THEY CALLED ME MUSTAFA: Memoir of an Immigrant

By Khachadoor Pilibosian and Helene Pilibosian, Edited by Helene Pilibosian

Khachadoor Pilibosian, called Archie in business, arrived in America in 1920, and worked in various towns in Massachusetts. As a young boy we witnessed the genocide of Armenians by Turks in 1915, when he was kidnapped by a Kurd and taken to the mountains of Kurdistan. There he was forced to live as a slave for four year until he escaped. After contacting his father in America, he soon emigrated.

In America he worked at various jobs even during the Depression, for many years at the original Star Market store in Watertown, then as proprietor of Huran Spa in Cambridge. His involvement with the Armenian community in organizations was his spark of fulfillment. Descriptions of his acquaintance with several well-known Armenians such as Stephen P. Mugar, builder of the Star Market chair in supermarkets, and Arshile Gorky, on e America's best -known modern artists , are included in the story. 

Second Edition includes English translations of Khachadoor's poems and stories presented for their authenticity of face and emotion in connection with the Armenian Genocide.

Ohan Press (First Edition: 1992, Second Edition: 1999)