The shame is ours, so is the burden

(This is a repost. I felt the need to reiterate my position on the issue because several Armenian groups uses the same old language of hatred to present Turks as monsters. I hope this helps to convince you otherwise.)

I would like to express my deepest sorrow for the loss of Hrant Dink. Hrant Dink was many things, a child of Anatolia, a champion of peace and reconciliation, an intellectual with a passion for defending the freedom of thought. But first, he was a bridge between the two nations. A bridge that is tiny and fragile, yet one of the precious few we have.

It is tragic that we need a murder to reflect on our responsibilities. Still, we need to stop and ask ourselves : “What could I have done? What should I do now?”. Not that we can bring Hrant Dink back by doing so, but we can fulfill his vision by establishing new and stronger bridges. We can follow his example to close this horrible gap that is keeping the children of Anatolia apart. We can learn once again to cherish the culture, the history and the life we share.

We now have a rather clear view of what happened. Turkish courts are delivering justice to those who are responsible for this murder. However there awaits another task, much bigger in its scope and more elaborate in its nature. It is to assign responsibility to those who indirectly supported this murder by either creating an environment of hatred or by not paying due diligence to neutralize such efforts.

We all carry this burden because we did not react appropriately in the past, out of fear, out of ignorance, out of selfishness, to suppress the growth of ultra-nationalism in Turkey. Turkish law enforcement carries this burden as they surely were aware of Hayal’s activities and did not interfere with his program of brainwashing and assassin training. Ultra nationalist parties carry this burden as they seek gaining power from inducing hatred against Armenians. Turkish government carries this burden as they still present a heavily skewed version of the events in 1915 in the public schools, playing into the hands of monsters like Hayal. Armenian diaspora carries this burden, as they too seek to gain power by increasing the dichotomy.

This is not a childish, cruel and ignorant act of a 17 year old. This is the price we pay for not interfering with those who seek to gain power from hatred. This is the price we pay for not asking, questioning and amending. In this country many more pigeons will be killed unless we do something. The loss, the pain and the shame are ours, so is the burden to fix it.

(Thanks to FX for the comments)