Vallahi ne aydı şu Mayıs ayı… Biliyorum, bir çoğumuz için Mayıs ayı çok belirleyici ve etkileyici bir ay oldu. Üzerimizden geçen bir silindir, geleceğe dair tüm umutlarımızı, medeni yaşamı yeniden getirme hayallerimizi ezdi geçti. Yeni tur, yeni şans misali, başa döndük yine. Bir yandan yorgun, öfkeli, ve yılgınlığın etkisiyle paralize durumdayız, diğer yandan müthiş bir sivil toplum hareketi ve dayanışması içindeyiz. Bir sonraki seçimlere kadar… Durmak yok, yola devam diyoruz. Ne için? Hak, hukuk, adalet, eşitlik, demokrasi… için.

Hak, hukuk, adalet eşitlik okey, ama demokrasi için biraz tereddütlüyüm. “Ne yani, karşı mısın demokrasiye?” diyor olabilirsin. Yalan söylemeyeceğim. Yaşadığımız bu düzen, gücü elinde tutanların ve yönetenlerin hakimiyetinde olduğunu varsaydığımız düzen, demokrasiyle geliyor ve kendini sürdürüyorsa, “bunun nesi demokrasi?” derim ben buna. Haksız mıyım? Demokrasi adına yapılanlar insanı düşündürtüyor. Hele ki geldiğimiz duruma demokrasi adına yapılan reformlarla gelindiğini düşününce.

Sokrates demokrasi için, “çeşitlilik ve düzensizlikle dolu, hem eşitlere hem de eşit olmayanlara bir tür eşitlik dağıtan büyüleyici bir yönetim biçimidir.” der. Platon, demokrasinin diktatörleri, tiranları ve demagogları iktidara getirme riski taşıdığını öne sürer.  Hatta, demokrasilerin yönetmek için en iyi donanıma sahip olanların iktidara gelmesinin pek olası olmadığını ve uygun becerilere ya da ahlaka sahip olmayan liderlere sahip olduğunu iddia eder. Platon Republic metninde Sokrates’in “demokrasinin aptal liderleri” olarak nitelendirdiğini belirtir. İkinci Dünya Savaşı’nı kazanmasından birkaç ay sonra İngiliz halkının kendisini başbakanlık görevinden uzaklaştırmasının ardından Winston Churchill demokrasiye alaycı yaklaşımıyla “Demokrasi en kötü yönetim biçimidir – denenmiş olan diğerleri hariç.” lafını eder*. Sence de komik, bir o kadar trajik değil mi?

Sana ufak bir olay anlatayım. 28 Mayıs günü, Türkiye’de Cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimi yaşanırken, ben Barcelona’nın belediye seçimleri için sandık başına gittim ve oyumu verdim. Birkaç adayın arasından seçim yapmam gerekiyordu. 6 yıldır yaşadığım şehrin yönetimine dair oldukça yeterli bilgi ve deneyime sahip olduğum, ve bilinçli ve entelektüel bir vatandaş olduğum halde, kendimi yeterli derecede ehil göremiyordum. İtiraf ediyorum ki içimde büyük bir sorumluluk yükü, hatta kuşku vardı. Eve adayları tanıtan sayfa sayfa kağıtlar gelse de, onları okuyup internetten araştırıp taahhütlerini incelesem de, yine de yeterince bilinçli bir tercih yapacak kadar kendime güvenemiyordum.

Doğrudur! “Cahil” kesim dediğimiz topluluktan hiçbir farkım yoktu. Kendimce öyle. Ne kadar okusam sorsam soruştursam da, bir yere kadar bilebilir ve anlayabilirdim. Yapacağım seçim de o doğrultuda bilinçsiz veya sağlıksız olacaktı. Sence de kandırılmaya açık bir durum değil mi? Demeye çalıştığım şu ki, yönetilmek istediğimiz şekli seçerken pek de rasyonel yollarla değil, büyük ölçüde duygusal dürtülerle (sezgi) yapıyoruz. Sonuç işte ortada! “Her millet layık olduğu şekilde yönetilir.” (Joseph de Maistre).

