Red Flags, the curds, us in Berlin...

Tomorrow 84 years ago, Turkey was declared a Republic by the turkish parliament.

Today, 2007, many Turks gathered in Istanbul (and not only) to show their support for the planned, and sadly everyday more likely, turkish strike on the northern regions of Irak.

On our way home, this afternoon, we travelled through Hermannplatz - the norther corner of the so-called Turkish area of Berlin, where a lot of people met up: red flags and not a lot more, actually.

Tomorrow, 2007, is a(nother) Monday, in here, and all the businesses start again: I have to go work, my girlfriend goes to the university and so on. That is also probably why a lot of people met in Hermannplatz on the Sunday the day before the Celebration Day.

The inner reasons are different though: a mixture of folklore and nationalism; similar to what we can notice in Berlin (Germany) looking at many turks living here: being born in Germany, with parents (born in Turkey) who were farmers in Turkey first and then workers in here, they do represent a pattern of half developed identities and profiles, of half catched chances, of half solved problems; as said: folklore and nationalism, with nike shoes and mp3 players, but flagging for a war for a land they visit on summer for vacation, every once in a while.

I think a war should always be avoided, at any cost, except that of being taken into a war anyway. I am scared by the way the problems and issues of the Curds are treated by many media in Europe: what is really often forgotten is that the whole population is involved in the effects of a war anyway, even if it would not have a single reason to start fighting. And I am not really keen of throwing, once more, rebels on the terrorists category (the trendiest way to get approval for warfare actions all over the world, nowadays).

But if you were attacked, well, it would be difficult to believe that it is for a good cause...once more this strike risks to bring bad development for the most, more flags on the street, and an even bigger sense of danger for many, for us as well probably, lazy european citizens, thinking that peace is the answer but not anymore fighting against those who plan wars...

I hope I do not see a lot of (any) nation(al) flags on the streets in the next days, unless until Herta Berlin wins the next match in the Bundesliga.

Have a nice week you all.