Turkish Beginnings (part 1)

          I find myself finding excuses not to update my blog. Although these excuses (mid-term exams and make-up work) are legitimate, I realize the need to continue to process my trip. I thought as time went along, it would be easier. However, I am not finding that to be the case. Even now when I am completely over my jet-lag and back into the swing of school, I find it hard to find the words to write of my life-changing experience. What could I possibly write to convey the vastness of my trip and feelings? But I shall try and what better place to begin than the beginning of my trip.
          My trip began with a nine hour flight from Washington D.C. to Dulles. Not looking forward to this leg of the journey, I was pleasantly surprised to start off the flight with an engaging conversation with the man sitting next to me. The following is my journal entry from that flight:

"Plane ride has been good so far. I am sitting next to a Serbian sculptor. He is 72 and has really been a joy to sit next to. He told me how travel is necessary to understand the world and gave me advice to stay in school as long as I can. He talked about when he was a student and didn't know what to after ward, his teacher told him to go straight ahead. Straight ahead was a brick, windowless wall. His teacher said he needed to forget all what he learned and find a way to go straight ahead. He told me that I will come to this wall and will need to find a way to go ahead. When I told him I want to work for peace, he seemed worried about me being able to find a job and actually make a difference. He told me how the optimism goes away after college. He also told me about a friend of his who was an activist and ended up jailed by the US military. He told me to go into this work I need to be strong. He asked me how I've tested myself... I didn't know how to answer and he told me to hit a police officer and go to jail. He then proceeded to tell me of the five months he had spent in jail, the people he had met, and how he never regretted that experience. When he talks he seems to have such a joy, for lack of a better word. His English isn't perfect but you can tell he really loves talking to people and also loves his work as a sculptor. I felt so blessed to have been able to talk to him."

The flight did not seem so long because of this conversation, a couple hours of sleep, movies, and delicious meals (I highly recommend Turkish Airlines!) and soon I arrived in Istanbul. After meeting another member of my delegation at the airport, we caught a cab to our hostel and met the rest of the group minus one person who had been denied entry into Turkey. (He was supposed to be one of the co-leaders of the trip, but another CPTer stepped up into this bit of responsibility.) We ate dinner in a cafe outside the famous Hagia Sophia and made plans for the next day to get to the other Istanbul airport where we had to catch a flight to Diyarbakir in Southeastern Turkey.
          

No words to express

          I have been back at EMU a little over two days now. My jet lag is becoming better (I slept until 7 instead of 4!) but I am finding it really hard to process my trip. Right now I find it hard to even think about Kurdistan because thinking about it makes me miss it. Somehow in those mountains I found a home and leaving this new home was really hard for me. I also find myself not quite sure to do with the stories and experiences...I feel like I changed but I don't even know how. I don't even know what to write. So instead of writing a new reflection, I am posting the words I read the last day in Kurdistan to the Kurdish press. Some of it might not make sense to those not familiar with the situation in Kurdistan, but I think it will be a good starting point. As the weeks go by, I plan on expanding and telling specific stories. Hopefully this will be a good way to process all that's happened and share all of the amazing things that I experienced.

"Welcome and thank you to all who have gathered here today. Christian Peacemaker Teams is human rights organization that is committed to building partnerships to transform violence and oppression. We have come on this delegation from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Iraq, and Kurdistan to learn about the situation of the Kurdish people living in Iraq and Turkey as well as CPT’s work here in the region. Part of the CPT team is here with us today. These topics rarely make the news back in our home countries. We came to see the situation with our own eyes so we can take the information back to our home countries and communities and also to find ways that we can stand in solidarity with the Kurdish people to help bring about peace.

We began our journey in Diyarbikir, Turkey. There, we learned about the harassment and repression of Kurds living in Turkey.  We met with members of an organization who work with Kurdish children displaced by violence from the Turkish government and a social worker with the Diyarbikir municipality who is facing eighteen years in prison for working for her fellow Kurds within the Turkish borders.

