Erdoğan’s address to the other half

Neither the balcony speech of 2007 nor 2010... Nor the speech given after the presidential election, which sounded unplanned... It was the other day, when I heard a straight remark coming from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the first time.  

He is calling out to us... To us who have been living in a sense of defeat for the past 13 years, who have been scared of losing our lifestyle, who are worried, who are angry...

He is clearly saying: “Yes brother, I know what you’ve been through. I understand your lifestyle, your values. I know your requests and desires.”

Way to go. This is the first time he has said it so openly.

After that he said: “But you, you should understand us too. Understand what difficulties we’ve been through to come to this point, understand the restrictions, the threats we’ve overcome to reach this day.”
  
Way to go, for the first time, he is looking in our eyes and treating us like a fellow human being while saying these words.

This is what being straightforward is. I can understand what he is talking about.

Not only do I understand, I also find it correct; I say, “You are right.” This is how we must speak. In all sincerity, from the heart.

Let me start before anyone else. When I look at the past, to my past and to my neighborhood’s past, I can see with more clarity the misery of the girls who weren’t let into schools because of their headscarves.

Now, I understand with greater clarity the struggle of the women who couldn’t work against their will. I realize much better the roughness witnessed during the cases to close parties.

I can better understand why some people felt, were made to feel, like second rate citizens in this country.

But when I look at the past, at the joint history of the last 13 years...

I can also see the injustice done to the altruistic generations of the War of Independence who created the Republic.

I see that the history of Turkey started way before 2002.

I can better see the ghastly conspiracies conducted against the brave military officers and the assassinations.

I see with greater, much greater clarity, the thousands of people who lost their jobs, the journalists.

The people who were forced to commit suicide as the shameless media campaign passed in front of my eyes, one by one.

I understand them, too.

When I see all this I say: If we want a Turkey that beats with a single heart... If we want to live in a country that lives up to 21st century standards... If we want to raise children with character, if we want to allow a life of happiness without fear for the people... You are right, esteemed president... We should understand, too... But you too, try to understand, from the bottom of your heart.

Today, the people you call out to with “Understand us too” are not bad people... The mothers and fathers of those people have also brought up children worthy of this country. They too, are people with faith...

Don’t think the privileged people of this country are very rich... Most of them are middle class and even less than middle class... Rest assured, if you try to understand them a bit, they will try to understand you even more than that.

As for me...

For years I have never kept it as a secret, I’ve never cared about the reactions I receive from my surroundings. I watch the 70 percent of the things you’ve done to this country with admiration. I support them. But there is this 30 percent, it really scares and startles me.

If, from your new seat, you can achieve looking around you with understanding, if you can shift your emotions from the gear of anger to one of embracing...

Then, you will go down in history...

You are speaking with sincerity...

Be sure, we are listening with sincerity too... and we want for our balconies to never collapse again...