IHH t ea ms

om
Orphan Days fr i
tan
in Lib ya
Lebanon to Pa
04
humanitarian
APRIL
MAY
JUNE

We were in
disaster-hit Japan 45
34
faaliyetler

DON’T BE BLIND
TO THEIR BLINDNESS

By the successfully performed

cataract operations 50.000
EXPENSE
OPERATIOOF AN
N IS
Africans regained their sight.
€60/$80 Our goal is to bring light to
100.000 Africans.

+90 212 631 2121

www.ihh.org.tr
 humanitar
ian
editorial
April - May - June 2011 Dear readers,
Sayı: 45
IHH, as a foundation that is active in 125 countries and regions in
Owner on behalf of IHH the Far East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa,
Humanitarian Relief Foundation the Balkans, the Caucasus and Latin America, in addition to
Atty. F. Bülent YILDIRIM perform humanitarian activities including conducting long term
projects to help orphans, providing cataract operations, building
Executive Editor water wells, and more, also continuing to deliver emergency aid
Murat YILMAZ
to the regions struck by war, natural disasters and crises; with the
Editor support of volunteers and benefactors.
Amine TUNA ERTÜRK IHH teams brought emergency aid to Brazil, Venezuela, Sri Lanka
and Pakistan, where hit by natural disasters in last three months;
Editorial Board
Ahmet Emin DAĞ IHH has visited refugees in various parts of the Middle East,
F. Zehra BAYRAK Southeast Asia and Turkey and delivered winter aid to Jammu
H. Zehra ÖZTÜRK Kashmir and Bangladesh. In addition to these aid works, our
Osman ATALAY activities in various fields, such as supporting orphans, providing
Zeliha SAĞLAM cataract surgery, building water wells and supplying refugee
camps... etc. has been continued. You can find detailed information
Translation
Zenith about our relief works in the Activities section of this magazine.

As IHH, we have been closely following the public unrest in

Corrector
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq and other
Jane Louise Kandur
regional countries. IHH has started emergency aid activities in
Design the areas of public unrest, by delivering food supplies, hot meals,
SİYAHMARTI ADVERTISING drinking water and blankets to the refugees and people who
Tel: +90 (216) 465 55 79 have been forced to flee the country due to the violence. On the
other hand, as the number of injured increases in Libya, IHH
Printing
is delivering medicine and medical equipment to hospitals in
Mavi Ofset
Tel: +90 (212) 549 25 30 al-Bayda and Benghazi cities. Here we share Tunisia and Libya
observations of our emergency aid teams conducting aid works
Address on the ground.
Büyük Karaman Caddesi
Taylasan Sokak No: 3 In addition to a detailed report on “9 Projects for 9 Martyrs”, we also
Fatih-İSTANBUL/TURKEY present a report on Orphan Days, which were carried out between
Tel: +90 (212) 631 21 21 March 16 and 31.
Faks: +90 (212) 621 70 51
With the hopes that this bulletin will provide you a great deal of
info@ihh.org.tr
www.ihh.org.tr information…
humanitarian
APRIL
MAY
JUNE

45

IES
LIGHT
ACTIVIT
in Haiti 26
DA
SPOT
Projects for 06 IHH
uake
on th earthq rsary
AGEyN
s from
Orphan Da Patani
04 9
9 Martyrs
e
annive
Lebanon to

ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITIES
eytinburnu
Support to Z ith Autism
43
ardin’s
Orphans of Mare now 42 Children w l Center
ACTIVITIES

IHH teams in
Libya 36 Bilge Village Sponsor
y
Educationa
supported b ily System
Fa m
 ir 27
in ter aid to Jammu Kashm
ACTIVITIES: W esh 28
n re fu g ee camps in Banglad
Aid for Araka
i refugees 29 anon 29
Food aid to Iraq ian refugees in Syria and Leb
tin
Support to Pales 32
ities
Orphan activ
is 38
IHH team in Tun ezuela 40
f in Ven
Flood relie
in Brazil 40
Emergency aid

ACTIVITIES
We were in 34
ACTIVITIES
cargo ship 30 disaster-hit Ja
pan
ACTIVITIES
translated
Holy Qur’an ungarian
27 The Defne Y in Pakistan
arrived
into H

F
PEOPLE O
EEDS 68
ER
VOLUNTEIE
ACTIVIT S
54 GOOD D
h l Corrie
FUTURE
IN 51 e Rac
PROJECTRSIEF
B

y rains 41
ka w hic h hit by heav
IHH in Sri L a n istan 41
s in ea rt hq uake hit Pak
IHH team amps 43
hechenian c
Food aid to C st organized in Gaza 44 ra 46
te a
Painting con unter for the Mavi Marm banon 48
l e n co in Le 8
Historica Flo tilla won an award es money for Pakistan 4 in 49
The Free d o m rais Spa
o rk ers ’ U n ion in Turkey ory of Mavi Marmara in
TESiŞ W the mem
t was built in
A monumen uman Rights Award 49 family visited IHH 50
dH ’s
IHH receive ce activist Rachel Corrie
n p e a
America ay … 58
fear after tod rld 62
FOCUS: No a to surround entire wo ates the day 66
ik in
Arab perestro : The light of history illum
F IE L D
IN THE
 4

agenda

Orphan Days from

Lebanon to Patani
 5

agendGöanüllü Faaliyetleri

IHH Humanitarian Relief

Foundation went to meet
orphans in 16 countries from Leba-
non to Patani between the dates of
16th and 31st March. During Orphan
Days, that is held for the first time at
this year, IHH teams visited regions
where IHH holds regular and periodi-
cal aid projects for the orphans. The
ongoing projects are inspected on the
ground and feasibility studies done
for future projects. From now on, IHH
will celebrate the dates between 16th
and 31st March as Orphan Days.
In addition to having carried out relief
works for the orphans in regions hit
by war occupation and natural disas-
ters since 1992, our foundation has
started to the Sponsor Family System
in 2007, by which we have taken care
of 16,150 orphans from 27 countries
and regions in the world. IHH sup-
ports orphans via the Sponsor Family
System until they are able to stand on
their own. Also, our social aid projects,
such as special projects for Ramadan,
the Qurban and education, continue.
In the Orphan Days, held between 16th
and 31st March, we have carried out
a variety of programs in 16 out of 27
countries, with our teams from Tur-
key participating in these programs.
Within the scope of Orphan Days, the
visited countries and the organized
relief activities are here as follows:

Country Project
1 Afghanistan Clothing + stationery + health aid
2 Arakan Health screening + wedding ceremony for orphaned
girls + circumcision
3 Albania Clothing
4 Burkina Faso Clothing
5 Chad Blanket aid
6 Ethiopia Health screening + stationery + clothing + picnic
7 Palestine Award ceremony of the painting competition +
stationery aid
8 Iraq Toys + stationery + clothing
9 Kyrgyzstan Provision of required supplies of the orphanage
10 Lebanon Clothing
11 Pakistan Clothing
12 Patani Clothing
13 Somalia Health screening
14 Sudan Clothing
15 Turkey Provision of books and toys
16 Tanzania / Health screening + visits to orphan families
Zanzibar
 spotlight 6

rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr

the
it a r ia n a id volunteers in e
n
In May 2010
, 9 huma
e t s a il to li ft the inhuman
tilla, which s of Gaza and
to de-
Freedom Flo n th e p e o p le sult
posed o lives as a re
embargo im , lo s t th e ir
id materials er to cherish ns
their
liver basic a N o w , in o r d
attack. ometow
of the Israeli ts w il l b e b uilt in their h
memories p
roje c
P r o je c ts fo r 9 Martyrs”.
cope of “9 artyrs”
within the s P r o jects for 9 M
n o f “9
ampaig
Under the c l b e constructe
d:
w in g w il
the follo
 spotlight 7
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr

rs
P r oje c ts for 9 Marty
9 e in Adan
a
tr
Sports Cen
n Topçuoğlu
01 Çe ti
Adıyaman
ld ız D or mitory in
02 Fahri Y a rbakır
n ing C e n tre in Diya
ear
ar Bengi L
03 Ali Hayd in g Centre in
İskenderu
n
e a r n
kyüz L in İzmir
04 Cengiz A al a n d C u lt u ral Centre
Education
5 g iz Songür
0 C e n
Istanbul
or mitory in l
d ır ım D in Istanbu
06 Necdet Yıl a n d C u lt u ral Centre
ational
ıçlar Educ yseri -
07 Cevdet Kıl d Cu lt u ra l Ce ntre in Ka
d on a te th rough tele
oğan Educ
ational an
nstructed
You can e donation
, via
08 F u r k a n D
will be co o n , o n li n
ii r t donati our
by visiting
y in S
rmitor
Bilgen Do it c a r d o r
n;
09 İbrahim cred
c e n te r in perso
foundati o n
ute to
lso contrib
you can a by
c ts fo r 9 Martyrs
9 Pro je for
m a te r ia ls needed
donating riors.
on s tr u c tion and inte
c
spotlight 8

rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr

Ali Haydar Bengi Cengiz Akyüz

Learning Centre Learning Centre
DİYARBAKIR İSKENDERUN

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has
started up learning centre projects in
İskenderun and Diyarbakır, as a contribution to the
education of the younger generation with the sup-
port of your donations. Each centre has the capac-
ity of 120 students, including dormitories with the
capacity of 64 students. Each centre will consist of 6
floors, including a basement and attic, 4 classroom, 8
dormitory rooms, an administrative unit, a library, a
computer room, a sports hall, a dining hall, a masjid,
bathroom, toilet, laundry room, cellar, kitchen, and
other units.
spotlight 9
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr
The dormitory rooms of the centers are planned
according to the international standards and a room
is designed for 4 students to stay. Activity rooms are
also included in the dormitories, to serve students as
a socialization points for their healthy development.
The projects are to be completed one year after the
fund has been raised, which have been planned and
will be implemented by IHH.
The construction of each learning centre will be
implemented on 2,800 m² plot, at a cost of €650,000;
the costs of the interiors will be €200,000. The total
cost of the building, except the plot, is €850,000.
spotlight 10

rojects for 9P s
9 Martyr

Furkan Doğan Cengiz Songür

Educational and Educational and
Cultural Centre Cultural Centre
KAYSERİ İZMİR
Cevdet Kılıçlar
Educational and
Cultural Centre
İSTANBUL

rra
David Sega ker-Venezu
e la)
y Film Ma
(D ocumentar ca tional and
Cultural
ılıç la r E d u
at Cevdet K is will be
I believe th b e n e fici al. I think th
l be very t’s
Centre wil keep Cevde
ro je ct in order to o
a very imp
orta nt p rnalist h
w
e rs o n a nd as a jou
live as a p eople I .
memory a e tr u th to the other p
to show th portant to
tell
gave his life ro je ct is very im
e that th is p r the free-
also believ le in th e struggle fo
et and his ro
about Cevd future gen
erations.
o ple to th e
dom of pe
 spotlight 11
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has prepared

projects to construct educational and cultural
centres in Istanbul, İzmir and Kayseri cities of Turkey. The
The project will be completed one year after the fund has
been raised. The project is planned and will be implement-
ed by IHH.
centers will support the youth for education and will serve
The construction of each educational and cultural centre on
as a social centre to the youth for their development.
3,450 m² plot will cost €750,000, with the interiors costing
Each building has a 174-student capacity, including a sports €200,000. The total cost of the building, except the plot, is
hall, art studio, a library, auditorium, internet hall, study €950,000.
rooms, rest areas, masjid, an administrative unit, servant
rooms, kitchen, bathroom, heating and cooling room, bak-
ery and depot.
spotlight 12

rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr

Fahri Yaldız Necdet Yıldırım

Dormitory Dormitory
ADIYAMAN İSTANBUL

İbrahim Bilgen
Dormitory
SİİRT
 spotlight 13
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr

