HOW I FLED TURKEY BY SHIP
Description: In this interview, Haim Nesim Kohen ruminates on his illegal passage to "Medina". During his military service in Eastern Turkey, Kohen visits his family after getting permission from the army. His parents subsequently force him to flee and arrange a smuggler to take him and 12 other people there by ship. As he tells the story of his escape in detail, he mentions how the smuggler bribed the chief of police, how they were left with a small ship in the middle of the sea with big waves and how they were received by the police on the coast. By the end of the interview, he explains that he was also compelled to serve in the army upon his arrival.
Cite as: Kómo m'eskapí de Turkíya kon una maóna – How I fled Turkey by ship; performer: Haim Nesim Kohen, camera/ interview: Ioana Aminian, transcription/ translation: Ioana Aminian, Deyvi Papo, Imane Sghiouar, editor: Deyvi Papo, retrieved from www.oeaw.ac.at/VLACH, ID-number: ladi1251TRV0018a.
MY YOUTH WAS WASTED IN THE ARMY
Description: In this interview, Haim Nesim Kohen explains how he had to go back to Turkey from Israel by boat, illegally, just as he had done in getting to Israel. He tells the story of how his father arranged the escape with his neighbours in Istanbul because he could not find any work in Israel and his newly-wed wife was pregnant. Later on, he illustrates the voyage in detail, explaining how he worked hard on the boat and how the crew hid him when they passed through customs checks. By the end of the interview, he explains that that he went back to serve in the military in Turkey and describes how he spent his youth in the army.
Cite as: La mansevés me se hwe en askerlík - My youth was wasted in the army; performer: Haim Nesim Kohen, camera: Ioana Aminian; interview: Ioana Aminian, transcription/ translation: Ioana Aminian, Deyvi Papo, Imane Sghiouar; editor: Deyvi Papo, retrieved from www.oeaw.ac.at/VLACH, ID-number: ladi1251TRV0019a.
THEY ESCAPED WITH A BARREL FULL OF GOLD
Description: In this video, Sara Cohen Yanarocak takes us on a journey from Varna to Istanbul, illustrating the linguistic biography of her mother on the way. She starts by telling us about her grandmother’s family in Bulgaria, explaining how they emigrated from Varna to Edirne and how the family unions affected their use of language at home. Alongside these personal anecdotes, she also draws a clear portrait of the multicultural society in the last decades of the Ottoman Empire and the first years of the Republic in Istanbul, which allowed her mother to learn and practice many different languages in her daily life. By employing a clear narrative, she also illustrates fragments of the urban life in Istanbul through very personal stories in a different era.
Cite as: S’eskapáron kon úna tináža yéna de óros– They escaped with a barrel full of gold; performer: Sara Cohen Yanarocak, camera/ interview: Ioana Aminian, transcription/ translation: Ioana Aminian, Deyvi Papo, Imane Sghiouar, editor: Deyvi Papo, retrieved from www.oeaw.ac.at/VLACH, ID-number: ladi1251TRV0042a.