Gezi couple

An Interview with the Couple Who Met and (Almost) Wed at Gezi: “We’re like Nâzım Hikmet’s Poetry” – PART 2

23.07.2013
Translated from Turkish by Translators for Justice
Source: http://haber.sol.org.tr/devlet-ve-siyaset/gezi-cifti-anlatti-nazimin-siiri-gibiyiz-haberi-76847

by Neslihan Koçaslan

To view the first part of the interview, click here.

Nuray

The ruling party sees everyone except themselves as terrorists, provocateurs, anarchists, and rioters. This was something that was late and should have happened before.

But now, the public is standing up and doesn’t believe the lies. They were trying to scare people with ridiculous things called “evidence.” Supposedly torture is over in compliance with European Union standards.  That’s not true.  Torture has moved from police stations to the streets. For many years leftists were told that they’d been used. But now the police are being used against their nation. People have learned how to struggle against it. They learned resistance. Look at Armutlu***! [?] People are throwing away their stuff, like furniture, to use for barricades. That should happen. Much more should happen. People should take to the streets more so that the revolution happens. (more…)

An Interview with the Couple Who Met and (Almost) Wed at Gezi: “We’re like Nâzım Hikmet’s Poetry” – PART I

23.07.2013
Translated from Turkish by Translators for Justice
Source: http://haber.sol.org.tr/devlet-ve-siyaset/gezi-cifti-anlatti-nazimin-siiri-gibiyiz-haberi-76847

by Neslihan Koçaslan

Nuray Çokol and Özgür Kaya met at a makeshift first-aid clinic during Gezi Park protests. The young couple said, “We don’t think of ourselves as two separate people. We’re like the poetry of Nâzım Hikmet. We will continue to fight.” During the protests, the couple spent their days and nights helping the wounded. As their lives crisscrossed in the middle of the demonstrations, they decided to tie the knot. They wanted to hold their wedding ceremony near the park, but the police prevented them from doing so.

Tell us about yourself. What sort of a life did you lead before the Gezi Park events? (more…)