As a part of the projects, dormitory buildings that have

a 96-student capacity will be built in Siirt, İstanbul
and Adıyaman cities of Turkey to serve the needy students.
The dormitory rooms of the centers are planned according
to the international standards and a room is designed for 4
students to stay.
Activity rooms are included in the dormitories, helping stu-
The project will be completed one year after the fund has
dents to develop socially by providing them social centers.
been raised. The project is planned and will be implement-
Each dormitory consists of 5 floors, including a basement ed by IHH.
and an attic, with study rooms, seminar halls, lobbies, a
The construction of each dormitory will be on 4,304 m²
library, a sports hall, art studios, common areas, meeting
plot and will cost €800,000 with the interiors costing
halls, cafeteria, dormitory rooms, an administrative unit, a
€250,000. The total cost of the building, except the plot, is
security room, a waiting hall, an infirmary, masjid, a dining
€1,050,000.
hall, tea house/buffet, a storeroom, a heating room, janitors’
room, water tank, laundry room, toilets and bathrooms.
spotlight 14

rojects for 9P s
9 Martyr

Çetin Topçuoğlu
Sports Centre
ADANA

is h (Activis t- C a n a d a )
Ke v in N e the deaths
a ss a u lt I witnessed
Israeli d just mete
rs
During the h ile others die s
of some m
art y rs w çuoğ , wa
lu
p a rt ic u la r, Çetin Top s
me. In ing a
away from was work
o se to where I
murdered
v e ry cl ay. He was
e d e ck 4 stairw
pher o n th the Israeli
a photogra g u s, tr y ing to keep
e protectin If not for
killed whil n te ri n g our ship.
os fro m e any more
command m a rt y rs sacrifice m
the other ara that da
y.
Çetin’s and th e Mavi Marm
e die d o n n Aytek
would hav o f m e e ti ng Çetin’s so
the hono r ork
I have had nd good w
Ç e ti n ’s memory a
ow th a t all to n
k e
and so I kn h is fa m ily. As a sm
ied on b y all the
will be carr m e m o ry , I donated
n’s
ect for Çeti ed to me
of my resp n a g e d to get return
h IHH m a ct.
cash, whic rtyrs proje
li th ie v e s, to the 9 Ma lu
rae oğ
from the Is Çetin Topçu
I w il l b e able to visit
Hopefully on.
me day so
s C e n tr e in Adana so
Sport
 spotlight 15
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation conduct-

ing aid projects by your donations, planning
to construct a sports hall in Adana, in the memory of
The project will be completed one year after the fund has
been raised. The project is planned and will be imple-
mented by IHH.
Çetin Topçuoğlu who was a taekwondo instructor. The
The construction of the sports hall will be on 3,165 m²
sports hall project that is designed with the capacity
plot, at a cost of €800,000 with the interiors costing
of up to 500 people, includes a main sports hall, team
€250,000. The total cost of the building, except the plot, is
locker rooms, showers, toilets and a lobby. The centre
€1,000,000.
will focus on mat sports; competitions can be performed
in front of an audience, also help those who come here to
improve their social lives and be beneficial to society.
spotlight 16
rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr
Furkan DOĞAN
F urkan Doğan was born in New York on
October 20, 1991, while his father Ahmet
Doğan was working as a lecturer there. In
1993 he returned to Turkey with his family and
settled in Kayseri. Furkan was in his final year
at Kayseri Hisarcıklıoğlu Private High School.
He was the youngest of three siblings. On May
9th he took the university entrance exam. He
wanted to enter medical school and become an
ophthalmologist.
During the attack, 19-year-old Furkan was on
the upper deck. He was trying to record the
attack with a small video camera. The Israeli
soldiers dragged Furkan after being wounded
by a bullet. According to the witnesses his last
words were: “Allah, accept my shahadah! Allah
accept my shahadah!”
According to the autopsy report from the
Istanbul Institute of Forensic Medicine and
the United Nations Human Rights Council
Report, Furkan Doğan “was on the central
area of the top deck filming with a small
video camerawhen he was first hit with
live fire. It appears that he was lying on the
deck in a conscious, or semi-conscious, state
for some time. In total Furkan received five
bullet wounds, to the face, head, back thorax,
left leg and foot. All of the entry wounds
were on the back of his body, except for the
face wound which entered to the right of his
nose. According to forensic analysis, tattooing
around the wound in his face indicates
that the shot was delivered at point blank
range. Furthermore, the trajectory of the
wound, from bottom to top, together with a
vital abrasion to the left shoulder that could
be consistent with the bullet exit point, is
compatible with the shot being received while
he was lying on the ground on his back. The
other wounds were not the result of firing
in contact, near contact or close range, but it
is not otherwise possible to determine the
exact firing range. The wounds to the leg and
foot were most likely received in a standing
position.”

İbrahim BİLGEN
İ brahim Bilgen was born on March 2, 1949 in
Batman, Beşiri. He lost his father when he was
4 years old. Bilgen completed his high school
education in Elazığ and graduated from Elazığ
Fırat University, Department of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering. He moved to Siirt in 1980.
In addition to his work on engineering, İbrahim
Bilgen was involved in politics. In the 80s, he
led the Siirt branch of the Turkish political party,
Refah Partisi (Welfare Party). He launched the
first local TV channel of Siirt, Selam TV. Married to
Suna Bilgen, İbrahim Bilgen was the father of six
children, Ayşe (1975), Fatma (1977), Yusuf (1978),
Emine (1984), İsmail (1988), Zeynep Meryem (1996).
In 2009, İbrahim Bilgen, who had participated in
Viva Palestina land convoy to Gaza, applied also
joined the Gaza flotilla, stating that he could help
with the organization, due to his professional work
experience.
According to the autopsy report from the Istanbul
Institute of Forensic Medicine and the United
spotlight 17
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr
Nations Human Rights Council Report, the 61-year-
old İbrahim Bilgen “was on the top deck and was
one of the first passengers to be shot. He received a
bullet wound to the chest, the trajectory of which
was from above and not at close range. He had a
further two bullet wounds to the right side of the
back and right buttock, both back to front. These
wounds would not have caused instant death,
but he would have bled to death within a short
time without medical attention. Forensic evidence
shows that he was shot in the side of the head with
a soft baton round at such close proximity and that
an entire bean bag and its wadding penetrated
the skull and lodged in the brain. He had a further
bruise on the right flank consistent with another
beanbag wound. The wounds are consistent with
the deceased initially being shot from soldiers on
board the helicopter above and receiving a further
wound to the head while lying on the ground,
already wounded.”
spotlight 18

rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr

Fahri YALDIZ
F ahri Yaldız was born in Adıyaman, Besni
in 1967. He lost his father when he was 9
years old. He was the oldest child. He took the
the Adıyaman government, Fahri Yıldız also ran a
pastry shop.

Fahri Yaldız opened a library and children’s park in

responsibility for his family at a very young age
and leaving junior high school to work. He worked
at various jobs (pastry maker, ice-cream seller).
Married to Güler Yaldız, Fahri Yaldız was the father
of four children, Muhammed Fatih (1993), Halil
İbrahim (1995), Habibullah (1997) and Harun Yahya
(2002).
Fahri Yaldız worked with the youth foundation
Milli Gençlik Vakfı and Refah Partisi (Welfare
Party), a former Turkish political party, provincial
organizations. He was a director of the youth
foundation Anadolu Gençlik Derneği for eight
years. In 2007, he took an active role in the
Adıyaman Humanitarian Aid Association, which
is a sister foundation of IHH. Being a fireman in
Başlı village of his home town Besni. The mosque
he had begun to construct in his village was
completed after his death and opened to the public.
His mother describes him as “brave, generous,
merciful, and beautiful.”
According to the autopsy report of the Institute of
Istanbul Forensic Medicine and the United Nations
Human Rights Council Report 42-year old Fahri
Yaldız “received five bullet wounds, one to the chest,
one to the left leg and three to the right leg. The chest
wound was caused by a bullet that entered near
the left nipple and hit the heart and lungs before
exiting from the shoulder. This injury would have
caused rapid death.”

Ali Haydar BENGİ
A li Haydar Bengi was born in Diyarbakır,
on September 11, 1971. In 1991 he graduated
from Diyarbakır Religious High School.
In 1997, he graduated from the al-Azhar
University in Egypt, having studied Islamic
Sciences and Arabic Language. He earned
his living as a tradesman. Ali Haydar Bengi
also conducted humanitarian works as the
president of AYDER Solidarity Association.
Married to Saniye Bengi, Ali Haydar Bengi
was father to four children, Mehanur (1995),
Nur Sena (2001), Nur Sema (2001) and
Muhammed Mustafa (2005).
Bengi’s close friend for 25 years and his
companion on the flotilla Recep İdikut tells
what happened on the night of May 30: “I was
going to make an interview with a TV channel
on the flotilla and I talked to him about it. He
wanted me to emphasize that the descendants
of Salahaddin Ayyubi would put their hearts
and souls into this effort. We said goodbye
to each other on that night and he said that
maybe we would never meet again.”
spotlight 19
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9 Martyr
In his written application to join the flotilla,
Ali Haydar Bengi stated that he could deal
with translations and communication on the
ship. 39-year-old Ali Haydar Bengi was on
the upper deck of the Mavi Marmara when
during the raid. Ali Haydar Bengi was shot
in there by the Israeli soldiers. According to
the autopsy report of the Istanbul Institute
of Forensic Medicine and the United Nations
Human Rights Council Report Ali Haydar
Bengi received six bullet wounds (one in the
chest, one in the abdomen, one in the right
arm, one in the right thigh and two in the left
hand). One bullet lodged in the chest area. None
of the wounds would have been instantly fatal,
but damage to the liver caused bleeding which
would have been fatal if not stemmed. There
are several witness accounts which suggest
that Israeli soldiers shot the deceased in the
back and chest at close range while he was
lying on the deck as a consequence of initial
bullet wounds.”
spotlight 20

rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr

Cengiz AKYÜZ
C engiz Akyüz was born in Mardin, Midyat
in May 15, 1969. He was a craftsman
of decorative rendering and plastering in
loud and he said, ‘No, we are writing history.’ ”

Cengiz Akyüz who joined the flotilla by stating

İskenderun. He was married to Nimet Akyüz,
and father of three children, Furkan (1996),
Beyza (1998) ve Erva Kardelen (2001). In
Iskenderun he worked actively as a volunteer
in many non governmental organizations
primarily IHH’s sister association, İskenderun
Humanitarian Relief Association.
Cengiz Akyüz’s friend for 23 years, Zekeriya
Kanat shared a memory from when they were
waiting for the flotilla to leave Antalya: “We
were waiting for the departure of the ship and
we were resting. While I was writing on my
diary, I said, ‘We are a part of history now’ out
that he could be helpful in construction works
in Gaza, became one of the victims who was
slaughtered at the first minutes of the raid.
According to the autopsy report from the
Istanbul Institute of Forensic Medicine and the
United Nations Human Rights Council Report,
41-year old Cengiz Akyüz was “injured on the
bridge deck in close succession by live fire from
above. He had been sheltering and was shot as
he attempted to move inside the door leading to
the stairwell. Cengiz Akyüz received a shot to
the head and it is probable that he died instantly.
The pathology report shows four wounds: to the
neck, face, chest and thigh.”

