“Friendship that flows from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the spring cannot congeal in winter.”
~ Anonymous.
~ Anonymous.
A photo from a friend, from the most beautiful place on Earth--Kurdistan. Thank you, heval.More snow, from more friends . . .
Beytussebap.
Snowman in Beytussebap. Thank you, Heval Beytussebap.
Gewer. Thank you, Heval Gewer.
3 comments:
I read your text the 18th Dec. last year about my deportation from Turkey.
At the end of the text you asked about my view of the bird flu outbreak in Van last January. I answer quikly:
I visited Van last March and wrote an article about the bird flu to magazine Socius (number 2/2006). It is the magazine of the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. They translate some articles to English but this is published only in Finnish language.
My conclusion in the article is that bird flu outbreak and the confiscation of chicken from the poor people increased malnutrition, especially children's malnutrition. It was difficult for poor people to get another source of protein when they could not eat eggs and chicken. Anyway, during my recent journey (last December) the situation seemed to be back to normal. I don't know how much compensation people got for their chickens which were slaughtered last winter.
The pictures at your blog today are beautiful.
Dr. Kristiina, thank you for your visit and your comments on the bird flu.
Your observation about increased malnutrition, especially with regard to the children, makes perfect sense. If I remember correctly, this was a worry at the time. Of course, many of the poor also have access to milk products, but I don't know how the protein of those products compares with the eggs and chicken meat. I suspect the latter are richer sources of protein.
I think the people realized this, too, and that's one reason why they were reluctant to give up their chickens. Another was the total disbelief in governmental promises of compensation. The Ankara regime has absolutely no credibility, which leads to another factor of the bird flu outbreak: few outside of the affected areas believed the government when it finally admitted there was bird flu. I remember that people in Amed did not believe the claims and butchers, in particular, believed it was a government ploy to increase the prices before Kurban Bayrami.
If you have not heard of any compensation, then there was none. I spent a lot of time searching for information on compensation and found none in relation to the Kurdish people. I did come across a couple of articles in which the regime held meetings with the big poultry industry in the West, to discuss compensating their losses. But I saw nothing for Kurds and have heard of nothing since.
So, nothing ever changes. No compensation for forcibly displaced villagers; no compensation for confiscated chickens.
I am happy you have enjoyed the photos. I cannot take credit for them because they are from friends, but I enjoyed them so much that I thought I would share them.
Since I have the opportunity, I would like to thank you for your work for the Kurdish people, and especially for your thesis. I consider it to be an invaluable contribution to the documentation of the Turkish state's genocide of the Kurdish people. I also feel that if one truly wants to learn about the situation, your thesis should be required reading. Thank you, too, for keeping it available online for everyone to access.
Be well, Dr. Kristiina.
Serkeftin!
Dear Dr. Kristiina,
I hope this message reaches you well. As a Kurd, I want to thank you for all the work you have done for the benefit of a people who have trouble defending themselves. You have enlightened many of us with your research and I thank you for the help you have given us, for your concerns, and for your sacrifices. Your work is encouraging to us and we Kurds continue to have hope that we will one day obtain our rights and find our rightful place in this world because of the contributions to the welfare of humanity and life that people like you give through your hard work.
Thank you.
Post a Comment