By Hambersom Aghbashian
Born in 1948, Tuba Çandar completed her education in the United States after secondary schooling in Austria High School in Turkey. She graduated from the International Relations Department of the Ankara University Faculty of Political Science. She lived in Germany following March 12 military coup. Returning to Turkey, she became the editor-in-chief of “Bizim Almanca” magazine under Cumhuriyet daily. She also worked as an editor at “Gergedan” magazine. At Yeni Yüzyıl daily, she wrote culture and arts and travel pieces. She had a “Portraits” column in “Gazete Pazar.” Her first book about the life of Mualla Eyubığlu Anhegger, “Hitit Güneşi” (Hitite Sun), was in 2003. In 2007, she had “Murat Belge Bir Hayat” (Murat Belge A Life). Her latest book, “Hrant” came out on the birthday of Hrant Dink on Sept. 15 in 2010.(1).
Hrant Dink was born in Malatya on September 15, 1954. A Turkish intellectuals of Armenian descent. He was shot on 19 January 2007 on the sidewalk in front of his Agos newspaper. Tuba Çandar’s book “Hrant” is the story of his unique life. According to www.goodreads.com , the average rating of her book “Hrant” is rated 4.8 which is almost 5 stars.(2). About Çandar’s “Hrant” book, “istanbulgibbs.blogspot.com” mentioned “The writers are the hundreds of friends, relatives and coworkers that loved and admired Hrant. They tell his story from birth to death. I liked Hrant Dink. He seemed like he had been a man of integrity. He reached out to all sides on the Armenian issue and became the first to speak out on taboos decades old in an effort to reconcile Armenians and Turks. And he spoke out for others as well, for all of Turkey’s downtrodden and martyred without fear or compromise, regardless of race, creed, or political background. He had been branded a traitor and a hater of Turks by the media for suggesting Sabiha Gökçen, Atatürk’s adopted daughter, had been an Armenian orphan.(3)
In an interview with civilinet.am, on Jan. 12, 2012, Hrant Dink’s biography writer Tuba Çandar said, “We were all shot. It was not Hrant only who was shot. We were all shot that day.” It took her 3.5 years to finish the 700 pages biography, which is in Turkish and was very well in Istanbul, also in Diyarbakir, Malatya, Ankara and Izmir. The book will be translated by a london based publisher to other languages.(4)
Tuba Çandar is one of the Turkish intellectuals who is supporting the Armenian cause, by disclosing and revealing the fact about the Armenian Genocide. Her 700 pages book about Hrant Dink, originally wrote in Turkish is a good source for the young Turkish generation who like to now some of the fact about the Armenian Genocide.
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1-http://www.recon-project.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=27:tuba-candar&Itemid=157&lang=en
2- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4406617.Tuba_andar
3- http://istanbulgibbs.blogspot.com/2011/11/translation-of-hrant-by-tuba-candar.html
4- http://civilnet.am/2012/01/19/tuba-candar-qwe-were-all-shot-that-dayq/#.VGfWfMnUiqk