Cengiz SONGÜR
C engiz Songür was born in June, 1963 in
Hüseyinler village of Konya’s Beyşehir
province. After finishing primary school he
began to work. He lived in İzmir and was
married to Nurcan Songür, and was the father
of six children, Ayşegül (1983), Hacer (1986),
Sümeyye (1987), İsmail (1990), Zeynep (1992),
Senanur (1994) and Meryem (1996).
Cengiz Songür stated that he would be able to
help with technical and mechanical tasks for the
flotilla. When asked why he wanted to join the
flotilla he responded: “Due to the responsibility of
my faith and being a witness to the era…”
In the letter that was put in his pocket by one
of his daughters and found by Cengiz Songür’s
himself later on when he was on the ship, it is
spotlight 21
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Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr
written that: “I am scared father. I am scared
when I see the sadness in my siblings’ eyes and
the worry in my mother’s face. But even if I lose
you, you must go father… For the smile of an
orphan, for the prayer of a mother… Even if your
name would return alone, go...”
According to the autopsy report from the
Istanbul Institute of Forensic Medicine Reports
and the United Nations Human Rights Council
Report, 47-year-old Cengiz Songür “received a
single bullet to the upper central thorax below
the neck, shot from a high angle, which lodged
in the right thoracic cavity injuring the heart
and aorta. Unsuccessful efforts were made
by doctors inside the ship to resuscitate him
through heart massage.”
spotlight
22
s
9 Martyr
Çetin TOPÇUOĞLU
Ç etin Topçuoğlu was born in Adana in 1956. He
retired from Çukobirlik as a civil servant in
1998. He played amateur football in Adana Demir
Spor for two years. He was interested in various
sports, such as taekwondo, boxing, wrestling,
swimming, athletics and judo. He attained high
degrees in international taekwondo championships.
He was working voluntarily in one of IHH’s
sister foundations, the Adana Humanitarian
Aid Foundation and was involved in orphan
organizations; he led education, culture and youth
commissions. Married to Çiğdem Topçuoğlu, Çetin
Topçuoğlu had a son Aytek (1984).
He attended Viva Palestina land convoy in 2009
before joining the flotilla organization. When
applying to join the flotilla, he stated that he could
contribute as an instructor and first aid expert.
According to the autopsy report from the Istanbul
Institute of Forensic Medicine and the United Nations
Human Rights Council Report, 54-year- old Çetin
Topçuoğlu “had been involved in helping to bring
injured passengers inside the ship to be treated. He
was also shot close to the door on the bridge deck.
He did not die instantly and his wife, who was also
on board the ship, was with him when he died. He
was shot by three bullets. One bullet entered from
the top the soft tissues of the right side of the back of
the head, exited from the neck and then reentered
into the thorax. Another bullet entered the left buttock
and lodged in the right pelvis. The third entered the
right groin and exited from the lower back. There
are indications that the victim may have been in a
crouching or bending position when this wound
was sustained.” According to the statement of the
witnesses his last words were “My son…”

Cevdet KILIÇLAR
B orn in 1972 in Kayseri, Cevdet Kılıçlar
graduated from the Faculty of
Communications at Marmara University. He
worked for several Turkish newspapers including
Milli Gazete, Selam and Vakit. In 2008 he began to
work as IHH’s internet editor. He had two children,
Erdem (1997) and Gülhan (1995), with his wife
Derya.
He boarded the Mavi Marmara in Istanbul on May
22. He was responsible of news edition, IHH’s web
site content, the continuous internet connection
for all the passengers and the press members
on the ship, and inside photography. At the time
of the attack, internet access was cut off. As there
was nothing he could do to restore internet access,
spotlight 23
r
Projects fo
9 s
9 Martyr
he went to the deck to photograph what was
happening.
According to the autopsy report from the Istanbul
Forensic Medicine Institute and the United Nations
Human Rights Council report “at the moment he
was shot 38-year-old Cevdet Kılıçlar was standing
on the bridge deck on the port side of the ship near
to the door leading to the main stairwell and was
attempting to photograph Israeli soldiers on the
top deck. According to the pathology reports, he
received a single bullet to his forehead between
the eyes. The bullet followed a horizontal trajectory
which crossed the middle of the brain from front to
back. He would have died instantly.”
spotlight 24
rojects for
9P s
9 Martyr
Necdet YILDIRIM
N ecdet Yıldırım, whose family is from
Malatya, was born on August 15, 1978, in
Istanbul where he completed his schooling. In
2005 he began to work at IHH in the pharmacy
department of the Domestic Aid Unit. He had one
daughter, Meleknur (2008), with his wife Refika.
He was with the team that worked for
transportation, replacement and inspection of
all the gifts for the orphans and their families
sent by sponsor families and all the necessity
materials for the ship and passengers during the
voyage. At the time of the attack he was on duty
in the press room. According to the testimony of
witnesses, after seeing that his colleague Cevdet
Kılıçlar had been shot and was being put on a
stretcher, Yıldırım ran to the upper deck to help the
wounded. According to the autopsy report from
the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute and the
United Nations Human Rights Council report “the
location and circumstances of the shooting and
death of Necdet Yıldırım remain unclear. He was
shot twice in the thorax, once from the front and
once from the back. The trajectory of both bullets
was from top to bottom. He also received bruises
consistent with plastic bullet impact.”
 t e
ligtle
h r
t 25
fsapaoliy os9yParloYjeacrtsdımforlar
S s
9 Martyr

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 activities
26
Social Aid
IHH in Haiti on the
earthquake anniversary
On January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude
earthquake, with the epicenter
of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince,
struck Haiti. According to official figures,
it is estimated that 316,000 people died,
300,000 were injured, and more than 1
million were left homeless. One year has
passed since the earthquake occurred.
IHH continues to relief works in Haiti
that is started to conduct right after the
earthquake.
Thousands of children have been left
orphaned in Haiti over the past year. 53
Haitian orphans were included in IHH’s
Sponsor Family System. In addition to
the aid provided by IHH’s Sponsor Family
System, support activities for the other
orphans in Haiti are still ongoing. A team
of four, two of whom were paramedics
visited Haiti on the anniversary of the
earthquake; besides working to establish
an orphanage, they also distributed
food, clothing and medicine, and health
screenings were carried out in a number
of different cities, particularly in the capital
of Port-au-Prince, against the recent
cholera epidemics.
The food aid distributed primarily to
orphanages and schools, 4 orphanages
and 3 schools are provided the annual
food aid. The clothing aid is distributed Delmas, Miragone, Delmand and Clersine.
in the La Main Orphanage in the city IHH prepared the posters introducing to
Port-au-Prince. 7 trucks of aid supplies the people the protection ways against
are distributed in the tent cities in various the cholera epidemics that caused the
regions. The volunteer paramedics of death of 4000 people around the country.
the IHH team, Ahmet Altunel MD and The posters were published and posted
Nurse Reyhan Altunel provided health on the public places primarily schools,
screening to 540 people in Lamartinier, orphanages and hospitals.
 activities
27

Social Aid

Holy Quran
translated into
Hungarian language
T he Hanif Islamic and Cultural Association, IHH’s partner
organization in Hungary, completed a two-year
translation project of the Holy Qur’an into Hungarian. The
founders of the Hanif Islamic and Cultural Association,
Ahmet Barışçıl and Halime Zsuzanna held a publicity
program in January. The event was attended by Osman
Şahin, the Imam of the Fatih Mosque; Dr. Kasim Asker
Hasan, the Iraqi ambassador to Hungary; Marton
Gyöngyösi, a parliamentarian from the Hungarian Jobbik
Party; Seyfi Bozkuş, the counselor for religious services
of Turkey’s Austria Embassy; Yusuf Armağan, an IHH
volunteer, and more than 200 other guests. With IHH’s
support to the project, 2000 copies of the Hungarian
translation of the Holy Qur’an have been printed to be
distributed for free.

Winter
aid to
Jammu Kashmir
IHH teams delivered winter aid including winter clothing,
blankets, firewood and heating stove to Jammu Kashmir
where 400 people lost their lives due to the freezing weather. Food aid
packages consisting of rice, sugar, flour, oil and salt were distributed
to 500 families. 1,000 families were provided with blankets and
firewood, and 50 families were given heating stoves. IHH’s health team
conducted health screenings for 1,500 people in the region.
activities
28

Social Aid

Supporting refugee
camps in Bangladesh
M any of elderly people and children have lost their lives
due to harsh winter circumstances in Bangladesh
which began in December. IHH started to relief works for
the homeless, the needy and the refugees who were affected
badly by the temperatures that were below the normal.
In February, IHH team visited seven orphanages, Tamirul
Millat, Munshibagh Darul Quarar Islamia Alim, Daru’l Uloom
Khilgaon, Daru’l Aman, the Mohammad Girls Orphanage and
the Zakat Foundation Orphanage, in the capital city of Dakka
and donated winter clothing and blankets to 350 orphans.
In the Tongi Upozila Dist Gazipur district of Dakka blankets
were also distributed to 542 families. The aid team visited the
Arakan refugee camps and the Daru’l Imam Orphange, the
Imam Bukhari Orphanage, the Al-Markazul Islami Daru’l
Ulum Orphange, the Madrasatu’l Uloomeddineah Orphanage,
and the Jaminia Sultan Uloom Orphanage and distributed
blankets, winter clothing, shoes and stationery. In addition, 100
families in the region were given blankets.

Food aid to
Iraqi refugees
T here are many refugees in Turkey who have been forced to flee from
Iraq because of the U.S invasion in 2003. Since they have not been
granted the refugee status officially and have only been granted temporary
asylum, the refugees are deprived of even the most basic rights, such as the
right to work, education, and health care. The refugees, who reside largely in
Çorum, Sivas and Tokat, are able to continue their lives mainly by the help of
the relief organizations and charitable people in Turkey. Iraqi refugees, who
are one of the primary groups in IHH’s refugee relief works, are provided
periodical aid of food, health care, housing and education. 180 from Çorum,
70 from Tokat and 50 from Sivas; totally 300 families in three different cities
of Turkey were distributed food aid packages in January.
 activities
29

rdımlar
Sosyal Ya

Support to the
Palestinian refugees
in Syria and Lebanon
IHH continues to provide periodic
aid for refugees. IHH provides
aid primarily to the Palestinian refugees
who have scattered into the various
Middle Eastern countries due to the Israeli
occupation. Approximately 500.000
Palestinians live in 10 refugee camps
in Syria and approximately 430.000
Palestinians live in 12 refugee camps in
Lebanon; all live with the hope that they
will return to their homes one day. As
a part of the IHH’s regular aid works for
Palestinian refugees, 146.000 items of
textiles and clothing, worth 1.3 million
Turkish Liras, were sent to 12 refugee
camps in Syria and Lebanon in January.
activities
30

Social Aid
 activities
31

rdımlar
Sosyal Ya

in Pakistan
er ge ncy aid work
d to em in history hit
IHH
starte
e h ea v ie st flood disaster
following th los of aid supp
lies
, an d se nt 441.823 ki
the country in
last Ju ly . The Def Yn e
pl an e an d freight train
y by carg o aded with
to the countr th e en d of December, lo
at
nt to Pakistan lunteers from
cargo ship se by th e eff orts of the vo
s provid ed ne Y
the aid supplie rney, the Def
A fter a 25-day jou
each 81 cities
of Tu rk ey . aid worth 8
0 0 to n s of humanitarian
rrying 4 ,8 us types
cargo ship ca ed to K ar ac hi Port. Vario
h Liras, reach and medical
million Turkis ion m at er ials, medicine
ng constru ct hygiene

Y
of aid includi cated houses,

n e
ri

f
efab

e
ts , pr
, tents, blanke e

D
it regions of th

The
supplies, food st ri bu ted in 5 flood-h
ing wer e di , schoo ,
ls
kits and cloth im ar ily to the hospitals
pr

p
e by village,

i
madrasas.

s h
country villag s sheltering in

r g o
iv or

a
su rv

c
and to th e
orphanages

ar riv ed in
Pakistan
activities
32

Social Aid

Toy campaign for orphans

IHH, which has implemented various aid
projects for orphans to provide education,
health care, housing and more, has started a
new campaign. We provided toys and play
grounds to orphan children in Iraq as a part
of the IHH’s Orphan Days between 16th and 31st
March. By your support the children were full
of smiles.
 activities
33

Social Aid

Orphan
activitie
IHH c
has be
hildren
s
en sup
po
natural
disaster in the g rting the or
providin sa eograp phan
g period nd poverty for hies hit by wa
basic g ic a better r,
oal of IH al and regula future, b
orphan H ’s orpha r a id since y
sw n 1992. Th
until the ho are unable projects is to e
y can, to to main support
and pre sup tain
paring t port them in th themselves
hem for eir educ
and com life by a family ation We share the holiday joy
passion care together
.
100 Turkish orphans who are supported by the IHH’s
Sponsor Family System came together for our breakfast
program, held at IHH headquarter in February. We
shared the holiday joy with our orphans who were
received their mid-term grades.

