It's hard to live among Turks without getting a hefty overdose of Atatürk.
I'm betting that most foreigners living in Turkey feel the same: for just about every Turk I've met, Kemal Mustafa Atatürk is like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King all rolled into one. If you don't tire of running into Atatürk statues, hearing excerpts of his wisdom blaring over the radio and intercom, or sitting through long-winded and impassioned speeches extolling his great deeds and virtues (usually in Turkish), you're a lot more tolerant -- and less fidgety -- than I am.
Yes, I know that Atatürk, as the founder of modern Turkey, did many great things. I know that he reformed the Turkish language, made a clear separation between religion and government, and promoted the education of women -- for starters. And yet for some reason, even these great achievements of his failed to capture my admiration.
But the other day I happened upon this quote of Atatürk's, about the European troops he fought in Gallipoli, now carved in stone beside the monument that commemorates the battle:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well.
Now, I know that Atatürk was an astute politician and I am not unaware of the powerful political implications behind this speech. But even given that, these words of his move me to tears. My hat is off to the person who wrote them -- Atatürk himself -- and the translator who rendered them into eloquent English. This one quotation shows better than any other what incredible healing power carefully chosen words can have. I am in awe of the generosity of spirit, the shrewdness, and the foresight behind them.
Turks are right to venerate this man. From now on I will do my best not to squirm through the hour-long speeches.
