What was once a rather esoteric news item now has become a regular part of hourly news programs. We hear about it so often it has become white noise only gaining our attention when something particularly horrific becomes part of mainstream news. I write about it so often on my Facebook news feed no one looks anymore. I am speaking about the refugee crisis. Most of us give it only a passing glance unless it […]
Safe, what is safe? When are you perceived to be safe versus actually safe, is safe the same for everyone? Is it safe to jump into the maelstrom or is it safer to sit quietly and accept? Should the refugee have stayed and tried to create safety or is traveling to a new perceived safety the better choice? Recently, I was presented with the idea that this world is in the process of transitioning from […]
Istanbul — the intoxicating crossroads of east and west; Constantinople, the Golden Horn, Imperial Capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires, the only sea route from the Black Sea through the Sea of Marmara to the Mediterranean, strategically placed on the Silk Road; now named a European Capital of Culture – Istanbul, the keeper of dirty secrets. Most of us become involved in issues when they touch us personally and I am no […]
So what are we looking at? Fences, BIG fences going up fast- built by convicts. Why the fences? Why STOP refugees who have no desire to stop, people who have TICKETS to RIDE out!!? Hungary’s President Viktor Orban had no problem expressing his reasons for stopping Refugees intent on reaching Germany and the promise of hope offered by Angela Merkel when he stated in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper “We shouldn’t forget that the people […]
Kapali Çarsi, the Grand Bazaar, is Istanbul’s famous shopping destination for tourists from around the world, the ultimate Oriental shopping experience. Located adjacent to Sultan Ahmet, around the corner from The famed Blue Mosque, Haggia Sophia and Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar employs around 26,000 people and hosts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. A grand cacophony of sounds, scents and colors populated by gaily dressed visitors from all corners of the earth gaily flock […]
Children and Kumkapi Both Turkish law and International Law through UNHCR make specific provisions for the handling of children in Detention. In Turkey, Detention Centers are termed Removal Centers, an upgrade from the term “Guesthouse”. The Turkish Law #6458. Article 59 http://www.goc.gov.tr/files/files/eng_minikanun_5_son.pdf states in paragraph (c) the best interest of the child shall be considered, and families and unaccompanied minors shall be accommodated in separate areas. Sounds like a good plan and would be if […]
Anywhere but Here The Wall of Deterrence has been carefully constructed by the EU. The repercussions from this wall play out hourly on major media platforms across the EU with images of desperate refugees plucked from the waters of the Mediterranean, sitting hopeless in camps, families scaling barbed wire confronted by men with clubs, all are becoming the norm. WHY the movement now?? The cornerstone of the wall is Dublin III – established as the […]
Istanbul is a city of great beauty, great history, and great cultural diversity. It sits on two continents joining the east and the west, literally. Down along the northern coast of the Marmara Sea, just around the bottom of the Golden Horn lays Kumkapi, famous for its fish restaurants, alive at night with the sounds of music, laughter, meals shared, Turkey at its most hospitable; a theater front, hiding in plain sight if one […]
