Nighttime protests 6/1/13

Something is happening here. Istanbul June 2013

“Something is happening here”. With these words I began posting on my blog. But quickly turned to Facebook. I have now collected these posts in one document. I decided to leave this unedited. The bad grammar and spelling are a reflection of the stress and tiredness. 

5/30 Today the English landscape and tomorrow Istanbul.

5/31 Istanbul.  First signs of trouble was my coughing. Turns out there was tear gas in the air. In the taxi we noticed people wearing scarves over their faces. The taxi driver took to the back streets to avoid the chaos on the streets. My son B's fiancée, Y, was waiting frightened that we might be caught up in street police violence. We arrived safely and all seemed quiet.

And then in the middle of night I was woken with persistent clapping, cheering. The neighborhood was alive with people banging saucepans, cars honking, house lights being flickered on and off. It seemed like the entire neighborhood was awake at their windows cheering on the street protestors.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cC8pSetzyg

Only one station on television is reporting what is happening. News is coming via twitter. Otherwise there is a news black out.

This started as a peaceful protest against the government's decision to shut down Gezi Park, one of the few green spaces in Istanbul. After four days the police moved in, burned tents down, tear gassed the protestors and violence exploded. This has now spread to Ankara.

There is growing opposition to the government. Recent laws banning kissing in public and recently a ban on Alcohol after 10am to 6am. So this is now much more than the initial environmental protest.

According to twitter the army has announced that it will not support police action. Again according to twitter police and their managers are resigning.

No sleep possible tonight.

6/2 It seemed a quieter night. The neighborhood did wake us up with banging and chanting. It rained overnight and that has cleared the air of gas. Nice to open the window. 

Curious dynamic in the surrounding courtyard of apartments. The epicenter of the violence moved into our general area last evening. You could hear crowds cheering and horns blaring. So women began leaning out of their windows bagging on saucepan lids in support. Quite a cacophony! After a few minutes a shouting conflict developed between two women. Some wanted the noise to stop. And so it escalated. And now the banging was a response to the other women in the courtyard. Insults were hurled. This was no longer a protest against the government but the intimations of civil war that could break out here.

Half the population supports this government and half hates him. 

The next morning all was quiet in the courtyard. The air was clear again, free from tear gas, the clamor of the night erased by the squawking of sea gulls. Feral cats live in on the tin roof below.  

This all started with the government threatening to cut down the trees in Gezi Park and replace the park with army barracks and a shopping mall! This appeared in yesterday's Istanbul newspaper. Quite sweet!

This all started with the government threatening to cut down the trees in Gezi Park and replace the park with army barracks and a shopping mall! 

6/2 Istanbul. Avery long day: Hagia Sophia, the catacombs, then lovely Turkish lunch and coffee. 

                                                                       






The city seemed quiet. Peace came with whirling dervishes. Then off to a boat to get to the Asian side for dinner with Y's father. And then the tension started. Very loud chanting: anti government, anti American, anti fascist. Incredibly loud, piercing. Scary and Numbing. Following dinner we took a boat back home. The vibe began to feel not good. We landed within 200 yards of big crowds and exploding tear gas. No way for us to get home so off in the opposite direction to stay with K. et al. Sitting on the balcony Skyping a friend and I smelt gas. This is a surprisingly stressful. According to the BBC this protest is an afternoon and evening affair.

Quite spent and exhausted! But safe and place to sleep. Off tomorrow before it gets ugly again. Prayers please for this city, this country, and this traveling posse!

6/3 Waking up to a glorious view of Istanbul. A jewel. 

                                                                        

Yesterday protestors cleaned up Tehsin Square. That seemed like such a hopeful sign. Walking away from the violence last night we encountered young people walking towards the protests dressed ready for violence. Some of them carrying gas masks, others with medical masks. Apparently if you smear a mixture of antacid over your face it helps with tear gas. So they were coming prepared. 

The Prime Minister continues to issue bellicose statements. Yesterday it was the evil of social media. The only 'news' we have is a twitter feed from people that Yaprak respects and trusts. No much to go on. No free press. Only one TV station is not state owned. And they are clearly operating an a shoe string showing old footage over and over. 

