Aydin Inal

I am a father I am at home Outside, a very loud  And lights flare up and vanish suddenly And fear  In my children’s eyes And my wife, my companion  Tightly holding our daughter Yes, I am a father My son’s eyes are on me For the first time I cannot say “You are safe” Another sound Very close Dust all over Then more sounds People running Sirens Voices of women and children Screams of helpless fathers I am a father Holding my family So tight I don’t know What will happen next  I am tired Let it be... now And one more sound Then, light And silence No more shouting No more dust No more voices from anyone I am a father I have a daughter I have a son And my wife, my companion All looking at me They are smiling I am smiling  The fear is gone…  Now I say:  We are safe  *This was not intended to be a poem. Words just came when I was feeling the pain from injustice and suffering of especially women and children. 

Is Partial or Selective Peace Possible for a Cohesive Country? As you might have been following in recent days, there is rightful jubilation surrounding the PKK’s announcement of their dissolution, following a call by their founding leader, who has been in a Turkish prison since 1999. There is plenty of material — both written and audiovisual — available online for anyone wishing to learn more about the conflict, the underlying conditions, and how it escalated into an armed struggle. Like many states and political entities, Türkiye has often tapped into the power of the “arch-enemy” narrative, portraying existential threats to the nation. Numerous ideological, religious, and ethnic groups have been cast in this role over the years. However, the Kurds have consistently been treated as an out-group by the majority of “nationalist by default” Turks. Their pursuit of basic linguistic and cultural rights has been viewed as a threat to the Turkish character of the state by the founding elite...