After traveling into Iraqi Kurdistan we visited several villages along the border of Turkey and Iran. In these villages we learned about the international political situation. We saw several Turkish bases with tanks pointed at civilian houses. We learned of Turkish and Iranian cross border attacks on civilian populations. We met with village families who showed us the places where Iranian shells hit their houses as well as saw with our own eyes, the Iranian military bases on the mountains overlooking Iraqi Kurdistan. As we learned about the political situation, we saw the impact of the violence on individual, human lives, culture, agriculture, and the livelihood of the men, women, and children that live there. We met with the mayor of Sidakan and the media where we had a press conference about the IDP camps and situation of the villages. We met with a principal and teachers in the village of Sunnah near the border of Iran and learned of the perseverance to keep the school going despite of shellings and multiple displacements. We saw the fear, but also the bravery of the children and villagers. 

We learned about the presence of minority groups while visiting Hawler. We have spent the last few days of our trip here in Sulaimani. We learned about the demonstrations that took place in this city only last year. As we met with a local Mulah, we learned of the works of nonviolent action along with the stories of violence. We met with women activists promoting the rights of women. We visited the Anfal cemetery and museum. Yesterday, we met with three families of those killed during the demonstrations. We heard their story and saw their tears. (Some of them are here with us today demanding legal justice and the end of private negotiations. )

We all knew that violence and conflict takes place around the world, including in our own countries, but we did not know the specific situation here in Kurdistan. We now plan to take this information back to our home countries to share with our own communities the stories we have heard and the realities we have seen because we do not hear about them in our local media.As we leave this country we will to take with us the resilience of the villagers who rebuild their houses again and again after being bombed. We will take with us the bravery of the religious leaders who have tried to bring about peace through nonviolence. We will take with us the stories of the amazing hospitality we have felt by the Kurdish people we have encountered. We have been extremely blessed by our time here and want to take these stories of hope and peace back home." 

I carry your heart

          Time has flown so fast here. I cannot believe that tomorrow is my last full day in Iraq before I fly to Istanbul on Tuesday and DC on Wednesday. My time here has been so full of amazing experiences and people. I fell deeply in love with this land and culture. These coming weeks I will be sharing a lot of what I have done, the people I have met, and the current situation in Kurdistan. But for now I will leave you with a poem that has been running through my head these past days. Because I have been touched beyond words can say and the people I have met have become a part of me forever.

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
you go i go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
                                                             i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky if a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that' s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

                                                       EE Cummings

AHHHH!!!!!

          In a day I will be on the plane taking me to Istanbul! AHHHHHH!!! I cannot believe that it is actually here! And I cannot believe all that I still need to do in the next 24 hours! I really don't have time to be updating my blog, but I am doing it anyways. This week has been stressful to say the least... I have come really close to tears on many occasions. My normal week is busy, but this has just been insane with meetings, packing, friends, and schoolwork. I still have to take a test tomorrow, which I am not prepared for! But I am trying to take it one step at a time with several deep breaths and Mumford and Sons to make it through. It is comforting to know that in just 24 hours I will finally be able to just sit back and relax on my flight before the craziness of my delegation begins.

         I am really excited for the trip; I know that it is going to be a life-changing experience. I am also so glad for all the support that I have gotten. So many people are praying for me; many I don't even know! Today in chapel the campus sent me off with the following blessing: "As God's Spirit calls and the community commissions, the servants of Christ are scattered in places of need throughout the world. We accept your service as an extension of this community and pledge our support. We join with you in seeking first the kingdom of God. Consider your assignment as God at work in you, ministering to human need. May you be given a deep love for those among whom you will serve, and may Christ be known through you in word and deed. Our prayers will be with you while you are absent from us." I am so blessed to be a part of a community who truly cares for me and supports me! I am also blessed with such a great family who has been so supportive and encouraging. And my friends have been amazing giving me hugs and support... I even talked to Krissy on the phone tonight, which really made my day. I still miss that girl and I wish that she could be a part of this adventure!

         Somehow writing down my blessings has calmed me down. Hopefully now I will be able to study with a clearer mind! But really thank you to everyone who is praying and supporting me... it truly means the world to me and this trip would not be possible without you! Keep me in your prayers these next weeks and I hope to write an update as soon as I get internet, although it could be a week or so. Turkey and Iraq, ready or not, HERE I COME!