“My grandparents arrived in Marseille in 1928 at the Porte d’Aix, after a long journey that took them through Syria and then Greece, where my mother was born. Of his seven siblings, only two survived. One managed to reach Marseille by boat, at 14, and then brought my grandparents. In 1936, my grandfather, who was politically active, chose to “return” with his family to the new Armenia, then the smallest Soviet republic. A country they knew nothing about since they had grown up in Anatolia, in the Ottoman Empire.
They arrived in a devastated country, in full Stalinist terror and settled in barracks in Yerevan around which wolves prowled. My mother got married there, and I was born at the time of the “thaw” of Stalinism by his successor Nikita Khrushchev. But I remember the climate of permanent suspicion that reigned at that time. My parents who whispered all the time and went out to chat in the garden, for fear of being wiretapped inside the house. As it became untenable, they made the choice to return to Marseille in 1972.
Q
This article is for subscribers only. Take advantage of our special offers without obligation.
Source : Nouvelobs
I have been working as a journalist for over 10 years. In that time, I have covered the news from all corners of the world, and written about everything from politics to business.I’m now a full-time author, and my work can be found at Global happenings. My aim is to bring you up-to-date news and views on global affairs, in a format that is easy to read and understand.
