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A LETTER REST OF THE WORLD.

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A Letter to the Rest of the World
By ateloco | Posted 11 hours ago | Turkey


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A Letter to the Rest of the World

I can be the first to admit that I've never been very politically active. I always watched from the sidelines. This is the first time in my 30 years that tears well up for what is happening just up the road from where I write these words.

Living abroad for many years, it was easy to brush off foreign news of civil unrest. Watching it on TV was always like some action movie, easily commented upon and then quickly brushed off as I watched in local bars or airport lounges.

Seeing the Istanbul police attacks for the first time today was chilling. Police are not only using tear gas, but plastic bullets, water cannons and physical violence. The photographs are all over social media worldwide.

Police are packing people into the subway stations and throwing in tear gas, attacking hospitals where the injured are being treated. A man and a girl have reportedly been killed. Even a politician has been seriously injured.

People from all ages and races, all political viewpoints are coming together to fight. People are moving up towards Taksim, being attacked and pushed out and then relentlessly returning to the site of the attacks. People are angry to the core of their beings.

Amongst the plight, it warms the soul to see people uniting together. While being attacked earlier, people threw lemons from their houses to remedy the effects of tear gas. Others let each other into shops. People are leaving out food and water for each other on street corners.

At the moment I write these words, helicopters are throwing gas bombs onto innocent civilians just up the road. The chilling sound of sirens is in the air. Its almost like one of those films you watch from afar. Sirens and the sound of the night mosque prayer come together in an ironic harmony.

The Turkish media has been silenced and it is up to the rest of the world to help spread the word of these civilian attacks. Notify your local and national media, and tag them on twitter to make them speak the truth about what is happening. This is a for humanity, no less.

Twitter tags may be tagged with the following media outlet tags:
@bbc @cnn @aljazeera @nytimes @foxnews @newsweek @theeconomist @reuters @huffingtonpost @whitehouse @bbcclick @usatoday @gawker @usweekly @parisreview @usabreakingnews @bbcworld @abc @cnnlive @politico @newyorkpost @abc7

For live streaming of the attacks (click on the blue video icon on the top right corner)
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Twitters top trending tag:
#direngeziparki

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