I was born and raised in Ankara. But when I think of Ankara the first thing that comes to my mind is not Kuğulu Park, nor Bestekar Street or Kızılay and Atakule… It is our garden with the ivy covered fences. “To write is easy, you sit before the typewriter and bleed,” says Ernest Hemingway to another writer, Martha Gellhorne, [...] → Read the full article…
Okan Göçer sustained head injuries due to a tear gas canister on June 1st on Istiklal Street where he had gone to participate in the Gezi protests. He was in a coma for twenty one days. The left side of his head collapsed as a result of his broken skull. We met with him at Okmeydanı Hospital. He wore a [...] → Read the full article…
Dozens of Gezi Parkers gathered in Mamak Halkevi in Ankara on Sunday after the appeal “Bring your book and attend our concert” – a campaign that aimed to turn the house into Ethem Sarısülük Library. Dozens of Gezi Parkers gathered in Mamak Halkevi House in Ankara after the appeal “Bring your book and attend our concert” – a campaign that [...] → Read the full article…
One of the greatest accomplishments of the protests, for these three individuals, was the chance to meet and experience unity with people from different religions, classes and ethnicities. Although the Gezi protests may have faded a little over the past six weeks, they haven’t for protesters. No youngster in Turkey has ever seen such massive state violence in action before. Before [...] → Read the full article…
Nurse Hazal Kangal was taken into custody while she was on her emergency service shift. Nurse Kangal, who was on duty in Ankara, Basbakanlik during Gezi resistance had been on call for 24 hours when she was taken into custody for “being flagged” on another incident. Kangal was detained before within the scope of Hopa case, for attending the protests [...] → Read the full article…
Next ‘chapullers’ of the ‘Chapullers Tell the Story of Gezi’series are LGBT individuals… They have been one of the trending topics due to their Gezi slogans and their discourses. Two of those chapullers, Şehriban and Harun, told insanhaber.com how they have taken their place in Gezi. One of the groundbreaking elements of Gezi Resistance was LGBT individuals. They put their [...] → Read the full article…
After the first week, the police intervention decreased considerably and Kordon was transformed into a liberated, ‘Police Free Zone.’ Therefore, it was easier to sit and talk. On the evening of May 31st, I and my parents were at a wedding. Gezi Park was not a significant issue on my agenda. How could it be, anyway? There was nothing extraordinary [...] → Read the full article…
Sevinç Dok, who was detained during the Armutlu resistance, which lasted for several days, told her experience in the prison in a letter that she sent. Dok stated that the detainees are getting the news. “Our minds are at peace, we know that we have been falsely accused.” She adds, “we are not giving up eating the bread until its [...] → Read the full article…
Nowadays, land and inhabited spaces are images of the “money” that needs to augment itself through their use and market values. When I arrived in İstanbul, I immediately went to one of the forums held in the parks. I wanted to witness the point reached in the course of a month. The attendees’ contribution, enthusiasm, sincerity, seriousness, authenticity impressed me [...] → Read the full article…
Fethullah, 14, who fled domestic violence and took refuge in the Gezi Park encountered state violence this time. The police first fined him, then beat him, and finally shot him in the eye with a rubber bullet. “I saw the Gezi, it was beautiful” The Taksim Gezi Park, the symbol of the Gezi movement, hosted those whose “stories” were not [...] → Read the full article…