Tweet
Embossed women, embossed lives: Interview with Suzan Khartalyan
Interview by Astghik Igityan
Panorama
http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2011/09/15/interview-khartalyan/
Sept 15 2011
Armenia
On September 21 a film by Suzan Khartalyan, who lives in Sweden,
titled "Tattoos of grandma" will be presented in Stockholm. The film
tells about Armenian Genocide, the women who survived those years,
but happened to have their fates embossed.
"Ermenihaber.am" had an exclusive interview with publicist and director
Suzan Khartalyan. Read the second part of the interview below.
-Suzan was your granny talking about her tattoos?
- Never. I remember my granny wearing white gauntlets to hide
her tattoos. She was trying hard to hide, to escape her life she
used to have in genocide years. She has cleared her memory and we
couldn't speak about it at home. We were hiding that page of her
life in darkness. Until 16-17 I knew nothing about genocide. I knew
my granny for 20 years, but I knew nothing about her. As if she was,
but she wasn't and in this dilemma she was keeping her secret.
-You said your granny's sister also had some tattoos. Wasn't she
speaking about it either?
My granny's sister also had those tattoos. She also refused any talks
about it. I used to ask her why she didn't speak about it, and one
day she got angry with me and said: "Do you want me to tell you that
Turks have done this? Does it really differ?"
- Did they do those tattoos against the women's will?
Surely. Nobody asked them about it. There are hundreds of stories
how those women were clearing their tattoos after their slavery. Some
even used some chemical stuff to clean them.
- How those women managed to live bring those "embossed fates" on
their shoulders?
They were rejected by the Armenian men. Yet in 1924 Armenian women
were trying to restore their virginity through plastic surgery in
Beirut. Those women who were tattooed were rejected by Armenian men;
those tattoos told everybody their shared life with other men, with
Islam. Some pages of history we've been keeping secret because it
was shameful.
-Is it possible to show through documentary the emotional part of
the issue?
It was very important to show both the emotional part and the facts.
The film is interesting when you can find yourself there.
Read also: Tattoos of Grandma - film about Armenian Genocide
Interview by Astghik Igityan
Panorama
http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2011/09/15/interview-khartalyan/
Sept 15 2011
Armenia
On September 21 a film by Suzan Khartalyan, who lives in Sweden,
titled "Tattoos of grandma" will be presented in Stockholm. The film
tells about Armenian Genocide, the women who survived those years,
but happened to have their fates embossed.
"Ermenihaber.am" had an exclusive interview with publicist and director
Suzan Khartalyan. Read the second part of the interview below.
-Suzan was your granny talking about her tattoos?
- Never. I remember my granny wearing white gauntlets to hide
her tattoos. She was trying hard to hide, to escape her life she
used to have in genocide years. She has cleared her memory and we
couldn't speak about it at home. We were hiding that page of her
life in darkness. Until 16-17 I knew nothing about genocide. I knew
my granny for 20 years, but I knew nothing about her. As if she was,
but she wasn't and in this dilemma she was keeping her secret.
-You said your granny's sister also had some tattoos. Wasn't she
speaking about it either?
My granny's sister also had those tattoos. She also refused any talks
about it. I used to ask her why she didn't speak about it, and one
day she got angry with me and said: "Do you want me to tell you that
Turks have done this? Does it really differ?"
- Did they do those tattoos against the women's will?
Surely. Nobody asked them about it. There are hundreds of stories
how those women were clearing their tattoos after their slavery. Some
even used some chemical stuff to clean them.
- How those women managed to live bring those "embossed fates" on
their shoulders?
They were rejected by the Armenian men. Yet in 1924 Armenian women
were trying to restore their virginity through plastic surgery in
Beirut. Those women who were tattooed were rejected by Armenian men;
those tattoos told everybody their shared life with other men, with
Islam. Some pages of history we've been keeping secret because it
was shameful.
-Is it possible to show through documentary the emotional part of
the issue?
It was very important to show both the emotional part and the facts.
The film is interesting when you can find yourself there.
Read also: Tattoos of Grandma - film about Armenian Genocide