I’m in one of Berlin’s most popular areas, the museum district and/or Museum Island, which Germans call “Museuminsel.” One of the most important museums on this island—and indeed in the world—is a museum we know well, called the “Bergama Museum” by us and the “Pergamon Museum” by Germans.
As a Turk, I obviously had to visit this museum.
And I did…
We visited this museum, where artifacts brought from Bergama in Turkey are displayed (some say they were stolen, though I can’t understand how they managed to steal works this large), together with our journalist friends who had set out from Northern Cyprus.
I’m not going to write about what’s in the museum, the magnificence and size of the works, and so on. Those of you who are curious can obviously find this information online. What I’m going to talk about today is something that happened when I left the group and indulged in an activity I enjoy very much: taking photographs!
Now, please imagine a classic tourist, lost in a museum, surrounded on all sides by magnificent works of art. Then imagine that this tourist is Japanese, since, as we know, Japanese tourists see the world through a single eye.
Anyway, I started exploring the “Bergama Museum” in much the same state, though I wasn’t Japanese, of course.
As I said, I was completely absorbed; whatever I saw, I photographed like crazy, eager to add it to my digital archive as soon as possible. As I happily took pictures, in a bit of a hurry, I put my hand on a stone right in front of me. A staff member gently tapped me on the back and told me not to touch the exhibits.
Can you imagine? You touch a historical artifact from your own country in another country, and a staff member from that other country—who has nothing to do with the artifact—tells you not to touch it. In that moment, I felt like saying, “Hey, these are ours, brother! Get your hand off my shoulder… And who are you protecting whose property from?”
Of course, I didn’t say it!
I mumbled something along the lines of “Sorry, brother” and moved away from that area.
I don’t know whether they stole them from us or not, but one thing is certain: they do their job properly. At this point, I’m not going to say things in the typical Turkish way, like “Look at them, brother, they’ve stolen our cultural heritage and now they’re making a fortune,” or “They took our historical artifacts! But look how beautifully they look after them. If they’d stayed with us, oooh, we’d have smashed them to pieces by now.” But that doesn’t mean I won’t criticize these kinds of thoughts…
I think this sickness of mistrust and admiration is one of our most serious social problems. Besides, the absurdity of saying “if it had stayed with us, it would have been this way or that” is as clear as day: If it had stayed with us, the “Pergamon Altar” would be in Bergama. Just like “Ephesus,” the “Salamis Ruins,” or “Bellapais”… And I think that would have been better! Because as you walk through the Pergamon Museum, you can tell it’s artificial, however faithfully they may have tried to recreate the original.
In other words, this is like cramming the Salamis Ruins into an indoor sports hall.
Would you get the same feeling?
Another one of our afflictions is the sickness of admiration… Saying “They did it” actually creates an incredible lack of motivation in us. We’ve even reached the point where saying “They did it” amounts to saying, “Well, they do it anyway, so why should we bother?”
But it’s high time we said, “They’ve done it; we should do even better”…
Hope to see you on Tuesday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful in traffic!
Peace! Day ---1.09.2009
It makes you want to laugh; how can we talk about peace when blood is being spilled all over the world?
How can you celebrate Peace Day?
Wanting peace doesn’t make peace!
Peace comes when you are strong…
Your strength provides peace!
Actually, the fish rots from the head:
On September 1, 1939, the Germans invaded Poland, and fifty years after this event, the UN accepted this day as Peace Day.
From a purely logical point of view, the UN may be right.
Commemorating the beginning of World War II—a war that saw genocides and atomic bombs begin to claim millions of lives—with a day like this may remind us that we must not go through those days again.
Do we think like the UN?
In other words, on September 1, do we think, “We remember the people who died in World War II, and we hope our world never experiences those days again”?
Oh, come on!
Do you think the occupying US soldiers in Iraq will think like that today?
Will they stop killing the children, young people, and elderly they are still killing right now?
And what about the Iraqis in the same position?
Will the Iraqis trying to defend themselves say, “Oh, it’s Peace Day today, let’s not kill any US soldiers” or something like that?
Will suicide bombs not go off today?
They will go on killing one another!
What do you think Israeli soldiers will do today?
Or the Palestinians?
Do you think they’ve reached an agreement among themselves that goes, “It’s Peace Day today, let’s not launch rocket attacks” or something like that?
Of course not!
They will go on killing one another!
And what about Afghanistan, Pakistan, East Turkestan, and so on…
People there, too, will go on killing one another!
And here, we will celebrate September 1, World Peace Day, savoring peace, without giving up our luxurious lives, remembering for a few hours that the world needs peace, with a few petty calculations, and by fooling ourselves a little…
Today we will ask for peace…
But without knowing whom we are asking for peace from!
