…Tata a facut scoala comerciala in Bazargic si apoi, la Medgidia. Bunicul meu din partea tatalui se numea Ghiulbeng Ghiulbenghian, a fost un om foarte bogat, traia la la Constantinopol, avea multe case, avea pana si o strada cu numele sau. Bunica provenea din Cesareea si nu vorbea armeana, pentru ca acolo pedeapsa daca erai auzit vorbind armeana era taiatul limbii, asa ca vorbea numai turceste, vorbea limba turca veche.
ENGLISH VERSION BELOW
Eu copil fiind am invatat acea limba turca veche ascultandu-o pe ea si mai tarziu pe tatal meu si, pentru ca acum urmaresc serialul Soleiman Magnificul, unde se foloseste o limba turca arhaica fiind un serial istoric, recunosc multe din cuvintele si expresiile pe care le auzeam la ei.
Bunicul din partea tatalui era reprezentantul armenilor in Parlamentul turc si era un om foarte cunoscut si bine-vazut. In 1908 este prevenit de colegii sai turci de ceea ce planuia impotriva armenilor si, isi ia familia si o duce in Cadrilater. Ii lasa mamei niste fisicuri de panza pline cu bani de aur si o instruieste sa foloseasca din ei pentru viata de zi cu zi, pentru educatia copiilor, sperand ca lucrurile se vor linistii si va putea sa-i aduca inapoi la Constantinopol. El se intoarce in Turcia, unde sta o vreme inchis in casa travestit in femeie pana este descoperit de turci si decapitat cu sabia.
Tata a fost o vreme angrosist pe Platforma Obor avea intr-un timp o firma care se numea „Marin si Krikor”, era asociat cu cineva, alta firma s-a numit “Constantin, Marin si Krikor. Cand a fost nationalizarea i-a desfiintat, nu le-a mai dat voie sa faca negustorie, dupa care le-a dat din nou autorizatie de negustori particulari cu oarecare restrictii pana in `53. El mai avea o firma autorizata pentru vanzare engros de fructe, legume si produse alimentare in Piata Natinunii (zona Unirii) si la Piata Filantropia cand, in urma unui control efectuat de autoritatile de atunci este arestat sub motivul ilar ca „foile de placinta nu sunt produse alimentare”. Care era povestea ? Tata avea autorizatie valabila pentru comercializare legume, fructe si produse alimentare, aceste foi de placinta tata le aducea in perioada sarbatorilor cand oamenii cautau acest produs. Aceasta intamplare era de fapt o incercare a autoritatilor comuniste de a da exemplu opiniei publice de aplicare a legilor arestand cativa negustori. Au fost vizati in acelasi timp cu tata un lot de 15 negustori majoritatea armeni care, intr-un final au fost arestati si condamnati la 1,5 ani de inchisoare cu executare, invocandu-se tot felul de motive imaginare. Dupa inchisoare tata se apuca iar de negustorie si, se face angrosist de cereale si, mai apoi de textile. Erau multi negustori armeni atunci, mai ales de cafea, unii au rezistat si dupa nationalizare, se facuse Directia de Import, depozitele de cafea erau legate de aceasta Directie, cei care supervizau importurile erau armeni pentru ca nimeni nu cunostea mestesugul cafelei mai bine ca ei.
Bunicul din partea mamei, Hagig Cavafian, avea o casa mare cu etaj pe stada Mihail Kogalniceanu nr.2, zona Colentina, nu mai exista acum, a fost daramata de comunisti. Era sub forma unui bloc lung,. Era de fapt un bloc lung care incepea de la strada si tinea pana la latura din spate a gradinii. Avea doua etaje, jumatate fabrica, jumatate locuinte pentru familie, in ultimul segment al acestui imobil era o fabrica de incaltaminte. Imobilul fusese conceput ca o fabrica, parterul avea o inaltime mai mare, sa fi avut vreo 4,50m, ca pentru o fabrica iar, etajul sa fi avut vreo 3 metri. La etaj stateau numai familii.
