Gezi benim için ne ifade ediyor?*

Gaz ve Duman

Geçen hafta, Türkiye'nin güneyinde bulunan Hatay şehrinde Ahmet Atakan'ın eylemler sırasında hayatını kaybetmesi üzerine İstanbul da dahil olmak üzere Türkiye'nin birçok şehrinde eylemciler yeniden sokaklara döküldü. Gezi eylemlerinden farklı olarak polisle eylemciler bu sefer Anadolu kıtasında bulunan ve tarih içerisinde sol protestolara birçok kez ev sahipliği yapmış, seküler bir semt olarak kabul edilen Kadıköy'de karşı karşıya geldiler. Hükümet eylemcileri sık sık provokatör olarak ilan ederken polisin Kadıköy'de göstermiş olduğu aşırı sert müdahalenin de provokasyona yol açtığı açıktır. Son bir hafta içerisinde polisin bu semtte eylemcilere karşı gerçekleştirmiş olduğu sert müdahalenin, Kadıköylülerin Taksim'deki protestoları desteklemesine yönelik karşı bir atak olduğu söylenebilir. Çünkü önceleri Kadıköylülerin sık sık Taksim'de eylemlere katılmasına rağmen polis, şu ana kadar Kadıköy'de gerçekleştirilmiş eş zamanlı eylemlere müdahalede bulunmamıştı. 

Kadıköy'deki arka sokaklarinda

Diğer yandan Kadıköy’de olanlara dair bilgisayarımdan an be an ulaşarak öğrendiğim bilgileri anlayabildiğim en iyi şekilde Twitter'dan paylaştım. Haliyle bu durum bana kendi mahallemi anımsattı. Çünkü gezi eylemleri süresince benim mahallemde çatışmaların gerçekleştiği başlıca bölgelerden biri haline dönmüştü. Seyahatten döndüğüm günün sabahı polisin Gezi Parkı'nı eylemcilerden geri aldığını öğrendim. Mahalleme döndüğümde TOMA ve biber gazı tüm sokağı kaplamıştı, sanki bir savaş alanıyla karşı karşıyaydım. Endişemi gizleyemiyordum çünkü çocuklu aileler sokakta köşelerde sıkışıp kalmışlardı. Ayrıca mahallenin büyük bir kısmını yaşlılar oluşturuyordu.

Şu anda New Yorktayim ve bu nedenle Gezi eylemlerinden tamamen farklı olarak Kadıköy'de gerçekleşen eylemlerle aramda bir mesafe var ve kendimi koruyabiliyorum. Bu durum Gezi eylemlerinin neden koca bir yazımı işgal ettiği sorusunu kendime sormama neden oldu. Doğrusu durum apaçık ortada, eylemler etrafımda olup bitiyordu. Bu nedenle gece gündüz Gezi olaylarına bizzat tanıklık ediyordum.

Gezi olaylarına karşı bu kadar takıntılı olmamın en bariz nedeni ise İstanbul'un on yıldan fazladır benim evim olmasından kaynaklanıyor. Neredeyse hayatımın dörtte birini bu şehirde geçirmiş bulunuyorum. Her ne kadar düzenli olarak New York'a gidip geri dönsem veya İsrail'e gitsem de İstanbul'da bulunan ve çocuğumun ilk yıllardaki anılarını; el emeği biblolarını ve geçmişten bugüne fotoğrafları barındıran dört duvar ev, yakın arkadaşlarımın ziyarete geldiği ve komşularımla paylaştığım bu apartman benim evim. Birkaç ayda bir gidip gelmeme, 5 kat boyunca bavulu aşağıya inip çıkarmama alışmış olan komşularım. Zamanla ben onlara alıştım, onlar da bana.

Daha önceki yılları ve İsrail'e gidip geldiğim iki kısa seyahati saymazsak Gezi olayları gerçekleştiğinde bir seneden daha fazladır İstanbul'daydım. Hayatı boyunca durmadan ve sürekli göçebe gibi yaşayan biri olarak İstanbul'da bulunduğum bu dönem, hayatımın en huzurlu dönemlerinden biriydi. Ta ki Gezi olayları başlayıp bu sakinliği ve huzuru bir anda bozana dek.

