September 20th, 2011. The PKK sets off a car bomb in Ankara near a high school.
My class crowds the window
as we watch the smoke rise some streets away
and the sirens echo ricochets off the walls
of the school for the next six hours.
October 18th, 2011 some members of the PKK attempt to bomb Ankara's city center, Kızılay.
I watch it on the news the next morning and realize
I was there just last night
where those two handcuffed middle aged men stand now,
there image flicking back and forth on the TV screen.
October 19th, 2011 24 Turkish soliders die. That same day, Turkey launches an incursion into Iraq.
The following weeks were a ballet of red flags and slogans
Martyrs never die
their voices marching up and down the streets.
October 23rd, 2011 a 7.1 level earthquake hits Vann Turkey.
Then came the vendors crawling through the mid-day traffic
Habi,
Habla
they say.
Brother,
Sister
they say.
Peddling flags and nationalism
as I walk by with my head down.
October 29th, 2011 Cumhuriyet Bayramı.
A plane flew over the school.
but the noise sounded wrong.
Too loud, too close -
blocking out the call to worship
projected from the speakers of the mosques outside
my classroom window
and in that istant,
I really thought it was all over.
But we laughed about it
at lunch over köfte and ayran
because the plane was just practicing for Baraym.
I've never been this close to terror
to history
to war.
But then again, I've never felt so far.
And I wonder if it's the same for those in
Pakistan, Iraq or Iran.
If terror is a word used in headlines,
or only on television or just by politicians.
If a bomb explodes in your city
and the next morning you find out at breakfast.
If you keep living your life
even though the rest of the world is praying for you
even though your town is in the headlines
I wonder if they just let it be and move on.
And today -
November 8th, 2011. Life is back to normal.
My class crowds the window
as we watch the smoke rise some streets away
and the sirens echo ricochets off the walls
of the school for the next six hours.
October 18th, 2011 some members of the PKK attempt to bomb Ankara's city center, Kızılay.
I watch it on the news the next morning and realize
I was there just last night
where those two handcuffed middle aged men stand now,
there image flicking back and forth on the TV screen.
October 19th, 2011 24 Turkish soliders die. That same day, Turkey launches an incursion into Iraq.
The following weeks were a ballet of red flags and slogans
Martyrs never die
their voices marching up and down the streets.
October 23rd, 2011 a 7.1 level earthquake hits Vann Turkey.
Then came the vendors crawling through the mid-day traffic
Habi,
Habla
they say.
Brother,
Sister
they say.
Peddling flags and nationalism
as I walk by with my head down.
October 29th, 2011 Cumhuriyet Bayramı.
A plane flew over the school.
but the noise sounded wrong.
Too loud, too close -
blocking out the call to worship
projected from the speakers of the mosques outside
my classroom window
and in that istant,
I really thought it was all over.
But we laughed about it
at lunch over köfte and ayran
because the plane was just practicing for Baraym.
I've never been this close to terror
to history
to war.
But then again, I've never felt so far.
And I wonder if it's the same for those in
Pakistan, Iraq or Iran.
If terror is a word used in headlines,
or only on television or just by politicians.
If a bomb explodes in your city
and the next morning you find out at breakfast.
If you keep living your life
even though the rest of the world is praying for you
even though your town is in the headlines
I wonder if they just let it be and move on.
And today -
November 8th, 2011. Life is back to normal.
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