İşin ironik tarafı şu ki, de Maistre, bu lafları Aydınlanma Çağının yükselişi, Orta Çağ’ın önyargılarından, bağnazlığından ve ideolojilerinden özgürleşmeye, bilgiye yönelme döneminde zikretmiş, ve progresivismin (ilericiliğin) karşıtı olarak, hakların kendi kaderini tayin etmelerini engelleyecek gerici sistemlerin avukatlığını yapmış olması. Kendisi bir demokrasi karşıtıymış, açık açık da söylemiş. Ne var ki günümüzün “aptal liderleri” büyük kurnazlıkla demokrasi laflarıyla kafamızı karıştırıp kendi kendilerine hizmet etmeyi müthiş beceriyorlar.

Sokrates tarihi sayfalardan çıkagelip demokrasiye ve seçimlerde oy verme konusuna çok güzel bir benzetmeyle açıklık getiriyor aslında.  Öğrencisiyle diyalogunda şöyle sorar: “Eğer ki deniz yoluyla bir yolculuk yapmak isteseydin, geminin kontrolünün kimde olacağına nasıl karar verilmesini isterdin? Rastgele ve herhangi bir grup insan tarafından mı, yoksa deniz seyahatleri konusunda deneyimli, bilgili ve eğitimli insanlar tarafından mı?” diye sorar. Öğrencisi ehil olan kişiyi seçeceğini söyler. Buna cevaben Sokrates “Peki bu durumda nasıl olur da, bir ülkedeki yetişkin insanların rastgele ve herhangi bir grubunun bir ülkeyi kimin yöneteceğine karar verebilecek donanımda olduğunu düşünebilmekteyiz?” der**.

Sokrates seçimlerde oy kullanmayı yeteneğe, bilgi ve beceriye bağlar. Yeterli donanıma ve eğitime sahip olmadan insanlara oy kullanma hakkı vermenin, fırtınalı bir havada yolculuk yapacak bir geminin kontrolünün kime teslim edileceği kararını alma yetkisini vermekle aynı olduğunu savunur.  Oy kullanmayı “bir sezgi” olarak görmenin yanlış olduğunu ve diğer alanlarda olduğu gibi insanlara sistematik bir şekilde öğretilmesi gerektiğini önerir.

Şimdi, “Ne oluyor sana Shirli, neden bozdun kafayı demokrasiyle?” diyeceksiniz. Valla ben de bilsem, yazacağım nedenini. 28 Mayıs gecesinin ardından içimde tuhaf sorgulayıcı düşünceler hakimdi. Öfke, isyan, kaygı kalmamış, yerini “neyi farklı yapmalıyız” soruları almıştı. Ondandır belki de, bir önceki yazımda yeniden umudu yitirme hali yerine susmak ile sessiz kalma arasında kaldığım sıkışmışlık halini yazdım. Bir kabullenişin ardından gelen harekete geçme hali… Şu anda da geriye dönük bir analiz yapma hali…

Bilmem, kelimelerim hallerimi anlatmakta yeterli mi… Bazen kelimeler kifayetsiz kalabiliyor. Çünkü bazı haller anlatılmaz, anlatılamaz! Yaşanır! Bir kırıntı dahi olsa, bu satırları okurken kelimelerin içinde kendini buluyorsan eğer, işte bil ki, yalnız değilsin. Asıl güzel olan, sen ve ben varsak, bil ki dışarda bir yerlerde dahası var. Hem de daha niceleri…

Ege Denizinin ortasında bir yerde…

18 Haziran 2023

*Demokrasi en kötü yönetim biçimidir.

https://dusunbil.com/demokrasi-en-kotu-yonetim-bicimidir/

**Sokrates demokrasiden neden nefret etti?

https://evrimagaci.org/sokrates-demokrasiden-neden-nefret-etti-4733

New year means new beginnings. The new year is not only important for new initiatives, decisions, breakthroughs, and collaborations, but also for maintaining our works, collaborations and investments started in the past years. I have done a lot of crazy, at the same time “smart work” (that is what I would call) in the past years. I have made investments especially for social and human benefit, where I’ve carried out voluntary mentoring and coaching activities in various non-governmental organizations, whose target audience was mostly young people. Currently, again through mentoring and coaching, I am supporting young girls, although they do not have the same conditions and opportunities as their counterparts, with their empowerment and starting off life, through helping them shape their individual characteristics, competencies, and self-perceptions.

