Yesterday,
I noticed a video posted on Facebook recapping the recent protests in Turkey. I
sat there and watched the full seven and a half minutes in horror. How could Istanbul be so crazy and dangerous
when I was just there? In many ways,
this conflict over a park is really reflective of Istanbul, generally
speaking. In a word, Istanbul is
supersaturated. More and more Turks are
migrating into the city every year and even though the city is expanding, a
city as old as Istanbul can only support so much growth. It is no surprise that a public situation can
quickly escalate and boil over.
One
night in Istanbul, when we were walking through Taksim to arrive at the Alumni
event, a group of police officers were arriving in Taksim Square in full riot
gear. This alarmed those of us who
noticed, but anyone we mentioned the sight to seemed to brush us off. At a time when Syrians bombing the Southern
Turkish borders is a daily occurrence, are riots in Taksim Square just more of
the same? Growing up in a Jewish
community, it seems like every small act of terror in Israel is news, yet
unrealistic to report in the mainstream media.
I signed up for a Birthright trip in college because I just needed to
get to Israel and see what the fuss was all about. While walking through Jerusalem, I noticed
how machine guns carried by 19 year olds seemed normal and adapted to ignore it
myself. Despite the increased weapon
presence out in the open, I didn’t feel unsafe.
I know that although many Israelis fear suicide bombs, they don’t let it
rule their lives too much. Between my
experience in Israel and the Boston Marathon bombing, I knew that I would have
to be careful, but I could not be scared.
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