So here am I looking at the early dawn not knowing whether B, Y and I can get home by taxi. Most likely we can. The BBC reports fighting between protestors and police late into the night in Yaprak's neighborhood. Seems to imply that after 'late into the night' people went home to sleep. 

But living with this uncertainty and the rage and fear that is in the air is challenging. Most us live with such an assumption of basic security. When this becomes a question it is deeply disturbing at many levels. And somewhere the stillness holds all of this. Yaprak's father, a military man, has lived through three revolutions. None of them good he says. We don't know if this qualifies as a revolution. For sure if this is a revolution it is not being televised!

....Morning tweets are calling for a change of tactics. Strikes, perhaps a national strike, but an end to street violence. But I fear the genie is out of the bottle.

.....Still Later: You are in luck! One more post. Made it back. It took two taxis. The first did not want to enter last night's battle ground so we started walking through the residuals of last night's violence. Garbage everywhere, the street torn up, makeshift barricades, a dozen or so riot police cleaning up. We picked up a second taxi driver who navigated around barricades, going up a one way street the wrong way. No gas in the air, but in the ground. Eyes stinging. Then all of sudden we are in the clear. All is peaceful. We are home. This is a beautiful sunny morning. 

Apparently the PM is leaving the country to going to Morocco. Crazy. 

Time to meditate and settle before we venture out the airport. Love to you all.

....We attended a wonderful service with the dervishes yesterday afternoon. 

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex02Vm-WiTs

And then this appeared on Facebook! Seems iconic and so very sad.

                                                                           

             
                                                                               

 6/3 This sets out the context of the violence, the uprising.

This sets out the context of the violence, the uprising,the revolution, depending on your mood. NYTimes June 2 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/world/europe/development-spurs-larger-fight-over-turkish-identity.html

....We are eating a wonderful Turkish meal in on the way to marmaris. The plan is to sleep in tomorrow. The tension has dissipated. But it will take time for this traveling posse to unwind. Did I mention we are a pose of eight adults plus a 20 month old. It was so touching on the streets of istanbul. Young people heading to the front lines would stop and point the way to safety. They seemed very concerned about the baby. We were too. 

Thank you for all your love and prayers.

6/3 I was woken by the call to prayer at 4am. The voice calling to Allah was rich, deep and touched me. It is a live voice, not a recording. The residual worries about returning to Istanbul returned. How does one hold an celebration of an engagement between the flurries of gas and violence?

Last night we arrived after following short flight in the dark. We drove up a windy road, ended in a bumpy driveway. The stars were brilliant and seemed closer than usual. And the silence was all around. As we gathered with our hosts for glass of Turkish wine I could feel the layers of tension begin to ease. 

The only noises are the quiet murmurings of the baby and the crowing cockerels. The view is breathtaking. We are surrounded by hills, the last house in a small valley a few miles outside of Orhaniye. it is green here with pine trees. The contrast with the warren of windy, steep, narrow lanes in Istanbul could not be greater. The air is clean and still this morning.

6/4. There seem to be two hot spots in Istanbul. Since the clean up, Tahsmir Square has been a peaceful occupation. Yoga is now happening in the square. Besiktas is a major intersection of streets alongside the landing for many of the boats that criss cross the Bosporus between the two sides of Istanbul. This is the second hot spot and is the site of daily violence. This seems more like a mix of vandalism, young men out for a good fight, anarchists, and provocateurs. Apparently the police wait to take the offensive until the evening when protestors are tired and on their way home. And there are grave worries that the violence will be used as a pretext for much draconian measures by the government. Apparently the police retreat from Tahsmir square was the first sigh of weakness by the prime minister. No backing down until now. Yesterday the deputy prime minister issued an apology. Probably too late. Public sector workers went out on a general strike. Should be over by the time we fly back to Istanbul. 

Our problem is that we can't get back to Y's mother's apartment. Taxi drivers won't enter protests areas. I can't count the number of times we have failed to cross through this zone. So moving about takes planning and stress. 

