Some months carry more meaning than just a date on a calendar. June is such a month for Turkey. It reminds us not only of the beginning of summer, but also of the pain, struggles and hopes etched in the memory of this country.
When June comes, we remember the great artists who have been the voice of the people and the young people who lost their lives for the dream of a freer and fairer country. Because in these lands, memory is not just about remembering the past; it is about taking responsibility for the future.
The death anniversaries of Nazım Hikmet, Ahmet Arif and Orhan Kemal coincide with this month. They were not only great names of literature. They were also men of conscience who gave voice to the people's pain, longings and struggles.
Nazım took poetry out of palaces and carried it to factories, fields and workers' neighborhoods. Ahmet Arif immortalized the poverty, loneliness and resistance of Anatolia in his verses. Orhan Kemal placed literature at the center of life by telling the stories of people who live off their labor.
If their works are still read today, it is not only because of their literary power. A significant part of the realities they wrote about have not changed. Inequality in income distribution, the devaluation of labor, young people's anxiety about the future, debates on freedom of expression and demands for democracy are still among the country's most fundamental issues.
That's why Nazım's verses never get old.
Ahmet Arif's voice does not stop.
Orhan Kemal's people do not leave us.
Because the story they tell is not yet complete.
June is also the month of Gezi.
In June 2013, millions of people took to the streets not just to protest a park, but to defend their democratic rights, the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom from interference in their lifestyles. The voices raised in those days showed that a society that can live together despite its differences is possible.
Gezi was not just a protest, as it has been described for years. It was also a historical threshold where the demands of large segments of society for justice, freedom and democracy became visible.
But that threshold also left a heavy legacy of pain.
Ethem Sarısülük, Abdullah Cömert, Mehmet Ayvalıtaş and other young people who lost their lives are remembered as symbols of this country's struggle for democracy. The fact that demands for justice are still alive despite the years that have passed shows that not only the lives lost but also the questions awaiting answers remain.
Governments can change.
Political balances may change.
But the memory of societies is not easily erased.
Nazım's verses written in exile, Ahmet Arif's longing for his homeland, Orhan Kemal's laborers, and the demand for freedom rising in Gezi are all part of this memory.
This is where the sadness of June comes from.
Because June reminds us not only of what we have lost, but also of the values we still lack: Justice, equality, freedom and solidarity.
Today, true loyalty is not about sharing photos of great names or saying a few sentences on anniversaries.
True loyalty is being able to defend the values they fought for.
It means not giving up on wanting a fairer country.
Democracy should not be confined to election days.
It is to be able to demand freedom not only for ourselves, but for everyone.
June is here again.
Nazım's poems, Ahmet Arif's voice, Orhan Kemal's people and the youth of Gezi stand side by side again.
They remind us once again:
Hope and memory are still alive in this country.
And no voice living in the conscience of the people is really silent.