turkish-greek civic dialogue - AEGEE Europe

“This workshop showed us how good and powerful things we can do if we really
want to. We found opportunity to ask questions to get to know each other more
closely. We found similarities just behind differences.”
“I feel free and different because I managed to realise that the two persons
are very similar in comparison to what I was made to think and believe for 20
years. I strongly believe that the psychology workshop created something; it
put a brick on the wall between people and naive governmental interests. I
realise how fooled are not only Greeks but Turks also for many decades. I feel
that our flame will get stronger and stronger through time until our huge fire
can be able to burn all lies, conflicts, nationalism and borders geographically
and mentally. I will come again.”
“I have learnt A LOT about SOUTH PARK. This was beyond a workshop, like a
friends’ meeting. I felt as if I had known all these people for years. “We” have
a lot to do and “will” I am sure. It was a great experience to see such an old
woman and feel the same feelings with some crying eyes. The meal, dance
in the “kahve”, the Greek-Turkish halay… We shared the same place, time
and feelings. We had also a limited time here, but our relationship especially
friendship will exist in our minds while we are living. I will never forget the
memories in Kayakoy and 12 friends of mine.”
“I was surprised to find out that I was not jealous of the other participants who
visited other places, while we were attending the workshop”
“The most important thing is that we met each other with respect. We learned
that being an individual is much more important than describing you as a
part of a society. This is the first time that I have known people from abroad
therefore it is hard to communicate or tell something for me because I have
no practice before.”
Serdar & “workshoppers” (this is what Selin calls us)…
Thank you for all wonderful times!
Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de L’Europe
KAYAFEST
BIG YOUNG HEARTS IN A
SMALL TOWN IN TURKEY 1
....................................................................................... Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu
Once there was a small town in southwestern
Anatolia, called Livissi. Like many other towns and
villages in Anatolia, the local Greek community
in Livissi and nearby Makre, and the Turkish
community co-existed peacefully for centuries.
Even in days of war, there was no hostility or
conflict in this area. Then came a decree: Local
Greeks were to pack and leave in three days. This
was 80 years ago. Two governments decided that
nation states were not supposed to be ethnically
mixed and it was an acceptable idea to exchange
the unwanted ethnic populations, and signed the
infamous Population Exchange Treaty. No one
asked the locals – Greek or Turkish – their opinion:
The “Others” had to leave. The Greeks left in
agony words cannot describe – the official who
had to announce the decree to the Greeks cried
as he was reading.
Years later, a handful of young people, members of AEGEE-Ankara (AEGEE is
a Pan-European student association) visited this ghost town, now known as
Kayaköy (“rock village” in Turkish after stone houses of Livissi) and decided
to turn this village into a setting for a festival of peace and friendship. And so
they did about 10 days ago, on July 28 through August 3. With funding from
the European Commission, they brought together young people (more than
300 from Greece, many more from all over Turkey), members of NGOs, folk
1 This article was published in several professional psychology newsletters and bulletins, and
distributed widely in online groups formed by peace activists. It was translated into Greek by a
psychologist from Greece and published later in a provincial newspaper. More recently the piece
was translated into Catalan by a psychologist from Spain and published in a professional bulletin for
psychologists.
KayaFest Youth and Culture Festival
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