Foreword
In bringing together several articles by Australian and Turkish writers and complementing them with poems, a story, a chronology and a recommended reading list, this book tries to serve several purposes.
Firstly, in parallel to the importance of Gallipoli for the Australian people, the role of Çanakkale-Gelibolu (The Dardanelles-Gallipoli) as a crucial point in the development of the modern Turkish national identity is emphasised. In Harvey Broadbent’s words, Gallipoli was the flint that lit the inferno to power the journey to the establishment of the modern Turkish State. For Turkish poet Dağlarca, Çanakkale is the foreword of New Turkey.
Secondly, the Turkish side of the events at Gallipoli is given to complement the Australian side of the story. One Turkish poet, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, pays tribute to the fallen at Gallipoli by writing “If I could charge your chandelier with morning light — And wrap the silken sunset over your wounds — Still I could not say: ‘I have done something for your memory’ …”. E. Behzat Lav recalls the Turkish folk song “Inside Gallipoli, they have shot me dead”.
Another Turkish poet, R. Tevfik Bölükbaşı, summarises the hardship experienced by Turkish people during the later years of World War I: “Storm, blizzard, snow and cold — War has devoured our children, bringing death — And now famine! — People starve, their houses unheated — The streets are empty. — (The reality) naked upon the shoulders of a child”.
Turkish writer Necati Ökse concludes, after his detailed account of the Dardanelles-Gallipoli campaign, that the Dardanelles victory restored the Turkish nation her former honour, glory and sense of self-respect.
At the start of this century, the Turkish people lived under the Ottoman Empire that had a central role in the history of Europe for many centuries, needless to say as an adversary of the European powers. Jeremy Salt gives an account of the attitudes towards the Turks, particularly in 19th century England. He argues that much of the animosity expressed towards the Turks and the eagerness to interpret the failings of the Ottoman State in religious, racial or ethnic terms was part and parcel of the centuries old Christian polemic against Islam.
Jeremy Salt concludes that, although the religious fervour associated with 19th century England has faded away, people still tend to see Turks in extreme terms. Turkish writer Tarık Zafer Tunaya’s views in his discussion of the ‘Eastern Question’ support Jeremy Salt’s arguments. The Turkish consciousness about the problems of the Ottoman Empire is expressed in many of the poems given in Part B.
For Turkish people, the years that followed the end of World War I were the years of the independence struggle — independence from the invading armies as much as from the Ottoman rule. This struggle is the basic determinant of the radical changes that the Turkish people went through at the start of this century.
Harvey Broadbent gives a brief account of the Turkish revolution. The article by Özer Özankaya explains the social aspects of the republican reforms that dominate the Turkish life today. The story by Sait Faik gives a good insight into the Turkish independence struggle. The poems titled ‘Mustafa Kemal’ and ‘Atatürk Had a Watch’ reflect the importance of the role of a single man, the hero of the Gallipoli campaign, in that struggle.
The chronology of events (1839–1939) and the list of publications for further reading are given to help the reader who is interested in more information on the subject of change from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic.
The third, and perhaps the most important aim of this publication is to highlight the unique case of friendship between peoples who once made war. The Australian and Turkish peoples developed mutual respect through the bitter experience of war, which turned into a special kind of friendship through the decades following the events at Gallipoli.
Lesleyanne Hawthorne’s article looks at the development of relations between the Anzac and Turkish soldiers during the Gallipoli campaign. She discusses the idea that Gallipoli marks a special friendship sealed in the young blood of two very different countries. She makes the important point that many of the moves towards a redefinition of the relationship between the Turkish and Australian peoples have come from old Anzacs, who on their own initiative and through all barriers started corresponding with Turks. This point is also emphasised by Harvey Broadbent.
Pointing out that old Diggers and Mehmetçiks embraced each other on 25th April 1985 at a place called Anzac Cove (Anzak Koyu) in Turkey and the words of reconciliation by Atatürk were unveiled on the same day in a place called the Atatürk Memorial Garden in Canberra, Harvey Broadbent concludes that the friendship of the Turkish and Australian peoples is an example to people everywhere that the sorrow brought to millions of people by war of any kind and the shortsighted folly of armed conflict is of course a tragedy.
In his post-Conference paper, Harvey Broadbent telling the story of his meeting with the Gallipoli veteran Adil Şahin in Turkey, concludes that the spirit of reconciliation is deeply felt by the ordinary Turkish folk.
Many Turkish migrants in Australia have experienced prejudices and misconceptions about what it means to be Turkish. In view of this, it is hoped that this book will contribute towards the peaceful settlement of Turkish people in Australia. I hope that, as Jeremy Salt puts it, extreme views about the Turkish people will be bridged, and Johnny Turk will be seen as he really is — an amalgam of the same strengths and weaknesses and hopes and aspirations as other peoples.
Rahmi Akçelik August 1986
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual writers, and the Australian-Turkish Friendship Society is not, as an organisation, responsible for those views and opinions.