Speaking to One Another - The International Raoul Wallenberg ...

Mehmet, who eventually succeeded in getting an education and becoming a university lecturer in Ankara,never lost his ties to Iğdır. He longs for the opening up of the borders and of Mount Ararat to theworld so that the people living around it can come together: “Ararat is like a magnet. Many religious beliefs,civilizations, countries have existed here. It is known world over. If I go to Holland or Paris and saythat I am from Iğdır, it will not mean anything to anyone. If I say I am from Turkey, they still might notunderstand. But if I say I am from Mount Ararat, it will ring a bell. It is the highest volcanic mountain inEurope, and the second highest in the world. Yet it is empty, useless. It is off limits. Why? I am in favorof sharing. Let us open Mount Ararat to tourism. Let everyone come and find traces of their ancestors, orwhatever else they want to find on Mount Ararat. The mountain is getting poorer with each passing day.The mountain has a soul. It too is alive. The summit of Ararat is always covered with snow. The mountainabsorbs this snow right at the summit, releasing it along its slopes during summertime. And all itscreatures, the wolves, deer, mountain goats and snakes are nourished by those springs. Because of excessivegrazing and hunting, wildlife in Mount Ararat is under threat. We are being blind about MountArarat, unable to see the huge mountain under our nose. Mount Ararat is great, as great as the povertyto be found on its slopes. How can the height of Mount Ararat be converted into bread for those poorpeople to eat?”According to Mehmet, the opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia will make Mount Ararata symbol of communication rather than a border: “What is being said at the moment is, ‘zero problemswith neighboring countries’. How is that going to happen? Armenia is on the other side of Aras, I am onthis side, and in-between is the border. But, come on, let us become friends! How can you have a friendshipon command? Once the border is open, they will be free to come and go, we will be free to comeand go. They will get to know our generation, we will get to know theirs. The previous generations onboth sides might have made mistakes, but we will talk and come to understand one another. How canwe be friends without a relationship? Are we afraid of showing Mount Ararat to the world? When peoplesee the mountain, will some magical energy in their eyes make the mountain vanish, as if cursed bythe evil eye? Either we are afraid of sharing the mountain with the world or we have closed our eyes sotight that we cannot see this rich natural wonder so close to us.”In Turkey, people living along the border feel fear and suspicion towards those on the other side of theborder. This is because they are brought up with the bitter stories of previous generations. But, despitebeing brought up in Ararat at the borders of four countries, Mehmet did not accept this heritage, andwas able to distinguish between the experiences of previous generations and his own. Most importantly,the divisions between peoples in the region where he was brought up led him to view others as individualsrather than as members of ethnic/religious communities or nations. For him, Ararat should be asymbol which unites rather than separates different peoples. His greatest endeavor both in his professionaland in his personal life is to protect Mount Ararat’s natural resources and to develop its economy.This allows him to maintain his belief in the possibility of dialogue between peoples who have experiencedconflict in the past.70