One day, Mehmet Tutuncu called me asking to join the delegati-
on of Turks from Holland to the 5.th Congress of World Turkish Youth League
in Kirghizstan, "Yes" was my immediate answer, because last year,
I cancelled my Uzbekistan trip because of a delay in the visa and was really
looking forward to trip to this region.
This was a great opportunity to meet with the people (particu-
larly young people) to exchange ideas about almost anything, from politics
to daily life. Participants were coming from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Rumania,
Gagauz, (Autonom region in Moldavia), Turkey, Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus, Kerkuk region of Irak, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ka-
zakhstan, Kirghizstan, Eastern Turkestan (Under Chinese rule, so called
Xinjiang). Crimea (Under Ukrainian rule). Also many participants from autonom
regions of Russian federation which are Tataristan, Chuvashistan, Bashkirdistan,
Altai, Shor and Saka. Also present were delegations from Turks from Afghanis-
tan, Europe (Germany and Holland) and United States. We left Amsterdam on
July 30 for Istanbul, and after meeting with groups from Rumania, Ankara,
Bulgaria, Macedonia, we left for Kirghizstan with a plane of Kirgizstan
Airlines on July 31.
What me surprised at Ataturk airport was Terminal C is only reserved for Central Asian Turkish Republics and former Commu- nist Block countries. At the beginning I thought to myself , this is a sort of discrimination but when I saw the amount of the luggage people from these republics are having, I under- stood the rationality behind this separation. People from former communist countries come to Istanbul with their empty luggage and fill them, sell them back in their country. This is called luggage trade. Anyway, we were around a group 40 people, after a four and half hour flight we landed at Manas airport of Bishkek. We passed the Kirghiz airport check having seen russian officers still doing passport-control did not surprise me, explanation was Russians didn't train any Kirghiz for this sort of jobs. At the luggage claim terminal, Russian and Kirghiz flags were staying at the door of n office at the airport terminal. I asked "What is this" The answer was "it is Common Wealth of Independent States office", fair enough I un- derstood. They made these flags so visible that you can elaborate from "a warning to China" to "it is not over yet"
We met with other groups on the same in Bishkek. I had mixed feelings when I heard participants from Tataristan are on the way for three days with due to financial reasons. The Crimean Tatar delegation were more than 5 days underway with train. Bishkek is as any other Communist City architecture, Big buildings with well known communist art design, large streets, big squares and very different monuments of Communist ideolo- gists. Looking at the Kirghiz people at the streets, you can easily say this can not be their style. At the centre of the city of course Lenins is still showing the direction with his big monument. When you look at where his finger points, you see the advert "Always Coca Cola", "strange world I thou- ght myself. I asked the people at the group why it is still not removed, "lack of money" was the answer.
After a nice lunch and opening meeting in Biskek, we left for Issyk-Kul, 200 kilometres of east of Biskek and 100 km close to Chinese border. On the way to Issik Kul, I met with a Kirghiz girl Dinar, a girl who is doing a master study in His- tory of Central Asia. I was very lucky to met with her, she sorted out many things for me at the camp. We arrived the camp at night time and immediately rush to get room. The camp was used by Comsomol (Youth organization of USSR Communist Party ). Each room was having four beds and each building was having around 12 rooms.There was one toilet for Boys and girls. Toilets were having no doors, forget about the mess they are in. We couldn't tend to ask the reason why there was no door, expecting the answer "why, what is wrong with it". At the morning I seek the shower, after asking a few people, I got there. It was working perfect, but it gives you a feeling that it has not been touched for cleaning or any maintenance activity since it started working. My other compatriots from Holland preferred the self made open-sky douche of the waters of celestial Tanrimountains and bathing in the Issyk-Kuls beautiful waters.
But none of these problems could break our excitement to meet with the other people at the Camp. After the first day we totally adapted to the system. I heard from my friends some of the Turkish leftist intellectuals were also happen to be here, like Yasar Kemal and Zulfu Livaneli and I just thought to myself how can someone be favour of such system after having seen this mess. No one is responsible from anything and you are just supposed to get along it without making any problem.
