hairgrip on the floor

losing eyes in a hotel room,
for most of the time disconnected
getting blind by the day,
getting drunk by despair
a hairgrip, dropped beneath the bed by chance,
forgotten,
forlorn,
to be found out,
and to be worn forever.

losing faith everyday,
leaping over and over again,
over the rainbow on every chance
that the girl next door points out
on the bleak horizon, the darkest
darkest of the nights to be spend
alone,
in the losing eyes room
of the hotel
that the girl next door
dropped her hairgrip by chance.


(A very happy new year for all my readers, wherever and whomever they are. Hope 2008 would be a better year for us all)

4 the new year

everybody knows


Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu

Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Leonard Cohen (I'm Your Man)

A Moment In Paradise*

That May morning that Greek troops were landed on Kordelia on the third decade of last century in Smyrna, vast majority of citizens were there to greet them. They were waiting for that moment for generations. Greek Government ready with its carefully studied Asia Minor Politics, started an integration plan immediately. This plan with its economical and political aspects aimed to integrate Christian. Muslim and Jewish communities of the city under a multi-ethnic consensus about the commercial and social life of the city so distinct in many aspects. The Greek army was introduced as peace keepers and it was made clear to the city council, representing all communities of Smyrna that, immediate replacement with the soon to be formed local police is imminent in a very near future. All members of the army were cautious on their treatment of locals in and the people of surrounding towns of Smyrna. Rumours have spread, even among Muslim population of Asia Minor that this government was among the best they've seen ever. Only within months, an unseen social harmony was achieved, Muslims, Christians and Jews alike went by their daily businesses as if nothing happened. The only problem that the governor was facing was due to the very peculiar way of living habits of the city: drunkenness, tavern brawls and street fights among local hoodlums.

However in the rest of Anatolia, another kind of fire was burning. Constantinople, once the center of two civilizations, was under occupation, and Turks everywhere were organizing themselves to liberate their homeland of 700 years. Meetings were held in many major cities and local leaders gathered to discuss ways of obtaining International support in forms of diplomacy, weapons and basic needs of the long starving population. A newly found socialist republic was interested in her southerly neigbor's nationalistic aspirations. The relations between Russia and Ottoman Empire was a sour one historically. Two imperialistic neigbors had always a dispute among them, but newly found republic found a opportunity for a new strategic friendship with Turks.

Nationalist movement was not a new concept among Turks. Unity and Advancement Society (Young Turk Movement) with its roots among Turks from Thessaloniki and Constantinopolis even had some government experience in the files and ranks of the old Empire. Dissidents and followers of that society alike found themselves new possibilities in a nationwide movement to start up a new republic based on Turkish identity. However they had a great problem at hand. Asia Minor was more ethnically divided than any geographical area where a nationalist movement had any hint of success in history. In the meetings they held throughout Anatolia, and after hours of brainstorming they came up with a brilliant idea based on the recent events. Just a few years ago, the dying Empire was able to protect its vast Armenian population by succesfully protecting them against their brothers who were in arms with Russian invasion army, and against Turkish bandits that were destroying remote Armenian villages. They based their new vision on this piece of history. They would go about and embrace every little group of people in Anatolia to form a new identity for a new republic purely based on millenium old civilization that existed in Asia Minor: Federal Democracy. No first among equals, but a strong state based on values and traditions of major ethnic groups, namely Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Kurds and Jews. The eyes of their leaders were shining; they have discovered the secret to save all mankind!

Their military movement followed the same path of vision. With the help of armaments sent by Soviet Republic, and the bravery of the people they have won the war, but were careful on the welfare and protection of their future citizens along the way. Finally they took back Smyrna. Again commotion were on the streets. This time there was again a new hope in the air. The city was excited to be a part of that new kind of state. The religious leaders as well as many Italians, Americans and others that were inhabitants of the city back then gathered up with Turkish authorities to form the first modern city council in Asia Minor immediately. The city, once more was an attraction to the people many surrounding towns and islands. Numerous people moved in to increase the population of this new metropolitan magnet to one million people in a matter of few years. In 1923 only 400,000 Greeks were living in Smyrna with 300,000 Turks and 150,000 Armenians. Today the city hosts more than 1,000,000 Greeks, 1,500,000 Turks and second city with biggest Armenian population in the world with over 1,200,000 Armenians.