I think, as a woman who has managed to stand on her feet, living by her own choices with full self-confidence and belief, standing beside young individuals (not just women, but all) at their early stages of life, role modelling and being of guidance are probably my purpose of life. Indeed, I’ve been doing so since I started teaching, and I shall continue, because “once a teacher, always a teacher”. Acting with this motto and my roles as an academician, trainer, mentor, and coach, I am a guide, a mentor, an awareness raiser, and a channel for anyone who wants to access to knowledge and wisdom. To this end, I’ve always looked and sought for opportunities where I can actively participate and dedicate myself to and be a part of civil society movements that are align with my values, meaning and goals. I’ve collaborated as a volunteer, with numerous NGOs, I still doing so. Now, along with the first days of 2023, I am happy and proud to be part of another organisation – that is, Yanındayız Association*.

Within the framework of universal human rights perspective, Yanındayız (means ‘we are with you; beside you’ in Turkish) is an association that defends gender equality in Turkey, opposes gender-based discrimination, fights against all kinds of obstacles and prejudices, and ignites the movement that will lead to transformation and awareness in laws, institutions and social life; and most importantly, it is an association that continues this mitigation with the active participation of a crew of volunteering men. On January 3^rd, 2023, I became a member of the Yanındayız, as a woman who not stands for with women and women’s rights, but also is beside and with every individual who has been exposed to gender inequality and discrimination. At the application form, where I’ve been asked the reason to become a member, I wrote “I want to be a member of Yanındayız, because…” as the following:

They say past is the mirror of future; I look at the present, because today’s conditions, actions, thoughts, and perspectives build the future and the realities that will befall our future generations. We will reap whatever we sow today and leave them to the future generations. I have worked with young people and young adults (approximately of 16-26 ages) throughout my professional life; I dedicated my efforts to their education, development, and empowerment in every sense, and I still doing so. I see them as our light of hop, in darkness. So, we have the duty to be a role model and a leader, so that every individual can have access to equal rights and opportunities, regardless of their gender, age, social status or position.

There is this famous illustration, depicting the distinction between equality and equity. As I see the reality of today’s equality, rights, justice, equity, etc., my hope is shattering, I lose sleep, and feelings of anger and violence rise in me. All I know is that ‘he who gets up in anger, sits down with a loss.’ If we wish to build equality, equity, and justice of all kinds for all, we should be co-creating through being in unity of goals, of thoughts, of effort and of labor, for mutual vision. Hereby, I want to be part of such a union and co-creation. I know, I cannot throw starfish into the sea all on my own, however being a part of an organisation, whose values meet my values, perspectives are aligned to my perspective, and its way of standing for equality is in harmony to mine, will add strength to my cause. Likewise, I believe that this I will add strength to the union with the knowledge, skills, and effort I possess. For these reasons, I want to be member of YANINDAYIZ.

It is not easy to express intention and motivation in a such short space. On November 17^th, 2021, I shared my perspective on gender inequality in my article titled The Last Duel. I talked about the status of women in the male-dominated society, the perception of masculinity and the loss of freedom for the sake of the desire to protect their sovereignty, and the need for women and men to work together for gender equality. More than a year has passed, I can clearly see that the most important condition for social development and welfare is, within a universal human rights perspective, to offer everyone the equal, fair, and just treatment they deserve, rather than positive discrimination against any part of the society. Moreover, it is to remember and remind that each and every one of us is “human” (no matter the age) without discriminating as male or female, or child, adult and elder!

Having said it all, that I am standing with and beside equality and the NGO Yanındayız, I’d like to announce that on April 5^th, 2023, Yanındayız will hold the third #kadınerkekeşittirnokta (meaning ‘women and men are equal, full stop’ in Turkish) Conference. In this special year, in which we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic, starting with gender equality, we hope to have many coming years, achieving equality in every sense and in every field, and finally saying “Long Live the Republic! Long Live Equality!”

Shirli from Barcelona.

