Letters and Articles
On this page we post recent letters and articles of interest. If anyone would like to submit a piece of writing please do so via the contact us page. Email me with the article and i will run my eye over it! Enjoy(many articles are again coming form the plough newsletter and the Starry Plough again massive thanks to all those who contributed).
Holidays in Turkey?
It is easy to say that Turkey is a country that does not care too much about Human Rights. We read about horror stories that come out of its prisons, police stations and military camps. The treatment of its own people who stand up to this oppression are unquestionable, political opponents still disappear and what happens to its ethnic minorities breaks each and every Human Right you could name.
Generally, Turkey gets away with these crimes because it has U.S. air bases in its country. Things have improved slightly lately, for instance the Kurds are allowed to wear their traditional clothes, speak and teach their language and dance to Kurdish tunes, all illegal until recently. These Rights were not given by the Turkish government out of the goodness of their hearts, they were given under pressure as Turkey tries to enter the E.U. and they are trying to make it look like they are “cleaning up its act” on Human Rights.
Apart from attending some protest meetings or embassy pickets, we are told the best way to help end this situation for these people is to boycott Turkey as a holiday destination. As the Hunger Strike continues, over 100 people have now died, and attempts to raise public awareness in Ireland about this, people are again being asked to look else where to top up their tans. This of-course is an ideal way to try and make a point, and as Ireland is the country where the first boycott took place, against evictions, we understand, probably more than most, that it can work.
About four years ago I went to Turkey for a holiday, this was at the height of the prison protests, and before I went, I had reservations because I was slightly aware of the protests and the Kurdish campaign. I seriously thought of changing the whole holiday over this, as the tickets were already booked before I knew where we where going, I went ahead with the holiday. I soon realised it was not a country to go on a family holiday, there was nothing for young children do, to me it looks like its holiday resorts are trying to be the new Ibiza, great for 18 to 25 year olds, anybody out side that age group will feel out of place. Though some men with receding hairlines trying to relive their youth, and looking foolish doing it or single women over 40 in bikinis that fit their teenage daughters, looking as foolish as they try to catch the eyes of the young Turks who call them “white chickens” makes me wonder why when people talk about the “sex trade” they mean “dirty old men” going to Far Eastern countries looking for young girls for sex, yet nobody talks about “dirty old women” going to Turkey looking for young men? Maybe it’s a sexist thing and I am still trying to catch up with “political correctness”? Who knows? Not me….
In Turkey people are going through what we in Ireland went through, state oppression, state murder, state imprisonment and people dying in state prison camps on Hunger Strike. In the H-Blocks ten men died, in Turkey it is ten times worse, and yet the world ignores their plight, why? In Ireland the world’s media watched on with our pain, yet where are the media with the pain that is still going on in Turkey?
Why is it when people mention Turkey two images come to mind? Depending on who you are talking to, it is, sun, sea and sex holidays, or state oppression and death. And never the twin shall meet.
So why should we boycott holidays in Turkey? Oppression, murder, torture and the imprisonment of dying Hunger Strikers? These are all good reasons to boycott the country by themselves. But let’s look at the alternatives for a holiday. Maybe Spain, but surely they have the same system as Turkey when it comes to political opponents, oppression and imprisonment of the Basque and Catalan peoples? Germany? But are they not guilty of Human Rights violations with “white torture” against prisoners and years of solitary confinement, against their own laws and European laws? Britain? Well we all know how many laws they have broken with civilians and prisoners, so the less said the better…. Surely Ireland is a safe bet for a holiday without offending anybody? Are you sure you want to bet on that? Ask some of our ethnic peoples and they will tell you how they are faced with state oppression and racism from people on this island. We are not squeaky clean when it comes to oppression and racism; we even deport Irish children….. But what really gets me thinking about this boycott, and I would support it totally, is the fact that the same people calling for the boycott see nothing wrong with going to the U.S. on family holidays, or worse still, “nipping over to New York” for St. Patrick’s Day and living it up for four days. Surely if you are against oppression, it is all oppression? If you want to boycott Turkey to hurt its economy to try and force change, why stop there? By going to the U.S. on holiday you are helping their governments’ economy, which helps build its military, which it then sends to U.S. airbases in Turkey, which are then use to bomb cities and towns in Iraq, which surely they are against? But I suppose they were not thinking of the bombing raids over Iraq as they drank their “green beer” in “Irish pubs” or walked around Disney Land with their families, helping, in their own small way, to pay for this war of oppression, but feeling good that they didn’t go to Turkey because of Human Rights abuses in that country!!!
To me they are hypocrites, but I am also one, I have not done enough to help people around the world, and I know I could do more. The clothes I buy are cheap, no doubt made in “sweat shops”, the food I eat is picked and packed, probably, by under paid workers. I understand we all have to live as best we can, do what little we can to help others. But to call for a boycott against Turkey because of its Human Rights record and ignore the biggest violator of all, the U.S., and help it economically in its war in Iraq, is wrong. Yes I do agree that there should be a boycott against Turkey, not just as a holiday destination, but also on holiday homes and property and all its products. Why is this not being called for? Is there a reason for this, after all we are asked to support the B.I.G. campaign, Boycott Israeli Goods, why not a boycott Turkish goods? Could it be because they don’t own any homes or property in Israel? Maybe I am being too cynical… All I am asking is why nobody is saying the same about the U.S., Germany, Spain or Britain? All played a part in the war of oppression in Iraq; all are violators of Human Rights. Also let’s not forget the part our own country is playing in the Iraq war, Shannon airport is used day and daily by the U.S. as its war planes make their way to Iraq, and of-course our own governments Human Rights abuses against our ethnic peoples. So as I sit here and ponder where in the world I should go to top up my tan without helping a government that is not an oppressor,
All I can think of is renting out a Sun bed, not as much fun as a holiday, but me in bathing shorts is a sight that no unsuspecting person should be exposed to.
But at this moment in time I will go anywhere were there are no middle-aged men and women trying to convince younger people that they are not middle aged because they don’t look it. Oh yes you do, and the young ones know it and laugh at your attempts to hide the fact that your hairline is now behind your ears, and ladies do this middle aged man a favour, get into a one piece swimsuit, believe me, those bikinis are for your daughters….
By Gerard Foster
bravenet.com