Fabrica de incaltaminte se numea “La Talpa de Otel”… tin minte si acum, cand am invatat sa citesc, primele cuvinte pe care am reusit sa le descifrez au fost aceastea care erau scrise pe firma.
Prin anii 1941- `43 bunicul a cumparat din Germania o linie tehnologica noua. Imi amintesc ca a plecat unchiul meu sa preia de la gara niste cutii imense de lemn, dupa ce le-a adus in curtea casei, am aflat ca era o fabrica noua de cizmarie, cu masini de ultima generatie atunci, tin minte si acum o masina marca Doppel care era foarte complexa, cosea talpi, le lipea… era foarte performanta la acea vreme.
Bunicul croia pielea cu o masina electrica de croit, nu lasa pe altcineva, el croia tot, le facea perechi, eu sa tot fi avut vreo 4-5 ani si stateam cocotat in spinarea lui in timp ce croia, il tineam dupa gat si imi amintesc ca incepusem sa invat si eu etapele, cum se croia, cum se intorcea tiparul, pasii care urmau…La bunicul venea din cand in cand un tanar cizmar care am realizat ulterior ca era Ceausescu si, mai venea Gheorghiu Dej care venea si la cafegiul Danielian care avea magazin de cafea pe Academiei…Bunicul avea niste comis-voiajori care plecau prin tara cu niste geamantane pline cu mostre de pantofi si se intorcea cu comenzi… ajunsese chiar sa faca export de incaltaminte in Italia, Spania.
Cand a fost cu nationalizarea, au venit comunistii cu niste camioane si au incarcat toate masinile in ele, nu se stie unde le-au dus iar, bunicului i-au lasat un proces verbal pe o foaie de hartie. El pana a murit nu a putut sa inteleaga cum i-au luat comunistii masinile lui si i-au lasat in loc o foaie de hartie. Ramas fara fabrica, bunicul nu s-a lasat, isi amenajase in pivnita casei un mic atelier de cizmarie.Cumpara piele cruda si mergea cu ea in afara Bucurestiului sa o prelucreze, sa o tabaceasca. In pivnita construise un sistem format dintr-un cilindru mare, greu, de sticla care era fixat in tavan, cu ajutorul caruia calca pielea, o intindea dupa care o croia si o transforma in incaltaminte. Totul pana a fost descoperit de comunisti si arestat. Dupa eliberarea din inchisoare s-a resemnat si a plecat in America. Atunci se pleca in America prin Liban sau Viena, ce se stie mai putin este faptul ca fiecare armean era de fapt rascumparat, un armean bogat platea comunistilor pentru el, doar asa ii dadeau voie sa plece.
– povestite de domnul Jirair Ghiulbenghian – fiul lui Krikor Ghiulbenghian si nepotul lui Hagig Kavafian
ENGLISH VERSION
Hagig Kavafian – Sole of Steel
…Dad went to commercial school in Bazargic and then in Medgidia. My grandfather on my father’s side was called Ghiulbeng Ghiulbenghian, he was a very rich man, he lived in Constantinople, he had many houses, he even had a street named after him. My grandmother came from Caesarea and did not speak Armenian, because there the punishment if you were heard speaking Armenian was cutting off your tongue, so she only spoke Turkish, she spoke the old Turkish language. As a child, I learned that old Turkish language by listening to her and later my father and, because now I am watching the series Soleiman Magnificul, where an archaic Turkish language is used, being a historical series, I recognize many of the words and expressions I used to hear from them. The grandfather on my father’s side was the representative of the Armenians in the Turkish Parliament and was a very well-known and well-respected man. In 1908, he was warned by his Turkish colleagues about what he was planning against the Armenians and took his family to Quadrilater. He leaves his mother some canvas chests full of gold coins and instructs her to use them for everyday life, for the children’s education, hoping that things will calm down and he will be able to bring them back to Constantinople. He returns to Turkey, where he spends some time locked in the house disguised as a woman until he is discovered by the Turks and beheaded with a sword.
