Suicidal Turkey

BELGİN AKALTAN - belgin.akaltan@hdn.com.tr

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Why do we do this? Is it that we like to torture ourselves? Is it that we like pain? Are we masochists who strive for sorrow, pain, humiliation, destruction, poverty, violence and death? Do we have such low self-esteem that whenever we are near to some form of happiness, we sabotage ourselves? 

Why on earth do we love lies and lying politicians so much? Why do we credit hypocrisy so much? Why are we so attached to power, our positions, seats and political supremacy that we miss the essentials? Is it a disorder that goes back to the Ottoman times when the sultan was always right?   

Are we not able to see what “the state” is actually doing? We have been indoctrinated, since our childhood, to worship our state, its inseparable integrity and we grew up to be ready to sacrifice our lives in order not to give one inch of the homeland… Do we see now, how this thinking brought us to these days? 

Why are we so dumb and why is the state so wrong? 

Alhamdulillah (an Arabic phrase meaning “All praise be to God”), we are all Muslims. Well, there are other religions on this earth also. There are atheists who we hate the most. If we are able to say “Alhamdulillah, we are Muslims,” then another person should be able to say, “Alhamdulillah, I am …” It shows the content with our belief, just like a Muslim or any other faith.  

Alhamdulillah, I was born a Muslim but I am not so sure what I am now… 

Alhamdulillah, to that as well.  

Why is our religion so horrific now? Why don’t we – the modern Turks –not practice it? Is there something in this religion or, more precisely, is there something wrong in the practice of this religion that it looks less and less like a religion? 

Religion is for love, unity, better lives, peace, good deeds, etc. And the practice of my religion is like anti-religion. I hate what I see as Muslim all around me. Why? 

There is so much negativity, evil, stupidity, stubbornness, pain, death, bombs and bad decisions all around us that one wants to change everything, quit… 

Turkey is suicidal these days; it is going through a self-destructing atmosphere. Our religion, our social values, nationality, fraternity, love for life, wisdom, democracy, our parliamentarian system, the state, justice, security are all shattered to pieces, with an economic crisis knocking at the door. One man’s ambition is pushing us to total disaster and we are all running toward the edge of the cliff. 

We will jump all together. 

Terror is back. It is here once again, with killings, fights, clashes and the gunning down of people on the streets, on the mountains, on rural roads. 

All of this is a repeating nightmare; we have seen this before. We are back to square one after tens of thousands of deaths, much pain and sorrow, with unmeasurable economic and spiritual destruction.

With so many horrible things, unimaginably evil things happening right south of our borders, we look very calm. We are discussing other things here, on this side of the border. It is like the Byzantium clergy who were discussing the gender of angels while the city was falling in 1453. 

Is there a world police we can call? “You guys are wiser than us! Help! Do something…”  

We enjoyed a short peace and now both sides are searching for a solution through military means. That’s why we are suicidal. Have we not learned for years that fighting, violence, bombing, ambushing, terrorizing have not helped solve the problem a bit. After so many years, we are back to the beginning, with politicians acting irresponsibly, voters acting foolishly, extremes on both sides drooling gleefully in the deteriorating atmosphere… 

Let us see whether we show, as a nation, the symptoms of suicide. Here are the warning signs:  

• Talking about suicide: Check. 

• Amassing the means to take your own life, like buying a gun or stockpiling pills:  Oh, yes, we are doing that. 

• Withdrawing from social contact and wanting to be left alone: That surely goes for us, with our very successful foreign policy.    

• Having mood swings; emotionally high one day and deeply discouraged the next: Oh yes. 

• Being preoccupied with death, dying or violence: This can’t be truer for us. 

• Feeling trapped or hopeless about a situation: A big check.  

And so on…


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