Everything starts in childhood.
A child stands up at the blackboard. The class laughs when his name is called.
Because the name is unusual.
Maybe ethnically different, maybe a name no one has ever heard of.
At that moment the child learns
I'm different from them
Some people walk into a situation and behave as they are
Easy to talk, not afraid to make mistakes
Some are cautious from the first moment
Speaks less, chooses his words
Because he knows
His mistake is not just a mistake
Written on your ID
Not evaluated on its own
Not what he did, but who he is
This is not a choice
It is a way of survival learned over time
This difference is invisible
But it is real
And he doesn't fail
You are interrupted in a meeting
You say the same sentence, it is not heard coming from you
Laugh when you speak with a joke
Commenting on your faith
After a while one learns that
Talk less
Appear less
To be less
What we call Sıla
To be able to “exist” without holding yourself back
Gurbet
It is when one is forced to diminish oneself
If a person is constantly adjusting himself
There really “is”
And most of the time it is covered up with a single sentence
“You're exaggerating”
But there is no exaggeration
This is marginalization
Laughing at the name
Making fun of accent
Commenting on identity
Judging faith
Leaving the outcast alone
These are not separate
They are part of the same order
Now the question is
Have you ever laughed
Have you ever been silent
Have you ever said “never mind”
Because that's how this system works
No one feels bad
But someone is getting less and less every day
It's not just between people
It is an institutional issue
Who is speaking
Who is heard
Who appears to be
These are not coincidences
But we are not a uniform society
We are different
And that's not a problem
The problem is not being able to tolerate the different
This is not how belonging is built
Belonging
It occurs where one can speak without restraint
Where he is not reduced to his identity when he makes a mistake
Where he gets the same respect regardless of who he is
So what to do
Good intentions are not enough
Standard required
The same word will be listened to with the same seriousness, no matter who it comes from
The same mistake will be treated the same no matter who makes it
No one will be represented by their identity
No one will be diminished on the basis of difference
Equal citizenship is not a wish
It is a measure
Freedom of religious belief is fundamental to this
One is not judged for one's faith
Nor is he ostracized for his lack of faith
Not marginalizing is not a courtesy
It is a matter of principle
Seeing the person, not the identity
Not tolerate
Acceptance
Because belonging
Not by being made to feel good
Established as equals
And in a place where people cannot be themselves
It is not home for anyone
It is an expatriation for everyone