Turkey, Armenia and the Defence of Free Expression,
Institute for Contemporary Arts (ICA)
June 19, 2008
Highlighting the English language publication of Fetiye Cetin's biography My Grandmother, this event was sold-out several weeks ahead of time. Chaired by English PEN President, writer Lisa Appignanesi, the evening included a panel of three distinguished
speakers in addition to Cetin herself: Ragip Zarakolu, well-known dissident publisher and activist, Nouritza Matossian, writer and filmmaker, and Maureen Freely, writer and translator.
Ragip Zarakolu, battling for freedom of expression for writers in Turkey for many years, is currently being prosecuted for publishing the
Turkish translation of George Jerjian's "The Truth Will Set Us Free". "Parev, Shalom, Merhaba", he began as he spoke about the situation today in Turkey.
On a personal level he noted that he had not been able to travel the day before as planned, ill from the strain of the court case. However, he felt he must take part as planned at the
ICA event. Nouritza Matossian spoke of her own grandmother, the horrors she had seen and "the stories she could not stop telling". She also stated that she hoped that with the new wave of
publishing about Armenians in Turkey, more information will become freely available about the contributions Armenians made during the Ottoman years. The beautifully crafted English translation of
My Grandmother was done by Maureen Freely who has also contributed a very powerful introduction to the book. This evening she began by noting how difficult it is to talk about
these issues because she cares deeply about Turkey. She emphasised that it is crucial not to conflate the people, state and government. It is, she said, the human stories that matter. Fetiye
Cetin's grandmother was a heroic woman. The pain carries on but so too does the possibility of hope. This book is about helping Turkey to come to terms with its own complex past and present.
The book is redemptive as well as stating the problems very clearly. Freeley then read her favourite passage from the book.
The evening ended with a brief talk by author and human rights lawyer, Feitye Cetin. Sadly, this was hampered by the organisers having left out the provision of a prepared translation. As Cetin
speaks only Turkish, a kind personal friend stepped in to help, noting at the end that he felt he had not been able to do justice to Cetin's subtle and complex thoughts. However, those present were
impressed, in spite of this disadvantage. Cetin described the present situation in Turkey as being one in which the protective shells built around the country's problems are beginning to be broken
open. This is difficult, she said, and new problems are emerging as a result of the breaking of the
shells. She was, however, optimistic, saying that the journey takes its toll but the ideas then reach
the next generation. After hearing her grandmother's story she asked herself – how can I help to ameliorate the pain of breaking these shells? How can I find a language that detaches itself from
revenge? In writing the book she tried to tell the story but also transcend essentialism, nationalism, ethnicity to tell a story with universal meaning and make substantial connections between peoples.
My Grandmother was published four years ago and thus far, Cetin notes, she has not received any negative comments. People tell her that they cry when they read it but then, they begin
thinking. She has received phone calls from people telling her that her story made sense, that it
explained their history. A journalist wrote an article entitled "She Was My Grandmother Too" and Cetin believes that there are many more stories to tell. Some people have apologised to her but
Cetin feels that people do not need to apologise if it is not their fault. Quoting from Ece Temelkuran's new book, The Deep Mountain, she read, "We have something missing – what
we should do is go through the bereavement process together. We will not free ourselves from the burden of the past unless we go through the process together." Fetiye Cetin continued, My
Grandmother, the book, is an invitation to do that.
---Susan Pattie, July 1, 2008 |