January 8^th, 2023

*Yanındayız Association- https://www.yanindayiz.org/

Values of the Association: “We adopt an active, consistent, transparent, and accountable understanding of peaceful struggle based on mutual trust and respect that envisages project and practices that we will be proud to take part in and is open to communication, participation, and cooperation.” (Yanındayız Association, 2021)

Translator: Handegül Demirhan

As can be understood from the title of the article, one of the questions I ask myself is the role of the writership, the purpose of its existence and, in the deepest, the motivation that drives someone to write. Anyone who knows me knows that I constantly ask questions and often ask ‘why?’ rather than asking other questions. I am more interested in the origin of an event or phenomenon, rather than how it happens or its characters, for the fact that every cause has an effect and at the same time; while also the direction, course, and style of the event, together with the effect it creates, produce different results. Here this time, my question is about writership… Why a writer writes? There is no doubt, everyone, regardless of their profession, has different motivations and expectations. Looking out at this question from my own window, I asked to myself: ‘Me Shirli, as a writer, why am I writing?’ Here, I sought an answer and put my inner voice into words.

First, I would like to start with the question, ‘Am I a writer?’ Does writing essays and articles on different platforms and/or having a printed book make me a writer? Does having a fixed or random audience make me a writer? Does it make me a writer if I have a story, message, knowledge, or idea to tell and put it together in words? Or does it make me a writer if I love to write, and write with the mindset of ‘every product has a buyer; therefore, every article has a reader, and anyone who wants to read will just read’ and that if I write with the freedom of joy that comes from opening and spreading out my inner world? Well, I think it does!

With this question I got taken to ancient times and to the way professions were attributed in those societies. Professional identities were attributed to the person directly related to what they did, and by being accepted by the society. For example, in the ancient Greek Civilization, important members of the upper class gathered in the Agora to develop, research, and share their thoughts, that is, they would philosophise. Today we give the title of ‘philosopher’ to these great thinkers. Nevertheless, to be a philosopher today, it is necessary to go through various training and accreditation processes. In their own time, great thinkers became philosophers based on their knowledge, skills, intellect, analysis and synthesis skills, and their passion for generating and developing ideas, without being subject to any document or acceptance criterion such as diplomas, certificates, and accreditations. As a result, these people became philosophers by doing what a philosopher would do.

If you are a curious person like me, you may be wondering why I ask a question within a question. In other words, why do I derive the question ‘who is the writer?’ from the question ‘why a writer writes? My intention is not to create confusion, but to reveal a phenomenon in this way. It is to emphasise that our motives that direct our lives and motivate us, depend on two important concepts; moreover, to emphasise that our existence depends on their relationship, balance, and cooperation. These two concepts are being and doing. What does a writer do? S/he writes. To be a writer, it is enough to write, publish, have an audience, and be accepted by the society. There is such a dialogic between being and doing that they support and cultivate one another. One creates herself/himself as a writer by her/his actions, deeds, and products; and this identity s/he created pushes her/him to act and produce. In an eternal relationship, they continue to carry and support each other, without breaking from an infinite (∞) cycle. So, where is the question ‘why’; or, what is the motivation behind this?

There is a motivation behind every existence and action. Since action structures one’s existence, one makes conscious choices. At the same time, as existence pushes one into action, self-awareness and self-knowledge are of paramount importance. In brief, the element that provides the harmony between being and doing is motivation. The answers we give to the question of ‘why’, are what make us who we are and make us do what we do. The actions and behaviours of the person who knows himself are not arbitrary and random; on the contrary, they are conscious, meaningful and goal oriented. For the writer to know why s/he writes, it is essential that s/he is conscious of who s/he is, how s/he defines herself/himself, what kind of image s/he draws for herself/himself and the society. Provided that s/he knows who s/he wants to be, how s/he wants to define herself/himself and what image s/he wants to create in the society, only her/his actions can support her/him in that direction. So, whatever we do in life, whoever we are, it is very important for us to be conscious of our reason of existence and action.

As I come to the end, here is why I write as a writer. I think, I observe, I analyse, and I make inferences in my own way; therefore, I am! I want to tell my stories, knowledge, and inferences instead of keeping them to myself. I love to write. As I write and share, I feel that I contribute to the wisdom of the whole and I feel inexplicably happy. What is more, I feel enriched when there are comments, ideas, and perspectives from readers, who me give way to new horizons. As I write what’s within me, I feel free. In the case where I keep those to myself, I feel so filled up that would get explode. I can list pages of reasons…

To conclude, we all have great wisdom to impart, whether by writing or speaking, but certainly by sharing in some way. In this age of knowledge and wisdom, it’s time to let it all out, rather than keeping within!

With love, from Barcelona.

