Following the ongoing prosecution of academics in Turkey, whose only crime is to wish for a future without violence, we sent a letter to the Turkish Ambassador in Israel, The Turkish Ministries of Justice and Education and to other institutions demanding an end to the judicial harassment against the members of Barış İçin Akademisyenler / Academics for Peace (full letter in comments).
As an act of solidarity with Prof. Ayşe Gül Altınay, who was sentenced last week to 25 months in prison we also shared part of her powerful statement in court, May 21, 2019 (English translation by Bianet English):
“Every individual, every family living in this geography has suffered from past wars, migrations and experiences of violence. In terms of the cycle of violence that trauma studies alerts us to, we live in a challenging, vulnerable geography. Yet, what we make of these past experiences of pain is up to us... Are we going to turn our pain into more violence, hate, pain and injustice, or into steps that multiply life, beauty, love, peace and justice? This is the main question that shapes my work and my life. I firmly believe that we all have new steps we can take towards healing the traumas that have been transmitted from one generation to the other, and to break out of the cycles of violence that we are living through.”
Source: https://www.facebook.com/academiaforequality/photos/a.1699851773604148/2...