Tüm olay ve kötülüklerin patlak verdiği 31 Mayıs akşamından hemen önce şans eseri kendimi İstiklal'de eve dönüş yolunu ararken buldum. Girdiğim ara sokakların duvarlarında biber gazı kapsüllerinin bırakmış olabileceğini düşündüğüm izler vardı. İstanbul'un sokaklarını çok sevdiğim Tel Aviv'inkilerden çok daha iyi tanıyorum.  New York sokaklarından bile çok daha güzel. İstanbul ile tanışmama karşıma şans eseri çıkan bir iş fırsatı vesile oldu. Kanunlar tarafından yasaklanmayan ve girilmesi engellenmeyen; ait olmak için bir pasaporta veya oturma iznine sahip olmanın gerekli olmadığı sokaklara büyük bir tutkum var. Ancak zamanında kızımı bebek arabasıyla gezdirdiğim, ona bisiklete binmeyi öğrettiğim, yarı sakin Pazar günlerinde gezintiye çıktığım, diğer insanlarla paylaştığım bu sokakları inanılmaz büyüklükteki gaz bulutları altında görmek beni derinden sarstı. 

En çok şaşırdığım durumlardan biri de ikinci evim gibi olmasa da düzenli olarak ve çok severek gittiğim Beyoğlu'ndaki barın çok yakınında gerçekleşen çatışmanın ortasında kalmaktı.  Bar, eylemler süresince bazen geçici hastane görevi görüyordu. Bir haftasonu, plastik mermiyle sırtından yaralanmış bir kadın ve birisi polis tarafından dövülmüş, biber gazı kapsülünün bacağına isabet etmesinden dolayı yaralanan bir eylemci de içeri girdi. Barmen herkesin güvende olduğunu anladığı an kepenkleri tamamen indirerek tüm ışıkları kapadı. Herkeste polisin bir anda içeriye dalıp olası gözaltılarda bulunabileceği korkusu vardı. Diğer yandan eylemler süresince iki kez turistleri çatışmaların ortasından kurtardım. Bir sefer de İstiklal Caddesi'nde her yer biber gazıyla sarılı ve polislerle çevriliyken Mısırlı bir anneyle olanlardan çok korkmuş olan kızını o ortamdan dışarı çekmeyi başardım. Bu durum bana yalnız eylemcilerin değil aslında herkesin güçsüz ve sakat bırakıldıklarını, korku ve öfke içinde olduklarını ancak hiçbir şekilde meydan okumayı elden bırakmadıklarını göstermiş oldu.

Benim için Türkiye'deki siyasetin Gezi'ye karşı olan tutumumla cok az ilgisi var. Kişisel kanaatten çok daha önemli olan bir şey var o da herkesin düşüncelerini engellere takılmadan açıkça ifade edebilmesidir. Bu düşünce ve konuşma özgürlüğüdür. Bu yaralanmış masum insanları savunmak, biber gazından fenalaşan yaşlılara yardım etmek, polisin göstermiş olduğu orantısız güce karşı ayaklanmak, eylemlerde hayatını kaybedenlerin önemsiz olmadığını göstermek demektir. Bir Türk vatandaşı olmasam bile, Gezi olayları bana, neredeyse tüm zamanımı burada geçirdiğim ve gönülden bağlı olduğum bu ülkede yaşananlara karşı kayıtsız kalamayacağımı göstermiş oldu.

Evet, Gezi benim için kişisel, oldukça kişisel bir durum.

*Bu makalle inglizce'den tercüme edilmiştir
http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-does-gezi-mean-to-me.htm

For my articles on Gezi Park Protests see the following links:

Haaretz

"With One Voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign!" (artilcle appears in entirety on my blog, or Haaretz's website) 

http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/09/with-one-voice-they-yelled-erdogan.html -or-http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.527192

Radikal

"Erdoğan istifa diyenler ne istiyor" (Haaretz'den tercumesi)  http://www.radikal.com.tr/yorum/erdogan_istifa_diyenler_ne_istiyor-1136142

