Power to the People

Live Updates from Turkey, 7/30/13

I've been following the Live Updates from Turkey page on Facebook since the protests began in Gezi Park in Istanbul.  Having traveled there and made music and found friends among the Turkish people, I feel personally invested in this struggle for true democracy.  And that's what it is—the people are exercising their rights to free speech, freedom of assembly, full representation in government, due process of law, freedom of religion.  What they are getting in return is violent suppression.  The Turkish government is once again acting as a police state.

I am profoundly saddened and enraged by the government's flagrant abuse of power.  And I am equally inspired by the persistence and tremendous creativity of the protesters.  Football fans have messages on the backs of their shirts, skydivers carry signs of support, news items that go unreported by official news agencies are written on banknotes or recited on buses.

The most impressive aspect of these protests to me is how resolutely non-violent all actions are.  Despite constant attacks with water cannons and tear gas, the people refuse to respond in kind but instead march together or sing or dance or stand silently for hours, thus exposing the government's excesses in sharp contrast.

Iftar of the Earth, Istiklal Ave, Istanbul
7/10/13

No one need look any further than the Iftar of the Earth feasts held by the people of Turkey this summer for proof of the ultimate goodness of the human spirit, for evidence of grace beyond measure in a world of hurt.  As described in Live Updates:

Yesterday was the first day of the Muslim holy month Ramadan. Muslims went through 16 hours of fasting from dawn till dusk in the summer heat, and the fast was broken at sundown with an iftar dinner.

Hundreds of believers and non-believers brought their food and set up a "table of the earth" on Istiklal Avenue, stretching almost a kilometer (more than half a mile) long. The table was planned to reach all the way to Gezi Park, but the entrance of the avenue was blocked by the riot police and their water cannon. People joining the dinner shared their food with each other, passers-by, and street children. The leftovers were reserved for the stray animals.

I wish I could have been there for that feast!  The Turkish people keep finding ways to create beauty out of ugliness.  And thank God for social media—it's not just for self-absorbed prattling.  It can help change the world.