The camp there were some mottoes, such as "Long live Turkish Youths", "Come on souls, let us unite as one", "Proud to be a Turk", "God Bless the Turkish People". I know when you translate them to english, they sound like racist slogans but this is totally wrong. I think Turkish nationalism is nothing more than a will to enjoy freedom in their own land. We were going to spend six days here. Normal daily plan was to use daytime for Commissions activities and use the night time for shows of the participating groups. A number of commissions were set up to deal with subjects like Politics, Religion, Sport, Language, History and ecology. There was obvious will to discuss the Turkish world problems in these areas and ge- nerate solutions, opinions on these issues. Unfortunately, I missed most of the discussion and the conclusions due to orga- nization and my late gettup and taking shower and preference to meet and talk to people.
As a Citizen of Republic of Turkey, You can walk and talk from the Adriatic coast to Chinese wall with your mother tongue. Turkish with all its different dialects is spoken in this area. With people from Balkans, Azerbaijan, Crimea, Irak and Caucasus there are no problems with understanding. With Turk- men, Uzbeks and Uyghurs ( People of Eastern Turkestan) it costs some effort and with Kazakh and Kirghiz it is harder but always intelligible.
But on the other hand, I can assure you one thing, if you start living in any of these countries, with some of Turkish in your luggage you would pick it in a few weeks. One proof of this is the many Kirghiz, Kazakh students at the camp who are studying in Turkey were speaking Turkish fluently like Turkish citizen. I mean they are not speaking Turkish as German or French who knows Turkish, they feel it.
Kirghiz people give me an image of "let it be" people. They are tolerant and open to all sorts of ideas. Really Kirg- hizstan is regarded as the most democratic republic among the other Turkish Republics in the region. I also heard an inte- resting comment on this issue, "knowing this situation, Ameri- ca wants to see Kirghizstan as the centre in the lake and spread this democracy wave across the other republics". ( I hope so )
Dinar comparing youth of Turkey and Kirgizstan, tells me that in Turkey they are very nationalist, they try to follow up what is going on in the world and the place of Turkey in it, 'but in Kirghizstan', she says, 'youth are very apolitic'. Most of the young Kirghiz people, aged between 25-35, I have spoken There were many old members of comsomol. They give me an image of as if Soviet Union never existed or they never went through such a period. I asked them what was good for the old system the answer was free education, free health care. On the other hand I asked Saide, a Kirghiz girl who is studying international relations in Turkey, if your husband gives eve- rything you need, would you still just sty at home and take care of only house work. She said: "no, I have to go out and work too and see the world, you can put a bird in Golden Cage, but it does not make happier. Now Kirghizstan is happier just because it is free" she concluded.
We happen to visit a Kirghiz house. House is owned by an 70 year old woman living alone with two of her 17-18 years old grand daughters. She offered us tea, butter, bread and jam. I asked to young girls what does independence mean to them. One of them said: "in the past they kept teaching us capitalism is very bad system, very terrible system. Now we see these coun- tries from book and the television. it is not like what is taught at us, that they are better". Her grand mam added, "if we are not independent now you can not come here and drink tea with us" and one of is concluded "we also waited so long to cross caucuses and reach this fatherland and we are very happy to be here".
In Kirghizstan, Capitalism is flourishing, if you have money you have almost everything in Bishkek. One of the Kirghiz Musicians told me, at the camp, American government paid 30.000 dollars to a famous Kirghiz Pop group, make a song about privatization, it is called "I am the Boss"
At the first evening everybody was waiting for the show. first show was Uighurs. The turkish word "uygar", means "civilized" , is taken is taken from the Uyghurs. After amazed with their dances and learning that China get this nation under its rule in recent history, it is truly unacceptable situation. Accor- ding to Uyghur students, China has an active policy of settling chinese in Eastern Turkestan moving currently 40 million chinese and 30 Million uighurs. But they say they believe in their future.
Apparently most of the students from Eastern Turkestan are playing active role in anti-Chinese campaign. They say "40 years ago, our intellectuals said China would be threat to world now" they continue "it is true". Seeing these people and the things they say, I just wonder if Chinese efforts to shift to strong capitalist economy will save them from Eastern Tur- kestan and Tibet problem.
I loved Greenpeace campaign against French nuclear testing in the Pacific, I hope they will pay little pay attention to Chinese nuclear test, because Chinese even don't tend to dig to ground, they do the test on the surface. After the dance of Uyghur Girls, Yakup Deliîmeroglu , President of the admini- strative committee of the league, said, 'Uyghur culture, their civilization, history will be enough assets to set them free in the future. In their struggle, he continued, they should never feel alone because we are with them to very end, I swear under the Eastern Turkistan flag in the name of God'.
