Canakkale
In the memory of this country, it is not just a war, but a story of existence.
But there is one fact that is missing in telling this story.
Muslims were not the only ones on that front.
The Armenians, Greeks, Jews of this land...
Thousands of non-Muslim Ottoman citizens were in the same trenches.
They were targeted by the same bullet, they fell into the same soil.
But years passed...
Some were called “martyrs”, others just “dead”.
And this is where the problem starts.
Can faith be the measure of dying for the homeland?
Can the sacrifice of someone fighting under the same flag be weighed on the basis of religion?
The truth is;
The blood that flowed at Gallipoli was of one color.
Pain had no language.
Death asked no one for their identity.
But we asked afterwards.
Some pages of history were read aloud, while others were deliberately left muted.
Because it is difficult to accept:
This homeland was defended not only by the labor of one faith, but by the labor of everyone living together.
What needs to be done today is very simple but very precious:
To tell the truth without diminishing it.
All those who lost their lives in Çanakkale...
Whether they are called “martyrs” or not...
It is an honorable part of this land.
And perhaps the most accurate sentence is this:
All those who gave their lives for this homeland are ours.
Those who are forgotten and those who are made to forget...
I pay my respects.