28^th November 2022

Translated from Turkish by: Handegül Demirhan

I envy our writers who write about their agenda. I guess because of the rapid development of events and my inability to keep up, I tend to connect my own agenda to the general life in my articles. However, in this article, I would like to point on a phenomenon that has been discussed a lot in recent days, and that is not even limited to a certain period of time, but has existed for centuries. That is antisemitism, the biggest obstacle that prevents human beings from becoming people of the world through lack of love, hatred, polarization, violence and monstrosity!

I was born in Turkey, grew up in Istanbul until I was 10 years old, lived my youth in Israel until I was 16, then continued my life in Istanbul until I was 47 years old, where since then I have been living in Barcelona… Who am I? As a social identity, I am a woman, Turkish and Jewish by birth.  Later on, I had different social identities such as teacher, educator, mother, mentor, etc. I can add many more to these. But the main identity I would define myself as is a “world citizen.” It is not just because I speak many languages, have traveled or lived in many parts of the world. It is because I think I have the perception, attitude, behavior and way of life of a citizen of the world.

What do you think a World citizen looks like? Is s/he a globally recognized and globally known? I think s/he is much more than that… He or she has servant leadership qualities, for example; values other members of society as much as valuing him or herself; values not only her own, but also those with different lives, backgrounds, roots and beliefs; believes that every living being has a perfect place and function in this universe; and if she can support and help them, she would do so voluntarily, passionately, lovingly and compassionately, with the principle of “for the good of the whole”. In short, being a world citizen is about living in a multicultural, multidimensional and integrated way with oneself and society. A true person of the world is someone who is empathetic, who has compassion for themselves and others, who has pure unconditional love for themselves and everyone, who is grateful for what they have and what they don’t have, and who chooses to experience a sense of enrichment by sharing what they have with others.

For example, can we say that Kanye West, who has recently attracted attention with his anti-Semitic rhetoric and statements, is a citizen of the world? Yes, we can say that he has a globalized identity, but I think it is not possible for him to be a world citizen because he lacks the discourse and behavior that would appeal to all the people of the world. How can he be, a unifying, inclusive and a loving world citizen, with his words that sow seeds of discord such as hatred, animosity or polarization, while hiding behind his mental health and instability?

Hate speech against certain segments of society has existed for centuries. Antisemitism is probably the most widespread. Many societies have emerged and disappeared throughout history, but interestingly, from pogroms to genocides, despite everything that it has gone through, the Jewish community has survived for centuries without disappearing. Could it be that the Jewish community, like a “scapegoat”, represents and reminds us of the brightness, sophistication and immortality of true love and compassion, by attracting hatred and violence in the darkness of lovelessness and inhumanity?

A Timeless Note from Mark Twain About the Jewish People, published in the year 1899, evokes this. Although one cannot hear tone of his words, I think it conveys or makes you feel very diverse emotions. I invite you to read the text and sincerely examine the emotions it creates in you:

“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” – Mark Twain

Which of the following emotions do you think his words convey? Admiration, envy, idolization? Amazement and curiosity? Envy and jealousy? Feeling powerful, mighty, superior and valuable? Empathy, compassion, love and gratitude? Or anger, shame, guilt? Maybe none of them, maybe all of them… One can feel all of them. It is directly related to where we come from, our background, the upbringing we have and the way we view life and people. Moreover, since all of these emotions are natural and human, it is only natural that we feel a few of them. But what is not natural -and even unacceptable, is how we express them, what we use them for, and what kind of actions and behaviors we push ourselves into.

For those who wish to explore and better understand these emotions, I recommend the 5-part Atlas of the Heart series on HBO Max by Psychologist and Industrial Psychologist Brené Brown. Emphasizing the role of emotions in our lives and the fact that they drive us, Brown is considered a pioneer in the field of emotions. Her words shared on her social media account in response to Kanye West’s anti-Semitic statements are unifying.

“I stand with my Jewish friends; I stand with the Jewish community; with love! Antisemitism is the epitome of lovelessness and dehumanization. You cannot love yourself or anyone else when you are in favor of lovelessness. Antisemitism in all its forms is violence. It erodes the elements that bind us as human beings.” – Brené Brown – 25 October 2022

In the last sentence… In order to move away from the phenomenon of lovelessness, hatred and violence and to be able to say “Never again!”, I invite all of us to become a world human being rather than a globally known human being and to master that path…

Love from Valencia…

October 28th, 2022