Their American cowboy hats, white uniforms with visible grey-- wolf patches on their arms, they were getting immediate atten- tion. Obviously they were a much more organized group. At the camp they proved it as well with their music equipment. They love to sing with their guitars, dance like crazy and enjoy the their identity. They are praised as the most disciplined group by Yakup Deliomeroglu.
Tatars love to see the all the Turks together, because they played a leading role in the formation of World Turkish Youth League. Based on my talks with Tatar youngs, I can say that Tatars have a strong national identity and they are proud of the Kazan-Khanate in the history. One strange thing in Tata- ristan they told me there are many companies having wolf figures which is not seen as a political image rather a natio- nal symbol. Yakup Deliomeroglu called them as the leaders and "They started a walk and we will walk behind them all the way."
Akmaral is one of the Kazakh girls studying in Turkey. When I asked her what is she studying, I was expecting an answer of "International Relations", "politics" or "History". Because almost all of the students from this region studying in Turkey was working in one of this areas. But Akmaral was studying Fashion and Style. Actually I should have understood from her dressing which was clearly a special design, later on I lear- ned that it was her own design. I ask her how is Kazak woman relation with the fashion, She says Kazakh woman is very selective. She has a plan of opening a boutique in Alma Ata when she goes back to her country.
On friday, there was a call to pray, the Azan. This was orga- nized by the Holland group and the Imam was Salih from our group. There was a quite a number of prayers. This was also a touching moment because I think all the prayers were thanking God for letting them to meet with their brothers again. I asked to Kirghiz historian Girl, who also worked in Religion commission "is there such a danger called fundamentalism he- re". She said, "that fundamentalism can not be a danger for Kirghizstan. Islam came to Kirghizstan late in the 18 century and they lived under communism which preached atheism for 70 years. We are muslim but it is personal relation between me and god.We are a Muslim nation but we cannot have system like Iran, it is not for us'. On the other hand there are many active groups preaching all sorts of belief systems in Kirg- hizstan like the volunteers of American Peace Corps, staying next to our camp at the Issyk-Kul, I had an opportunity to talk to an American who studies Russian and History. He came here as volunteer to teach english. Rumour around tell they are actively preaching Christianity.
Dinar says Kirghizs and Kazaks are used to be until Soviet time nomadic groups. She says "West knows that Nomad people with such culture is influenced easily, that's why they are sending missionaries to Kazakhstan and Kirghizstan to convert people christianity, in some cities they achieved some suc- cess". "For example' she says, "It is possible to see stickers at the bus stops calling people". Listening to us, Bahadir, an Uzbek, said, "This is the difference between Uzbekistan and Kirgizstan if those stickers are seen in at the bus stops, he said they have no chance of surviving with such calls and propaganda. People will just remove those sticker or may cause trouble to those who preach Christianity"
I finished my films, I made around 20 hours of shot talks. I was moving freely around Last day seem to be the concluding works of the commissions which ended 2 am. I will be looking forward the results of commission works which is planned to be published in 2 or 3 months. In the morning then we had a dinner there was disco at 4 am at 6 am some people went for swimming after one hour sleeping at 8 o'clock we left the camp.
It was touching while leaving but only I got lots of addresses
now I have friends all across the Central Asia. On the way back to Istanbul,
I thought, although there are major areas of problems, amount of way in
prosperity Turkey has achieved is incomparable to any of these. I think
Turkey should be proud of not falling in to this trap called socialism which
was clearly in the plans of former Soviet Empire. We flew over endless steppes
and deserts of Kazakstan. Without any sign of civilization like ways or
cities. We saw glimpses of drying Aral-lake and salt storms, we feel the
effects of nuclear tests carried out in Semipalatinsk in Kazakstan and Lop
Nor in Eastern Turkestan, The salt-storms and nuclear radiation had free
game in Turkistan killing all life after the biggest ecological disasters
of our century carried out in the name of bringing people prosperity through
the one of the most inhuman regimes that the humanity ever has known. When
the plane reached the skies of Istanbul, I felt, this city is a Lovely Star
for Crescent of Balkans, Russia, Ukrai- nia and Central Asia.