My father was a wholesaler on the Obor Platform at one time he had a company called “Marin si Krikor”, he was associated with someone, another company was called “Constantin, Marin si Krikor. When it was nationalized, it abolished them, it did not allow them to trade, after which it again gave them authorization as private traders with some restrictions until `53. He also had a company authorized for the wholesale sale of fruits, vegetables and food products in Piata Natinunii (Unirii area) and in Piata Filantropia when, following a control carried out by the authorities at the time, he was arrested under the hilarious reason that “pie sheets are not food”. What was the story? My father had a valid license to sell vegetables, fruits and food products, my father brought these pie sheets during the holidays when people were looking for this product. This incident was actually an attempt by the communist authorities to set an example to the public opinion of law enforcement by arresting several merchants. At the same time as my father, a group of 15 merchants, most of them Armenians, were targeted and, in the end, they were arrested and sentenced to 1.5 years in prison with execution, invoking all kinds of imaginary reasons. After prison, my father went back to business and became a wholesaler of grain and, later, of textiles. There were many Armenian merchants then, especially of coffee, some of them resisted even after nationalization, the Import Directorate was created, the coffee warehouses were linked to this Directorate, those who supervised the imports were Armenians because no one knew the craft of coffee better than them.
The grandfather on the mother’s side, Hagig Cavafian, had a large one-story house on the Mihail Kogalniceanu estate no. 2, Colentina area, it no longer exists, it was demolished by the communists. It was in the form of a long block. It was actually a long block that started from the street and continued to the back side of the garden. It had two floors, half factory, half housing for the family, in the last segment of this building was a shoe factory. The building had been designed as a factory, the ground floor had a higher height, it would have been about 4.50m, as for a factory again, the floor would have been about 3 meters. Only families stayed upstairs. The shoe factory was called “La Talpa de Otel”… I remember even now, when I learned to read, the first words I managed to decipher were those written on the company. During the years 1941-`43, the grandfather bought a new technological line from Germany. I remember that my uncle went to pick up some huge wooden boxes from the train station, after he brought them to the yard of the house, I found out that it was a new shoe factory, with the latest generation machines then, I still remember a the Doppel brand machine, which was very complex, sewed soles, glued them… it was very efficient at that time. Grandfather cut the leather with an electric sewing machine, he didn’t leave it to someone else, he cut everything, he made pairs, I must have been about 4-5 years old and I sat perched on his back while he cut, I held him by the neck and I remember that I had also started to learn the steps, how to cut, how to turn the pattern, the steps that followed… From time to time, a young shoemaker came to my grandfather’s house, who I later realized was Ceausescu, and Gheorghiu Dej, who also came to the cafe Danielian, who had a coffee shop on Academiei… Grandfather had traveling salesmen who went around the country with suitcases full of shoe samples and returned with orders… he even managed to export shoes to Italy, Spain.
When it was with the nationalization, the communists came with some trucks and loaded all the cars into them, it is not known where they took them, and they left a report on a piece of paper to the grandfather. Until he died, he could not understand how the communists took his cars and left a piece of paper instead. Left without a factory, the grandfather did not give up, he had set up a small shoemaking workshop in the basement of his house. He bought raw leather and went with it outside Bucharest to process it, to tan it. In the cellar he built a system consisting of a large, heavy, glass cylinder that was fixed to the ceiling, with the help of which he pressed the leather, stretched it, then cut it and turned it into shoes. Everything until he was discovered by the communists and arrested. After his release from prison, he resigned and went to America. Then he left for America via Lebanon or Vienna, what is less known is the fact that every Armenian was actually ransomed, a rich Armenian paid the communists for him, that was the only way they allowed him to leave.
– narrated by Mr. Jirair Ghiulbenghian – son of Krikor Ghiulbenghian and grandson of Hagig Kavafian
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