To Kill Kurdistan…

Dear Readers:

Life, in many ways, repeats itself. You might see an event that occurred in one country, and despite decades or even centuries passing, it reappears in another country, perhaps in a slightly different form, but with its essence unchanged. We are then left astonished by this surprise of history and the similarities it creates. If you wish, let's take a look at one of these similarities together:

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Alabama is the name of a state in the southeastern United States. In the 1700s, the lands of Alabama were a source of contention and even war between the French, English, and Spanish, constantly changing hands. The reason for this was its fertile soil, which was suitable for cotton cultivation, a highly sought-after product in those years.

From 1791 onwards, slaves were brought from Africa. Soon, cotton plantations (agricultural enterprises where industrial crops like cotton, tobacco, and coffee are extensively grown) covered all of Alabama. The number of slaves also continuously increased.

When the USA declared its independence on July 4, 1776, the Alabama region remained within US borders. Alabama gained statehood in 1819.

Between 1861 and 1865, the American Civil War took place between the North and the South. The 11 southern states, where plantations and slavery were concentrated, wanted to unite and form an independent state, but they lost the war against the Northerners, or Yankees. Although slavery was abolished on paper, it continued in veiled forms in southern states like Alabama. If we say that half of Alabama's population was enslaved in 1861, you will have an idea of how the institution and relations of slavery were identified with the State of Alabama.

The agreement made after the Civil War ended physical slavery (the buying and selling, punishment of slaves, etc.), but the prohibitions on Black people's education and voting rights were not touched. One of the states where this situation was most intensely experienced, perhaps even primarily, was Alabama.

NOTE: I am deliberately using the word "Zenci" (Negro). When Black people gained equal citizenship rights with white people (1964), the word "siyahi" (Black) came into use instead of "Zenci." The meanings and pronunciations of the words are as follows: Zenci: Negro (nigro); Siyahi: Black (blek); African American: Afro-American (efro emerikın)

By 1960, Black people in Alabama were deprived of fundamental citizenship and human rights such as voting and education; there was neither a resistance movement nor a study that would bring this issue to the attention of the American public.

It was at such a time, in 1960, that a white woman named Harper Lee (34 years old), working as an ordinary employee at Eastern Air Lines, published her first and only novel. The book, titled "To Kill a Mockingbird" in English, drew the attention of the American public to Black rights. The book sold millions; it ignited a silent revolution in American society. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. The film, starring Gregory Peck, also won an Oscar in 1962.

The author Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a lawyer. She herself enrolled in law school but dropped out. She had short periods of education at several universities. She started working for the airline company Eastern Air Lines, becoming a ground hostess in New York. Whenever she found the opportunity, she wrote down her childhood memories piece by piece. She compiled stories offering glimpses of 1930s Alabama (the author's memories from ages 7-10) and published them as a novel in 1960. Harper Lee's innocence in narration and simplicity in style led the book to reach wide audiences.

However, the main reason the book became famous was that it coincided with a period when the discriminatory policies against Black people were being questioned in American society, and the idea that a radical change was necessary was just emerging. In particular, the objective depiction of a tragic event from the 1930s in the book, where a white woman, beaten to death by her husband, instead of complaining about him, slandered an innocent Black man, claiming he raped and beat her; Harper Lee's lawyer father taking on the case to defend the Black man—in short, the uncensored portrayal of what happened in 1930s Alabama—brought Harper Lee extraordinary fame with perfect timing.

The fact that the discrimination against Black people was written about by a white woman, in particular, encouraged Black rights activists to take bold steps. In later years, Reverend Martin Luther King, who would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, organized a rally in 1963 called the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," attended by 250,000 Black people; he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Thus, the "Negro" era in America ended, and the "Black" or "African American" era began.

Harper Lee, interestingly, did not write another book. Her later book, "Go Set a Watchman," was written before "To Kill a Mockingbird" and dealt with the same themes, so critics did not consider it a new book.

Because the author published only one book throughout her life, suspicion arose among critics and the public about who wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird." However, when a letter found in 2006 unequivocally proved that the book was written by Harper Lee, a year later, in 2007, US President G. W. Bush honored Harper Lee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The author passed away on February 19, 2016, in Monroeville.

The reason "To Kill a Mockingbird" became immortal was its approach to the "NEGRO" problem with three fundamental messages: empathy, tolerance, and understanding. Unjustly, through slander, sending an innocent "NEGRO" to death or condoning his imprisonment was synonymous with killing the most innocent of birds, the MOCKINGBIRD.

KILIÇDAROĞLU: "THE WORD KURDISTAN IS DISTURBING"

Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Chairman of the CHP, attended a program organized by the Elmadağ Municipality on December 23, 2021. In response to a journalist's question, he uttered the following sentence: "I am also disturbed by the word Kurdistan. Have you ever heard such a thing from my mouth until today?"

He continued: "We have two red lines: first, the homeland, and second, the flag. These are our red lines. Apart from these, we sit and talk with everyone. Why shouldn't we talk? The flag is our flag, and the homeland is our homeland. Therefore, we want to live in peace in our homeland under this flag. We want to live together, we want to live in unity."

