Patrice Riemens on Wed, 15 Apr 2015 01:58:22 +0200 (CEST)


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<nettime> Hayko Bagdat on: "We Should Have Shared Our Grief Like The


Hayko Bagdat is, after the assassination of Hrant Dink in front of his
newspaper's office, a powerful and influential voice for the
repressed/suppressed Armenian minority community in Turkey. There are
60.000 Armenians left in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul, but there are
something like 2 million Turks of Armenian descent, whose forebears
somehow survived the genocide of 1915, usually by being taken away by of
given for adoption to Muslim families. Thus they officially became ethnic
Turks and proper Muslims, even though all, to this day, know the
background facts  - but never ask nor tell. Some thaw is taking place,
however slowly. Former Turkish PM, now president Erdogan, made a good
start three years ago, but has reversed to the angry denial mode, even
adding some nonsense of his own. Alas.

The official centenary commemoration date of the Armenian genocide is
April 24 this year.



original to: http://www.ipek.edu.tr/en-US/Pages/events/Hayko-Bagdat.aspx
(there is a lot on/by Hayko Bagdat online, but it's all in Turkish - this
is the only English I could find)

"We Should Have Shared Our Grief Like The Dolphins"
 Hayko Bagdat

 The writer/journalist Hayko Bagdat met with students at Ipek University.
During the discussion session  organized by the Ipek University Media and
Politics Club, Mr. Bagdat commented on Turkey's current agenda  and
answered questions from the students. Emphasizing the sufferings
experienced in recent history, Bagdat  stated that the largest community
in Turkey was "the community groups that have shared many sorrows but 
seem unable to come together". Regarding the current tension in the
community, Mr. Bagdat said, "There is a  situation where individuals
respond to their experience of grief by offering the same to others".

 Mentioning that many events, from the murder of Hrant Dink to the
helicopter incident involving Muhsin  Yazicioglu had not yet been
elucidated, Mr. Bagdat went on to say that, "all identities in this
country have  accrued grief.  Why are we concentrating our efforts on
finding reasons for these crimes instead of trying to  solve them?  When
students asked questions such as "Why can't we get together? Why can't we
display a  united community?"

 Mr. Bagdat argued that human communities should follow the example of
dolphins:  "When faced with a shark  attack, dolphins produce a sound at
a frequency that can only be heard by other dolphins. Those dolphins that
 hear this sound head straight towards their friends to rescue them. If
their friend is still alive, they help; if it is  dead, they start to cry
out loud. Upon hearing this cry, all the other fish gather around them.
This is what we  should have achieved". At the end of the session, Mr.
Bagdat was thanked and presented with various gifts by  the students of
the club.


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