Watching from Mardin the rebuilding of balances in the Middle East

Operation Peace Spring, which has upended a sixty-year status quo in the Middle East and triggered the search for new balances, undoubtedly deserves far more than daily journalistic attention and analysis. It is necessary to analyze well what place and meaning the process leading to this operation, whose effect and consequences on this scale can already be understood, the reactions shown to it, and the stage it has finally reached may have in the current context of international relations.

A general problem of Turkey is that it cannot explain well what it does, and that it makes little effort to be effective in the world's PR circles even on matters where it is most in the right. Turkey is number one in the world in humanitarian aid relative to its population. Yet it is not the richest country in the world. It provides this not only through the state's initiatives but through the voluntary activities of civil society organizations. The tens of thousands of water wells opened in Africa make springs of compassion flow from the hearts of the people of Anatolia, and the compassionate hands of its doctors touch and open the eyes of tens of thousands of people with cataracts through donations that come from the hearts of the Turkish people.

Recently an Egyptian student studying at ODTÜ was telling how, when he related to Turkish students the excitement and pride of having witnessed all this, he saw with astonishment that they were unaware of what had been done. The Egyptian student, in all his naivety, was telling how his ODTÜ friends, who constantly keep their guard up against their own society with a critical attitude, were astonished when they learned of these activities and came to the point of feeling embarrassed about some of their thoughts.

Turkey's problem is, I think, not that it cannot explain itself but that it does not care to explain. It knows its own rightness and correctness, and it is no trouble if the world does not know. Once it has done a good deed and thrown it into the sea, even if the fish do not know, the Creator knows, and the rest is again no trouble. Yet the world of our age requires, to some extent, explaining what one has done. Of course, there is no need, like some, to spend ten kuruş on publicizing a one-kuruş piece of aid.

We were also fortunate to witness a comprehensive assessment of Operation Peace Spring at Mardin Artuklu University, right next to the operation zone, on the Syrian border. Truly, the conference hall of Artuklu University was an extremely meaningful venue for such an assessment. Throughout the day, with the discussions of participants, each more valuable than the last and expert in their fields, the Rebuilding of Balances in the Middle East with Operation Peace Spring, before and after, was addressed in all its dimensions. The sessions, held with the panelists' presentations under headings such as "The Middle East and Syria in Russian and EU foreign policy, Israel's Syria policies, black propaganda against the Operation in the Western media, the contributions of Turkish aid organizations toward resolving the humanitarian drama, Turkey's role in securing peace, Iran's Syria policy, the change in the USA's role in the Middle East security architecture," took place in the atmosphere, in the literal sense of the word, of brainstorms.

Of course, those who really stirred up the storm were, as much as valued participants such as Kudret Bülbül, Ahmet Uysal, Özden Zeynep Oktav, İbrahim Özcoşar, Veysel Kurt, Bilgehan Alagöz, Necmettin Acar, Feridun Bilgin, İsmail Halis, İbrahim Altan and İhsan Aktaş, and in my view more importantly, the students of Artuklu University.

I have attended countless academic and scientific panels, conferences and meetings for years, and I have not seen the like of this. Almost all the students in the hall who were given the floor to ask questions of the speakers raised their hands to ask. This was of course a very difficult moment for those moderating the session, but patiently, as far as possible, as far as time allowed, they tried to give everyone the floor. A great many students asked their questions and made their contributions, but even more impressive than the number of questions was the level of the questions, the students' deep interest.

Let me say this much: can there really be no empty questions? Where have these young people been raised? Weren't the young in Turkey said not to read, to be indifferent, to be in the grip of popular culture and opportunism? Who said so?

I seem to have a good share of "good people." If you look at some ill-mouthed analysts, youth in Turkey is finished and the universities are already exhausted. Yet I see the exact opposite very often. Here I see one of the most striking scenes possible on the faces of the bright young people of Artuklu University.

Truly, it was worth writing this piece just to tell my impression of this event alone.

I learn that there is an international relations club at the Mardin Governorship's Youth Center, and that most of these young people find a very nourishing environment there to develop themselves. I heartily congratulate both the esteemed governor and the director of the Youth Center, the university rector and teachers, and of course those students.