Sponsor Family System

IHH’s Sponsor Family System, by which the
orphans are supported in 27 countries in
the world and 22 cities of Turkey, has been
expanding by your support. By the year
2011, 30 orphans from Bitlis and Tatvan cities
of Turkey and 60 orphans from Tanzania
Greetings from the Aceh orphanage to
were supported by the system. With the
Gazan sisters and brothers
addition of these the number of orphans Gaza Sisterhood Days held by the IHH’s orphanage Istanbul Dormitory in
that are supported by IHH’s Sponsor Family Aceh. During a week poetry, writing and knowledge contents, and plays
System increased to 1,147 in Turkey and on Gaza were organized.
16,308 in total.
activities 34

gency aid
Emer

A country struck by an
earthquake and tsunami:
We were in Japan

IHH sent emergency aid team to Japan where hit
by one of the worst disasters in its history. Our
five-member team, reached the capital city of Tokyo two
days after the earthquake on March 14, then went on to
Sendai where the most hit by the earthquake and tsunami.
Our team immediately visited the crisis management center
in the region, to be informed about the damage and the basic
needs after the disaster. IHH not only delivered three trucks
activities
35
cy aid
Emergen
of stable food to the crisis management centre to
be distributed to the survivors, it also distributed
food aid packages that would meet the daily needs
for 800 people. We are still in touch with the NGOs
in Tokyo negotiating about the better relief works
in the areas of disaster.
In the disaster zone where the electricity is
supplied periodically during the day, the people
are struggling to provide even the daily basic
needs. 6 million people are deprived of the clean
drinking water. There are long queues before the
supermarkets and the gas stations. Search and
rescue works, evacuation and emergency aid
works are not being able to conduct effectively due
to the electricity cut-offs and oil shortage besides
the radioactive leak.
It is reported that 23 Turkish citizens are in good
health and evacuated safely via the Turkish
embassy from Sendai where the worst hit
city is by the tsunami that happened after the
earthquake.
activities
36

cy Aid
Emergen
 activities
37
cy Aid
Emergen

whom brought to Benghazi from the city

of Brega. A tent city for the 200 families
has been set at the border, 1000 African
construction workers using a construction
yard as a shelter are provided the food
aid, 50 orphans received the clothing aid
and 100 families received monetary aid.

IHH teams in Libya

Besides, by the IHH team and Turkish
embassy 600 Turkish citizens and
international citizens from Egypt, Nepal,
Malaysia, Vietnam and Bangladesh, who
The people of Libya have been on the streets stop bleeding are sent to Benghazi in which
were waiting at the border to pass, are
since February 17 following the people’s many increasing injured is reported and food
evacuated safely and the official paperwork
revolutions in Tunis and Egypt. Gaddafi’s aid packages are delivered to the people who
of whom are completed. The Turkish
regime which has been ruling for 42 years, are stuck at the borders. IHH conducting relief
citizens are provided telecommunication
is trying to crack down the protests in the works at the Ras Jadir border gate which is
with their families in Turkey and the
most inhumane way which were started in located 60-70 km away from the city az- citizens are led to the Turkish embassy.
Zawiyah on the west side of Libya where the
Benghazi and expanding into other cities as IHH set a logistic center in order to store
violent clashes has been hold. IHH providing a
Tripoli, Derna and Misrata. The figures of dead the medicine, medical materials and basic
mobile kitchen and distributing the aid of dry
and wounded are estimated as thousands by needs to deliver emergency aid to the
food, hot meal, drinking water, blankets, milk
the officials. Many international citizens, who people of Libya in case of the borders to the
and infant formula to 10,000 people at a daily
flee from the coastal cities into Tunis or Libya, regions where hold by pro-Gaddafi forces
base in coordination with the humanitarian
are also struggling. IHH started to relief works organizations as Tunisian Red Crescent, Tunis are opened. The aid that costs €200,000
right after the erupted events. The teams Taamun Charity Community and Turkish donated by the people of Tunis is distributed
are conducting relief works at Tunisian- embassy to Tunis. The delivery of daily hot meal to the Libyan by IHH. IHH Humanitarian
Libyan border, Libyan-Egyptian border and by a mobile kitchen is planned to be continued Relief Foundation delivered TL 233,310.00
inside Libya in the cities of Benghazi, Tobruk, till the end of the intensity at the Libyan-Tunisian aid in cash and TL 788.645.00 aid in kind
Derna and al-Bayda. Medical materials and border. 3 Turkish medical doctors with the that totally costs TL 1.021.955.00 to Libya by
antihemorrhagic medicine that helps to IHH team helping the treatment of the injured March.
activities
38

cy Aid
Emergen

IHH team in Tunis
T unis is passing a new era after the dictatorship
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who was overthrown
by the riots and street demonstrations called as
the Jasmine Revolution. Tunis is trying to recover
after 23 years reign of Ben Ali’s iron fist. IHH team
of four people went to Tunis following the erupted
events to conduct emergency aid works and
to meet with the NGO representatives, opinion
leaders and political leaders. The IHH team, whose
primarily aim to provide humanitarian aid to
the people of Tunis and to bring the support of
the people of Turkey to the people of Tunis whose
demand of rights is definitely legitimate, visited
activities
39
cy Aid
Emergen
172 families, 35 of which are the families of the
martyrs including the family of Mohamed
Bouazizi who flamed the people’s revolution
in Tunis. The team conducted relief works in
the cities Sidi Bouzid, Tunis, Kasserine, Thala,
Regueb and Gafsa by providing monetary aid
to the needy families. IHH is became one of the
organizations which visited the country to provide
humanitarian aid where was not allowed the
any kind of organized activities including social,
economical or political and the works of any
international organizations. IHH will continue to
conduct social relief works for the people of Tunis.
 activities
40

cy Aid
Emergen

Flood relief in
Venezuela
30 people lost their lives and 100.000 people became homeless in
Venezuela where hit by the flood after the days of heavy rain
at the beginning of December, 2010. IHH distributed food aid in Altos
del Gallego and Altagracia as a part of the conducting emergency aid
following the disaster. In coordination with Venezuelan Islamic Society,
under the lead of the IHH executive board members Osman Atalay and
Faruk Ünsal, 2500 families were distributed the food aid packages as a
part of the relief works.

Emergency aid in Brazil

Many houses were left under the waters
and earth due to the flood and sliding
by the heavy rains on highlands located
the north of the Brazilian capital Rio de
Janeiro at January 11. The land sliding, that
occurred following the flood disaster by
which 903 people dead and hundreds
are still lost, recorded as one the worst
disasters experienced by the country
in recent years. IHH teams brought the
emergency aid to the region where nearly
3000 houses were demolished and 1,2
billion dollar damaged were occurred.
The teams distributed food and hygiene
kits that worth 10,000 dollar to the
survivors who were settled in the
public buildings and sport halls.
 activities
41
cy Aid
Emergen

IHH in Sri Lanka

which hit by
heavy rains

T he heavy rains that occurred at the beginning of

January caused flood and land sliding in the South
Asian country Sri Lanka. According to the official figures
at least 325.000 people lost their homes after the disaster.
Hundreds of houses and offices were left under waters
in the eastern and middle parts of the country especially
the cultivated areas were severely damaged, the rice
fields which provides the most important basic food to the
people were totally destroyed. Thousands of people are
settled the camps set on the high areas. According to the
UN, over one million people are affected by the disaster,

and food and clean drinking water are among the urgent
needs.
IHH teams are started to conduct emergency aid works
in the disaster hit Batticaloa, Amparai, Trincomalee,
Polonnaruwa, Anuradapura, Kandy and Matale regions,
by providing hot meal to 8650 people in 17 different
refugee camps at the first phase, and distributed food
to 100 families. The 14 medical teams of IHH, examined
the flood survivors at the refugee camps against the
epidemics.
IHH teams
in earthquake
hit Pakistan
A 7,2 magnitude devastating earthquake hit Dalbandin city of
Pakistan’s Balochistan state which is located at the border
to Iran and Afghanistan on January 18th. No loss of life reported
from the region due to the less population but many houses
became unusable since the earthquake.
The IHH teams which reached to the region following the
earthquake started emergency aid works immediately. At the
first phase, food aid packages including sugar, rice, tea, oil, flour
and macaroni, and winter clothing, shoes and blankets are
distributed to 100 families in coordination with the IHH’s local
partner Khubaib Foundation.
 activities
42

Aid
Domestic

Orphans of Mardin’s Bilge Village

are now supported by Sponsor
Family System
In May 4, 2009, 44 people, 7 of whom are children, lost
their lives as a result of an attack to a house in which an
engagement ceremony was held in Bilge Village of Mazıdağı,
Mardin. While the bitterness of the event is still fresh even after
nearly two years, the 51 children under 18 who left orphaned
by this incident, are provided support and protection via IHH’s
Sponsor Family System. The Bilge Village orphans will be also
provided IHH’s periodical aids of housing, food, clothing and
education. Yo
payin suppor u may
g €3 t an o
or do 5 or $50 rphan b
na m y
Fill o ting to th ontly for
ut the e orp
S fo ha a year
http: ponsor F rm to be n fund.
//ww
w.ihh amily Sy part of
.org. s
tr/ye tem:
timta
lep/e
n

Food aid to
Chechenian
camps
I HH continues to support a part of the Chechenian
refugees who had to flee from their country during
Chechenian-Russian War and whom are settled in the
camps located in Fenerbahçe, Beykoz and Ümraniye
districts of Istanbul. Food aid packages are delivered to 30
families in Ümraniye, 20 families in Beykoz and 52 families
who stay at the camp in Fenerbahçe.
activities
43
Aid
Domestic
Support to Zeytinburnu
Children with Autism
Educational
Center
A utism known as a developmental disorder, affecting the
social interaction and communication skills of the child,
that begins at the age of 3 and lasts a life time. In Turkey there
are only 38 educational centre for the children with autism that
opened by governorship and only 8 of them are in Istanbul.
IHH supports educational centers for the children with autism
in Zeytinburnu and Kağıthane districts of Istanbul. IHH which
previously supported Kağıthane Center for Children with
Autism by providing educational materials and furnishing,
set a new classroom for the Zeytinburnu Educational Center
for the Children with Autism. Special mattresses are covered
on the walls of the new classroom for protection and special
educational kits are also donated to the center which serves to 85
autistic students with different age and intelligence level.
 44

activities
 45

activities

g con test
Paintin Ga za
organize d in udents of
a m o n g the Gazan st
conte st e dates
a painting between th
organized h o o ls

