Day 21

Round 2
Back at Yakabagh. There's something strangely comforting about coming back. Especially since this is also home to indentured servitude.

Military
On the dolmus ride back to Yakabagh, İ met a young Turk from a neighboring village who was going to start his military service in Izmir. İn Turkey, all men are expected to serve in the army for 15 months upon turning 20 (there are a few exceptions). He proudly showed me the military letter and hıs one-way bus ticket. When asked how he felt about this mandatory service, he exhibited none of the complexities that often come up when talking about the draft. In Turkey, it seems like military service is synonymous with Turkish nationalism.

I asked Levent about his opinions of the mandatory service, and he expressed similar sentiments. He also served his time, and explained that after 3 months of training, the men are randomly assigned to either the army, navy, or local police force (too bad there's no calvary). Men from all over the country (Turks, Kurds, and other ethnic groups) are mixed together like Thanksgiving stuffing.

It's easy to be critical of this mandatory service, especially as an enlightened foreıgner, but I think it's also important to consider this policy in light of Turkey's history.

History Part 2
Up until WW1, the Ottoman Empire had declined so much that it was called the 'sick man of Europe', and the post WWI aftermath spelled disaster for Turkey, which was on the losing side. Many countries were carved out of the fallen Ottoman Empire, and many claimed different parts of Turkey for themselves. Under the leadership of Ataturk, Turkey was able to overthrow these encroaching interests (he saved Turkey for the Turks!), and he established the current republic of Turkey.

Ataturk instituted a series of radical reforms aimed at modernizing Turkey. In 1923, he established a secular, democratic republic that recognized no national religion, even though a large segment of the population was Muslim. He believed Turkish nationalism should be the unifying identity, and made all religious figures (imams, etc.) government paid employees (someone should give a pay cut to the local guy who sings prayers outside my window!). He created a new alphabet for the Turkish language based on Latin and dismantled the previous alphabet based on Arabic. He required all children, both boys and girls, to attend school and also granted women the right to vote before many western countries extended suffrage. This was all done within 10 years. Turks are incredibly of their modern history (it's illegal to talk crap about Ataturk). Ataturk saved this country from being torn into pieces. He also passed on his vision for a modern Turkey.

Since his death ın 1938, various forces have tried to erode the secular state, and ın both rebellions, the Turkish army stepped inn to preserve the status quo. In some ways, the military acts as the final check against any threats to the Turkish republic - a confederation of militiamen - 20 year old kids - are the country's last defense. Sounds like something to be proud of.