Istanbul is the stage for a day of peace-building activities from 17:00 to 22:00 on 21 September 2006, sponsored by Bahcesehir University and the Mediator's Association in Turkey. The event will be held at the Bahcesehir University Besiktas Campus and all are welcome to come.
Peace, cooperation, healing and friendship will emanate from these activities with the hope of building an awareness of peaceful co-existence in Turkey. The culmination of these activities will be a free concert given by internationally-known pianist, Ms. Anjalika Akbar. A moment of silence will be observed with a candle-lighting ceremony to project peace into our world in recognition of the International Day of Peace, first established in 1981 with a United Nations resolution.
A slide presentation and discussion about the peace movement, key leaders and the lesser known peace builders in the world will confirm that a noted peace figure does not have to be a celebrity or wealthy person to impact a nation or even a neighborhood. Every individual counts when it comes to promoting peace in all areas of life. A cocktail will follow this presentation.
It is a well-known fact that individual peace and happiness is not associated with one's rise to wealth or state of poverty. It doesn't matter whether you are a jetsetter in Los Angeles or a commoner in India; a person's inner peace creates the same serenity in those around them. Conversely, those who have no peace or preoccupy themselves with adversity force that same conflict to others near them.
Let's look for a moment at some examples of peace and conflict side-by-side. Just a few weeks ago, we saw where one instance of poor judgment−the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier−resulted in chaos, demise and conflict among Palestine, Lebanon and Israel with hundreds of deaths as a result.
Then, in the evacuation, we saw a Turkish rescue ship fired upon by Israel going from Beirut to Magusa. Yet when the evacuees arrived safely on Turkish soil, a Turkish soldier was found greeting a small boy with a kiss on his cheek. Peace and conflict as neighbors.
During this time I wrote a letter to Ambassador Bolton to express my disbelief that a 'cease-fire was not the right thing at the right time'. Does it not make sense that if we are to end fighting and find lasting solutions for peace, it should begin with an immediate cease-fire and disarming?
Now, this same issue is also spurring debate here in Turkey. We face attitudes in the peace and conflict arena on both an individual and governmental scale. What is it? Gun Use−guns for gifts, guns to celebrate, guns to threaten, guns to kill. Worse yet, gun use promotion exists all the while hundreds of lives are lost each year in Turkey.
How would you like to see a loved one killed on their wedding day because of some senseless act of firing a gun to celebrate something wonderful? Yet at the same time, a Turkish father stands up and says, "We should bring up our children with love and respect." While the annual death and injury toll proves careless firings of weapons leaves families in pieces each year, our national officials accept guns as gifts in the name of Turkish culture and history. How can this be so? Peace and conflict as strange bedfellows.
So, as we see with these few examples, we are challenged in this day and age to create peaceful solutions to daily situations which can only change for the better if we first change our own attitudes and actions from inside ourselves which, in turn, will project outwards to those around us.
We hope this Day of Peaceful activities will trigger a peace movement in Turkey of its own kind and begin dialogue in every corner of the country to talk about peace, create peaceful solutions to conflict, and ultimately, build a more peaceful Turkey for ages to come.
"Peace at Home; Peace in the World" – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
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