IHH
and hig h sc
, secondary erent age
elementary ch il d re n from diff
500 Palest
inia n orld”. The
th November. , titl e d “Th is is my w
15th and 30 ting contest d the world
a rt ic ip ate d to the pain co n d it io n s, expresse
groups p hard ts
aza under h cartoonis
d re n , w ho live in G ng . P ro m inent Turkis iğ dem
ch il pain ti zkurt, C
e y d re a m to live in by Ç e ti n k a y a, Rabia Bo
that th n
ris, Dağısta
sa n A y cı n , Mevlana İd ju ry of the co
ntest.
Ha li w e re th e
Turan Dert ber 16th,
Tavkul and a re d on Decem
conte st d e cl , 14-year-old
su lt s o f th e painting ta ry sc h o ol students
The re lemen -year-
D u h a V e il among e h o o l st u d ents and 15
8-year-old g secondary
sc
nounced a
s
m m e d B ashir amon o o l st u d e n ts were an
Muh a h en
ong high sc st were giv
f Mesad am in the conte
old Lina Ate nts who ca m e o u t
za.
ll the stude s held in Ga
winners. A ce re m o ny that wa
ard lied
ts at the aw which app
various gif a ll th e paintings at
sen am o n g arma bo ra
ti n g s th a t were cho u l, in si d e the Mavi M
170 pain nb e
ibited in Ista Turkey, as
a part of th
n te st , were exh ty o f .
to th e co Kay se ri ci in Ja uary
n
k si m S q uare, and in a za W a r anniversary
and at Ta the G
anized for
iv it ie s th a t were org
act
 46

activities

Historical encounter for the Mavi Marmara
219 days after Israel’s bloody attack
which killed nine volunteers
of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, the
Mavi Marmara ship returned home.
After completing the official procedures
at the port of Kepez in Çanakkale, the
Mavi Marmara arrived in Istanbul on
December 26 welcomed by an enormous
crowd at a ceremony organized by
IHH. Accompanied by a tugboat from
the Directorate General of Coastal
Safety and Sea Rescue, approximately
100,000 people attended the ceremony
to welcome the Mavi Marmara at the
Sarayburnu port where the ship was
docked. Fireworks were set off from the
Galata Bridge when the ship was near
the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait. As
the ship approached the port, red, black,
white and green balloons representing
the Palestinian flag were released.
Buses left many cities in Anatolia for the
ceremony. In addition to Turkish citizens
at the ceremony, the families and friends
of those martyred on the Mavi Marmara,
passengers from the flotilla, politicians,
representatives from non-governmental
organizations, authors, artists, and
hundreds of activists from 50 different
countries also attended.
47
activities
The speakers at the ceremony
included IHH President Bülent
Yıldırım, Ahmet Doğan, father of
the martyred Furkan Doğan, who
spoke on behalf of the families of the
martyred, Palestinian Archbishop
Hilarion Capucci, Dror Elimelech
Feiler from Ship to Gaza Sweden,
Audrey Bomse from the Free Gaza
Movement, Muhammad Sawalha
from the International Committee to
Lift the Siege on Gaza, Mazen Kahel
from the European Campaign to
End the Siege on Gaza and Dimitris
Pleionis from Ship to Gaza Greece.
On one of the most crowded days
in history in Sarayburnu, Alper
Sunaçoğlu, a member of the national
swim team and world record holder,
swam as part of a team to meet
the Mavi Marmara. While docked
at the port, the ship was visited by
the families of the martyrs and the
people who attended the ceremony.
Mavi Marmara was open to visitors
for two weeks; after that taken to
the Tuzla shipyard. There have been
invitations from other countries to
ship, which is still undergoing repairs
and maintenance.
 48

activities

The Freedom Flotilla A n award ceremony was held

by “Inter Community Dialogue
Society” for the Mavi Marmara and
the humanitarian aid flotilla at the

received an award beginning of January in Beirut.

Hundreds of people from different

in Lebanon
religious and political groups
attended the ceremony, where
plaques were given to IHH’s president
Bülent Yıldırım, Ahmet Doğan, father
of the martyr Furkan Doğan, İsmail
Bilgen, son of the martyr İbrahim
Bilgen and among the passengers
Turkish journalists Hakan Albayrak,
Adem Özköse and IHH’s executive
board members Ömer Faruk
Korkmaz and Kemal Özdal.

TESİŞ Workers’ Union in Turkey

raises money for Pakistan
A fter the disastrous floods which
hit Pakistan last year, the Energy,
Water and Gas Workers’ Union (TESiŞ)
of Turkey organized a humanitarian aid
campaign which raised 63,000 Turkish
Liras. The collected money was handed
over by the president of the Istanbul
branch No. 3, Hüseyin Özil, and the
board members to IHH to be delivered
to Pakistan.

A monument was built
in the memory of Mavi
Marmara in Spain
A monument was built in Spanish
capital Madrid, in the memory of
9 activists from Turkey who became
martyred at the Mavi Marmara
by the Israeli raid on May 31. The
monument located at the Palestine
Park in Leganes province of Madrid
IHH received “Human Rights Award”
T he International Cultural
Youth Council (Conseil de la
Jeunesse Pluriculturelle/COJEP)
in Strasbourg, France, held its
second COJEP Awards ceremony
this year and awarded IHH with
the Human Rights Award for its
role in the Gaza humanitarian aid
flotilla. Each year on World Human
Rights Day, COJEP recognizes an
influential person or organization.
by a ceremony which was attended
by Turkish ambassador to Madrid
Ender Arat, Palestinian ambassador
to Madrid, Musa Odeh, the Mayor of
Leganes Rafael Gomez Montoya, IHH
executive board member Ahmet
Emin Dağ and representatives of
At an award ceremony held on
December 10, in Geneva, COJEP
President Ali Gedikoğlu presented
Hüseyin Oruç, IHH’s executive board
member, the Human Rights Award.
The following awards were also
presented: Intercultural Dialogue:
Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri,
the Islamic Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization - ISESCO
Director General (Morocco). Struggle
49
activities
various NGOs. The monument, which
was eructed by the initiatives of two
Spanish activists who were on board
on Mavi Marmara, and by the support
of NGOs, made by sculptures Roxanne
Robinson and Arevalo Beteta.
Racism and Discriminations: Lilian
Thuram (France). Living Together:
Malika Benarab-Attou, Member of
the European Parliament (France).
Citizenship: Jean Louis Gagnaire,
Parliamentarian from Loire
(France). Civil Society: Cyril Ritchie,
Conference of UN NGOs (CONGO),
first Vice President (Ireland).
 50

activities

American peace activist

Rachel Corrie’s family
visited IHH

The family of American peace activist Rachel

Corrie, who was crushed to death in 2003 by an
Israeli bulldozer while attempting to prevent the
destruction of the house belonging a Palestinian
family, visited IHH. At the IHH headquarter, an
acquaintance meeting held by IHH, with Cindy
and Craig Corrie, who were happened to be in
Turkey for the premiere of the play in the name
of Rachel Corrie who is accepted as an anti-war
symbol globally. The people who were part of
the flotilla and the relatives of the martyrs also
participated in the meeting with the Corrie
family. In addition to this, Cindy and Craig
Corrie visited the Mavi Marmara, which is taken
into reparation at the Tuzla shipyard, by the
companion of IHH President Bülent Yıldırım and
Mavi Marmara Captain Mahmut Tural.
 r e pro jects 51
f activitf ies
utu
in brie

Educational Bursary
Project ACEH
A n orphanage complex was built in the Banda Aceh region of Indonesia by IHH in 2006
for the children who lost their families in the tsunami of December 26, 2004. The Istanbul
Dormitory, which consists of nine buildings built over a 5,000 square meter area, meets an
important need in a region which suffered great destruction. As part of this $18,000 project,
the education expenses of 30 university students at the Istanbul Dormitory are being met. The
orphans who are part of this project and their fields of study are listed below:

* Fıtri Jasmin – Faculty of Education * Nurmadini - Faculty of Education

* Rahmania – Department of Economics
* Cut Putriana – Department of Psychology
* Elviana- Faculty of Education
* Lidia Agustina - Faculty of Education
* Marleni – Department of Electronic Engineering
* Nurhilma – Department of Civil Engineering
* Junidar Arabia – Department of Business Administration
* Yusnidar – Faculty of Technical Education
* Fitriani – Faculty of Fine Arts
* Siti Hafsa – Faculty of Theology
* Muliani – Department of Islamic Banking
* Fatimah – Department of Primary Education
* Miftahul Cennet - Department of Primary Education
* Maryam – Department of English Language and Literature
* Melisa - Department of Primary Education
* Arini – Faculty of Communications
 e
retle
p rr
o je 52ts
c
fafaulituy brrtieİçifYardımlar
52

inYu

Micro-credit
Project IRAQ

I nvaded in 2003 by the U.S. and

the coalition forces and dragged
into a major humanitarian crisis,
the Iraqi people’s education, health,
commerce, industry, etc. needs are
not being satisfied. Since 2003, IHH
has implemented various projects
to improve the social conditions for
the five million orphan children and
one million widow women of the
country. As part of the micro-credit
project, 30 widows in Baghdad will
receive training from experts in fields
such as catering, hair styling, sewing,
embroidery, and kindergarten
teaching. Following this training, they
will be given $1,500 loans in order
to put their new skills into practice.
Repayment of the loans will begin at
the end of the third month and will
be completed in 18 months. Project
follow-up will be carried out by the
experts. The total cost of the micro-
credit project is $161,000, including the
training, the planning of the projects
which receive loans, the follow-up
and administrative expenses .

Wheelchair
project SYRIA
In Syria, a country with a 20 million population, there are
around 500,000 Palestinian refugees. It is estimated that
in the 10 refugee camps in the country there are 10,000 people
who have walking disability, and it is known that only up to
2,000 of these have wheelchairs. It is hoped that with this project,
wheelchairs will be procured for the refugees, people who are
unable to benefit from state services and lack even the most basic
rights of citizenship. In the first phase 500 Palestinian refugees will
benefit from this project. The cost of a wheelchair is $100, with the
total project costing $50,000.
 o je
e c
t t
lesr 5533
futufraaliy f
e pr
lar
in brie Yurt İçi Yardım

Renovation
project of homes
in the Masjid al-
Aqsa vicinity
PALESTINE
T he Israeli government continues to spent effort to turn
Jerusalem into a Jewish city in Palestine, which has been under
occupation since 1948; every means has been employed to change
the demographic structure of the city. In particular, excavations are
being conducted underneath Masjid al-Aqsa in order to rebuild the
Temple of Solomon, which is considered to be sacred by Jews, and
as a result centuries-old Muslim neighborhoods in the vicinity of
the mosque are being destroyed. The Israeli government is seizing
or issuing demolition orders for homes in neighborhoods that are
unable to be renovated due to financial restrictions. The goal of this
project is to renovate five Palestinian homes in the Saiyda, Jabsha,
Mujahideen and Liglag neighborhoods near the Masjid al-Aqsa. The
total cost of the project is $243,000.

School and orphanage

construction project MORO
11 million Muslims live in Moro,
located in the southern Philippines
in South Asia. The Muslim population
in Moro, which is still struggling for
independence, is subjected to the
Philippines government’s systematic
policies of impoverishment. With
restricted rights and freedoms, the
impoverished Muslims of Moro are in
desperate need of political and economic
support. IHH is continuing to social aid
works in Moro, where one of the most
important areas of activity. As part of this
project it is planned that the construction
of the half-finished Dar’ul Ulum School
in the capital of Moro, the Barangay
Tomontaka region of Cotabato, will be
completed and an orphanage will be
built alongside the school. The project will
be completed within six months after
funding has been raised. The total project
will cost 30,000 Euros.
activities
54

Activities
Volunteer

Volunteer activities
As an institution founded upon the principle of
volunteerism, the lion’s share of IHH’s activities is carried
out by volunteers who donate their time, labor and
patience, both day and night. While the IHH volunteers
work to bring about permanent projects that are
developed to solve the problems of the poor and needy
in the 125 countries and regions where IHH is actively
conducting relief works, they also continue to spread
IHH’s humanitarian aid mission with the organization
of conferences, photograph exhibitions, seminars and
similar events. In the last three months, through their
efforts our volunteers in Turkey have carried out various
activities, including projects for water well constructions,
cataract surgeries, and supporting orphans.
activities
55
Activities
Volunteer
Publicity works continue
The president of the Mavi Marmara Association,
İsmail Yılmaz, and the wives of the martyrs
participated in a Mavi Marmara-themed
program organized by the AK Party Sultangazi
Disabled People Commission. During the
program donations for Palestine were
collected. Another program concerned with
the Mavi Marmara was organized by ÖĞDER
in Şanlıurfa. In Rize a conference was held
for IHH volunteers, about Mavi Marmara
and IHH volunteer efforts. As part of the IHH
publicity works, volunteers in Düzce organized
a conference, and a meeting concerned with
IHH projects was held for volunteers in
Şanlıurfa at the İlk Öncüler Derneği and the
Hikmet Foundation. In Çorum, IHH volunteers
organized a Mavi Marmara themed photograph
exhibition. The Gaziantep Humanitarian Aid
Association held a seminar to publicize IHH’s “9
Monuments for 9 Martyrs” project.
IHH volunteers in Kırşehir and Sivas prepared
regional handcrafts and food products to be sold
at charity sales for the sister organization of
IHH, Sefire-i Alem, which serves international
students studying in Turkey. IHH volunteers
in Antalya and Burdur organized seminars on
Egypt.
IHH volunteers also contributed to publicity
works of the foundation in the social media.
In the last three months, our volunteers have
undertaken the task of publicizing IHH on
social networks such as Facebook, Twitter,
Flickr, etc., as well as providing great support in
providing English translations and translating
photographs, video, news pieces, articles, etc.,
from various languages into Turkish.
activities
56
Activities
Volunteer
A helping hand to
Pakistan
IHH volunteers from Bursa held a
number of activities to help to the
construction of houses in Pakistan,
collecting donations to build 80
residences for the flood victims.
Students at the Private Neva
Elementary School in Sakarya and
IHH volunteers in Üsküdar provided
support for the house construction
project in Pakistan. Volunteers from
Elazığ organized a charity breakfast to
provide funds to complete the Pakistan
house project. Kindergarten students
of Parlayan Yıldız Anaokulu organized
a conference to help Pakistan. By the
organized programs, Konya’s AYDER
sponsored the construction of 25
homes; the İnegöl Humanitarian Aid
Association sponsored 20 homes,
the Ankara Humanitarian Aid
Association sponsored 2 homes and
the Kahramanmaraş Humanitarian
Aid Association also sponsored 2
homes. In addition, a photograph
exhibition for the public organized
by the Giresun Federation entitled
“Healing the Wounds in Pakistan”. The
exhibition was hosted by the Üsküdar
Municipality.
We became
volunteers for orphans
Our IHH volunteers in Afyon sent
regional products to be sold to raise
funds for orphans at the Istanbul
Başakşehir Orphan Support Center.
Our volunteers in Beylikdüzü
organized a charity breakfast to
support the construction of orphanages
in Afghanistan. The İsar Charity Group
started to take care of five more orphans
via the Sponsor Family System. A charity
breakfast to support the Shura Group
Afghanistan orphanage was held by IHH
volunteers in Güngören. Istanbul Salih Zeki
Elementary School students paid a visit
to our foundation, donating their savings
to the orphans. Women volunteers in
Istanbul organized two large charity event
ticket sales to support the Sponsor Family
System. The funds raised at the programs
in Topkapı and Pendik were enough to
meet the needs for 150 orphans for a year.
Volunteers continue
Erzurum’s AZAMDER held in fundraising to build water wells
activities to benefit an educational and and carry out cataract
orphanage project to aid orphans in projects
Kyrgyzstan. Kardelen Kindergarten Our volunteers in Balıkesir’s Gönen
students visited our foundation and organized a fund-raising charity
received information on projects related to
breakfast to dig two water wells in Africa.
orphans. In Konya, IHH volunteers teamed IHH volunteers from Beylikdüzü and
up with AYDER to organize a charity the İsar Aid Group provided support
breakfast to help orphans, and used the for the cataract project. IHH Samsun
raised fund to buy winter clothing for volunteers and volunteers from Terme
the orphans. Psychologists who work as Eğitim-Bir-Sen organized a seminar
volunteers continued their efforts to help the about IHH’s work in Africa. During the
rehabilitation of orphan families. program, donations were collected for

a well-construction project. Samsun
volunteers gave enough donations to
IHH donations to build 3 wells, while
Terme Eğitim-Bir-Sen volunteers
providing donations to open 5 wells. The
Zonguldak Educational Aid and Support
Association for Lasting Enlightenment
(SAYDER) organized various events
to fund the digging of 5 water wells.
A conference was held at Istanbul’s
ERDEMDER on Sudan and IHH’s efforts
in Africa. Program attendees donated
money to IHH to support cataract
operations. In addition, in the past three
months, two doctors and six healthcare
professionals who work voluntarily
for IHH participated in the Africa
cataract project, conducting 700 cataract
operations in the regions to which they
had been assigned.
Volunteers participate
in domestic aid
distribution
The distribution of sacrificial Qurban
meat and food aid to needy families was
conducted in Istanbul, Sakarya, Bolu,
Düzce, Kocaeli, Bursa, Kütahya, Uşak,
İzmir and Balıkesir. 100 of our volunteers
participated in the distribution efforts
as part of the IHH teams. In addition, 50
of our volunteers worked to distribute
foodstuffs and sacrificial Qurban meat
to Iraqi, East Turkistani, Chechen,
Ahiskan and Uzbek refugee families and
international students in Istanbul, Tokat,
Sivas and Çorum
Welcomed Mavi
Marmara with our
volunteers
A total of 410 volunteers took part in
the welcoming ceremony of the Mavi
Marmara on December 26 in Istanbul;
thousands of friends from Palestine
also participated. In the two weeks
following the return of the ship, 150 of
our volunteers supported us every day
as tens of thousands of people visited the
Mavi Marmara.
activities
57
Activities
Volunteer
Ehda Educational
Institutions and IHH
hand in hand
Students from the Private Neva
Primary School, which is part of
the Ehda Educational Institutions
in Sakarya, as well as the Kerime
Hatun High School and Mefkure
Coaching Center, have provided
important voluntary assistance for
IHH since 2004. Here are some of
the projects which the students have
been supporting through their own
allowances.
• 4,750 TL in aid has been sent to
Indonesia, hit by an earthquake
tsunami in 2004
• 2,500 TL of aid to Pakistan, hit by an
earthquake in 2005
• 16,000 TL donated for a water-well
in Niger in 2007
• 4,300 TL donation to the IHH Africa
Cataract Project in 2008
• 12,000 TL sent to Palestine in 2009
• 900 TL in aid in the aftermath of the
earthquake that hit Elazığ, Turkey on
March 8, 2010
• A donation of 8,200 TL, the exact
cost of a house, to the permanent
housing project in Pakistan in 2010
• Annual contributions through IHH
Eid ul Adha campaign.
 58

focus

No fear
after today …
Mustafa Öztürk
 59

focuGsönüllü Faaliyetleri

T he final scream pierced through the air. The looks of those who saw
him were filled with horror. Everyone on the street turned in that
direction. Those gathered around him screamed in anxiety, and ran back
system even forbade seeking refuge
in Allah! Men were stationed in
front of mosques, and everything
and forth helplessly. Something had to be done, something, but what? was notated and reported – ranging
A little earlier, unemployed university student Muhammad Bouazizi,
from who came to the mosque at
whom the police had not allowed to continue peddling in the street by
what time and with what frequency
confiscating his cart of oranges, had doused himself in gasoline and set
to what the imam preached and
himself fire. Muhammad could not have known that by this action he
would move the masses. He didn’t know that the iron fist of the despot, whether or not he provided private
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which had ruled for 23 years, would be thrown. lessons to the congregation, as well as
Instantly, Muhammad’s fire spread through in this small, pleasant notation of those houses in which the
Mediterranean country in North Africa with a population of 10 million lights were switched on at the time
and whose economy relies upon agriculture and tourism. for morning prayer.

The graffiti: “There is no fear after

Forms of oppression
Poverty, unemployment, a high cost of
living, corruption, ignoring the public
will, an unjust distribution of income,
corruption, nepotism and oppression
in freedom of thought, expression and
action had become ordinary factors in
the lives of the Tunisian public. Policies
like the one-party system, the security
system, the arbitrary detention of
individuals who held Islamic or
any opposing views, surveillance,
suppression and the threats against
the relatives of detainees, banning
women wearing hijab from entering
schools, institutes, universities
or other official institutions, their
dismissals from their jobs, and the
refusal to issue these women with
passports, online censorship policies,
stealing online passwords, and
website hacking; Tunisian people are
tired of all these.
Every kind of people in the country
had been affected by these policies of
oppression in some way. The nation
had become a police state in the fullest
sense; one out of every two people
saw the other as an “agent of the
state” and acted accordingly. When
three people gather in the street, the
police would soon arrive and issue
them a warning, demanding they
immediately disperse.
In the nation whose the number of
soldiers is 30,000 and the number of
police officers is up to 150,000, despite
the oppression by the hand of the
police on the public, the police were
not trusted by the state either; a police
officer was assigned to monitor every
other police officer and in this way,
the pressure was put on the police
as well. Since the armed police were
considered to be a potential threat to
the regime, so many of them carrying
empty holsters, or even if they had a
weapon, it would not have any bullets.
The oppression and cruelty had
reached such an extent that the
today!”, which we saw frequently
scrawled on walls as we wandered
through the Tunisian streets, is itself
an open indication of the dimensions
of the fear that had spread through
the public and the state of fear that had
been established.
Corruption
In Tunisia, where corruption and
lawlessness were perpetrated by the
elites themselves, commercial life was
dominated by the sons-in-law and
brothers-in-law of the head of state;
they had descended upon the public
like a mafia. Things had reached such
a point that nothing could happen
without their permission. The Ben Ali
and Trabelsi (the wife of the Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali) families had major
holdings in Tunisian banks, airline
companies, car rental companies,
radio and television stations, shopping
centers and industrial firms.
Despite all his policies of oppression,
 60