Yes, this was a dream. Yes this was a description of paradise. But just think about it. Why did it have to happen otherwise? Whose fault is it? Can human kind be so wrong in its every deed? Does it have to be just one single moment in paradise?

(*)Paradise is also the name of a quarter at the turn of the century Smyrna.

The Affair at Agia Triada

It' a small church in Bahariye quarter of Anatolian Constantinopolis. Well preserved by local supporters and very unlike many churches in Asia Minor that share the common fate of destruction by ignorance.

Anything about it is hardly news. Small community, a young priest and a family of carekeepers. However a recent attack highligted this small church in the hearts of many Christians living in this neck of the woods and abroad.

In almost one month, just after the celebrations of Christmas holidays and Epiphany, it will be January 19th. The first anniversary of Hrant Dink's(1) murder. It has been almost one year since an Agos(2) cartoonist renamed his corner as "I want to go back in time before January 19th". One would expect in one year, since the assasins were caught immediately after the murder, they would be sentenced, and precautions were taken to protect at least minority leaders of the land and the affair would have come to a closure both in courts and public conscience.



Well, just the opposite is what happened. The accused are benefiting from exemplary treatment from authorities, a conviction is still far away although many relatives and friends of the deceased are one way or another convicted of an archaic law code named "301", and both suppression and attacks against minorities are intensified heavily. Many minority middle school kids go to school everyday under the veil of fear, clergymen are afraid of their lives on a daily basis. In fact four of them violently massacred and one recently kidnapped.



Here, I wish to center the attention of my readers to the latest act of vandalism. At Agia Triada, two "drunk men" according to some media(3) "entered the church and started to break windows, kick the furniture around, and one even hurt himself trying to break the windows of the main entrance door. Then carekeeper's wife came upon and asked them to leave, they ignored her and kept doing what they were doing. Then she called the cops and they came and took the attackers to the hospital." (Since one of them was hurt) The story also tells us how one of the attackers followed her to her residencial quarters, and how there were blood stains on its door. And how they -at least- verbally abused the elderly woman.



In Turkey, the existence of Ecumenical Patriarchate fools many outsiders, but the country has very few Greek Orthodox citizens and even less Greek Orthodox churchgoers, and even lesser number of Greek Orthodox churches. In Smyrna for example, despite a small Greek community, there are no ongoing Orthodox services provided for these. And any attack against such a small, socially insignificant, repressed and scared community should be significant sociologically.



And the outcome is in fact sociological reality. One should but notice the deepening hatred in the common man against "the others". In Turkey "the others" could be anybody during a daily confrontation. The Other can be the police if you are driving drunk, or a Kurdish grocer if you are sentimental about terrorist attacks by PKK (Kurdish Liberation Army), or an Armenian journalist, or a Greek father if you are a mainstream Kemalist(4) and so on. But the constant is, there is always "an other" for any Turk living in this country. It would be far fetching to analyze the reasons for that in the scope of this article, but one could easily speculate about the effects of 80 something years of education in this country that promotes the illusion that Turks in the history were always right and righteous while every other nation or ethnic group were wrong or wrongdoers against Turks!



Everyday life is simply determined by that fact. Social anarchy and confrontational behavior is obvious in daily interactions and many live their lives in oblivion. Some see Islam as a way out of this vicious circle and to attain peace, some believe in excessive economical welfare for one's self to fend off the daily disturbances of life, but the vast majority of the population is helpless. Helpless even against themselves.



One should recognize all the facts when exploring political attitude towards a nation, which deserves full attention of all International institutions, since it is one of the largest populations of Eastern Europe and might as well be one of the main braking points of a future conflict in the Middle East.

(1) Hrant Dink was a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist and writer.
(2) Agos is a weekly newspaper published in Constantinople in Turkish and Armenian, founded by Hrant Dink.
(3) The news of the attack appeared only in marginal or minority media. Mainstream media turns a deaf ear to all atrocities against minorities in Turkey.
(4) Kemalist is a word depicting a person believing in the official doctrin of Turkish Republic and sees everything against the official truth as a threat against the Republic. (After the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal)