Category Archives: Personal stories

Hürriyet: “We are everywhere!”

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Today’s heroes were also the heroes of Gezi…  Now, they are more reliable, more respectable.. Gezi; along with Çarşı, Redhack and Anticapitalist Muslims, has brought LGBT individuals under the spotlight. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans individuals will rejoice and walk together at 17:00 today. Their main slogan is “If you are not here we are one missing”. They are candid [...] → Read the full article…

Sendika.org: Abused by the police, Eylem Karadağ: ‘We shouldn’t keep quiet, they should be scared of our courage.’

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Eylem Karadağ is among the female resisters. Detained during Dikmen resistance on 26 June 2013, Eylem was abused by the police and threatened with rape. She talked to Sendika.org about her experience. And she has a message for everybody: ‘We shouldn’t keep quiet, they should be scared of our courage. We should speak up so that AKP can’t continue its [...] → Read the full article…

Scientific American: The Dance and the Dancer: At Taksim Square

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Part 1: The Dancer. It’s called the Dancer. La Bailarina. Like some crazed Stravinsky diva, the Condor GL 310 gas grenade bobs and weaves when it lands, moving in random patterns, spewing noxious gas into the air. Its jittery swirls are specifically designed to cover large areas with gas, but also–critically–to prevent protestors from grabbing the thing and chucking it [...] → Read the full article…

Hurriyet: that ‘French agent’ explained about what has happened in Turkey

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French student Elisa Couvert (24), who was taken into custody in Istanbul during the Gezi Park Resistance, spoke to the Hurriyet. She stated that she has to return back to finish her research project and added that she brought a lawsuit against “unjust” decision of deportation. How was your first contact with Turkey? I studied at Galatasaray University two years ago as [...] → Read the full article…

Radikal: “If I responded to the violent police officer who shot me with violence, I wouldn’t be any different from him”

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Umur Can Erşahin, who was shot with a tear gas cartridge on his head during Gezi Park protests, says, “I will not change because of this incident.”  Umur Can Erşahin, 27, suffered from a cerebral trauma and hemorrhage after being hit by a tear gas cartridge which was fired from a distance of 10 metres. Erşahin says: “If violently attack [...] → Read the full article…

Violence Stories from Turkey: “On those days while in Gezi Park protesters were playing games, people of Ankara were playing dodge-ball with pepper gas.”

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What happened at the hospital? It turned out that my arm was broken and had to be operated. And the following day, I was discharged. The following week I returned to the hospital for an examination and changing the dressing of my arm. The hospital employees wanted to look at my ID card. When they realized that this was about [...] → Read the full article…

Berkin’s father says, “when he recovers, I’ll name him Ethem.”

Father of Berkin, a young boy who was shot by a tear gas cartridge, says: ‘When he recovers I’ll name him Ethem’ Berkin Elvan, 14, left home one morning to buy bread but could not come back. He was shot by a tear gas cartridge. He has been in the intesive care unit for 10 days. Berkin’s father decribed what [...] → Read the full article…

Jadaliyya: Covering Gezi: Reflecting on photographing daily life during extraordinary events

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After a few days, we asked one of our friends to go buy us some gas masks. He called and said there had been a run on them, and prices were up to 350–400 Turkish liras each (approximately $160–$220). We opted for some cheaper construction masks, and made do. But we had to learn how to cover such an event. [...] → Read the full article…

They were all hitting and kicking

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Police target journalists during social upheaval interventions. This is my story of being beaten up by the riot police while I was on my way home following the commemoration gathering at Taksim Square. The events which began yesterday evening, right after the police intervention in Taksim square during the commemoration gatherings, continued until late at night. However, the huge crowd [...] → Read the full article…

Yurt: Resisters Talk: An AKP supporter mother and a police father

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Berkay Güven is a veterinary surgeon. He is one of those who participated in Gezi resistance since Day 1. He was hit on Tuesday, June 11. He was taken into intensive care unit with suspected cerebral hemorrhage, because of the crack on his skull. After surviving the critical hours, he was taken to the service. He was able to talk during our visit but constantly [...] → Read the full article…