Todays Zaman

"The Twitterization of the Gezi Park Protests" http://www.todayszaman.com/news-319990-the-twitterization-of-the-gezi-park-protests-by-louis-fishman-.html 

"The Gezi Park protests, the Middle East, and the secular-religious divide," http://www.todayszaman.com/news-318406-the-gezi-park-protests-the-middle-east-and-the-secular-religious-divide-by-louis-fishman-.html

Istanbul-Tel Aviv-New York (my blog)

"A Monday night Stroll from Besiktas to Gezi Park," http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-monday-night-stroll-from-besiktas-to.html 

"Update from Istanbul: Has teargas become a Saturday Night Ritual," http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/07/update-from-istanbul-has-teargas-become.html

הארץ

http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/world/middle-east/.premium-1.2035196  "זה לא רק הפארק: המפגינים באיסטנבול רוצים דמוקרטיה"

===================================

FOLLOW ME on TWITTER @istanbultelaviv for more on whats happening in Turkey and Israel/Palestine, the uprising in Syria, and the Middle East at large.

What does Gezi mean to Me?

Photo of teargas and fire barricades in Kadikoy (photo circulating on net,
 please contact me for accreditation)

Last week, following the death of Ahmet Atakan, a protester in the Turkish southern province of Hatay, people took to the streets in different cities in Turkey including Istanbul.  For the first time since the Gezi protests, the Turkish police crossed the Bosphorus and decided to take on protesters in Kadikoy; a known secular neighborhood, with a history of leftists protests taking place. While the government often tries to characterize the protesters as provocateurs, it should be stated that the Turkish police’s violent clampdown on this neighborhood was blatant provocation; until now, Kadikoy’s protests had been left alone, and its residents often frequented the protests in Taksim. Indeed, the intensity of the police actions on the new turf can only be interpreted as a “payback” for their enduring support of the Gezi Park protests.

During last week, on any given afternoon, my computer was receiving live feeds from Kadikoy, and I was tweeting the information to the best of my knowledge. It sparked memories of the Gezi protests when my neighborhood was one of the centers of clashes between protesters and the police; in fact, the morning after the police finally took Gezi Park back from the protesters, I returned home from a trip to a TOMA (water cannon) and teargas on my street; it looked and felt like a warzone and I worried greatly for all the parents with children stuck there, and the elderly who occupy a great part of the neighborhood.    

On the side streets of Kadikoy
(contact for accreditation)

Now that I am back in New York, I was able to distance myself somewhat from the events in Kadikoy.  This was important since it gave me the chance to ponder on the question why the Gezi Protests occupied most of my summer; indeed, the protests were like a massive wave crashing down on me. Day-in-and-day-out I was living Gezi.      

The most obvious reason I was so fixated on Gezi is the fact that Istanbul has been my home for over a decade; almost a quarter-of-my-life.  Even if I have been commuting back and forth from New York, and at times from Israel (making it a lot easier in terms of distance), my four-walls in Istanbul are my home. They include memories of my child’s first years (her first shoes), a collection of pointless memorabilia (magnets from cities of the world), and artifacts from the past (the long forgotten photo albums). Indeed, this is a personal side that few know about, save for close friends, and of course my neighbors, who see me come and go every few months, as I lug my suitcases up-and-down the 5-floor walk-up.  They have long become use to me, and me to them.

Not like past years however, Gezi happened just as I had been over a year in Istanbul, making only two brief trips to Israel. For someone who has spent his life in a constant nomadic state this truly was one of my most relaxed periods of my life; a year filled with plenty of love and happiness; and, the Gezi protests broke this calm and serenity. 

By chance just before all hell broke loose during the evening of May 31, I found myself on Istiklal, Taksim’s main pedestrian avenue, trying to find a route home and every side street I went down seemed to be drenched with teargas. I know the streets of Istanbul even better than the ones in Tel Aviv, a city I adore, and much better than the ones in New York, a place where I randomly ended up due to employment; a love for the streets is not bound by law and belonging is not based one’s passport or by a resident permit. The same streets I saw under massive clouds of teargas are the very these same streets where I pushed my daughter’s stroller, and where I taught her to ride a bicycle. It is in also these streets I forged love and said farewell to other loves. It is in these streets I regularly take a stroll on semi-serene Sunday evenings. These streets are mine, and I share them with all who walk them.

