The Language of the Events

Events essentially speak. People considering of related events and questioning the meaning of experiences can speak the language of the events. Only those people may have a realistic evaluation about the possibilities in the near future. We live in critical times. The past is unprecedentedly quickly connecting to today and today to the future. It is so important to understand the language of the events in these times. Otherwise, events pass over you and you stand behind the passing time in bewilderment.

Three contemporary events are related with each other: Event 1: Selendi. In January, a group of people provocated some inhabitants in Selendi against the Gypsies living in the district. Common sense disappeared due to the inconceivable claims like "Gypsies attacked to the mosque and cursed to God and the Prophet". As a result of this, our brothers and sisters had to live their district. Thanks to the attempts of the officials, the pain was in some sense relieved. Event 2: Malkara. A person known with his unreliable behaviours was arrested with the claim of killing an old couple who are commonly loved deeply within the district. Thereupon, a group of people tried to provoke the relatives and friends of the old couple against the Gypsies claiming that the suspect was living in Gazibey, a district where Romani people live mostly. Interestingly, people were shouting similar slogans to the ones in Selendi: "Nation without God, Nation without Land, Nation without flag". Common sense of people in Malkara and the involvement of security officials prevented possible attacks against the Gypsies. People of Malkara showed that nobody can harm the brotherhood in their district.

We witnessed that a provocateur group takes a part in both events through attacking to religious and nationalist values of our community. They became partly successful in the first event, but they failed in the second one. The language of these events shows that some groups who use the language of racist and devisive terrorists in Balkans try to enter to our country. Why do the representers of this paralysed mentality, that has never been accepted before, try to access to our country now?

To answer this question, we have to look at the third event. It is actually not an event, a process. Our brothers and sisters in the Black Sea region have been facing serious economical problems. In the region, Gypsies have been working as seller, porter and shoeblack. On the other hand, people who cannot survive through agriculture or stockbreeding as before, have begun to leave the countryside, come to cities and work in these sectors. For example, in Samsun, our sisters were working as charwoman and earning money. But today, different groups of people are involved in this sector. So it became more difficult to work in this sector due to the competiton. Reportedly, this competiton sometimes results with tension. As they told us, working as sellers in bazaars as a Gypsy became more difficult. Since the local artisans are in the same economical difficulties, they do not want the people coming from near regions work in the bazaar. Gypsies who attend to work in the bazaar, face negative responses.

What does the third event tell us? There is a worldwide economical crisis. The effects of this crisis reflect to our country and a competition arises between the citizens since the sources and employment opportunities are more restricted. The undesirable sectors became popular. As a result of this situation, our community, who has been working in these areas all along, is evaluated as rival.

This is not typical for Black Sea region. Likewise, we receive some news which show that these kinds of conflicts are witnessed in Thracian region, too. Because the restriction of employment opportunities, citizens suspect from each other. The reason of the emergence of the provocateurs in the first and the second event is these conditions. As the unemployment is growing up, people blame each other for the difficulties in this period. The provocateurs who wish to set the citizens to each other use this situation through targeting our community, the poorest part of the society.

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All parts of the society are in difficulties in making a living and the poorest people are targeted by criminal organizations. As the crime rates are increasing, people blame our community due to the prejudices and superstitions. Unemployment feeds crime rates and cirme rates the reaction to Gypsies.

In the Balkans, these social tensions have being used by racist-devisive terrorism for 20 years. It is propagandized as the guilty of the unemployment and poverty was the Gypsies. Unfortunately, these propagandas succeeded. Crowded groups attacked to our districts in Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria. Houses were burned and many of our brothers and sisters died. Racist-devisive terrorists became more crowded. Like in Hungary, political parties supported by these groups have more representatives in the parliament.

Turkey was the only country in Balkans that these racist-devisive terrorists could not reach. Today, the economical conditions create an atmosphere that can be used by these groups. The language of the events shows that these people may go to action to instigate grudge and hate within our citizens. Perhaps, they are already in action. There is no benefit of ignoring it. The realities should be accepted and the ways of solution should be found. Otherwise, the events in Balkans may be experienced in our country, too.

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It is so important that the danger in Malkara has been got over according to common sense. In this respect, we would like to thank to administrative and security officials who had a vital role to prevent the possible attacks, to Ulaş Yurdakul, a brother of us who informed us about the situation in Malkara, to the people of Malkara who did not fall into trap of provocateur and to all of our courageous brothers and sisters for their prudent behaviour in spite of agitations.

I wish you a happy week.