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Digital Journal
December 4, 2011 Sunday 8:04 AM EST
Hrant Dink, another Mandela, King, or maybe Gandhi?
By Robert G Cope
Melbourne - Not jailed, as Nelson Mandela, instead assassinated like
Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, Hrant Dink, espoused belief in
the fundamental goodness of humans. His silenced voice, his vision,
his dream too, are given voice this week in Australia.
Hrant Dink, repeated, in a positive voice, in writing, talks, and
film, time and time again: those divided by race, ethnic origin, or
religion, or by what they personally or commonly experienced, will one
day to come together to live with tolerance in peace.
Carrying on his legacy, Hrant Dink's daughter, Delal, and his
son-in-law, Rober Koptas are in Australia for 10-days of talks,
interviews and media appearances.
Given the tragic Turkish-Armenian history leading to Dink's death,
after meeting with them, I felt astonished at their composed-fervor.
Australian-Armenian, Jackie Mansourian, also at the meeting in
Melbourne, in an email, said, "I was totally moved and inspired by
these two young committed, intelligent, gentle and dynamic young
people."
Delal's father, founder and editor-in-chief, of the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper, Agos, had received death threats (same as
Mandela, King, and Gandhi) from ultra-nationalists. At fifty-three
years of age, as he approached his offices in January 2007, Dink was
assassinated by a seventeen year-old gunman who may have been hired.
The conspiracy case is presently in Istanbul's legal system.
Daughter, Delal Dink, reminds me of women who, with quiet calm, speak
eloquently, about democracy and human rights in difficult political
setting, women such as Suu Kyi, in Burma. And also younger women -
like Delal herself - such as Pulitzer Prize author, currently
President Obama's adviser on human affairs, Samantha Power, and
documentary film-maker, Carla Garapedian. The latter's films about
genocides worldwide, since at least the era of European explorers, are
- as Phillip Roth might say - evidence of a human stain.
When asked what might be done today to heal wounds, Delal answered, I
thought, touchingly, "Speak my father's words."
Together, Delal and Rober, who is now editor-in-chief of Agos, convey
a painful history with tenderness and warmth making their quest a
testament to human compassion, forbearance, and resilience.
Toward the end of our brief time together, hearing Hrant Dink, Rober
said, "Our only power is in the truth."
http://digitaljournal.com/article/315501
December 4, 2011 Sunday 8:04 AM EST
Hrant Dink, another Mandela, King, or maybe Gandhi?
By Robert G Cope
Melbourne - Not jailed, as Nelson Mandela, instead assassinated like
Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, Hrant Dink, espoused belief in
the fundamental goodness of humans. His silenced voice, his vision,
his dream too, are given voice this week in Australia.
Hrant Dink, repeated, in a positive voice, in writing, talks, and
film, time and time again: those divided by race, ethnic origin, or
religion, or by what they personally or commonly experienced, will one
day to come together to live with tolerance in peace.
Carrying on his legacy, Hrant Dink's daughter, Delal, and his
son-in-law, Rober Koptas are in Australia for 10-days of talks,
interviews and media appearances.
Given the tragic Turkish-Armenian history leading to Dink's death,
after meeting with them, I felt astonished at their composed-fervor.
Australian-Armenian, Jackie Mansourian, also at the meeting in
Melbourne, in an email, said, "I was totally moved and inspired by
these two young committed, intelligent, gentle and dynamic young
people."
Delal's father, founder and editor-in-chief, of the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper, Agos, had received death threats (same as
Mandela, King, and Gandhi) from ultra-nationalists. At fifty-three
years of age, as he approached his offices in January 2007, Dink was
assassinated by a seventeen year-old gunman who may have been hired.
The conspiracy case is presently in Istanbul's legal system.
Daughter, Delal Dink, reminds me of women who, with quiet calm, speak
eloquently, about democracy and human rights in difficult political
setting, women such as Suu Kyi, in Burma. And also younger women -
like Delal herself - such as Pulitzer Prize author, currently
President Obama's adviser on human affairs, Samantha Power, and
documentary film-maker, Carla Garapedian. The latter's films about
genocides worldwide, since at least the era of European explorers, are
- as Phillip Roth might say - evidence of a human stain.
When asked what might be done today to heal wounds, Delal answered, I
thought, touchingly, "Speak my father's words."
Together, Delal and Rober, who is now editor-in-chief of Agos, convey
a painful history with tenderness and warmth making their quest a
testament to human compassion, forbearance, and resilience.
Toward the end of our brief time together, hearing Hrant Dink, Rober
said, "Our only power is in the truth."
http://digitaljournal.com/article/315501