A surprise to me was that where I encountered the violence up close was actually at my favorite bar in Taksim; perhaps not a second-home but a regular hangout for me. During the protests, it served at times as a makeshift hospital; on weekends, as teargas poured in, so did the injured-a woman injured by a plastic bullet on her back, an activist beaten black-and-blue by police, and a leg injury due to a teargas canister. And, once everyone was in safely the barman quickly brought the shutters down, turned out lights fearing a police raid that could lead to arrests.  Twice I met tourists who took cover there, and once I led an Egyptian mother and her panicking daughter from the bar once the gas settled and across police lines in the midst of battles taking place on Istiklal. For me, this side showed me that when push came to shove the protesters were left powerless, left with wounds, fear, and anger, but nevertheless defiant.  

For me, the politics of Turkey have very little to do with my stance on Gezi; it is much more about a personal conviction that every person has the right to express dissent unhindered; it is about freedom of expression, it is about defending the innocent people who were injured, it is about helping the elderly who fell down due to teargas, it is about standing up against excessive force used by police, it is so that the death of the protesters will not be in vain. Even if I am not a citizen of Turkey, Gezi showed me that I have invested way too much in the country to remain indifferent.

Yes, for me Gezi is personal, very personal.

For my articles on Gezi Park Protests see the following links:

Haaretz

"With One Voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign!" (artilcle appears in entirety on my blog, or Haaretz's website) 

http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/09/with-one-voice-they-yelled-erdogan.html -or- http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.527192

Radikal

"Erdoğan istifa diyenler ne istiyor" (Haaretz'den tercumesi)  http://www.radikal.com.tr/yorum/erdogan_istifa_diyenler_ne_istiyor-1136142

Todays Zaman

"The Twitterization of the Gezi Park Protests" http://www.todayszaman.com/news-319990-the-twitterization-of-the-gezi-park-protests-by-louis-fishman-.html 

"The Gezi Park protests, the Middle East, and the secular-religious divide," http://www.todayszaman.com/news-318406-the-gezi-park-protests-the-middle-east-and-the-secular-religious-divide-by-louis-fishman-.html

Istanbul-Tel Aviv-New York (my blog)

"A Monday night Stroll from Besiktas to Gezi Park," http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-monday-night-stroll-from-besiktas-to.html 

"Update from Istanbul: Has teargas become a Saturday Night Ritual," http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/07/update-from-istanbul-has-teargas-become.html

הארץ

http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/world/middle-east/.premium-1.2035196  "זה לא רק הפארק: המפגינים באיסטנבול רוצים דמוקרטיה"

===================================

FOLLOW ME on TWITTER @istanbultelaviv for more on whats happening in Turkey and Israel/Palestine, the uprising in Syria, and the Middle East at large.

With one voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign! (from Haaretz, June 2 2013)

With one voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign!

The message of the Istanbul protesters for Prime Minister Erdogan is that even if the Turkish government has one of the biggest stockpiles of teargas in the world, it cannot be used to silence those who oppose him.

*This article appeared originally in Haaretz on June 2, 2013; I am placing the entire text here since due to the paywall sometimes the link is blocked.

ISTANBUL - For the last two days, Istanbul’s main center, Taksim, and its surrounding areas, have been under siege due to a massive peaceful protest. Thousands of canisters of tear gas have been fired at hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters throughout the city, together with water-cannons spraying tainted water that burns the skin, all while the protesters screamed in unison, "Erdogan Resign!" While protests, and other forms of dissent, have been met with force in the past, there is no doubt that during the last year there has been a proliferation of the use of teargas, especially following the election of Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his third term, two years ago.

While the current protest originally was sparked over an urban renewal project, which included destroying the Taksim’s main park, the only green area in the immediate vicinity, and reconstructing to its former glory an Ottoman armory that once stood there on the park's ruins, the truth must be told that the current protest was much more profound than the campaign to save the seventy-five year-old trees of the park.

