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Literature (prose and poetry)

Grandfather's deadly lesson
By Gunay Novruz

Once upon a time there lived a grandfather and his only grandson. The grandson was also a son to his grandfather. Of course, there was a time when the grandfather himself had a grandfather, but now he was alone and there lived his grandson. The grandfather, having heard tales about Jirtdan1 from his grandmothers and grandfathers in the past, could not tell his grandson these tales. The grandfather understood that it would be wrong to praise Jirtdan and present him to the child as a hero. "Because this nation had Davanshirs2 and Babaks"3,- the grandfather thought and argued with himself mentally.

The grandfather began, «Once upon a time there lived a bald man» ….

The grandfather remembered that he had brought up his son on those tales and he himself had heard that tale. For some reason, maybe due to the genetic influence or something else, he understood that the child's fate would be decided now. The grandfather suddenly felt himself like in a dream, he closed his eyes and when he opened them, he felt the misfortunes of the past years.

Beginning the tale about the "bald man4»," he suddenly passed on to the Armenians. It looked like he was telling it not only to his grandson, but also to the coming ages and generations.

– The Armenians are beasts, sonny,- said the grandfather.

He started to compare them with all wild animals, and reached the phrase "Armenian dogs". The grandson, who was listening silently and attentively, looked at his grandfather with distrust.

– Don't you believe it, sonny?

The little citizen of the democratic country asked his grandfather:

– Are you a liar, grandpa?

The grandfather said calmly and patiently:

– Why, sonny?

– You know, grandpa, I was told about wild animals at school and earlier at kindergarten. But they did not tell us about a wild animal called "Armenian".

– "Oh my son, they cut our babies into pieces and disemboweled our pregnant women with bayonets speaking about "sweet Turkish blood"5, those beasts!

– I cannot believe it!

– Believe me, sonny, believe me, it is your own grandfather who tells you this.

– While you were telling me this, I remembered the film Faryad6, where an Armenian girl brings water to an Azerbaijani captive who was dying of thirst. How can her grandfather be a beast?

– Don't you remember the Khojaly genocide7 , sonny, don't you see in front of your eyes the atrocities committed there, or don't you want to see it?

– I was a small child, grandpa, and I was not allowed to watch it, and now my father turns off the TV, saying that these are "old footages". Besides, you know, grandpa, our teacher, Aghayeva Roza-Khanym8 said yesterday during the lesson that as a nation, we should forget such days. She said that even more terrible things await us unless we forget the past".

The image of his teacher, shaking her finger threateningly and stating that "we should forget," appeared before the grandfather's eyes. He remembered his school years. In those years, the grandfather studied history as not just a subject, but as a science and at one time he even wanted to become a historian. At school, he was the best pupil at history, Soviet history. He was considered as a leader not only at school, but also in the country. The grandfather, crammed with Soviet history, witnessed the collapse of the very same Soviet country. Later, he transferred to his memory the Turkic history from the words of scholars and from the pages of research works. Studying the history of Azeri Turks every day, he realized that the Soviet history was built on lies and forgeries. But it was already late, the year 19059 repeated itself in front of his eyes. However, he could not forgive either himself or his people..

The grandson, who for the first time saw spite and hatred in his grandfather's eyes, reminded him that the above-mentioned teacher teaches physics and always says, "The force of action is equal to the force of counteraction," also in military affairs. "Besides, grandpa, our teacher says that "we have no right to accuse the Armenians because the history of the Armenian genocide is known to the whole world. Our ancestors killed them, now they kill us". Also, she told us about the army of Great Armenia10. She said that their soldiers are as strong as Van Damme11. As Van Damme, can you fancy that?...

– Yes, sonny, perhaps your teacher is right," the grandfather noted ironically. "And her last word, 'van damme', exactly confirms her Armenian descent, because it was the Armenians who showed the world what 'vandalism' is by ruining the Turkish lands and drinking the Turkish blood.

– I say, grandpa, although she is a physics teacher, she knows history well. It would be good if she also taught history. As it is, it is she who tells us about everything we want to know on history, she reminds us the remarkable dates in history and explains their significance.

- Don't you remind her of the year 1905? Why don't you say that 'we forgave you throughout the history, while you have been barbarians and remained so'?

– You know, grandpa, we know history only thanks to Roza-Khanym. And there is a reason for it. Our history teacher does not conduct lessons properly, he says that 'you will study the humanities in the 11th grade at private tutors.' Now tell me how I can give examples and ask questions if I even do not know the historical chronology, especially to a person who knows history excellently?

– All right, my clever grandson, you don't know about the year 1905, you are not allowed to watch materials about 1992, but do you know what soygyrym12 is?

– Dividing the word into component parts 'soy' and 'gyrym,' I can say that it means extermination of a people.

– Well done, sonny! Did your teacher explain this to you?

– No, grandpa, I learnt this from language and literature lessons. I love literature. It was by reading different literatures that I learnt what humaneness is.

–  Oh sonny, it is just the right time for you to study history. You are obliged to know about the multiple genocides of our people so as not to stumble upon the enemy's bayonet once again. Study, sonny, study the history of your nation.

– Yes, grandpa jan, you said the word 'nation' and I remembered what my teacher also said. She said that we are not a nation, just as one of the numerous peoples, we live on the territory of Azerbaijan. History does not know who the ancestors of the Azerbaijanis were.

The grandfather was shocked to hear these words from his grandson. He had a sudden heart attack and died…

Probably, the other students of Roza-Khanym are also in embarrassment. Their grandfathers and grandmothers expect not three apples to fall from the heaven, as it always happens at the end of tales, but death so as to escape the lot of coming across new atrocities of the Armenians.

Baku, 2012

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1 Jirtdan is one of the most popular children's characters in Azerbaijani tales
2 Javanshir was the prince of Caucasian Albania from the Mihranid dynasty, the ruler of Gardman in Caucasian Albania. His father, Varaz Grigor Mihranid, became the first ruler of Gardman to get the title of prince of Albania. Together with Armenian prince Mushegh Mamikonyan and ruler of Armenia's Syunik province Gregory, he took part in the battle against Arabs near Kadisiya (637) on the side of Sassanid troops
3 Babak was the leader of Iranian uprising against Arab caliphate in Northwest Iran, Azerbaijan province (currently Iranian Azerbaijan, has nothing to do with the Republic of Azerbaijan)
4 Kechal is a character of tales
5 In another interpretation, an opinion about "dirty Turkish blood" is imputed to the Armenians, which does not correspond to reality. It is a myth from the series "the Armenians whisper to the ear since childhood…
6 Faryad is a popular movie in Azerbaijan by director and actor Jeyhun Mirzoyev
7 Tragic events that happened during the 1992 war, when several hundreds of people died on the approaches to Aghdam under unclarified circumstances; they were deliberately held by the Azerbaijani authorities in the epicenter of military operations. See more at http://xocali.tv/
8 Here – Madam
9 Armenian-Tatar massacre of 1905, which Azerbaijan considers one of numerous genocides of Azerbaijani people. See more at http://baku.am
10 Great Armenia is an idée fixe of modern Azerbaijani historiography and pedagogy, which is sometimes declared and sometimes denied, has a bigger place and significance in Azerbaijan than in Armenia itself
11 Jean-Claude Van Damme
12 Genocide (Az.)

 



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