Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir
Who is Dovey (Aghavni)
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Dovey (Aghavni) was the cousin of Nafina, Peter's maternal grandmother. She tells her own story of her tribulations during the genocide, and the story is repeated to Peter by Gladys. Dovey tells of the beginnings of the genocide, with increases in kidnapping and murder in Diarbekir. One night, her father is taken by Turkish military, only to be beheaded and left, crucified, in the family entryway. Dovey watches as women in the town are burned alive in front of their children. She herself is stoned, and nearly killed before her entire family is forced on a deportation march. They are given no food or water, and many are raped or killed. Dovey's mother dies, and soldiers beat Dovey and urinate on her. She watches women throw themselves off cliffs or into the river to die, rather than be tortured, and sees piles of rotting bodies. Once they finally reach the desert of Syria, Dovey is kidnapped by a Kurd nomad, where she is held hostage for five years and bears two children.