Which brings me to taxis. They are the life blood of the city. They navigate with centimeters of clearing space. Here the rule of thumb is you launch into the direction you want to go and then deal with the squeeze of oncoming traffic. Taxis drivers are hated here, or at least it seems so. They will scam tourists into what is called the city tour! And you pay! One of our posse fell victim to 'magic tricks', a sleight of hand during the money exchange. Sixty lire mysteriously disappeared and retrieval was impossible in Turkish! Not sure if taxi drivers are despised more than politicians.

6/5 Yesterday we received an emergency email from the US State Department warning us to stay away from protests. We received the news after a blissful swim in the almost turquoise Mediterranean. The beachfront restaurant had wifi. Almost surreal. Fears coursed through the group. The posse is organizing itself to minimize our risks so we can actually enjoy Istanbul and most important, B and Y's engagement party on Sunday.

.... A report from a neighbor in Istanbul says the situation is quieter. We also hear that international news organizations are paying for photographs of injured protestors. So folks are now looking for injured people now. So the news continues to be totally unreliable. 

Another day of Turkish meals, swimming and sunshine. 

.....It is an interesting experience posting personally on Facebook. Usually my posts come from websites that strike my fancy. For the first time I am sensing the power of social media. How much do I write; how personal; how reliable am I? When I was closer to events I could feel that I was navigating around my own fears? I knew that loved ones were worried? Would this frighten or would the posts offer something of a picture of the situation. And then there were all your comments, the love and concerns. What kept me going was your interest about what was happening on the ground. 

Ending the day at a cafe with free wifi and a beer. The Mediterranean is 50 yds away. It is hot. We are safe, and having a peaceful time. Love to you all.

....This captures the difficulty of this nascent movement. There is a general feeling of surprise that young people care. Since the massive repression of the seventies getting involved in political action has been small scale and met with violent police repression. Even a taxi driver was singing praises of the young people protesting. The street graffiti is great. 'Have sex tonight', Fuck the sistim'...

 From NYTimes June4 2013: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/world/europe/istanbul-protests-started-over-trees.html

June 7th. An American blogging from Taskin Square:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/world/europe/istanbul-protests-started-over-trees.html

What is Happenning in Istanbul?www.globalresearch.caby İnsanlik Hali To my friends who live outside of Turkey: I am writing to let you know what is going on in Istanbul for the last five days. I personally have to write this because most of the medi...

June 8th We arrived back to Istanbul yesterday. And all seemed normal. The traffic moved in its usual chaotic manner, but it moved and the air seemed clear of gas. But this is not over. The prime minister returned to Istanbul yesterday and was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters. He is not backing down. So the fault lines are visible and so far aside for an apology for the police violence there seems no way for the sides to even begin a conversation. The occupation of Taksin continues. See the article below. The only sign of disturbance was the daily, evening chorus of banging, honking around the neighborhood. Quiet returned about 30minutes later. The good news is that we are all safe. Half the party including baby took off for Rhodes and will bypass the city entirely. And the engagement party is on! We have recaptured a spirit of love and celebration!

From the NYTimes June 7th http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/world/europe/in-istanbuls-taksim-square-an-achilles-heel.html?smid=fb-share

6/8 Yesterday we contemplated going to Taksim Square, but the local florist was very clear that it was not safe. Since the Prime Minister returned from Morocco on Thursday tensions have been rising. The protestors in the square are preparing for police violence. They have been stockpiling food and water, medical supplies in including vinegar-- for tear gas! They are building barricades in the midst of a peaceful occupation. Everyone I talk to is worried about provocateurs hidden among the protestors. 

Last night there were street protests in our neighborhood. We were on the Anatolia side of Istanbul enjoying a lovely evening with Yaprak's father's side of the family. Amazing Turkish food!! 
                                                                

Then on Y's twitter feed a photo of thousands of protestors marching through Besiktas was posted. We all looked at each other wondering whether we were going to encounter gas again on our way home. By the time we got home all was quiet. The protestors had moved onto Taksin square. 

It turns out the nightly chorus of protest banging happens on both sides of the Bosphorus. Y's family joining in.

