Small ambitions

Our mothers and fathers have a past full of periods of unhapiness and deprivation. There is an unforgettable anecdote my uncle told me. He was a boarding student at the Aircraft Mechanics School in Eskişehir. On weekends they were free to go out and were paid two and a half liras. At the time there was nothing to buy nor anywhere to go in Eskişehir.

After he finished school he went to do his military service and sent the money he had collected in Eskişehir to his mother. Probably today, the inhabitants of Eskişehir would not believe the story.

Our generation was not raised in deprivation, but we all felt very insecure. We always were afraid of living or reliving the events of the past when we remembered what our parents and elders had told us about those difficult days. We were raised by these people who had felt all the sufferings and deprivations. And on the other hand, also the pains of a community which lived through a transitional period to become a consumer society. Just remember. When we were primary school children every second week of December we used to celebrate the "Native Products Week." From these celebrations I only remember eating oranges and dried fruits.

The fashion was to use native products from that era. The ones wearing imported clothes were laughed at. "Did your father also wear imported material?," we used to smirk at them. But there was an undertone of jealousy in those words. There were also these black markets where contraband imported clothing and blue jeans were sold. The ones who lived in Ankara will remember the American Markets.

The first economic crisis and the pains of it were felt in 1958 with the devaluation of the Turkish lira. Turkey stopped almost all imports. A bill to defend the national economy was passed through Parliament. Two years later the Democrat Party Government was toppled through a coup d’etat partly because of the economic crisis. In 1970 we had another crisis and in 1971 the Justice Party Government was toppled through a coup by military memorandum. In 1980 we had the third serious economic crisis and on Sept. 12, the same year, this time the coalition government of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel was the target of the last military coup.

During all that time the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, is always there. We have to squeeze our belts and enter into difficulties. In the 1990s we had two recurrent economic crises but this time thankfully the change was not undemocratic. In 2001 we were hit by a serious economic crisis. And now the recent oneÉ Today we are thankful because it is the first time that we feel these economic difficulties almost simultaneously with the outside world.

A friend of mine living in Zurich called me on Sunday asking me what I think about the recent news that Turkish banks will block all accounts. "It cannot be done when the governments are planning to give full guarantees to all bank accounts," I replied. But after talking to certain well-informed sources I realized the rumor is very rampant. This is also a psychological issue. Because for years we lived in an insecure atmosphere and always expected the worst to happen. We are not completely unjustified in feeling insecure. We are never certain about what tomorrow will bring us.

Before every economic crises government officials preach about how the economic atmosphere is sunny and rosy. Then at the end of the day we see black clouds covering the sky. Turks, instead of trying to find solutions to these problems, prefer to resort to illegal means to gain money. They are aware that nothing will happen when they are caught. They think they guarantee themselves by putting aside $100 million or so. They cultivate their small ambitions.

People who were unable to manage the economy dragged Turkey into this recent state. They never told the truth. What is more, whenever they saw their chance they tried to assuage their small ambitions. Now nobody has any confidence any more. Everybody is worried about the future.

Even I, who is a person who can call himself an intellectual, cannot help but be concerned about even a small peace of gossip. This is not psychological, but a lack of confidence in the country and its political leaders. Another reason is related to Turkey being unable to become a country of law and order after all these years. We push aside law and order even when we prepare a bill in parliament. And nobody can blame the other any more. Because there is no end to all these small ambitions.