Wednesday 12 September 2007

Abbas & Hamze in the War

After telling the tragic stories of all these handsome Finnish Tatars, it would be strange not to include our closest relatives and war veterans, grandfather Abbas Bavautdin and his older brother Hamze.

Abbas was born in Rauma 1921. His brother was also born in this famous Finnish port, but neither of them were Finnish citizens during the war. Their parents Bedi and Fatihe, who arrived in Finland in the 1910's, were declared stateless when the Russian Empire ceased to exist, and they received Nansen passports. Still, the sons were called to serve by a special order from the provincial governor (maaherra). According to an anecdote told by my grandfather, one of his officers was surprised to learn that Abbas didn't have a Finnish passport, and declared him "our secret weapon".

14 comments:

Tinet said...

Uuuhh ... Having heard many other family anecdotes I can't really appreciate these guys objectively, even though Hamze might be kind of good-looking, in a way.

Ainur Elmgren said...

Well, we've inherited our dashingly good Eurasian looks from somewhere, haven't we?

Tinet said...

With your extremely typical Tatar looks (save for the short skull) it's pretty obvious, but at least I seem to have gotten some of my dashingly good Eurasian looks from mum's side, as well ... That 1/8 Kale can't have been for nothing, either.

Anonymous said...

Oi, en ookkaan nähny kuvaa Hamzesta nuorena! Kylläpäs muistuttaa isäänne, oikein pelästyin.

Kai muuten muistatte Liisa-mummun kuvan, kun hän pääsi ripille? Tosi söpö tyttö. Mää kuulemma olen paljon mummun näkönen... isänikin oli komee mies kuulemma: tumma ja pitkä.

Tinet said...

Puhumattakaan siitä, kuinka SÖPÖ!!!! sää olit nuorena (ja vieläkin). Mua ennen aina kävi kateeks, kun mä en ollut yhtään niin kaunis kuin sinä, mutta onneks vanhemmiten asia parantui jonkin verran.

Ainur Elmgren said...

Are you saying I'm a dolicocephalic specimen? That must be the Nordic race coming through from our grandmothers' sides... while the brachycephalic Alpines stay latent. (Mitsu was mesocephalic.)

Tinet said...

You have a protruding back of the head, don't you? Broad headed/brachycephalic people don't. It's almost a straight line from the neck to the top of the head.
Quite good-looking on well-built males, if I may say so ... I've examined a couple of short skulls very closely, so I know first hand. :3

Anonymous said...

Kauheita rasisteja! Muuten mikäs kallotyyppi Sergeillä oli?

Ainur Elmgren said...

Sergei oli varmaan kunnon lyhytkalloinen barbaari.

Koirilla tuo kallonpituus taitaa viitata kuonon pituuteen eikä takaraivon muotoon, joten Sergei sopii brakykefaaliksi buldoggien ja mopsien tapaan (ainakin verrattuna pitkäkärsäisiin villisikoihin).

Anonymous said...

Voi Sergeitä... buldoggi... .
Muuten onks sulla sellanen pieni nyppylä niskassas?

Tinet said...

Nuppi takaraivossa?

Ainur Elmgren said...

"...under the base of your skull,
just below that little bony knob, called the inion"


Jooga-oppaasta löytyi viittaus! Mutta onko meidän nuppimme "inion" vai "Anatolian bump"?

Tinet said...

Mulla ja mamsulla ei ole sitä. Vaan sulla ja Misulla (ja isällä, äidin mukaan). Sergeistä taas ei oikein tiedä ...

Anonymous said...

Tuntuu, et se on Anatolian..., kun tietää, mistä isänne sukujuuret on.
Ana on ihan mongooli!