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ANKARA: Rays Of Hope

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  • ANKARA: Rays Of Hope

    RAYS OF HOPE

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    April 4 2014

    4 April 2014, Friday /ELLE LOFTIS, İSTANBUL I am tired of all the bad
    news. My social media feeds and everyday conversations with people
    have been filled with more doom and gloom this year than any other
    I can remember.

    It's exhausting but also extremely easy to be negative. Looking back
    on the depression I went through postpartum, I can finally see that it
    was a necessary part of my emotional transformation. Only when you are
    low do you actually have real clarity on several important issues. It
    also forces you to make that choice to stand up and be well again,
    or stay sitting down and let life roll over you. This year might be
    Turkey's postpartum year, in a way.

    Fourteen years ago, I visited Turkey for the first time. A fresh-faced
    university student that had never even visited a major US city, I was
    the eager, naive tourist asking every taboo question on the books. I
    had just started my degree in Middle Eastern studies and arrived in
    İstanbul with a sophomoric attitude fed by the many books read before
    my trip. On a three-week excursion, I planned to research all the hot
    topics; the Armenian genocide, the Kurdish conflict and the Islamic
    revival in Turkish politics. My poor Turkish hosts and friends had
    no idea what they had gotten themselves into when they invited me
    for a visit. At a crowded cafe, I brought up all these topics. One
    person got offended. The rest kept looking left and right to see if we
    were being overheard. Another immediately reprimanded me. The others
    seemed uncomfortable and eager to change the topic. Thus scolded,
    I saved my research on Armenians, Kurds and Islamists in Turkey for
    my university library back in the US. I met a similar dead end with
    all the other topics I wanted to research. What kind of a place was
    this, where asking questions was forbidden? I was flabbergasted,
    but learned to stay silent to keep the peace.

    That was in 2000. Fast-forward to now, 2014. Conversations about these
    issues are now the norm among Turks, as demonstrated by the massive
    protests and outcry after the Hrant Dink assassination in 2006. I
    hear Kurdish freely spoken on the streets now, without shame. These
    conversations, while still uncomfortable, are now happening, something
    I never thought I would see back in 2000. While I am sure lots of
    people will disagree with me here and say not much has changed, I
    beg to differ. The fact that we can have conversations about these
    topics now in Turkey is huge. Back in 2000, most people claimed and I
    actually believe did not know all that had happened surrounding these
    touchy issues. The Internet has allowed people to have easier access
    to information and to formulate their own opinions. This is a huge,
    positive step forward for Turkey.

    On that first visit and up through just a few years ago, I still heard
    an oft-used phrase that would send me through the roof with anger.

    When I would ask my Turkish friends about democracy in Turkey, they
    would claim "Turks are not ready for democracy." My response would
    be to ask when they thought that magic day would come. Tomorrow? A
    hundred years from now? So much has changed in Turkey over the past
    20 years to make that phrase moot. The Gezi protests further killed
    that point. It seems the people are ready now.

    Generations from the village have given birth to university-educated
    world travelers. I consider that a huge positive step in Turkey, and
    well worth noting. For example, my husband bought lures and fishing
    tackle from a shop near the Bosporus, and the proprietor begged us to
    offer his wife a job cooking and cleaning for us. The reason? Their
    daughter had just passed the university entrance exams and made it
    into Bogazici University. They needed extra cash, and we took her on.

    Elmas, the mother, could not read or write. They had moved to İstanbul
    from their Black Sea village so that their only daughter could attend a
    better school. In a country where the rest of the world still knocks
    them for women's rights, this family risked everything for their
    daughter's education and she landed in one of the best universities
    in Turkey. Scratch the surface of this society and you will find
    other like stories and beacons of hope.

    Better representation, better opposition

    To all those who are depressed about the election and think Turkey is
    going to the dogs, are you going to stand up and address it, or stay
    sitting and let it roll over you? Things have not gone the way a lot
    of people wanted it to. However, the old ways were not necessarily
    good, either. Maybe this stall should be viewed as an opportunity
    to take a hard look around and create something new, something that
    embraces all of society rather than picking and choosing. The Gezi
    protests and the unity that was exhibited last summer have not been
    embraced by any political party. I believe all political parties have
    let the Turkish people down. They, and those of us residing here,
    deserve better representation and better opposition. A lot happened
    last year that cannot be taken back, and no matter how many obstacles
    are placed in the way to try to stem change, the momentum has already
    begun. Strangely enough, I feel hopeful even though everyone else
    feels gloomy. Maybe the historian in me can recall the past more
    easily than others, and I can see how far Turkey has come over the
    years. Social media has provided a great opportunity to exchange
    views, but it can also be a way for people to barricade themselves
    with only other like-minded people. We have to push ourselves outside
    of our comfort zones and interact with others who offer differing
    perspectives than our own, a challenge I put out there for anyone
    upset about the elections. Start the conversation. Create dialogue.

    Together spur change. That is what Gezi was about and I do not
    believe that spirit died. It is very much alive. As an American
    liberal, I struggle with this personally when dealing with friends
    and acquaintances from the Tea Party. Their rhetoric can make me so
    angry sometimes. However, I still continue dialogue with them, and
    we actually have been able to learn from each other. I can place a
    face to those who think differently than me, and it is helpful. It's
    part of freedom of speech. Part of speaking is listening.

    As I struggle with this within the politics of my own troubled
    country, I encourage my Turkish friends and family to do the same. I
    love my adopted country and have seen many positive changes over
    the years. Change starts from the bottom and works it's way up, in
    my opinion. A change in your daily conversation can and will make
    a difference. Hiding behind walls of ideals leads nowhere. Open
    your mind, open yourself to listen to other perspectives and share
    your views as well. These months after the Gezi birth are Turkey's
    postpartum. Let's see what transpires now, and whether people stand
    or sit. It's your choice.

    *Elle Loftis is an American expat, writer and mother living in İzmit.

    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-343840-rays-of-hope.html

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