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That glimmer of hope in Muş

Four years ago, in 2010, toward the end of October, I had gone to Muş. Prof. Dr. Nihat İnanç, the rector of the university, had asked me to deliver the opening lecture. It was a suggestion that had significance for someone who had stepped away from university in the wake of the dismissals that followed in the days after Feb. 28, 1997.


My visit to Muş for a few days was a happy one. I developed an affection for Muş. I delivered the opening lecture in a hall where the head of the Higher Education Board, or YÖK, (It is interesting that the first person to send a positive fax in response to my article in reaction to the meeting held on Feb. 28 was Yusuf Zıya Özcan, who later became head of YÖK.) and 14 university rectors were present.


But what really mattered was something else in that hall. I would like to take you back to that scene in the hall via an article that I penned four years ago on Oct. 29, 2010.


This is what I had written back then in this column:


“I observed her during the opening ceremony of the university in Muş. She was speaking on behalf of the students and had this to say: ‘Eight years ago, a female student, like many other female students, did not get the opportunity to attend high school after completing her primary education. Back then, since she looked at the world through the eyes of an innocent child and filled with the joy of life, she couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind this.’


She continued: ‘As life went on she realized that she was not just losing out on the opportunity of being educated but was losing out on her entire future. This was because she couldn’t even dream of having a profession, being of use to society and establishing a future for herself.’


‘But she never gave up and kept her dreams and desire to study alive. She completed high school through distance learning. While she was thinking that enrolling in university would be a dream too far, the launch of a university in her own province gave her encouragement.’


‘The high marks she attained in her entrance examinations meant she had the opportunity to study in any of the universities in our country. But she chose this university because it was her hometown and because she didn’t need to pretend to be someone else in this free atmosphere.’


‘If that girl can now stand in front of you and make this speech as a valedictorian, then she also acknowledges a debt to all those who made this possible…’


Rukiye Işık…


It is impossible to explain the emotions in the hall as Rukiye delivered her final sentence. She opted to study in her own city, and where she thought it would be possible to study despite wearing a headscarf…


Having to prepare for her entrance examinations under such conditions and the unbelievable marks she achieved when those conditions are taken into account, poses questions to both the people involved and to the system, and leaves many questions that beg to be asked…


Rukiye says thank you…



It must be appreciated that her story is not a run of the mill success story. Unlike those youth that have studied in Turkey’s good schools and had constant private tuition, this is the story of a young girl who completed high school via distance learning, and prepared for her examinations on her own surrounded by a family with 10 children…


This story points to the center of energy that has changed this country and propels it forward… This was what Muş was like… Its university was a glimmer of hope for its people and its youth… This is a glimmer of hope born out of the pain and problems…”


The other day, I received a message from the rector of Muş University, Nihat İnanç. This is what he had written:


“Mr. Ali, Hope you are well. I found this article of yours while delving into the archives. Rukiye Işık graduated this year as a valedictorian of her class. She passed the relevant examination and is now a research assistant in her own field at Muş Alparslan University. Just look at the road travelled? …”


Well done to Prof. Nihat, and well done to Rukiye… Yes, just look at the road travelled… Rukiye’s story is the story of Turkey’s democratic transformation. 

#Muş
#Rukiye Işık
#university in Muş
9 yıl önce
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