Speaking to One Another - The International Raoul Wallenberg ...

dogs protected the sheep against wolves. We used to summer in an area called Serdarbulak located betweentwo mountain peaks. Serdarbulak means ‘free spring water’. After leaving my lambs to graze, Iwould gaze across at Russia. In the evenings, there was no electricity over on our side back then. Therewere only gas-lamps and torches. On the other side, though, there were so many lights all along the borderthat we children used to be filled with envy. We even used to play under those lights. On Mount Araratchildren were free to think about anything they wanted, even things which were forbidden. That wasthe best thing about it, clearing your mind completely of fear and of the border. What I dreamed aboutback then was to be the prime minister of Russia. Russia seemed very strong, it had so many lights. Icould tell that it was very developed. Our villages, in contrast, were so dim.”Are you sure that they will not dump us in prison there?Mehmet’s mother Ayşe Bacı’s feelings at the time the borders opened demonstrate the mark it left onpeople: “After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the borders were opened. People could now cross overto the other side of the river Aras at Dilucu. They saw that there was not only Armenia but also Nahcevan,Azeri country, beyond the river. Years later, I was going to travel to Nahcevan, and offered to take mymother. ‘Where are you taking me?’ she asked. ‘To otay,’ I said, and she immediately knew that I meantacross the Aras River. I saw that she really wanted to go but was still anxious. We travelled towardsNahcevan by car, passing the Turkish customs. The bridge over the Aras took you straight to Nahcevanand Armenia. My mother, who spent her youth in the banks of the Aras, was now passing to the otherside. When we were on the bridge, her hands and legs began to tremble. She said in Azerbaijani Turkish,‘oğul eminsen, bak bizi orda dama gakmazlar mı?’ [son, are you sure they will not dump us in prison there?]My mother trembled, held my hand, and I understood how she felt, going over to the other side she hadgazed at with fear for fifty, sixty years.”Mehmet’s Azerbaijani relatives remained in Iran and Azerbaijan. Family members could not meet foryears and were forced to live separately. Mehmet is reminded of this pain in the narratives of the peoplehe meets in Nahcevan: “We searched for my mother’s relatives. None were left, all had died. Theyoffered us tea in the coffeehouse. I noticed that all the houses were built in such a way so as to have aview of Mount Ararat. It looked amazing from Nahcevan: two conical peaks standing side by side, halfcoveredwith snow. People there told us, ‘for years we couldn’t approach the Aras river, or even just lookover to your side’. This side of the river was afraid of the other side of the river, just like the other sidewas afraid of this side. They said, ‘Our elders died looking at the mountain with longing.’ This affectedme deeply. Mount Ararat has an incredible impact on people. It has an enormous impact on Armenia.Longing and nostalgia. It is there in Azerbaijan, in Iran. There is something mysterious about Mount Ararat.People from different countries want to come and see it, research it. The key to this region’s attractionis Mount Ararat and the fact that it is located at the border of four countries. Climb up the foothills,and you will hear the sound of the roosters in Armenia, and when the weather is clear, you can even seepeople working.”69