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**Joseph** · 03-05-2007, 03:14 PM

Eulogy from Ragip Zaraklou

Hrant Dink

By Ragip Zarakolu*

How difficult it is to accept death
How difficult, especially of a forever friend.

For inviting me to the Karsunk, the 40th day commemoration of Hrant Dink, I gratefully thank St. James Church of Watertown, Massachusetts and Boston�s Istanbul Armenians and our distinguished guests.

This traditional event brings us together
On the painful memory
Of our beloved friend Hrant Dink.

A few hours after his murder,
I started writing to him, saying
�Sireli Yegpayris�- My Dear Brother�

You wanted to live like a dove
In that country,
You called it �my country��

Hrant!
They kill even the doves in that country�

�Yegpayris�, my brother
It is snowing in Istanbul now
And you and your people
Are walking on that pure white snow
Going through a mist, a fog
To a horizon unknown�

You told me once:
�If they sentence me
I would walk through the same path
As my people did.
I would follow the same path that would
Take me to the deserts of Syria.
I would walk the death march.�
And I said,
�I would too!
If they sentence me��

�Yegpayris�- my dear brother
You could not be apart from this cursed land
No one held your hand
Saying �Come on son, time to go.�

Now you are walking with
The unburied dead bodies of the past
Walking by open, abandoned graveyards.

In front of your office
There is a white cover over your body
Peacefully face down
But your soul remains free
To shame us until eternity�

With all your innocence
With the desire of peace and brotherhood
As the last saint
You are walking�
With your dedication to peace
On our souls
You are walking
As a saint for all of us.

Hrant
My soul is tired and wounded
I cannot accept your death
I couldn�t come to your funeral

With the bullets aiming at you
I can hear the echo of
Ayse screaming �No! It can�t be!�
Yilmaz Guney�s deep pain again
Sabahatiin Alis� repetitious disturbance
I can see the stone that was aimed
At Zohrab�s head

I can hear the thousands on the death march
Crying:
�Don�t forget us��
I can hear them in the valleys
In the deserts
And within my exile
I share their sorrow�

I remember my teacher Tutengil
I remember my dear friend Musa Anter
And many more
Lying face down on the street�

I question:
When will this violence end?
I accuse
These bloodthirsty beings
I revolt
Screaming: �Enough is enough!�

Piece by piece
I started remembering
Some episodes with you, Hrant.
I remember you
Meeting me at the island�s landing
Your grandchild in your arms
Your wife Rakel by your side
Waiting for your son to come.

I remember
Your face mesmerized
With the blue of the Marmarian Sea
Rowing.

I remember
Your powerful speeches
At the symposiums
Where you would win
The hearts of your opponents.

Even
At Trabizon, facing the Black Sea
Or at Antalya, facing the Mediterranean Sea
I remember you
Facing opposition banners
With empathy.

I remember you saying in Urfa
�I am proud of being Armenian
I am proud of being part of this land.�
And repeating it in court again.

I remember
The opening of the exhibit
By the Human Rights Organization
For Tuzla orphans.
The story was the same as
Yours and Rakel�s.

I remember
You telling me about
The murder of Orhan Bakir
At Tunceli Mountains
The same as
Those with hidden faith.

I remember
Us talking about
The �Armenian taboo� relating
To the timid survivors
Of Musa Dagh.

I remember you saying
�The late Patriarch prayed for you
And your people.�

I remember
You throwing a handful of earth
On Asye�s grave
Saying, �She was sacred for us
She took away the hate within us
She made us feel more human��

Hrant now you are
Humanizing us�

I am angry, paralyzed within
But I know
That is the easy way.
You took the hard way.

You revealed
The face of lies and denial
At the expense
Of your life.

Is it worth it to sacrifice
A life
For revealing the truth?

Then I curse this world
As long as
Truth and love
Are measured by death�

I curse this world
If it still needs
Sacrifices, martyrs, and heroes to die

This is our shame
This is our incompetence
But nothing else�

I curse this world
Which chooses
The path of battle
But nothing else�

He wanted
All humanity to walk hand in hand
He believed in it
Like Martin Luther King.
I would like to have a
Hrant Dink Day in my country.
I would like the children
To remember him with love
And the elderly with shame
To say �Never again.�

He was an orphan.
Probably that�s why
He had the thirst for love.
His grandchild will never have
A living memory of him�
Like his diminished ancestors
Of the 1915 Golgotha path
What a crime
To the generations to come�

Let�s not forget his humanity
Vibrant, healthy, talkative
Like Whitman�s remembrance
A humanly human

Let�s not forget
To gain our human dignity
He sacrificed his years to come
He sacrificed himself
For us.

__________________________________________________ _______________

In conclusion, let me say this:

Hrant Dink had integrity and vision, he was courageous,
He won�t be forgotten.

When we follow Armenian issues in Turkey and the many other issues that plague Turkey, think of Hrant.

Think of him when even anyone, anywhere speaks our to defend freedom of expression.

But Hrant was more than a hero, more than a symbol.

He was a man in love with life, full of joy and laughter.

He loved his family.

He loved his friends.

He loved sailing.

So I can say, don�t forget all that Hrant represented; all that Hrant did, all that Hrant sacrificed. But I also ask you to hold another image of him.

When you see the shimmer on the water, a small sailboat racing against the wind, remember Hrant, the man.

* Translated by Apo Torosyan

**Gavur** · 03-05-2007, 07:32 PM

I love this human Ragip Zaragoglu

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