Wednesday 5 June 2013

#occupygezi

It seems ironic but I just realised this blog currently has a more relevant title than ever.

Whilst I set this up to take a light-hearted look at tiny, unnoticed things that generally made me smile, we now find ourselves in a period where citizens of Turkey are fighting against their media's cloak of invisibility.

Is still think  #occupygezi is the most powerful website, just photographs regularly updated with real-life actions in Turkey.

The hashtag #occupygezi is being plastered all over Twitter, and videos such as this police brutality and it all started with a tree are popping up all over Youtube to describe what is actually happening.

I think this is great; the people of Turkey are beating the silence protrayed by the Turkish media. They just want to be heard, and there are so many of them!

Now, after several days, let's hope that something constructive comes of all of this...

Saturday 1 June 2013

Inevitable riots

I'm amazed and impressed by those standing up to the government in Turkey, right now. Marching across the bridge in defiance of public transport bans. Fighting for what they believe. 

This has been coming for a while, the tension between the public and the increasingly authoritarian government finally reaching breaking point.

Updated photos at here show the extent of the violence. The news is not being particularly well documented by the Turkish media.

Below, on a slightly separate note, is a picture of the police reacting to some incredibly mild-mannered protests outside our office several months ago. A small group of about 15 well-behaved, middle aged workers were marching in protest of job cuts. The authorities felt it was necessary to send hundreds of tear-gas-wielding riot police to mow them down using a water cannon and staged attacks. 

When I showed this to my Turkish friends, they were not at all surprised.