There is something surreal about being with my future daughter in law and my son while they get haircuts in the midst of a serious moment in history. 

We are safe and the beat goes on!

Please forgive my spelling and grammar. It's a combination of tiredness and the weird ways this iPad spell checks. Maybe I have finally managed the correct spelling of Taksin square.

6/9 The propaganda war continues! This is a photo of the crowds greeting the prime minister in Thursday. But actually it is a poorly photo shopped photo, doubling the size of the crowd. 

I keep thinking of Orwell, especially in the light of the recent NSA revelations in the States.

http://listelist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sms-ataturk-havalimani-tayyip-erdogan-gezi-parki.jpglistelist.comhttp://listelist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sms-ataturk-havalimani-tayyip-erdogan-gezi-parki.jpg

Rumors today that there will be trouble in Istanbul. The photographer for the party is not coming. She does not want to drive through Istanbul with her car and all the photographic equipment. So much letting go in preparing this party. The scrutiny of international media will be crucial in the next while.

Last night violence was in Ankara, the capital of turkey. Amazing footage on the only television channel (Halk TV) showing what is actually happening. Protestors standing in front of water cannons, staring down the police. Such courage. It seems that the young people have woken up from the sleep of entertainment, video games and the Internet. All in the space of a week!

HalK Tv cannot advertise but they can show infomercials. They are poorly made. Last week it was about hoses that can unwind themselves when they get into a tangle. Now it is about Ataturk, the first president of this country who brought the first breath of democracy to the Turkey. He is a symbol of the uprising.

This is a report about life in Gezi Park, adjacent to Taksim Square before the police moved in later on Monday June 10th. So just as there was hope of talks between the PM and the leaders of the protest, the violence starts up again. Not very promising.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22848115

6/11 I am home after delays in JFK, pouring rain and mobs of tired travelers. Once above the clouds I was greeted with a sliver of a crescent moon. Such beauty above all the turmoil. 

Last night violence erupted again in Istanbul. Ben is staying on with his fiancee until her visa comes through. We all hope sometime in the fall. In the meantime they are heading south where life is calmer and safer. It is very hard to leave them behind.

I am tired and so glad to be home. All is quiet and peaceful. I am connected to this struggle and this new family. Love to you all. And may peace find its way into the hearts of all beings.

6/12 It is with a heavy heart that I read the news from Istanbul this morning. The violent action of the government will harden hearts. But the conversation cannot be stopped now. A generation of young people have woken up from their slumbers. The PM support comes from the marginalization of half the population in the previous regimes. So the fault lines run deep. The government is offering a curious mix of offering endless shopping malls and religion, state controlled television--the new form of Roman bread and circuses. This phrase originates from Rome in Satire X of the Roman satirist and poet Juvenal (circa 100 A.D.). In context, the Latin metaphor panem et circenses (bread and circuses) identifies the only remaining cares of a new Roman populace which cares not for its historical birthright of political involvement. Here Juvenal displays his contempt for the declining heroism of his contemporary Romans.[5] Roman politicians devised a plan in 140 B.C. to win the votes of these new citizens: giving out cheap food and entertainment, "bread and circuses", would be the most effective way to rise to power.

It was touching to listen to a young man speak of the awakening of his generation. Not all of course. Most likely the clamp down will be successful. But as I began this blogging something is happening. And it can't be put back in the bottle.

It is curious to be writing on Facebook as we learn that the NSA is spying on our communications. They are calling it big data. So big that they can predict with some certainty what our future actions might be. But I must say the democratic instinct in this country has deep roots, deeper than Turkey. Turkey has extraordinary history, tradition, invasions, conquests. It is beginning the messy journey into more consensual consciousness. And how messy, hurtful, frustrating it is, but until we can love our neighbors as ourselves, and relearn that over and over, we are stuck and in jeopardy. I wonder if this is my last post on this uprising. 

I am still very jet lagged and landing back into a very different life. So strange.

Photos of yesterday’s violence as the police retook Taksim Square.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22853007

And lest we forget these are some of the voices support the government. All must be included.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22861286

And yes the Turkish engagement celebration happened!!

Signing off with love, Alison