The March Of Silent Shoes
The March of Silent Shoes
Text of Nazire Dedemans Speech
September 28th Individual Disarmament Day
Taksim Square
28 September 2010
Dear Friends,
I wish I could have given you good news today. I wish I could say that our "No To Individual Armament" declaration has finally reached its goal. But unfortunately we still have a lot to achieve. We should traverse this road together. We should get together, we should say stop the Individual Armament on behalf of the ones we lost. We should make our family, friends, neighbors, citizen on the street, deputies at the assembly hear us. They should hear us to remove the terms of the Draft Law on Guns which facilitates the armament in a life threatening way.
We would like to take our place in the world as a peaceful and civilized country. Unfortunately this year, after that the groom killed his father and two aunts during the wedding celebration, when the phones of our foundation was constantly called by the foreign journalists, we had hard times in explaining the situation. They said they didnt understand the event and they wanted us to tell them. In the twenty first century, while trying to get into civilized countries, it was really hard for us to explain what kind of tradition this was. The only function of the gun which is edge of the violence is to kill. While this is the case, we werent able to explain what was the gun used for in celebration which should be reacted happily. This is not a simple event. This is the reflection of the gun use in our country to the world. This is the biggest reason why we should say No to The Individual Armament. This is the proof of the need of immediate correction of the twisted place of the gun in our social mentality.
As in Turkey the individual armament continue to be a serious problem, one of the significant reasons of this, are the traditions and cultural qualities which glorify the gun. As the gun never provides the security, it can not be an indicator of glory, reputation and degree. It should never be preferred as a gift. Because we should look at the meaning of the gift. Being a gun owner is also embarrassing in terms of having the potential of violate the right to live. In this case the deputies, governors, district governors, we request your support. We expect you to be a model for the society wit your sensitive behaviors.
The most important source of a country is its citizens. Turkey has a very young and dynamic population. Do you know that, every day 8 valuable presence are destroyed by individual arms and 2 of them are wounded, 8 citizen only in a day... Our dearest, loved ones, who are the meaning of our lives are committed to the ground before their time. For what?... This pain, dissemination is nor worthed my friends! It is not worthed! You too know the pain of losing someone. Lets say stop to this. Dont say What happened happened for our future, our other children, grand children be the follower of this matter. Dont stop pursuing this! Lets continue our fight together for the ones who are left behind.
I committed myself to the fight and I am telling as my duty: This is a problem for all of us. Dont wait to get hurt to join our fight. The black individual disarmament clouds might one way drop on you.
Each year with the three thousand people that we loose because of the individual armament, and together with their family fifteen thousand people are suffer from the individual arms.
Dear deputies, we request you to remove this burden from us. Dear friends please tell about your victimhood. Tell it for your entourage to learn. Tell it for other people to take lessons. Get together to be strong. Let everybody hear that individual armament is an invitation for savagery. Raise your voice, for no one touch our children, adolescents.
The new draft law on gun decreases the gun obtaining age until 18. Rate of suicides by firearms resulted with death is significantly high between the ages of 15-25 in our country. Risk continues up to 35. Deaths with firearms reach to the peak point between the ages 25-30. Dear deputies, you also have these information. And how could you decrease the age for obtaining gun?
Which will be defined at the law, the gun carrying permission of the ones who work except the law social worker which are under danger because of their duty and the ones who are retired or who are assigned to an other duty should also be removed. Even the people who realized public service for years, people who know the violence realized by the gun, can reach to their gun to resolve problems. Like a public servant who busted an intermediary two months ago and killed two people and left their families behind in tears. We commonly see this kin of examples. For this reason, we are right in requesting the change in draft law. Our foundation who believes in the superiority of the law and who has a principle to educate generations who resolves disputes by peaceful means, can not permit this application.
While this is the case for retired public service officers the concept that people with conviction could obtain a gun by an approval of a committee is an application that we could never understand and accept. While people who served with guns for fifteen, twenty years can lost their temper giving a gun to people having crime record is directly murder my friends.
Our purpose to meet here, today is to realize one more time the walk of the silent shoes for putting into word the silence of the ones whose right to live is taken away from them. Sevgi Yaman, Erol Postacı, Damla Karadağ, Yaşar Erkan, Muhyettin Bingöl, Ceylan Yıldırım, Aykut Alıcı, Hatice Türkoğlu Oğuzhan Kavurmacı, Umut Önal, Alistar Grimason... and unfortunately much more people. After the ones we lost, here we will leave a shoe on the red carpet. Their pictures and flowers, will be put on the red carpet which is the symbol of the violence that we curse on their behalf.
Every individual forming the society owns an apology to the ones we lost. They own an apology to the ones who are left behind. As being responsible citizens we should fulfill our duties and we should say No To the Individual Armament. This is a duty for each of us. I thank you, to all participants for coming here, participating in our protest and fulfilling your citizenship duty. I wish a gun free world to all of you.
To hopeful tomorrows,
Umut Foundation