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AUTHOR SHARES HER 'STORY OF EXILE'
The Daily News
Oct 2 2013
The Daily News
Posted on October 2, 2013
by Carrie McDermott
A girl's idyllic life in the seaside city of Baku, in the Soviet
Republic of Azerbaijan, was turned upside down by ethnic cleansing in
the 1980s. After witnessing her Christian neighbors brutally attacked
and killed by the majority Muslim Azeri population, her Armenian family
fled to Yorovan, the Capitol city of Armenia. The family stayed with
relatives in their tiny, cold stone cellar for three years, living
with no heat and no running water. They suffered prejudice there and
didn't speak the language. They were finally given refugee status and
allowed to leave from Moscow to the United States, where they ended
up in Wahpeton.
Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte shared her family's experiences and escape
from their beloved hometown to their new country, the United States,
in her book, "Nowhere: A Story of Exile," at a special engagement
at the Stern Cultural Center at the North Dakota State College of
Science campus in Wahpeton.
Turcotte, who is now married with two children, said her book began as
the diary she wrote as a teenager, after the family came to Wahpeton.
She wanted to remember her life in Baku and the atrocities she
experienced so her future children would understand what their family
went through, and know their Armenian heritage. She showed her father
her writings, and he wanted her to move on - to forget the horrible
past they survived.
"I kept it tucked away for 20 years, until I was persuaded to publish
it," she said.
She recalls the family getting off the plane in Fargo, where her
7-year-old brother was disappointed there were no skyscrapers.
"This is America, after all," she said, as the audience laughed.
She said her father joked, "We've been sentenced to America's Siberia."
The community of Wahpeton embraced the family, she said, and provided
transportation for their necessary English classes.
"There were no ESL (English as a Second Language) programs in Wahpeton
when we came here," she said.
Turcotte said she's glad those programs are now in abundance in
the region.
"I remember our first visit to Econofoods," she said. "I had never seen
apples that were so perfect. I'd never seen so much food in my life."
She went on to describe the help her teacher at Wahpeton High School,
Rep. John Wall, gave her - a shy, bright girl in a new land, trying
to learn the language and customs of the United States.
"He wasn't just a teacher. He was my rock outside of home, to drive
me and push me forward," she said.
She grew up, graduated from the University of North Dakota with
degrees in English, philosophy and religion, and earned a degree from
the University of Maine School of law.
She was urged to transform her childhood diary into a book, which
was published last year.
Turcotte said she hopes to raise awareness of the conflict still
occurring in Nagorno-Karabakh, that their Armenian citizens are not
free, and she hopes her book will memorialize Armenian refugees and
start conversations about the area.
Turcotte was recently awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal, the Armenian
government's highest civilian honor awarded for notable state, public
and political activities as well as significant services in the areas
of diplomacy, law and political science.
She will speak at Wahpeton High School and Bethel Lutheran Church
Wednesday, and has engagements in Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks and
Mayville the remainder of the week.
http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/news/article_bb9f5a42-2b75-11e3-81af-0019bb2963f4.html
The Daily News
Oct 2 2013
The Daily News
Posted on October 2, 2013
by Carrie McDermott
A girl's idyllic life in the seaside city of Baku, in the Soviet
Republic of Azerbaijan, was turned upside down by ethnic cleansing in
the 1980s. After witnessing her Christian neighbors brutally attacked
and killed by the majority Muslim Azeri population, her Armenian family
fled to Yorovan, the Capitol city of Armenia. The family stayed with
relatives in their tiny, cold stone cellar for three years, living
with no heat and no running water. They suffered prejudice there and
didn't speak the language. They were finally given refugee status and
allowed to leave from Moscow to the United States, where they ended
up in Wahpeton.
Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte shared her family's experiences and escape
from their beloved hometown to their new country, the United States,
in her book, "Nowhere: A Story of Exile," at a special engagement
at the Stern Cultural Center at the North Dakota State College of
Science campus in Wahpeton.
Turcotte, who is now married with two children, said her book began as
the diary she wrote as a teenager, after the family came to Wahpeton.
She wanted to remember her life in Baku and the atrocities she
experienced so her future children would understand what their family
went through, and know their Armenian heritage. She showed her father
her writings, and he wanted her to move on - to forget the horrible
past they survived.
"I kept it tucked away for 20 years, until I was persuaded to publish
it," she said.
She recalls the family getting off the plane in Fargo, where her
7-year-old brother was disappointed there were no skyscrapers.
"This is America, after all," she said, as the audience laughed.
She said her father joked, "We've been sentenced to America's Siberia."
The community of Wahpeton embraced the family, she said, and provided
transportation for their necessary English classes.
"There were no ESL (English as a Second Language) programs in Wahpeton
when we came here," she said.
Turcotte said she's glad those programs are now in abundance in
the region.
"I remember our first visit to Econofoods," she said. "I had never seen
apples that were so perfect. I'd never seen so much food in my life."
She went on to describe the help her teacher at Wahpeton High School,
Rep. John Wall, gave her - a shy, bright girl in a new land, trying
to learn the language and customs of the United States.
"He wasn't just a teacher. He was my rock outside of home, to drive
me and push me forward," she said.
She grew up, graduated from the University of North Dakota with
degrees in English, philosophy and religion, and earned a degree from
the University of Maine School of law.
She was urged to transform her childhood diary into a book, which
was published last year.
Turcotte said she hopes to raise awareness of the conflict still
occurring in Nagorno-Karabakh, that their Armenian citizens are not
free, and she hopes her book will memorialize Armenian refugees and
start conversations about the area.
Turcotte was recently awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal, the Armenian
government's highest civilian honor awarded for notable state, public
and political activities as well as significant services in the areas
of diplomacy, law and political science.
She will speak at Wahpeton High School and Bethel Lutheran Church
Wednesday, and has engagements in Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks and
Mayville the remainder of the week.
http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/news/article_bb9f5a42-2b75-11e3-81af-0019bb2963f4.html