focus
t
n Ali placed grea Tunis, where we outed, “Aren’t
Zine El Abidine Be From the capital of the town, she sh all
educatio n, an d e humanitarian ngry, aren’t you
importance upon traveled to provid these children hu
d the nation’s ward other cities e all hungry?”
substantially raise aid, we headed to hungry, aren’t w
rd. And th is w as been also erupted
educational standa where there have st green fields an
d
test mistake in te rm s
journey that ran While there are va her
perhaps his grea events. After the one side, on the ot
sts. Of th e 80 ,00 0 brant green field
s olive gardens on
of his own intere mostly through vi d misery, th is is
uated from Tuni sia n ive gardens, e w there is poverty an
youths who grad an d neatly planted ol reaking combina
tion.
ally, only 20,000 a coffeehouse in the most heart-b
universities annu stopped in front of there’s somethi ng
jobs. Many univ er sit y hiya, in order We thought that
were able to find th e hu mble town of Ru d, than we learned
to find employm
ent,
breath and see th
e strange, and aske
graduates, unable to both catch our s we had passed
by
road, and thes e the people ther e.. that the green field
set their sights ab situation among ate. That is to say,
to
up to th e re st of th e belonged to the st us,
youths, opening learning that we
had come abelsi families . Th
or e qu ick ly aw are of Up on the Ben Ali and Tr eat
world, became m the people showed
an blic amidst this gr
be tw ee n th e rest of world from Turkey, y the role of the pu er n
the contra st s . Interest ingl more than m od
un tr y. ex tra sympathy to us wealth is nothing
and their own co that they knew
enough, we saw slavery.
g
There’s somethin … many things abou
t Turkey. In

strange about this particular, they co

nstantly asked Just freedom…
the Mavi
t, us qu estions related to mained alone with
Tunisia is neither
Ea st no r W es
ment: “There wer
e For years they re
t entirely Marmara, and la d buried within
not entirely Eu ro pe an , no
ship, but nobo dy all the pain they ha w
e Fr ench occupation, Algerians on the themselves in sil
ence, and only no
Afric an … Fi rs t th icipated.”
19 56 un til th e present, from Tunisia part have they becom
e able to speak
and then, sin ce
… The country’s Ar
ab two children A colonel who
despotic regimes Then, a mother of with one another.
ve almost been l hungry.” out of the Hadiri
characteristics ha shouted: “We’re al had been kicked
ropeanness is ye
t toward her
lost, while the Eu Gesturing in turn
duck-bill platypus
, r inhabitants
to emerge. Like an children and othe
er a bird nor a
it resembles neith
mammal…
 61

focuGsönüllü Faaliyetleri
ars
nd in hand, for ye
t th ey ha d Muslims sang, ha
ha in
army explained w in prisons are no
w being sung and enjoying it.
m ed iat ely after the an d
gone throug h im
the streets withou
t fear, fr ee ly if the demands
tr y: “It w as th e w e W e ar e concerned that
un happiness. An d te
rebellion in the co with the tears of ly in an appropria
es e ev en ts , an d I was sh ar e th e are not met quick ha nism,
first day of th , trying to correct m ec
e. Pe op le w er e are joining them a m an ner and with the
waiting in a brea
d lin ; “Fi him ak rn against
e ev en ts pa in they have suffered th e tid es of th is situation will tu
urse of th dinina, la yaraun
a-l-
movement –
discussing the co ‘Ye s, Rabbana, fi sabili Tu nisian public. This
I sa id to th em , na ila - th e
with one another. srana, wahdi l the legitimacy an
d
fo r br ea d – but fana, fatawalla na ica bl e one which has al
e in lin e an in ex pl praises - co ns ists
today we ar le s-sunan.” For us,
this is
rving the highest
ve r be en ab ey de se
until now, we ev
er ne
ion. By these lam
entations th rs and those
k, w e w er e em ot of in te lle ctu als, opinion leade
and spea hers at Madrasa sian people; shou
ld
to come together en’t had became brot truly love the Tuni
e an ot he r, w er pa rt of w ho
all suspicious of on w we are a action. They mus
t
al-Yusufiya and no immediately take
we?’” is uncont ro lle d
this brotherhood. pr ov ide direction to th
n people have muc
h t a secure line for
Today, the Tunisia ra nd omness and adop r
an they have ever
,
in g lutely essential fo
more freedom th at T h e cl o ck is ti ck th em selves. This is abso
most freedom th the Tunisian peop
le.
and perhaps the In le, having
te r th is da y. ni sia n pe op
they will have ev
er af Th e Tu nisian people
k th e sil en ce n Zi ne El Ab id ine Ben Ali Ye s, al l of th is will tire the Tu
le brea overthro w is a
everywhere, peop ve yet to produce
a votion; but there
w ith sin ce ages, hi s re gi m e, ha an d require great de
that they have pu
t up an d exhaus n: tio
w , ev er yo ne ta ke hi s pl ac e. For now they pa ss w or d that will ease this
as much as they
can. No leader to
this new dream , justice…
ou t ev er yt hi ng fr eely. ar e merely living in Freedom, dignity
is sp ea ki ng ab
that Tunisian
The lamentations
 62
focus
Arab perestroika to
surround the entire world
Turan Kışlakçı
At almost every century through the
human history, there have been shifts
or rebellions that changed world politics.
When we examine these revolutions
against cruelty, oppression, tyranny,
corruption and moral degeneration, we
can observe every kind of people have
participated in these movements. This
is a social explosion and emerges like
a flood or storm, affecting a great area.
It is impossible to stand before such a
movement; it sweeps away everything on
its way. What matters in these situations,
is how to direct this change of wind.
The change of wind that is currently through artificial methods. Such a wave of
storming through the Arab world is change was inevitable, and nobody could
actually the delayed impact of the collapse stand in the way of the Arab world’s own
of systems that were formed during the perestroika.
Cold War period. The Eastern European
The events that have occurred in recent
countries went through such an
days in Arab countries are reminiscent of
experience in 1989; and at the beginning
the events in the 50s, even if they are not
of the ‘90s the countries of Central Asia
entirely similar. During the era of these
underwent this as well. It was actually
years, the two important colonial powers of
the collapse of the Berlin Wall that
England and France had begun to lose their
indicated the end of the Cold War period.
direct sovereignty over the Arab geography.
But for a period of nearly 20 years efforts
The puppet leaders who came to exist by the
were made to keep the remnants of
direct interventions of England or France
the Cold War in the Arab world alive

began to be dragged into the maelstrom
of domestic administrative crises as well
as the increasingly accelerating mass
public movements, while they were
also being forced to emerge from their
isolated, secure strongholds and face the
chaotic atmosphere of the outside world.
This development had the effect of an
earthquake on international and regional
power balances, and prepared the ground
for widespread surges in the public
masses and military coups that were
influenced by nationalist streams. During
this time, new actors began to emerge
onto the stage of the global powers;
unable to deal with either domestic or
external problems, the Arab regimes
once more withdrew into their ivory
towers. A new global era was ushered
in, known as the Cold War; England and
France were no longer influences. Their
places were now taken by the US and
the Soviet Union.
In short, we can divide the political
history of the Arab world into two
sections, since the fall of the Ottoman
state in 1922 up to the present: The first
63
focuGsönüllü Faaliyetleri
was the period of British and French
colonialism, while the second was a
period of covert American imperialism
that encompassed the region after the
Second World War. And now, we are
witnessing the birth of a new era: the
21st century in which the Arabic public
is finally being rescued from extreme
dependency. 21st century in which the
Arabic public is finally being rescued
from extreme dependency.
 64

focus

Events ushering in the 21 st

century
The first decade of the 21st century was a
time of the so-called era of war on terror.
Following the events of 9/11, millions of people
were killed in unjust and illegal wars in
many Muslim countries, beginning with Iraq
and Afghanistan. In secret prisons established
by the US, including those at Guantanamo,
Abu Ghraib and Bagram, tens of thousands of
people were either killed or subjected to grisly
forms of torture in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and
Pakistan.

Also during this period, the world displayed a

severe reaction to Israel’s barbaric attacks and
the blockade of Gaza. Successfully defending
this land, the Hezbollah organization in the
small state of Lebanon sent Israel into a state
of disorder – despite the fact that Israel had
great world powers behind it. After this, in
Gaza, which was little less than the world’s
largest open-air prison, Hamas defeated
Israel with a handful of faithful soldiers.
Thus, two small organizations succeeded in
accomplishing what Egypt, Jordan, Syria and
Saudi Arabia could not, making a place for
themselves in the hearts of the world and
particularly amongst the regional publics.
In the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident which
followed this, the Muslim public signaled
that they would rise up in the name of the
oppressed…

In the aftermath of these events, the world

has been overcome by a silence in the last
year. Everyone thought that this was the
calm before a storm. And the storm that
broke out in 2011, which has become, and will
continue to be, the year of struggle against
dictators and tyrants. The world will never be
the same again. The flames that have engulfed
the entire Arab world, from Tunisia to Egypt,
Libya to Yemen, represent a new hope for
 65

focuGsönüllü Faaliyetleri
humanity. To quote the words of Fikret insufficient, the search continues. As a
Başkaya, “The Nile Revolution is teaching result, new revolutions will also take place.
a lesson to the Western effendis and those This will continue until the results of these
who share their worldview, a lesson revolutions presents a new global power
that they certainly were not expecting center.
and to which they are not accustomed.
The renowned British author John Pilger
The beginning of the end of the 500-year
says in a piece in which he evaluates the
bourgeoisie sultanate is being proclaimed;
uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt: “It is what
and with a full wisdom, maturity,
people across the world have struggled for
solemnity and grace… In short, once more
and their thought controllers have feared.”
friends and enemies alike are being
Stating that public awareness is increasing
shown what human honor means, the
throughout the world and that this latest
magnitude of what can happen when the
wave has overcome the liberal imperial
masses arise, and who the true agents of
elite who have been working to keep
history are…”
them under control through fear, Pilger
These winds will affect concludes his piece entitled “The Egyptian
the entire world revolt is coming home” with a rather
striking sentence: “‘We won’t stop,’ said
The post-Cold War world is being
the young Egyptian woman [in Cairo’s
reshaped anew. The war that the US
Liberation Square], ‘We won’t go home.’
has waged for sole polarity over the
Try kettling a million people in the centre of
past 20 years has ended unsuccessfully.
London, bent on civil disobedience, and try
The Vietnam syndrome in Afghanistan
imagining it is not possible.”
and Iraq and the economic crisis were
the beginning. To summarize, today,
the US-aligned system –also known as
global capitalism– has been increasingly
foiled by the impact of the deep crises into
which it has fallen, and it is now losing its
spheres of influence, one by one. Unable
to accept this void, the global power
mechanism is searching for new global
and regional power centers in order to
regain the balance. And as part of the
agony of this quest, there are new mass
public movements and revolutions taking
place. That is to say, the process we find
ourselves in is part of the natural course
of history. It is none other than this search
for new actors by the global power
mechanism that sparked off the Tunisian
and Egyptian revolutions and brought
them success. As Tunisia and Egypt were
 66

in the field

The light of history

illuminates the day
Ahmet Emin Dağ
During the colonial period, the Dutch brought many Malay Muslims
to South Africa as slaves. The hundreds of thousands of Muslims were
unable to bring even a single book along with them, and the task of
committing to writing their sacred book from memory fell to Hafidh
Shaykh Guru, who was also part of this forced migration. The Qur’an
that he wrote from memory while in prison would serve for decades
as a spiritual anchor for Muslims in the region.