When the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) first came to power in 2002, under the sole leadership of Erdogan, many hashed out exaggerated claims that his party was secretly promoting a radical Islamic agenda; however, the majority of Turkish people never believed this. Not to mention that many Turkish liberals embraced Erdogan as an agent of change, as the one that could challenge the secular military elite, as the one that could bring new freedoms to Turkey. In fact, during the first few years, Erdogan ushered in not only the building of a strong economy, but also a period where civil organizations multiplied, with a genuine sense of change in the air.

Despite the bad record Turkey has had with jailing reporters, long detentions and trials for military officers arrested on suspicion of masterminding a coup d’état, and numerous students detained for years in prison for protesting, many liberals still placed hopes that Erdogan could shape a semi-liberal constitution for Turkey despite his very conservative views; something that in 2010 led Erdogan to a solid 58 percent victory in the referendum over Turkey’s new constitution (still in the works). Just a year later, in the 2011 parliamentary elections, he came very close to securing fifty-percent of the total Turkish electorate.

It was in the 2011 elections campaign that Erdogan clarified his goal of changing the law in order to allow him to transfer new powers to the presidency, and then run for president himself, allowing him to continue to rule in one way or another until at least 2023, the 100th year anniversary of the Republic. In fact, his ambitions are not confined to the issue of state positions; during the last two years, it has become evident that Erdogan is only interested in a one-man show, with him in the center. And having centralized so much power he has made his aims clear: To transform younger Turks into a 'moral' generation, while transforming Turkey into a major regional and world economic powerhouse.

From implementing policies encouraging women to have three children, to his goal to raise a 'moral' generation of youth that will sign up to his interpretation of what a good Muslim is, more and more Turks have become tired of a Prime Minister who promotes policies that interfere with their daily lives. Just before the protest began new laws were enacted aimed at curbing alcohol consumption in the public sphere. It should be clear it is not that so many Turks would be affected by the laws; even if drinking Raki (and beer to some extent) is considered by many as a Turkish pastime, actually a low percentage of them actually drink on a regular basis. Rather, it was in the very condescending way Erdogan related his disdain for those who do drink, inferring that they were all drunks.

Parallel to this, Erdogan’s personal dictation of the policies of urban renewal and of massive infrastructure projects have taken their toll on the Turkish population. It seems that no power is strong enough to stop a project that the Prime Minister supports; whether it is the third Bosphorus bridge, the new mega-airport, or the numerous dams that are flooding cities throughout the Anatolian heartland. In fact, it was due to this very reason that the Erdogan’s obsession to replicate an Ottoman armory, even stressing his wish that it be used as a shopping mall, irked so many, regardless of political affiliation or social background. As high rises replace shanty towns, and shopping malls blossom at the speed of flowers in the spring, the 606 trees at Taksim Park turned into a real issue for many.

Today’s massive protest in that sense were not a revolution; they were not set on overthrowing the government; the protestors' aim was to have their voices heard and to demonstrate that even if Turkey is a democracy according to the books, that a democratic system should ensure rights for all, as well as fostering a climate of debate. This point cannot be understated especially when it comes to the Turkish youth that - to a great extent - does not see eye-to-eye with the government’s conservative outlook. For so many people in their early twenties, the only Prime Minster they have ever known is Erdogan, and they long for a new reality where they can take part, contribute to their society, and not be considered hooligans for simply enjoying a beer. In fact, in the park protest, Turkey showed to what extent its youth want to be a part of making their home a better place.

Lastly, with the protesters now in Taksim Square, once the police barricades were lifted, it has shown Prime Minister Erdogan, and all of his government ministers, that even if they have one of the biggest stockpiles of teargas in the world, it cannot be used to silence those who oppose them. The protests are a strong message to Erdogan that a significant part of his society is frustrated with his arrogance, and perhaps gives him a signal that his wish to become President might not be that easy a feat at all.

Louis Fishman is an assistant professor at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Ths year he is in Istanbul working on his upcoming book on late Ottoman Palestine, and teaching Middle East history and politics courses at Okan and Sabanci Universities. He has lived most of his life divided between the U.S., Israel, and Turkey. Follow him @IstanbulTelaviv or on his blog: http://louisfishman.blogspot.com