Dear Friends,
You might remember my
latest update was posted late on Sunday night (Turkish Time) saying that
Facebook arrests have begun and that I was advised not to post anything opposing
the government and delete all my past updates. And a large group of us have
done just that. I woke up on Monday morning feeling furious! I was so mad at
myself because I gave into FEAR the night before; one thing I preach people not
to do and convince them that it is just an illusion. So at 6 AM in the morning
I wanted to write this note on my wall. But I chose to wait. Anger and fury are
also part of fear and I pulled myself back from everything I witnessed through
the screens of my TV, my laptop and friends. Then I had to accept that I am
human, we all are and we are allowed to make mistakes, and then relief came.
So please let me back
up a little and explain you the events that are happening in Turkey since
Saturday. Some of you might be aware and some not. After negotiations with the
Prime Minister, the protest groups relaxed a little seeing some small hope of
peace and they were actually preparing to scale down the protest in Gezi Park.
So everyone in a celebratory mood and this being the weekend, the Gezi Park and
Taksim square was packed with all kinds of people including elderly, children
and tourists. At around 8PM while there was a concert in the park, people were
warned to empty it and within minutes the attack started. Now I can tell you about
the following 36-40 hours of torture this nation went through in detail and I
contemplated long about posting one of the hundreds of footages of unarmed,
peaceful people being beaten by groups of policemen, gassed grandparents,
children losing their parents in mayhem, residents being gassed in their own
homes, hotels, restaurants, chemists, hospitals and first aid centres being
attacked and all sorts of violence you wouldn’t dream of. And I decided not to
ruin your day just like it has been ruining our lives for the last 4 days.
Please just know that we became a battered, bruised nation over the weekend
both physically and psychologically.