Who is going to bring about that peace?
Some of us will be beside ourselves, saying, “Peace in Cyprus cannot be stopped!”
Some of us will call for world peace and be sincere in that moment…
And some of us will simply ask for peace, unaware of anything that might give the day meaning!
One way or another, peace will be demanded!
But from whom?
Whom are you asking for peace?
What does peace look like to you?
Hope to see you on Thursday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful in traffic!
Note: From now on, I’ll be writing on Tuesdays and Thursdays…
Don’t Say “I Want a Solution”! ---3.09.2009 Does constantly expressing a desire for a solution mean that you really want a solution?
Can you reach a solution by saying, “I and/or we want a solution”?
And/or has one been reached so far?
So who shouldn’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as an ordinary citizen, you put your personal rights and interests above everything else and don’t even consider giving them up in any way, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a civil servant, you don’t have the mindset of “How much more should I work for my state so that I can benefit my state and my people?”, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a tradesperson, you think only about your daily earnings, evade taxes without considering the interests of society and the country, fail to produce, and turn the economy upside down, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a member of the ruling party, you aren’t working to create a stronger state and a freer, happier people living in greater peace, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a student, you don’t consider that you represent your community, that your success will be your community’s success, and that you can benefit your state only as an educated individual, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a worker, you don’t take the quality of the service you produce into account and don’t do your job with the awareness that you’re doing it “to create a stronger country,” don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as the leader of a political party, you act without considering that your country’s strength also means strength for the political party you represent, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as an athlete, you don’t work with the determination to succeed despite everything and represent your country in the best possible way, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a journalist, you don’t generate ideas to build a stronger country and a stronger, more self-confident people, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a unionist, you put the rights and interests of the workers you represent ahead of your country’s interests, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a politician, you think about your personal political future and interests and use your country’s resources or your position unjustly, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a civil society organization, you don’t act in the interests of the people and the country without becoming politicized, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a farmer, you don’t produce for your country and create added value for your people, don’t say, “I want a solution”!
• If, as a …, you … …………………………… ……………… ………………… ………… don’t say, “I want a solution”! (Fill in the dotted part yourself. I’m sure you have a lot to write!)
Because if you don’t work for your country, don’t put your community’s interests first, and can’t begin your sentences with “we,” how can you possibly want a solution?
If per capita income in your country were $35,000 today, and the people around you were happy and at peace, do you think there wouldn’t be a solution today?
Or would we want a solution?
In other words, the ones who will bring about a solution are us, WE are.
In other words, what will bring about a solution is our creating a stronger COUNTRY!
And to do that, we must all work hard together.
We must work so that we can move on from a position where we try to persuade certain people to accept a solution and face their luxury of putting it off whenever they please, to a position where others try to persuade us and we can say, “We can put it off if we want, you know!”
It’s never too late for that…
Just as it’s never too late for anything!
Hope to see you on Tuesday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful in traffic!
Note: If you agree with me after reading all this, I recommend that you take another look at those around you who say they want a solution.
From Now On! ---8.09.2009
“From now on” is an assertive, and also very definite, phrase!
Unlike some words, saying “from now on” doesn’t give you the chance to backtrack…
For example, you can backtrack with words like “maybe” or “I think.”
But it isn’t right to backtrack after saying “from now on”!
There are things that prompt you to say “from now on,” and that is precisely why you’ve said it.
When you say “from now on,” you’re actually telling the other person that you’ve reached the end of the line, that this is a turning point.
In other words, saying “from now on” carries serious responsibilities of its own.
“From now on” also represents what has been lived through.
Things have happened, and they’re going wrong!
You say “from now on” about the things that are going wrong.
In other words, it means, “From now on, this is how things will be!”
It’s definite and clear!
Saying “from now on” means being determined.
A decision has been made.
From now on, things will not be that way!
They must not be.
Whether this change happens is directly proportional to the sincerity of the person who says “from now on.”
The person saying “from now on” must stand by it.
Otherwise, their “from now on” statements won’t mean much anymore!
Yesterday, my guest in the studio on “Noon News” was political scientist Salih Egemen.
In our interview, we found ourselves using this word constantly.
Because the state our country has reached showed just how important this word is for the country!
The people who need to say it most are undoubtedly government officials and the Prime Minister. It seems that it will be very difficult for the country to make progress in its current state!
This difficulty:
Requires quick and effective decisions to be made and for those decisions to be stood by to the end.
Do you think there’s anyone in government who will make decisions and stand by them, starting their sentences with the words “from now on”?
I guess we’ll find out in time?
Hope to see you on Thursday…
Pay attention to your surroundings, keep them clean, and please be respectful in traffic!