I have a dream of establishing a school of peace in Sur, the historical and poor centre of my hometown, Diyarbakır. About ten years ago, I was able to find the perfect place – a 19th century stone house, complete with a beautiful mulberry tree, which covered the entire residence. When I first saw the house, […]
On the night of April 10, after the Turkish Interior Ministry announced a 48-hour lockdown across 31 provinces, residents of the country’s major cities scrambled to the markets and bakeries to stock up on essentials. But in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, my hometown, few people were in a hurry to make last-minute purchases. This […]
It must have been the early 1990s, on the eve of the Festival of the Sacrifice. On my way home, the entrance to our neighbourhood was covered in blood, so I walked grumbling that, yet again, they had slaughtered the sacrificial animals a day early in the middle of the street. I skipped over puddles […]
Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala was taken into custody by police on Oct. 18, 2017. This date marks two years, without freedom, behind bars. ____________________________________________________________ It must have been 17 or 18 years ago when I attended that civil-society conference in Beyoğlu, central Istanbul. As I headed home after the meeting, I asked Osman Kavala where […]
Years after more than a dozen Turkish soldiers were taken captive by Kurdish militant groups, the soldiers have still not come home and there has been near-total silence about the case from the government and media. The summer of 2015 saw peace talks between the Turkish government and Kurdish nationalist leaders break down, triggering a […]
On September 11, 2016, Turkish authorities replaced more than two dozen elected Kurdish mayors with appointed administrators across southeast Turkey. Enormous Turkish flags were hung from the side of municipal buildings, which quickly became encircled by police and special operations teams. Perhaps authorities believed they would cover up their unlawfulness with the flag, and solve the […]