Gezi: Losing the Fear, Living the Dream | ROAR Magazine

Gezi: Losing the Fear, Living the Dream | ROAR Magazine

Had I not experienced it myself, I would hardly believe that the apolitical people of Turkey, cowed by a history of coups d’étât, peer pressure and civil authoritarianism backed up by a vicious security apparatus would fill the streets of the country and resist for months after. We were there to protest the authoritarian front that found its voice in Erdoğan, and the intolerable assertiveness of a corrupt government. But the demonstrations spread so swiftly that I, along with many others, was puzzled and unable to grasp how and to what end things were happening.

Now, looking back, I have even more questions than I started out with. Of one thing I am certain: the resistance sparked by Gezi was a proud stance against neoliberal insolence; a strong outcry defying the silence and submission that is predominant among my people, and which is solidified by both conventional and informal education. I will try to share my answers to some questions that troubled me during the course of the resistance, mainly shaped around my personal experiences in Istanbul.

The waters may have calmed, but when we rise again the Gezi Spirit will embolden us to transform the oppressive neoliberal mechanics of this country.