God Given Transcript
- Sometimes metal show you what you have to do. My name is Norik Astvatsaturov. I am from Baku, Azerbaijan. I am Armenian. I used to live over there in Baku, but because of war, we have to run away from over there. Over there was in this time very terrible. In this time, we decide apply for refugee status in the United States. We apply, we wait about two years what decide United States government. United States government after two years decide that, "Yes, okay. "You can come to an interview in other." We go to interview in Moscow, have very good interview. Even some young men, immigration service, asked me question, "Why you wanna be United States?" I said, I get already mad. I said, "How I cannot leave this country "where I serve for Soviet Union, for Russia, "in military, and everything, I was over there. "And when come time protect my family, "nobody want protect my family. "How I can stay in this country?" That's why I wanna leave this country. I wanna go to United States. Our people have very hard history, very bad time. Already thousand years. Because of we live in not same place. Because of we Christian. Because of, because of, because of, lots of because of.
- The Armenians are in many ways a unique people, a unique culture. You could almost say a unique civilization. They are located in the Caucasus, which is one of the ethnically most confused and confusing, and crowded spots in the world. Some people would claim it's the far eastern lip of Europe. The Caucasus is an extremely complicated demographic landscape, with Georgians, and Azerbaijanis, and Armenians. But also Chechens, and Ingush, and Dagestanis, and Lazs, and many, many, many other smaller groups. The Soviets created a pattern of political territories that were not necessarily contiguous, so that for instance, all the Armenians don't live in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. There's a significant Armenian population four kilometers away, but separated by a strip of Azerbaijan in a region called Nagorno-Karabakh. This region was over 70% Armenian, but it was technically under Azeri sovereignty. Likewise, there was an Azeri region inside Armenia. That region's called Nakhchivan. And both sides were looking to sort of regain the territory. By the late 1980s, this emerges as a grievance. They were both agitating for rule over their co-nationals in the other one's territory. I guess it would've been super if they could've simply exchanged, but that's not what happened. Actual ethnic violence breaks out in the late 1980s. It's only sporadic. But in 1991 when the Soviet Union falls apart and Armenia and Azerbaijan become sovereign, independent states, they went to war. Many people from Nagorno-Karabakh, for instance, would have fled because of the uncertainty or the fighting.
- I came to United States, just $20 I spend in Airport because we wait. We was hungry. For buy some food, the pizza, and other stuff for my children. And here in United States for $180. But I was feel okay because I did not have to worry about my children, my wife. Probably we will have much better life. We came in here, Wahpeton, because we live in Yerevan in basement, my aunt. And basement very small, about seven meters to seven meters. Four people live over there. Bathroom was outside. The kitchen was some very bad place. When we come here, this apartment, and I see these three bedrooms, very big living room, I said my wife, "We now in heaven." My name Astvatsaturov, it mean God-given. If translates from Armenian language. Astvatsa mean God, Turov is given. God-given, that's why maybe God give me this opportunity live in this country, and have this good life so far with good children, grandchildren. That's who I am, that's all my life. Metalworking come from long, long time ago, 2000 year ago, even more. Maybe it come from my grandpas. Maybe it come from my grand-grandpas, but I don't know. But when I see this metalwork, I decide I have to try. I starting do this metalworking as 19-year-old.
- The other great craft that the Armenians are known for would have to be metallurgy. And this I believe, fits in with our artist. Armenia is a very, very mountainous country. It sits over an enormous amount of gold, and silver, and copper, and molybdenum, and bauxite, and basically every metal, every useful and heavy metal that you can think of. Going back into really pre-Christian times, the Armenians were making coins, and were making all kinds of arts and crafts based on these metals.
- When I came here, first I did a cross for our church who was our sponsor. Make Armenian-style cross, it is in church. It was for, but I ask people it was aluminum, very thin metal. Very hard to work because it's curved. But I did how I can. I give them present because they my sponsor, my family's sponsor. I want to do something for these people because people lots of help us when we come here. I knew that Mary was refugee, she run with child. When I see that, it probably look like our history. Everybody worry about his children. I remember some people ask me, "How many times you hid?" I never count. One time, another time, thousand time. One side, another side. And this take long time, do this stuff. But it depends what kind of stuff you doing. It's depend and size, it depends details. If you have more details, more difficult, it's take time more. Simple stuff, you can do but you have to do, again, with heart, with everything that it will be look like stuff. Or what look like you have in your heart, in your mind. I hope people will like. People know about what I doing, but people will like what I doing. And I want to tell before exhibition, I have a good feeling for me. I have some grant from Bush Foundation. Probably, it is a big grant in my life. What I had. And this grant, I tell you, helped me more free feel about take day offs, take some time, and do this stuff. I want to show the people here who we are, because lots of people come here. And somebody show who he is. Somebody don't wanna show. But we have to show who we are. We don't have to lose our roots, who we are. Okay, just don't make mistake.
