Just in: Helen of Troy demands Unity for Turkey and Greece. EU stops fostering wooden animals.
Did you know that the ancient city of Troy is assumed to have stood on today’s Asian Turkey? We know Troy for Brad Pitt’s fantastic epic film. Netflix aired a less well received but still highly watchable series. Our culture is infused from the Songs of the Iliad and The Odyssey by the blind poet.
As old as these stories is the conflict between Greece and Turkey. According to the myths Ἀχαιοί Akhaioí fought the Truva more than 3.000 years ago. Women of unworldly beauty have been stolen. Wooden horses have been deployed. Schemes and plots have been executed. In the end, time held the upper hand. As it is. Both civilizations perished in the wakes of following millennia.
Today, modern Greece is the pearl of the Mediterranean. Caretaker of European origin culture. Custodian of philosophy. Mother of art. Kamâl Atatürk envisioned the spiritual successor of the Osmanlı İmparatorluğu. Harmonizing gateway between the Christian and Muslim world. Heir to Constantinople, the magnificent grandmother, the only one equal to Rome.
In countless centuries between Homer and Brad Pitt borders have morphed between countless forms as well. Kingdoms and nations expanded. Contracted. Cultures mixed. Split up again. The nations of Greece and Turkey are an amalgam of deep cultural values from both sides of the Strait of Istanbul. Each one unique and proud for it. And still part of a common ancestral tree.
It is time for the leaders of both nations to understand that more unites them than puts them apart. The two societies share a lot of common ground. Both suffer from political and economic injustice. One closer to the European Commonwealth. One closer to the Arab Empire. Both standing strong but alone.
For us Europeans, these two nations are vital in our quest for peace and harmony within our region. And beyond. It is in our European responsibility to support both countries in issues and agendas challenging modern times. Moria is burning. If we want to impede the flames consuming our Union soon as well, it would be in our best interest to find mutual ground. Extinguish the fires in Lesbos. Reach out with open arms over the Bosporus.
The suffering people of Syria are legion. And only to be strengthened by refugees from other regions as times progress to more economic devastation and political instability. Climate crisis, pandemic reality, and digital divide will ensure this downward trend proceeds for the foreseeable times. Times yet ordained by current rotten policies. Until we are able to understand that wealth and prosperity are a collective issue. Only to be solved together. On a global scale.
Let us pray for the children in Khazad-dûm.