S hould you happen upon the Republic

of South Africa in your travels, its
cemeteries are the place that will best
relate to you the history of the country
and the Muslims there. If you do not visit
them, you will not be able to understand
Islam’s entry into the country, nor this
region’s ties to Anatolia, nor the extent of
racial discrimination in the country.
With its ocean view from a slope of the
world-famous Table Mountain, the Tana
Baru Cemetery is the first place where
this historical heritage can be accessed. It
is a run-down cemetery where the first
generation of Muslims brought to South
Africa as slaves 400 years ago were
buried. It is no longer in use.
During the colonial period, the Dutch
brought many Malay Muslims to
South Africa as slaves. The hundreds of
thousands of Muslims were unable to
bring even a single book along with them,
and the task of committing to writing
their sacred book from memory fell to
Hafidh Shaykh Guru, who was also part
of this forced migration. The Qur’an that
he wrote from memory while in prison
would serve for decades as a spiritual
anchor for Muslims in the region. Looking
at the cemetery from his graveside, the
fate, hopes, pains and longings of these
people stuck thousands of kilometers
away from their home countries appear
before our eyes.
When you climb toward the
mountainside from the graveyard, your
attention is drawn to a far-off, solitary
grave. It is the resting place of Ebu Bekir
Efendi, who was sent by the Ottoman
sultan, Abdülaziz, to the region in 1863
to serve as a guide for Muslims in the
region on religious subjects. In addition to
his mission of calling to people to Islam,
Ebu Bekir Efendi also contributed to
the formation of a serious political and
cultural aggregation in the region; he was
instrumental in bringing awareness to
thousands of Muslims as well as in the
establishment of dozens of madrasas and
the opening of mosques.

At his graveside, the life of this caller to
Islam, lying alone in this far-off corner
of the earth, passes before our eyes
and minds. After taking as little as six
months to learn the local language, Ebu
Bekir Efendi ensured that the Ottoman
culture was introduced to the region. In
fact, when the Anzac soldiers who had
been brought from Australia to fight at
Gallipoli entered the Cape Town streets on
shore leave, they saw the Muslims there
wearing the Ottoman fez; they thought
they had stumbled upon an area occupied
by the enemy, and retreated with all
haste back to their ships. Only after
being reassured by the British colonial
authorities in the region did the Anzacs
understand what had happened, and
upon receiving promise of security they
returned to explore the town.
The home in which Ebu Bekir Efendi
lived is now a museum. His books and
the desk at which he wrote are still there.
The museum also contains items related
to the Malays, pictures, a fez, a turban, a
lectern with a Qur’an and its translation
on it, and other historical memoirs.
When we descend a few kilometers
down the slope, we come across another
cemetery, one that is still in use. A
number of important figures rest here.
The Muslim minorities paid a heavy
price for their opposition not just to
> Grave of Abu Bakr Effendi
the colonial administration, but also to
its most apparent policy, that of racial
discrimination. The most prominent
of the figures who paid this price with
martyrdom was Imam Abdullah Harun.
While reading from the Qur’an at his
graveside, we think about his life of
struggle, which began following his 1956
appointment as imam at the age of 32 in
the Claremont neighborhood masjid on
the birthday of the Holy Prophet (saw).
Tears spring to our eyes at the memory
of the 13-year period that lasts from when
he was taken into custody on the streets
we have only just walked and the time he
died from torture. Not far off is the grave
of his intellectual mentor, Ismail Ganief
Edwards.
Imam Harun led an active struggle
that included everything from mosque
study groups for women and children
to the distribution of charity to the poor,
as well as activities in opposition of racial
discrimination and colonialism; he was
also in communication with Nelson
Mandela’s African National Congress
which was fighting against the racist
regime.
Our next stop is the prison on Robben
Island, where Mandela spent 27 years
and the cemeteries there. Nelson
Mandela was accompanied by some
Muslim leaders on this island. He learned
> Grave of Imam Abdullah Harun
67
d
in the fiGeönlüllü Faaliyetleri
information about Islam from them,
and they struggled together against the
occupying whites.
The most important reason for the
relatively decent standard of living for
the over 1 million Muslims that live
scattered throughout the cities of Cape
Town, Johannesburg and Durban
in today’s Republic of South Africa is
the solid foundation laid down by the
abovementioned figures.
It is striking to see that despite the fact
that 80 percent of the population is black,
the discrimination of the apartheid
era continues on the level of social and
economic life. The small segment of the
population that is composed of people of
mixed heritage and whites are better
off economically than the blacks. The
problem of security in this nation is also
fundamentally rooted in this injustice in
income distribution. The unemployed are
nearly all black.
The Muslims have become a trusted
segment of society, for they always sided
with righteousness and justice both
during the colonial and apartheid periods.
It is unlikely that their slave forefathers a
few generations back would ever have
imagined that the Muslim minority
would today wield serious political and
economic influence in the country.
people of
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ds
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She was there

because she cared
Cindy’s beloved daughter Rachel was still thinking of the children: “I don’t know
if many of the children here have ever lived without tank-shell holes in their
walls or the towers of an occupying force surveying them constantly from the
near horizon. I think, although I’m not entirely sure, that even the smallest of
these children understand that life is not like this everywhere.”
 people of
69
ds
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“I’m here for other children.

I’m here because I care.
I’m here because children everywhere are suffering and
because forty thousand people die each day from hunger.
I’m here because those people are mostly children.
We have got to understand that the poor are all around
us and we are ignoring them.
We have got to understand that these deaths are
preventable.
We have got to understand that people in third world
countries think and care and smile and cry just like us.
We have got to understand that they dream our dreams
and we dream theirs.
She was a successful student who
We have got to understand that they are us. We are was interested in art. She always
them. had artwork papers and crayons
My dream is to stop hunger by the year 2000. near her. In her spare time she
would visit hospitals and retirement
My dream is to give the poor a chance. homes and try her best to help the
My dream is to save the 40,000 people who die each day. people who were there. She went to
Russia during her first international
My dream can and will come true if we all look into the school trip. She liked the streets of
future and see the light that shines there.
Moscow with their smog, dirt and
If we ignore hunger, that light will go out. cold, becoming enamored by the
disorder in Moscow compared to
If we all help and work together, it will grow and burn
the orderliness in her hometown of
free with the potential of tomorrow.”
Olympia. On her way back home, she
(Rachel Corrie, 1989) wrote in her diary: “I am returning
home, but why am I not happy?”

Perhaps Rachel was searching for

the reality outside of the “American
H. Zehra Öztürk
dream.” It was after 9/11 and
something was going wrong in the
This tale begins in Olympia and travels many miles, towards the story of
lands where other children lived.
children on the other side of the ocean. Rachel is there and she is there for other
Military operations by great powers
children, because she cares. Rachel Corrie was born in Olympia, US in 1979.
that would turn Afghanistan into a
She was born as the third child of Cindy and Craig Corrie, preceded by Sarah
cemetery had started, and the issue
and Chris. She was a free-spirited child with dreams, and she had a strong
of an intervention into Iraq had come
conscience. At the early age of 10 she was already aware of the children who
onto the agenda. “The fight against
lived outside of the “American dream,” the dream of which she was a part.
 people of
70
ds
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terror,” had created enemy fighters
and accompanying the official policies
of the US there was a grave paranoia
against Muslims who were US
citizens had started to appear.
“It was immediately following the
post 9/11 period,” explains Rachel’s
mother Cindy. “Rachel had begun
to question the actions of the US
government and had begun to take a
particular interest in Middle Eastern
politics.” Rachel’s information and
interest in other nations, particularly
the Middle East, was increasing
with each passing day. She and her
university friends were trying their
best to spread knowledge among
the locals regarding the American
military operations in the Middle East
and to organize various activities to
this end. At the same time, Rachel
was closely following all that was
happening in Palestine.
Rachel was in communication with
her activist friends, following closely
all that was happening in the region.
She thought that she had to be in Gaza
and that she must experience and see
what was happening in order to fully
understand what was taking place.
“I am coming.” she said in a letter she
wrote to her friends in Gaza. And
before much more time had elapsed,
she set forth on her journey.
What could be described as the Israeli
propaganda machine greeted her
at the airport in Tel Aviv. She was
quickly handed a booklet which said,
“The number of people dying in traffic
accidents exceeds that of those who
die in wars!” But Rachel knew this
was not the case. As a matter of fact,
she too was to live in Gaza…
First she went to Jerusalem (al-Quds)
followed by the West Bank. While
in Jerusalem, working in human
rights workshops, she could hear
the sounds of ambulances carrying
Palestinians who had been wounded
as a result of Israeli fire. She saw the
Israeli settlements, the construction
of the Wall in the West Bank, the
Palestinians who were treated like
second class citizens in the occupied
lands, as well as the social, financial
and political dimensions of the
occupation first hand. She could not
believe what she was witnessing.
She was fully aware of what was
happening, yet all of this could not
really be happening! In the e-mails
so wrote to her family she said, “If
I had read hundreds of books and
attended conferences and watched
documentaries, I still would not have
been able to understand what is really
happening here.”
Rachel thought that the truths which
she witnessed should be known by
all. For this reason, she began writing
letters to those whom she knew
in Olympia, explaining what she

was experiencing. The teacher and
student groups in Olympia suggested
that they become pen-pals with the
children of Gaza. Rachel liked this
idea, but this was only a small step in
cooperation and there was much that
needed to be done.
While trying to write letters to
activists who were interested in
what was happening in Palestine,
she was also busy planning protests
with her activist friends in Palestine.
They were exerting efforts to prepare
press releases and protests so that
the violations which occurred would
be echoed globally. Rachel stayed in
Palestine for around 3 months. She
participated in the protests against the
destruction of water wells and tried
to prevent the destruction of homes
in the Rafah region of Palestine.
Rachel had become friends with
the Palestinians. She was teaching
children English while she learned
Arabic from them. Cindy’s beloved
daughter Rachel was still thinking of
the children: “I don’t know if many
of the children here have ever lived
without tank-shell holes in their walls
or the towers of an occupying force
surveying them constantly from the
near horizon. I think, although I’m not
entirely sure, that even the smallest of
these children understand that life is
not like this everywhere.”
One day she said: “I am in Rafah, but
I feel safe,” to her father; in an email
she wrote to her mother she said:
“Yesterday a bomb struck the home of
the family I am staying with. Just as I
was preparing tea and I was playing
with two little babies, all of the house’s
windows came down.” Rachel was
experiencing Palestine and Gaza in all
its reality.
In her emails she wrote: “If I were to
return I would not be comfortable.
After seeing everything that is
being experienced here, I have to do
something. I will come to Olympia
and take care of my personal matters,
and share what is happening here;
but I must return again as soon as
possible.”
And on Feb. 27th, she wrote the
following to her mother: “Mom, I love
you and I miss you so much…I have
people of
71
ds
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bad nightmares about tanks and
bulldozers outside our house, and you
and me inside. .”
There were tanks and bulldozers in
Rachel’s home because Rachel had
now become Palestine. Exactly 19
days after having this dream, Rachel
stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer
at the Rafah border region. She stood
before a bulldozer which wanted to
destroy the home of a Palestinian
family and she used her body as a
shield. “I am a human rights activist. I
am a US citizen, stop!” is what she was
screaming. However, the bulldozer
didn’t stop.
On March 16, 2003, at the age of 23,
Rachel was killed by Israel. She said
farewell to her life in Gaza, on the land
about which she had said: “I am here
because I care”. Israel had yet again
brutally murdered another civilian.
Rachel’s story has spread throughout
the world and Rachel’s voice continues
to echo for Palestine, for justice...
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 9 projects dedicated to the 9 martyrs who lost their lives in the Israeli attack on
Gazza Freedom Flotilla are being implemented. Cultural centers, learning
centers, sport centers and student dormitories are being erected in the
hometowns of these martyrs.
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