A few days
ago I visited a neighbour at the Sovalye Island, Mr. Zeki Koreli. His last name is Koreli which means “From
Korea” or rather “Korean” in Turkish and there is a reason for him to have this
last name. He is one of the veterans of
the Korean War in which Turkish soldiers also took part in the early
1950s. Many of the soldiers never made
it back. He is one of the lucky ones who
made it back to Fethiye after eleven months in Korea in a brutal war. Mr. Zeki Koreli was my neighbour for seven
years, but after coming back from Korea this July, I feel like I understand him
and I appreciate his time in Korea for real for the first time. I believe now even more in the power of
seeing for ourselves. Seeing becomes
believing; seeing becomes understanding.
What did I
understand? Well, let’s go back a few
weeks.
On June 23rd,
2012 I got on an early morning plane with 106 Turks from Seoul to Busan to
attend the Lions Clubs International’s Lions Parade in Busan, Korea. As a tradition Lions from 208 countries walk
in a parade with their countries’ flags to salute the people of the city where
the Lions International Convention takes place. The Parade was in the morning
of the 23rd of June in Busan and we were going to make it just in
time.
After we
landed, we got on three buses and went directly to meeting point of the Parade,
where thousands of Lions from different countries were waiting for their turn
to start walking in the Parade. After
spending a day and a half in Seoul, Busan was my second destination in
Korea. And in Busan, I discovered what
it meant to be a Turk in Korea.
Only a few
minutes after I got off the bus, I found myself walking side by side with
Korean Lions who were also walking to get to the meeting point. We started talking. The second they discovered that I was a Turk,
they started smiling, talking more, shaking hands, complementing me and
offering me things, offering me food, pins and small gifts. I was surprised, but I would be discovering
later on that I was not comprehending the real degree of their friendship yet.
When we as
the Lions Clubs Members from Turkey arrived at the Parade meeting point, there
were thousands of Lions from so many different countries. I knew that over 55 thousand Lions Clubs members
had signed up for the Lions 95th International Convention, however
to feel the energy of so many liked minded people with such different
backgrounds was like swimming in a sea of many different colours and
textures. As I looked up, I saw the two
big Turkish Flags in the air. A team of
Turkish Lions had come to Busan a few days earlier to take care of the
necessary preparations for our group.
In the
Parade area there were Lions from Nepal, Spain and Bangladesh nearby. Many women Lions from Korea were wearing
their traditional costume the Korean Hanbok, which is a long dress resembling the
Japanese Kimono, in bright colours.
We had to
wait about 30-40 minutes for our turn to start walking in the Lions
Parade. As we lined up to walk with one
very big Turkish Flag in front of our group and with banners with Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk’s sayings, Koreans started to cheer for us. Each member of our group had a few Turkish flags
in our hands which we stared to wave as we were walking. Lions from Korea and Koreans who were waiting
on the side of the road stared to shout
our “Our big brother... We love you...
Turkey, welcome to Korea...” and many similar words. Since this was my first Lions International
Convention and first Lions Parade, I initially thought they were cheering for
all of the countries as they walked in front of them. I soon realized it was not so. They were cheering for us, they were
applauding us, they were calling us their big brother because we were Turks,
because we were Lions from Turkey.
Koreans
were coming near our group asking for one of our small Turkish friends. They were coming near us to take a picture of
their kids with us. They were telling
their kids to wave to us, to cheer for us.
As we they were cheering
“Turkey... Turkey... Turkey...” And in return our group of about 100
Turks found ourselves cheering, shouting “Korea” at the top of our lungs. They
were shouting “Turkey” and we were shouting
back “Korea.” This continued for the couple of hours we walked in the Lions
Parade in Busan. Strange, interesting,
emotional, surprising... I had heard that Koreans like Turks very much and that
there is a deep respect for Turks in Korea. I had heard. However, I had not
imagined that people my age or younger, who certainly were not around during
the time of the Korean War still appreciated the efforts and sacrifices of the
Turkish soldiers during the Korean War.
They knew. Little kids who were may
be 7, 8 or 9 years old seemed to know.
They seemed to know and care. It
was strange to see that they not only cared, they wanted to make sure that they
showed us that they cared.
When I had
decided to attend the Lions Clubs International’s yearly International
Convention in Busan, Korea, I had not imagined that being a Turk would make
that trip special. I had been to many
countries around the world and had been welcome in many. However, I had not
experienced a visit where being a Turk made such a big difference. Korea in that respect would be a first for
me.
There is
surely more to the story and June 25th, 2012 was another special day
to be Turk in Korea. Let’s leave the story
of that day to another week.
...
In these
hot summer days, please make sure you drink plenty of water and let it wash
your body from inside out. If you
consume alcohol and caffeinated drinks which cause dehydration, make sure you
add a couple of glasses more to your daily amount of water intake.
Wishing you
many blessings in the week to come.
Love,
Zeynep
_______________
Quote of the Week:
“Every time you put yourself into a proactive state, it is considered an
act of sharing."
Yehuda Berg, From “The
Monster is Real”
Affirmation of the Week:
From Louise L. Hay: “I get plenty
of sleep every night. My body
appreciates how I take care of it.”
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