ACTION WITHOUT SELF-INTEREST!
“Today, I’m not interested in the EU, the Cyprus issue, or domestic or foreign political developments.”
I have to admit that even as I say this sentence, I feel a sense of relief.
I fear we have focused so intensely on these events that even taking a moment away from them can bring relief.
Anyway, let’s leave this subject for another time.
Today, I’m going to tell you about a school...
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“If I said that a news story I read made me put everything else out of my mind for a moment, I don’t think I’d be exaggerating.”
What was the news story I read?
Let me share it:
(Tak 30/11/06) “Students at Sedat Simavi Industrial Vocational High School will hold up banners in front of their school and hand out leaflets to drivers from December 4 to 8, in an effort to help combat traffic accidents.”
Once again, I felt proud to be a graduate of an Industrial Vocational High School.
A wonderful initiative. Congratulations to everyone who contributed.
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But there are other things here that we should pay attention to and learn from.
One of our schools is taking action over a very important problem!
Just to bring a social problem to the public’s attention and draw attention to it!
And without any financial interest at all!
Don’t you think that’s unusual?
I mean, we’re not very used to this kind of action...
In our country, people are generally brought together to serve certain interests.
It’s surprising!
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By now, whenever I see news of this kind of action, I’ve developed a habit: my eyes immediately look for the officials of the teachers’ unions.
Especially since students are involved in this action.
But so far, there has been no word from the teachers’ union officials.
Well, the issue is a social problem...
If it had been a matter of changes to salaries or employment rights, then all hell would have broken loose, wouldn’t it?
They might even have gone on strike and refused to go into class...
Anyway....
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In the meantime, let me share the full text of the news story with you: “The first traffic action to be organized by the Sedat Simavi Industrial Vocational High School administration, with the support of the Traffic Accident Prevention Association, will begin on Monday, December 4, at 7:30 a.m.
The banner action, involving students in the scouting club and other students at Sedat Simavi Industrial Vocational High School, will continue every morning throughout the week.
At 9:30 a.m. on the first day of the action, Minister of Education and Culture Canan Öztoprak will also visit the school to show her support for the students.”
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I think there are many of our “civil society organizations” that should learn from this.
With this initiative, we can say: “So people can come together not only for their own interests, but also over our social problems.”
Until now, I can’t recall the civil society organizations in our country—with the exception of a few—taking action over our social problems.
So next week, you too should stop by, greet our young friends, show them your interest, and thank them...
Because they are doing something that is very rarely done in this country: taking action over a social problem.
Note: Some of you may think I’m making too much of this.
Don’t you think these very rare actions deserve to be made much of?