Tag #123337 - Interview #90376 (Lazar Abuaf)

The municipality of Ortakoy used to extract sand from the sea, and sell it in sacks, before he partnered with my uncles, my father had those sacks brought to the store one way or another, with the help of porters. When my uncles came, a horse-carriage was rented along with a stableman.  The expenses sky-rocketed.  This is how; other than the livelihood of three families, there was the salary of the stableman along with the feeding and care of the horse, the store was trying to keep up with all of these necessities.  My father not only had to work more than he used to, he also was struggling to pay the debt he owed from the loan.  Intolerance and jealousy fits started amongst the wives of my uncles.  As a result of the continuous nagging in the family, and the fact that there wasn’t enough income coming out of the store for three families, my father said to his older brothers:

“Unfortunately guys, this is not going to work, we tried to go over our heads, we have to part our ways”, and removed his older brothers from the business.  Each brother worked in a business suited for himself.  Despite everything, their unity remained intact.

After separating from his brothers, my father worked at the hardware business, and managed to pay off the interest on the loan he took out by working for long years.  One day when I was either in second or third grade, my father said to me:

“Oh! Thank G-d Lazariko (little Lazar), I paid off my last debt, now I am at peace”.