by Mazhar Bağlı
One of the most important parameters that makes human existence in this world meaningful is the transcendental bond with space. Space in the human world is not essentially a physical space. The place where the first creation took place was a perfect place, paradise. In fact, the root of the word is derived from the word “Kevn” which means “to be and to create”. According to the TDV Encyclopedia, the root of the word is also related to the word mekâne, which means “to have a respectable place”. The word “place” is also mentioned in many places in the Qur’an. What makes it even more important is that it is the only “manifestation” of Allah’s existence. This subject also leads us to the story of Prophet Moses. Moses is the pioneer of our relationship with space.
As we know, when Moses was returning to Egypt from Medina with his family, he was passing through the valley of Tûwâ, which included Mount Tûr. It was an extremely dark and cold winter night. Moreover, a son had just been born. But Moses had lost his way. What he needed most was a fire and someone to guide him. In this difficult time, Moses saw a fire on the slopes of the valley and went towards it. When he reached the fire, he realized that there was no one there. At that moment he was addressed; “I am the Lord. Take off your shoes; you are in the holy valley of Tûvâ.” The security of the place and its Owner has been one of the existential references of people ever since.
Migration and trauma
Migration is one of the most critical social movements that shake this transcendental bond of human beings. It is a great trauma. It is never possible for people to overcome this traumatic process on their own. Without any help, without the reassuring gaze of the residents, they are always uneasy and frightened. For this reason, both monotheistic and Abrahamic religions and humanist philosophies always point to the need for careful attention to immigrants and describe and appreciate efforts in this regard as a high moral virtue. This emphasis has led to many important sociological institutionalizations.
Prophets have always emigrated
Especially since all prophets had a migration story in their lives, the subject has been expressed with such an emphatic discourse in Islamic society that we see the formation of a structure, institutionalization and social value system that includes migratory birds.
For Muslims, migration is also seen as a Sunnah/custom of the Prophet Muhammad and is always associated with help/ensar as it is a process that disrupts the ordinary flow of life. An indispensable consequence of migration is the hospitality of the guest, which is also inherited to us from the prophets, especially Prophet Abraham, and is like a divine commandment given to humanity as a special characteristic of the Prophet Abraham. In Şanlıurfa, Abraham’s hometown, people believe that he never sat at the table without a guest present, and even if there was no one present, he would put an empty plate on the table for a possible guest.
Let us appreciate that the people of Anatolia have so far welcomed foreign guests exactly in line with the legacy of the prophets. Because the commandments on this subject have led to the formation of a very important social sensitivity, and perhaps the main purpose of the recent xenophobia is to destroy the sociological structure and values, the collective consciousness and institutional functioning that are derived from these sacred texts.
About sixty years ago, my great-uncle had to kill a close relative as a result of a long-standing internal power struggle in the family. The person he killed was Abdoy Durap Agha, one of the leading and powerful figures of the family, who, according to Suavi Aydın, led a great struggle against the National tribal alliance that collaborated with the French in their occupation of Urfa after the First World War. In fact, this great event, which changed the direction of the family, the region and even the politics of Urfa, is talked about in the region with a very simple issue.
In the conditions of that day, the classical way for prisoners who did not want to surrender, those who wanted to escape from the judiciary, bandits, those with objectionable ideas and those who escaped from prisons was to migrate to Syria, to flee.
Although this is a method used in almost all border provinces, this type of migration has been much more intense in Urfa. Both the high number of close relatives and the policy pursued by the Syrian administration can be said to be the reasons for this situation. My uncle was first arrested and then escaped from prison and migrated/escaped to Syria, where he took refuge in the homestead of an acquaintance. The landlord there turned this situation into an opportunity and asked him to go and kill one of his enemies as a price for the opportunity he provided him. My uncle says that the murder he committed was an accident based on a family dispute, that he is not a murderer, and reacts very harshly against the landlord who made this offer, and is forced to leave the house where he took refuge. Later, the chief of the tribe to which the person he had refused to kill belonged heard about his reaction and offered to host him. “Since you refused to kill one of us at the cost of losing your shelter, let me make it up to you,” he said.
He stayed with that man in the guest room for twelve years. Until he contracted tuberculosis, the plague of that time. He had to leave for treatment. He first came to Turkey, was arrested and released because he was not fit to stay in prison, and then he was transferred to the famous tuberculosis hospital on the Jabal-i Lebanon mountain in Beirut, Lebanon for treatment.
Catering is always like the first day
Every day until the day he left the man’s side, my great-uncle received treats from his host, just like the first day. This story has many details and dramatic consequences. I won’t go into further details so as not to offend anyone’s honor, but the most talked about aspect in the region and in the family is that the agha hosted my uncle in his house for twelve years. The hospitality he showed. The fact that he continued to set a rich table for my uncle three times a day for twelve years, just like the first day, is the talk of the town in Turkey and Syria.
When I saw the racist fascist attacks in Kayseri on social media, I first thought of this story. Unfortunately, while hosting Syrians in Turkey is a story of solidarity that will go down in the history of humanity, it will be condemned to be remembered in a different way. With a sensitivity that will go down in history, we have taken care of those who sought refuge with us to save their lives. The streets where migrants in many parts of the world walk with the nervousness of a pigeon have become safe havens for them in our cities. The kindness we have shown to those fleeing persecution and taking refuge with us is above all kinds of appreciation. As a matter of fact, all circles with common sense also appreciate this.
As a state and nation, we embraced our Syrian brothers and sisters in their most difficult times and have been hosting them for thirteen years. And with great sacrifices and very heavy costs. Some of them are no longer guests, more than one million children have been born in these lands.
Recently, my good friend Gaziantep MP Ali Şahin shared that some of the children born here have mothers and grandmothers named after Turkey. Are those who tried to beat and expel these people who wanted to show their belonging and longing for post-Ottoman Turkey now lovers of this country?
Finally, one hundred and fifty years ago, the scheming Unionists destroyed and dismantled an entire empire in pursuit of a clannish Turkism adventure. Today, their remnants want to dismantle Anatolia, which is still the safe harbor of the oppressed in those geographies.
Would a person beat and kick out a guest whom he hosted with great sacrifice for thirteen years?
Source: https://www.star.com.tr/acik-gorus/13-yil-agirlanan-misafir-doverek-gonderilir-mi-haber-1879695/
