Karimova Tehrana Shahbaz gizi

“I was born in the village of Shirazli, Vedi region, and studied at the secondary school in that village. In January 1988, my husband and I made frequent trips to Iravan. At that time, Armenians on the bus were talking among themselves about our expulsion and the occupation of Karabakh. And we did not assume that their conversations would come true. Demonstrations of Armenians started in February. They began to demonstrate with slogans such as “Karabakh is ours”, “We unite with the Armenians in Karabakh”. In March, after the events of Sumgayit, the demonstrations became more intense. May 10 started with a tragedy. Villagers gathered at the Turkish border. Then we headed to Nakhchivan. The people of Nakhchivan helped us a lot. My childhood and youth remained in those ancestral lands. Since my in-laws live in Khachmaz district, we also came to Khachmaz district. In Shirazli, Armenians created different obstacles for our participation in school competitions. Even if we participated in competitions, we had no chance to win. During the deportation, they attacked my father’s house. They burned our neighbor Kamil’s house. Aunt Sura, who worked in the village council, was held hostage. We also organized demonstrations against the Armenians, and only after demonstrations they released aunt Sura. Armenians did not sell us food in their shops because we were Turks.