle mendiyyet diyyan shkellun. setveva. taza chiriyyeva. kulle mendi shkellun, akhchi khzuyret diyyan deryelun gu-tanuyra. bakiyya mendiyyan kulle lubellun. kha-yarkha viyyena mendi begrasha men-matet Hassar.

But at that time the Muslims turned out to be treacherous against him. They took him away and took all of our property. It was winter. Autumn had recently finished. They took everything, but they put our pigs into the oven. They took all the rest of our property. For one month they removed things from the village of +Hassar.

kharta gu-matet meshshelmanekhva. tama babi puletlun al-tarra. ka-yemmi merrun khush-me tremma tuymane zuyze, gorakh le katlakhle. u-yemmi kheshla gu-matet hoshare meshshelmane le-amsava machkhava kha-nasha tremma tuymane yavvelvala. shudralun kheshla. ana shkelli akhuni khati menne, men-barabar babi kheshli gu-talga. yemmi tila u-babi merre kate beddayen katlitunli. ktulunli jalde kat-la bayyen khazzennokhun. tleble paprus yuvvellun kha-dana paprus. grishale. merre adi mkhimunli. le-bayyen khazzennokhun. sabab khuyravatuva kulle, kulle et-mateva , et-matvate, shvaveva kulle.

Then we were in the village of the Muslims. There they took my father outside. They said to my mother ‘Go and bring two hundred tumans of money, and we shall not kill your husband.’ My mother went off into the village of the Muslims, but she could not find anybody who would give her two hundred tumans. They sent her away and she went. I took my brother and sister from them and I followed my father in the snow. My mother came back and my father said to them ‘I know you will kill me. Kill me quickly, because I do not want to see you.’ He asked for a cigarette and they gave him a cigarette. He smoked it. He said ‘Now shoot me. I do not want to see you.’ Because they were all his friends, all from the village, from the villages, they were all neighbours.

merre mkhimunli. e-dana yemmi tila. shurila charchure mkhaya gu-risho la ktulunle gori. yale sure sure etli. u-ruppela yale sure kamayte u-b-rapsa mkhilun gu-kiset khati tre-shenne u-akhuni arpa shenne. metlun. u-ka-babi mkhilun m-akhkhu, npelle. u-tevlun al suysavate kheshlun. bas akhnan peshlan tama, mkhaya gu-rishan u-shkala demma beshshaya gu-rishan yemmi charchure, akhnan, ina babi hala napas beshkaleva.

He said ‘Shoot me.’ Then my mother came back. She started screaming and beating her head ‘Don’t kill my husband. I have young children.’ She threw the children in front of them. They kicked in the stomach my two-year-old sister and my four-year-old brother, and they died. They struck my father here and he fell. They mounted horses and went away. Then we stayed there, beating our head, taking blood and smearing it on our head, my mother screaming, we …, but my father was still breathing.

har-b-de-danta kha-dana suyse tile. suyse tile, yemmi rkhetla gano ruppala merra ktulun ka-diyyida. ktulunli. e-danta o-nasha ganu ruppale eltekh la shvekle suyse ka-yemmi marechva dashva. bas-slile nashe khine meshshelmane merrun ku-ta-vur chay shti. avva merre, raba makhleta, suvverre. merre le-bayyen chayokhun shatenne. aha kelpat la shviko b-da jurra! le-bayyen chay diyyokhun. u-shkelle ka-diyyan muttile gu-kha dukta atkha khachcha mukkesta, e-dukta kat-shekhte mekhtet kenyane ki-khamilun, tama ka-diyyan muttile. ka-diyyan muttile tama. u-babi shkellun lubellun marzet shakita. muttilun tama khachcha upra drilun allu.

Just at that moment a horse came. A horse came and my mother ran and threw herself down and said ‘Kill also me. Kill me.’ Then that man threw himself down and did not let the horse crush, trample my mother. Then other Muslims dismounted and said (to him) ‘Come and drink tea.’ He said—excuse me—he swore. He said ‘I do not want to drink your tea. I cannot leave this family in this way! I do not want your tea.’ He took us and put us in a place, covered slightly like this, the place where they keep the filth and the like of cattle. He put us there. He put us there. They took my father away to the bank of the stream. They laid him there and put some earth over him.

bar tre-yumane tilun ka-yemmi merrun tilun merrun ka-yemmi kat-gorakh vena upra shkilu karghe vena bikhalu, vena bikhalu. bas kha-nasha meshshelmana khisheva, kiket dava shkileva m-pummu shvikuva gelya. bas karghe bitayeva akhlivale. kharta nashe raba kul-gane tushyova kat-la katlivalun. bas khaluvvi, akhunet mami u-goret khalti tilun babi shkellun muttilun gu-kha-arabana. arabana ila lilanka, arabana. muttilun gavo lublakhlun gu-de-matet bi-savuni Karajalu. tama babi tumerrun gu-umra tama, u-peshlan gu-betet bi-savuni. ayya hal-tama betkharon kat-mu vila.

After two days they came and said to my mother, they came and said to my mother ‘Your husband—they have removed the earth and crows are eating him, they are eating him.’ A Muslim had gone and taken gold teeth from his mouth and left him exposed. Crows were coming and eating him. Then people all hid themselves so that they would not kill them. But my uncle, the brother of my mother, and the husband of my aunt came and took my father and put him in a carriage. A carriage is a coach, a carriage. They put him in it and they took us to the village of the family of my grandfather, K̭arajaluy. There, they buried my father in the church there and we remained in the house of the family of my grandfather. I remember what happened up to then.

bar hada khina gurveslan. kati muttellun gu-betet rabbanyate. ana peshli tre-shenne gu-bet-rabbanyate. akhuni muttilun gu-bet-mesyoye et-kashe, kat-karakhva tama. kharta medre derrun al-mata. nashet mata derrun kulle al-mata. ina kulle akhchi vido … tenna gavo, u-kenyane gavo. kulle tummezzalun, kurkezzalun. bar-hadakh khina shkellun kulle mendi u-mulkane, karmane bakhchane diyyan kulle shkileva. ina m-kam-dana kulle zrutetda diyyan zruteva.

After that we grew up. They put me in a convent. I remained for two years in a convent. They put my brother in a house of (French Catholic) missionaries, of priests. (This was) in order for us to stay there. Then they returned again to the village. The people of the village all returned to the village. But it was all made … there was smoke in it, there were cattle in it. They cleaned it all and put it in order. After that they took everything, our properties, vineyards, gardens, they took them all. But beforehand all our cultivable land was cultivated.

bi-babi yemmi tiyyeva m-Rusya. muyyeva raba mendi menne, raba zuyza. kulle mendi muyye m-Rusya. ina kulle shkel-lublelun. kharta yemmi peshla armelta, la b-gora. goret khalti keryale al-Tehran. u-babo yemmo keryalun Tehran. kate lubellun al-Tehran. khur-ana gverri ka Behnam, gorile. gverri ka-davvun, ka-khemyani rabi Shavul.

The family of my father and mother had come from Russia. They had brought many things with them, a lot of money. They had brought everything from Russia. But they took everything. Then my mother became a widow, without a husband. The husband of my aunt invited her to Tehran, and her father and mother invited her to Tehran. They took them to Tehran. Now, I married Behnam, my husband. I married him and (joined the family of) my father-in-law Rabi Šavul.