Özgürlük – Freedom – Part 1

Freedom is a word that is thrown around, well, rather freely.  It has its definitions, translations, usages. It’s been used to describe personal and political agendas.  Great minds use the word in literature, in laws, in expressing themselves.  Little minds abuse the word in literature, in laws, in expressing themselves.                                

Lately, I have not felt free.  There are a lot of reasons why I don’t.  I hope to write some of them, if not all of them, here in the coming days.  I have been suffering and this blog has been suffering.  The time has come to say what I have to say, to untie my hands, my tongue.

“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.”
                                                                                                         -Voltaire    

Regardless of what some of you will think and say, I have lived a relatively free life.  In the past several years, some of those freedoms were taken from me.  I knew going in that those particular rights may be restrained or no longer exist.  But things have gone too far.  My name may be Kaymak, but I am a Henson through and through.  Much to my mother’s chagrin, that means you can’t shut me up or keep me down.

Some of my rights may no longer exist.  But I exist.  I do my best to live a happy and healthy life.  I am no longer happy.  Mentally, I am no longer healthy.  The good news is that I know what I need to do to be happy.  I am fortunate in that way.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
                                                                           -Jalaluddin Rumi

Today is step 1.  Today, I share with you a couple of the videos I took the night of the attempted coup. They are not nearly as frightening as what I saw and experienced that warm July night.  I had just returned from a walk in the neighborhood when the first jets started appeared around 10 p.m.  They started slowly, two at a time.  They were right over my head, circling at low altitude and high speed.

This is the first video I shot:

By the time this clip was finished, we knew what was going on.  There was much to be said, a lot of fear, and things to do.  It was not long before an emergency bag was packed and I had made the dreaded first call to my mother.

The jets continued while we stared at the news on the television.  As many as 8 at one time, moving at incredible speeds, complete with sonic bombs.  I am a stone’s throw from the back of Parliament.  We heard and watched as helicopters rapidly fired bullets at Parliament.

I have opinions about what happened that night.  I have facts of what happened that night.  I have feelings about what happened that night.  I don’t know why any of it happened – and I don’t care why.

Shortly after 2 a.m., the news reported the coup had been contained – it was shut down.  It continued over my head until 6 a.m.

I have much to say about that night and the days, weeks, and months that followed.

Özgürlük – Freedom.  I have much to say about the actions, words, and opinions of others as well.

Those days will come.