After my marriage in 1956, I lived in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, located on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Baku, a place on the border of Europe and Asia, was a beautiful site with many buildings in European and Asian styles.
A lot of people of different nationalities lived there, and there were a lot of international marriages. My family was also a mixed one. My husband was an Armenian. We lived a happy life with two children. The people around were kind and friendly, no matter who you were; Russian, Jewish, Armenian, etc.
Suddenly in 1987-1989 grew a hatred between the Azerbaijani and the Armenian people. The quiet Baku became a place of pogroms. The Muslims killed a lot of Christian people. The Muslims who lived in Armenia were evicted and arrived in Baku. The city became a mess. During this time, until 1990, we couldn’t recognize the peaceful and amicable city. My husband passed away and on a harsh, cold evening in January 1990, we were forced to leave our beautiful city. We fled to the city of Moldova where my brother lived with his family.
In 1992, my son arrived in the USA, and two years later my daughter and I arrived to a little town in North Dakota. In 1995, our family moved to Seattle, and then to Bellevue. I was amazed by the beauty of this place and immediately fell in love. Right now, we live here, and I am thankful to the USA who took us into this country and gave us the possibility to live a peaceful life.
By Anna Voskanova
Anna Voskanova is one of Leslie Taub’s ESL students. The class is part of JFS services for refugees and immigrants.
Photo of Baku Philharmony by Khortan.
