4th of July, 2016
I moved to NYC to start a fellowship at UNFPA, together with 8 other young women from all around the world.
The first thing I did after dropping off my things was to watch the fireworks.
15th of July, 2016
When I picked up my phone after the training session, there were dozens of missed calls and messages. I immediately googled “news Turkey”, the results said that there had been a military coup. I was in disbelief (“This is 2016!!”) and shock, trying to reach family and friends.
Other fellows from my programme came to comfort me, “You will get used to it over time”, said the one from Egypt, “Life still goes on, somehow”, said the one from Syria, “This is just how our region is”, said the one from Palestine, and thus I became yet another Middle Eastern story. I felt a profound sense of losing my home.
8th of November, 2016
Donald Trump got elected as President. There were people crying on the subway, a “therapy wall” sprung up at the Union Square station, with hundreds of colourful post-its expressing solidarity, rage, hope.
Once he took office, Trump defunded UNFPA on baseless claims related to abortion, and the resulting hiring freeze meant that I spent the next 1.5 years with uncertainty as to whether I would get to stay in my job.
The next four years were shaped by overt racism, misogyny, refusal of science and reason, disrespect of human rights - pure madness.
7th of November, 2020
We were out grabbing a coffee in the neighborhood when cheers and applause rose from the streets. We immediately searched for election results (probably for the 1000th time that week) to see that Joe Biden had gotten a definitive lead over Trump.
We started roaming the streets, people were clapping and shouting and banging pots and playing music. It was a sunny, warm day and the mood matched the weather. We spent the rest of the day dancing on the streets.
At home, I haven’t fully celebrated an election since 2003. Year by year, I have seen how all the things that we thought were inconceivable became reality, power being consolidated in all areas of life. Every time I go back home, there seem to be more and more bridges and landmarks being re-named with reference to the “martyrs” of 15th of July, even if we try to hold on to hope that the government will change.
Last Saturday, I realized how much of a weight I had been carrying, growing up in Erdogan’s Turkey, existing in Trump’s America. Celebrating, for a change, felt really good.
We all know that there are many things that need to be fixed (or that can’t be fixed), and there is a lot to be said about Biden being the candidate, but for now, let us celebrate this rare victory and look forward to waking up to a world that is less dominated by Trump news and his rippling effects all around the world.
It was wonderful to see at least some things still can change...