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An average reader who considers the two paragraphs above together will form the following conclusion: "Oh citizen! The word KURDISTAN is not only disturbing but also means betrayal of the homeland and the flag. If you use the word KURDISTAN, you become an enemy of the homeland and the flag. Make your choice! Either do not use the word KURDISTAN as a lover of the homeland and the flag, or if you use the word KURDISTAN, you must know that you are betraying the homeland and the flag as a separatist."

OH KILIÇDAROĞLU, DO NOT KILL KURDISTAN!

Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu! You might think I wrote this article because someone "incited" me. Do not make this mistake! I am the son of Mecit Hun. Mecit Hun, who began his "CHP journey" in 1959 as the CHP Iğdır District Chairman and continued it uninterrupted until his death in 1998, was one of the main pillars of Social Democratic thought in Eastern Anatolia and even throughout Turkey. As early as 1954, in his newspaper PAMUKOVA, published in Iğdır, he introduced and defended the concept of "Rule of Law," considered the most fundamental value of Social Democracy, to his readers. Mecit Hun meant CHP; and CHP meant Mecit Hun. Although I am not a member of the CHP (I am not a member or supporter of any party), I want you to know that I would not want to harm the spirit and identity of a party to which my father dedicated his life and for which he paid heavy prices. However, as a citizen, I consider it my duty to bring a truth to your attention. (Even though the CHP administration disrespectfully removed Mecit Hun from the CHP Iğdır Provincial Chairmanship in 1994 without any justification, Mecit Hun carried this ingratitude of the party in his heart until his death but considered it his duty to support the CHP administration appointed in his place.)

Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu! I did not write this article to make political propaganda for Kurdistan. There is no need for that! Nor did I write this article to remind you of Kurdistan's borders or flag. There is no need for that either! Whether Kurmanj, Zaza, or Yazidi, every Kurdish child in Turkey grows up hearing the word "Kurdistan" thousands of times, listening to the bitter history of Kurdistan thousands of times, and engraving this name into their mind and heart with a sacred feeling. Therefore, finding the word KURDISTAN "disturbing" is your problem, Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, not the Kurds'!

Kurds have not been "traitors," but they no longer want to be "NEGROES." What they want are their languages and identities. They fought heroically at the forefront of all wars. Maraş became Kahramanmaraş; Antep became Gaziantep; Urfa became Şanlıurfa. Have you ever wondered, Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, why the adjectives "Şanlı" (Glorious), "Gazi" (Veteran), "Kahraman" (Heroic) were not added to other cities in the Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, or Thrace?

Your party, the CHP, is a member of the Socialist International (SI). The SI states in its program: "The national, cultural, ethnic and religious identity of every man and woman shall be recognized and respected."

Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu, I invite you to adhere to the SI's program and to respect the name "KURDISTAN." I invite you to apologize to the Kurdish people for your unfortunate statement, which implies that "anyone who uses the word KURDISTAN is a traitor to the flag and the homeland."

Know this: if tomorrow our country, which we embrace with love as the "Republic of Turkey," enters a war with anyone, the Kurmanj, Zaza, and Yazidis will fight heroically under our glorious crescent and star flag, carrying the love of "KURDISTAN" in their hearts. This was the case in the War of Independence, the Korean War, and the Cyprus War, and it will continue to be so. Do not ask how this happens, because to understand it, one must be born a Kurd and possess a vast, unbiased mind. Turkey is desperately searching for a politician who can understand this reality.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has a beautiful saying: "We have a lot of politicians with small brains but big hearts." We have given up on brains, but we long for politicians with big hearts, full of empathy, tolerance, love, and understanding.

Looking at the history of the last two centuries; when we put together the unfortunate rebellions, pains, and tears, we see that "Kurdistan" is like a wounded nightingale. As long as you reject it, cage it, and distance yourself from it out of fear, the nightingale will not give you peace with its songs of unhappiness. Take the nightingale into your arms, love it, caress it, heal its wounds; you will see that Kurdistan is you; and you are Kurdistan. Only pain and tears separate you.

Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu! I would like to imagine you for five minutes as a 5-6 year old child in one of the villages where my tribe (Geloyîs) lives, for example, in Karakuyu village, connected to Iğdır Center. This child grows up speaking Kurmanji within the family. When this child turns 7, wouldn't they want to learn how to write the Kurmanji language, which they speak 24/7, in addition to our official language, Turkish? I am not talking about elective courses. This statement is an insult to Kurds. For Kurdish children to learn their mother tongues, Kurmanji and Zazaki, as languages of instruction alongside our official language, Turkish, is one of the most fundamental values of universal human rights. I understand that you find the word "Kurdistan" off-putting, boring, even frightening, but at least dare to declare openly, "When we come to power, we will undertake and implement education in Kurmanji, Zazaki, and other mother tongues as a state." Do not forget, the responsibility for every child who cannot read and write their mother tongue will be on your shoulders. This responsibility will settle like a dark cloud over your conscience. I can almost hear you saying, "The current political conjuncture is not suitable for this. We will lose votes! When the time comes..." The Kurdish people have been put off with these words for years. The fact that the right of Kurdish children to education in their mother tongue is used as political fodder by all kinds of political parties is another painful reality we face.

In the USA, NEGROES became BLACK, but in Turkey, Kurds who cannot write or read their mother tongue are still NEGROES…

Please love Kurds, along with the word KURDISTAN!

LET'S NOT KILL THE MOCKINGBIRD, Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu!

Sincerely,