MEMORIES AND IMPRESSIONS(2)
Posted under: Fotini: Trip to Ankara
Uçan Süpürge in Turkish means ‘flying broom’. The “flying broom” is a feminist group in Ankara that organized this year’s 3rd Women’s Film Festival from May 4+h to the llth and dedicated it to WINPEACE, the Greek -Turkish Women’s Initiative for Peace and to peaceful resolution of differences.
The mass media gave special emphasis to the presentation of WINPEACE in Ankara and the people showed their love in every possible way and at every opportunity.
The meeting in Ankara had a special color. In addition to women from Greece and Turkey steadfastly building bridges of understanding and trust, there were the film makers from other countries reminding us that for thousands of women on this planet, basic human rights have still not been manifested.
The buoyant and sensitive opening ceremonies of the International Festival creatively expressed women’s needs, desires and dreams as well as thinking and logic on a vast number of issues in contemporary life. The circulation of the Turkish version of the Greek children’s book “PEACE” of Aristophanis by Sofia Zarambouka published by Aksoy Yayıncılık demonstrated one of the joint ventures of WINPEACE.
Ankara was important in its richness of emotions, images, thoughts in a relationship that is becoming long lasting. Three days of seminars in conflict resolution gave WINPEACE members the techniques and skills they needed to deal with conflict through dialogue and the opportunity to practice peaceful resolution of differences between the Greek and Turkish women. While respecting differences in our ways of thinking, we became more conscious of our common traits of universality and unity.
The panel “Women for Peace” heard the voices of the Cypriot -Turkish SEVGÜL ULUDAĞ and the Cypriot -Greek Katy ECONOMIDOU and the Greek and Turkish representatives of WINPEACE. Katy started her speech with the follovving excerpt: “…One day while our children walk through the gardens, and discuss in public places, or stir up the ashes of a ruined civilization, they may not call us blessed. But they vvill not damn us either because they know we refuse to remain silent, to let things pass like within a dream”.
Zeynep : “Margarita: The proud Mother”
At the opening ceremony of the film festival in Ankara, the innaguration speaches were made by Margarita and myself. The last part of Margarita’s speach was like this:
We want to see films made that challenge misperceptions and biases that have flourished for so many years prior to the recent breakthrough. We want to forbid ourselves from accusing or rejecting human beings based on predetermined assumptions. At the same time, we are trying to avoid false harmony by learning to live with different points of view. We want most of all to foreclose the possibility of a war. This requires an intense faith in people, faith in their
ability to create and re-create, faith in their capacities to be more fully human. This is undoubtedly an essential element for everyone functioning within a civil society- a belief and faith in human beings.(…) I want also to congratulate your Minister of Forcign Affairs İsmail Cem for his role in the new direction for our two countries; and I need not say that I am proud to be the mother of George Papandreou.”
