Journalist killed

[HyeMew]

I know this is very off topic from lonelygirl, but this is off the cuff isn't it.
I was very moved by this terrible story, especially because I had corresponded by e-mail with the victim. It was a terrible event which is still an on-going story, even though they don't talk about it on the American news. A brave man who needs to be memorialized.
The story kind of reminds me of Dan Eldon, Bree's favorite photojournalist.

IN MEMORY OF HRANT DINK, murdered for desiring free speech for all..
1954-2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6279241.stm

[gogo]

HyeMew-

Thank you for posting the link to this article. I think it is very easy for Americans like me, and those who live in equally "free" nations, to forget how the rest of the world works at times. It is so easy to assume that everyone else in the world has the right to say and believe what they like as is generally supported in the US. It is so easy to take our liberties for granted when many of us have never experienced such overt oppression.

(Now, I am not talking about the fact that some news does not get reported here-like this story for instance. We certainly have our own media issues regarding sexy, titillating stories that will increase viewership or sell copies, but this is a lament for another day...)

It is a shame that Dink was suppressed (read: murdered) for continuing to explore the Armenian genocide that took place over 90 years ago. I was surprised to learn that there is actually a penal code that can be applied to people who are interpreted as "insulting Turkish identity."

The family of my friend (and former Vice Principle) was devastated by this genocide. However, when discussing this event in a history class that I was teaching at the time, I was surprised to learn that few students had even heard of this massacre.

Also I find it interesting that the BBC article referred to this genocide as "genocide" in quotes as if it were a questionable way to describe the chain of events that led up to systematic murders of a specific group over the course of several years. Although, it is an on-going struggle of admittance for Turkey and some people in other areas of the world, I did not assume that some in Britian (or maybe this reporter) held this point of view.

Just out of curiosity, in what way did you correspond with Mr. Dink? Was it for school or for other endeavors?

[HyeMew]

Thanks for the kind and intellectually stimulating post, gogo! We can always count on you for that!

I was looking for an ancestor who had lived and likely died in Istanbul, so someone suggested I get in contact with him to see if he could get the word out. Turned out he must have listed my request in his newspaper because I got an e-mail from a Turk a few days later saying he saw my request in the newspaper! It was so kind of Mr. Hrant to do that, and I feel terrible such a nice man was cut down.