Metransparent had published an Arabic translation of Ahmet Altan’s article written in the aftermath of the arrival of a peaceful delegation of PKK fighters to Turkey.
Today, our friend and Shaffaf writer Ayman Nassar sent us this English translation with the following:
I really enjoyed the article of Turkish journalist Ahmed Altan, translated to Arabic by Mustafa Ismail.
I found that it resonates deeply with us too.
If the Lebanese political fractions considered a similar approach Lebanon would prosper .
I am very impressed by the article I translated it for a British friend of mine, so I wondered if you would like the translation for your Shafaf English page too?
Ayman
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Countries at war for 25 years become accustomed to war, in a similar manner to that of a drug addict who becomes accustomed to his drugs. These countries develop ties with war. To convince the public, justify and legalize a war that has lasted 25 years, they heavily bombard the public with propaganda. The ‘enemy’s’ transgressions are chronicled.
The enemy is then despised in writings that declare them wrong in every single aspect.
When the public reads these writings and watch propaganda on TV, it becomes possessed by hatred.
Then a time for peace comes, and that’s when problems begin; because those who are supporting and glorifying peace now are the ones who had glorified war.
They become poisoned in exactly the same way a drug lord gets poisoned when he samples his own merchandise.
They turn from war to peace with arrogance. That is what we are now witnessing.
A large proportion of our media remains silent as we experience the biggest event in our recent history. They are now struggling to digest the idea of ‘peace’ just as they struggled to deal with and to understand the events that are gone and passed.
We are now working on getting people used to peace after being poisoned by leaders and media alike.
This is not only so on the Turkish side but also holds true for the Kurdish side.
As the Turks followed the funerals of their ‘Martyrs’ on television for years, the Kurds followed the funerals of their ‘Martyrs’ too. In the same manner that the Turks saw in their victims ‘Martyrs’, the Kurds saw ‘Martyrs’ in their victims too.
Each side despised the other side’s victims and each side believed in its own ‘rights’.
Now, each side will be defiant as it tries to accept a new life and a new peace as each side wants to declare as they accept peace ‘We Won’.
But peace is not like war. One side wins a war but peace is a gain for both sides.
So either we come together, both sides, and shout ‘we won’ or stand alone and shout ‘we lost’, because in this war there are no winners.
There is a winner in peace; it will be turkey, 70 million turks.
When peace comes it is not only the Kurds’ life that will improve. When the Kurds join in as equal citizens, we will have to correct all of our mistakes. The religious amongst us will also win. As the Kurds receive their rights and equality by democratic processes so will the religious, the leftists and the Alawites.
Along with the Kurds the religious, the Leftists and the Alawites will also win.
The Nationalist youth who cry out ‘Turkey is greatest’, who are the receivers of battering in police precincts by the police force of ‘Turkey the greatest’ will also be protected under the umbrella of peace.
The conservatives who, in fear, say “we will lose our jobs to the Kurds” and who have become prisoners to their ‘ethnic’ beliefs, will realize that ‘this country will suffice for all’ when peace allows us to prosper, when money previously spent on war is spent on life instead, when trade livens up and tourism prospers and when they watch their profits grow.
Then we will realize that the aim in life is not to maliciously rub the enemy’s nose in dirt but to live in a good, truthful manner, in happiness and wealth.
Now is the time to put aside the language we once used which we detested inside us, put aside the love of death and killing, prejudice and puritanical beliefs that our ‘race is purist’ and to put aside our fascination with hatred.
With internal peace (domestic), external peace (foreign) will develop and will add value to our lives.
Oil pipelines, trade agreement, new investments, will all set the foundations for a different type of life of stability and wealth that we do not know.
This country is experiencing a great transformation; yesterday was a transformation in the biggest meeting point.
This positive step towards the Kurdish affair will influence the nation in a very short time.
Our lives which were accustomed to hatred, our thoughts which were accustomed to animosity will be shocked for a short while, but we will pass this shock by as we witness positive things happen and as we understand it and feel it.
Just as a patient receiving treatment for addiction longs for his drugs, we will long for the reassurance of hatred even if we cannot find a source for it. Our lives will be better if we imagine the life we can have as we too are treated and as we gain strength.
We will reach peace and we will love peace.
N.b. This article was published in the Turkish daily ‘Taraf’ on Thursday 22nd Oct 09.